I really enjoyed watching the short video about preventative medicine.  I believe that so much illness in this country could be avoided with the awareness and practice of preventative medicine.  I found it both comforting and shocking that as little as thirty minutes of exercise a day can potentially save a person from a variety of health ailments and add years to one’s life.  It appears that only a little effort put forth can help preserve lives and improve the quality of them.  If I had the power, I would like to propose a policy agenda where businesses, companies, and corporations would give their employees an income incentive if they walked to instead of driving to work.  This program would not only improve the health of those who participated in it, but it would also help to lower air pollution.   

I do believe in the benefits and positive effects that preventative medicine and healthy living can provide to a person’s life.  I also believe that the government does have the responsibility to inform and educate the public about these benefits.  I understand that the government cannot force anyone to make healthy lifestyle choices, people have to make their own choices.  But I do think the government should do their best to provide information, advocate health to the public, and provide incentives for living healthy, which would make it easier decision for people to make healthier choices.

As for the Affordable Health Care 2010 Act, it seems as though the majority of concerns lie within the realm of economics.  Our reading this week explained concerns in which the cost of failure for this act would be high and the status quo is probably unsustainable because of high insurance premiums and low income earners.  High insurance premiums and the increasing number of uninsured Americans are the concerns which are getting the most attention within the implementation of this act.   

Economic Development Director

After reviewing the different economic development strategies proposed, I feel most confident representing the Saratoga County area in New York as their economic development director.  It is hard to deny the variety of positive strengths that has been cultivated in this region.  Saratoga County has all the means necessary to provide a well balanced life, including being centrally located to human capitol as well as providing a good standard of living.  

Along with “world class education,” I would argue that innovation and forward thinking is Saratoga County’s biggest strength.  During our last class, we discussed how some downtown areas are evolving and changing with the times, but the businesses and governments are not.  Saratoga County takes a different approach to the growing and changing times.  For example, all of their college programs are working together, including the private and public universities as well as the community colleges to meet the work force need as it evolves.  The “world class education” located in Saratoga County has produced highly skilled people, for which many have become entrepreneurs in this emerging global technology hub. 

The spillover benefits from the extraordinary education has provided Saratoga County with individuals who possess skills in such key areas as research, development, commercialization, and manufacturing.  All tools that are vital and key to running an innovative and successful business and all located in one central area.  The central location of Saratoga County makes it easy for any potential business to have the opportunity to serve a variety of clients in a variety of areas.  Saratoga County is home to such successful companies as GE and IBM and only has room to grow economically as well as socially.  Saratoga County also provides weather for skiing, golfing, and other outdoor activities, as well as a performing arts theater and the world renowned Saratoga race track.

As far as the HOPE IV project is concerned, I think that it provides lower income neighborhoods with the opportunity to transform itself.  Bringing money to these types of areas can only help attract more people to the area.  Locals could become interested in opening businesses, which could attract visitors and tourists to the area, which would contribute greatly to the economy.  I believe that the Hope IV project is a beneficial domino effect.  With that said, I would not apply for this type of grant in Saratoga County.  I believe that many cities deserve the benefits of a grant like this one, but I don’t believe Saratoga County qualifies.  Because of the big corporations stationed in the area, individuals of the area are impacted positively by its economy and do not need such assistance. 

Education

The education system issue in our country is just plain aggravating.  I believe this because I think most people want children to receive the best education they possibly can.  We all know that the world will benefit from this, but with countless complicated factors at hand, this is not our reality.   Most people are in agreement that education is one of the most vital influences in a child's life.  The future of our country, and the world for that matter is ultimately dependent on educating children, which creates spillover benefits to society.  This is a huge responsibility that is proven to be falling short more and more with every passing year.  Everyone from presidents to city council members rally for improving education every year, but every year the education system continues to get worse and worse.  I believe many contributing factors go into our failing school systems, which include the federal and state’s conflicting standards, the non centralized system, the tenure that some teachers receive and the way we choose to segregate and teach children by their age.  (I found the first video about changing the teaching paradigms to be very interesting).

The film, Waiting For Superman was informative and I strongly agreed with the film’s perspective on how the world around school systems has been changing for decades but the school systems have stayed the same.  I found the film interesting, I also found it filled with examples of how the school systems are broken and not much attention shed on solutions.  But like the film, I also feel the ‘powers at be’ have also only shown us bad examples of what an education system is, instead of focusing on executing one successfully.  Attempts have been made such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which was passed ten years ago.  This Act was successful at shedding much needed light to the problem, but it has yet to produce the successful results we were hoping for.  Finding a solution to this overwhelming issue has proven to be nearly impossible.  Many of us are very passionate about this issue but do not have the answers or resources to begin repairing this broken system.  With Arizona sitting at the number 49 spot in terms of education and with more budget cuts in the works for the future, this issue not only affects me as a concerned citizen but as a student as well.      

If I were to choose a particular city

If I were in a childless couple looking to move to Phoenix, AZ, I would choose to move into the Central Business District (CBD) or Downtown Phoenix area, also referred to as zone number one, according to the concentric zone model for urban growth.  Although some may argue that gentrification can pose negative conflicts onto a community, a young and childless couple could gain from the growing gentrification currently occurring in the Downtown area.  Depending on what stage this couple’s professional lives are in, the Downtown area could provide them with either the convenience of a nearby university (ASU) or plenty of job/career opportunities.  All of the urban indicators of the Downtown area should be considered, especially the area of cost of housing.  Whether both are students who earn small incomes or high earning professionals, Downtown Phoenix has housing opportunities to meet either needs.  The Downtown area has both affordable housing, which are the older houses surrounding the city and higher priced luxury condos and high rises located in the center, both located in close proximity to work and school. For a couple who does not have the financial responsibilities of children, a downtown condo would be a great option compared to a suburban neighborhood, which in some cases may provide more space, but may also be more expensive per square foot of land and house. 

According to the Alonso Model, living closer to a CBD is much more cost effective, especially when considering transportation costs.  Phoenix as a whole is a very spread out city and when factoring in gas prices, parking fees, and insurance payments into a budget, these costs start to add up, not to mention the harmful pollution that is being contributed to the air.  The light rail located right in the middle of Downtown is both a cost effective and greener alternative to commuting in a car back and forth around the surrounding cities of Phoenix.     

I am a single student with no children attending ASU at the downtown campus, and I have made the decision to move Downtown.  As a college student, who is not earning very much income at the moment, deciding to make the move to Downtown Phoenix makes the most sense for me.  The two most concerning issues for me when deciding on whether or not to move was the transportation and parking costs.  The factors that contributed to my final decision is the convenience of the light rail, the affordable housing, and the job opportunities that are all located within walking or biking distance to ASU.  I also believe in the theory of taking an existing neighborhood that has potential to meet all of my needs and making the most of it.  Building a city out instead of up in most cases seems unnecessary and has many negative factors including environmental conflicts and transportation issues among many others.         

Introduction

Hello everyone,

My name is Janine Button, this is my first semester at ASU, and my major is social work.  I chose social work because I feel as though this field of study incorporates all the things I enjoy.  Social workers are given the opportunity to work with all different kinds of people, given the opportunity to apply psychology and sociology, and most importantly, are given the chance to help others and make an impact on people and society.  I just moved to Phoenix last week from Sedona where I was attending Yavapai Community College.

Unfortunately I was not in last weeks class, so I don't know what was discussed, but from our readings, I did find the symbolic and material policies to be interesting.  The symbolic policies arise from concerns of the general public.  Because of this public concern, the symbolic policy seems to be the most informal and possibly the most passionate of policies.  The reading mentioned that The Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the 1986 Oil Pollution Act both arose from the public's concern to ensure the survival of rare plants and animals and the concern about increasing pollution.  I think both of these acts among many others are very important and it is because of these symbolic policies that protection for our environment has taken effect.  I like that the public's voices and concerns are heard and implemented.