Project Proposal 2

I plan on doing my research about how both poverty and education work with one another. I will be traveling soon, so I can do my interviews with Vietnamese students and their education. I’m possibly looking at from high school to college, but I’m not sure yet. I also want to cross apply that to somehow tie it in with poverty. As how the relation have negative effects on one with another when one is compromised. I also am very interested in looking at the privileges in the US verses other countries like Vietnam on education and how each address poverty differently.

Topic Areas for Class

Poverty and education, both have corresponding effects with one another. When looking at locations with the highest rate of poverty we can also see that these locations have the lowest rates of education. When these two dangerous social ills are combined, there is a bind that stunts the growth of these nations and ultimately its people. 1.2 billion People live in extreme poverty with less than $1.50 a day, and limited access to education it is only showing that is social is growing. However, attention is being brought to the forefront in stopping this social ill. As the United Nations is taking a stance on addressing the problem at hand. Two of the main goals that was set up by the United Nations for this year of 2015 was to halve world extreme poverty and to have universal education. By addressing both of these problems at once, there will be away to directly solving these social danger.

I found a real interest in this topic as they both have strong links with one another and that they also they have personal connections with me. It also was a broad topic area as by combing the two topics of poverty and education would allow me to work off of more information.

United Nations Goals

      From fully developed nations too third world countries, income inequality is still a danger that is harming society today. With more then 1.2 billion people living on less then $1.50 a day, this is social ill that must be stopped. This social ill has a direct harm too any society, as it destroys education, enforces child labor and puts lives at risk. However there might be hope in battling this monster as the United Nations has taken a stance in bring awareness to the problem. As one of the United Nations millennium goals for 2015 is to reduce the 1.2 billion people who are living in poverty extreme by half. This goal was met five years ahead of the deadline set for 2015. Now, more then 700 million people have been brought out of this state of extreme poverty and are now having a better quality of life. However, the battle is still being fought, as there is a fight to help bring the rest of those who are in extreme poverty out of that state.

        As a child of immigrant parents, I have a personal understanding of this social ill. As my parents tell me their past hardships of living in Vietnam, having too work at a young age and dropping out of school were two of the major things that they had to face. My mother had to drop out her freshman year of high school, too become a seamstress. And, my father dropped out of college to become a farmer to help his family. So, this was one of the United Nations millennium goal that was personal, to me.

Simplicity is Key

 

      I always go for too much when it comes to life. My policy is "why have a glass half full, when it can be overflowing with champaign". However, my mind did have slight shift in ideas when it came to writing. After, reading "A Word, Please: Better grammar means better jobs?" By June Casagrande. The article was about how everyday grammar effected your possible job outlook, and also some of the basic mistakes that people made when it came to writing. The correlation was simple, the less grammar errors you had, the better you're job outlook was. Personally this made total since, as first impressions are everything. In a fast pace world where time is money, you have to let your words speak for you. And in this case, the words are dictating your future job. 

      In the article, the quote that stood out too me the most was "When in doubt, trust your ear. If something sounds right, it probably is." This quote probably melted my mind. It was so simple, but yet so complicated. As proofreading is something most people often forget too do after writing. Rereading something is the best policy as the way it sounds too you will also be the same way it sounds to someone. Reading out loud is also affective in catching the little mistakes that you could have made. 

      English is not my first language, and I found this article to be helpful. Because this article did not just address the problem, but it also shows you how to fix it. What is the point in addressing the problem if there is no solution? So, the article was affective in showing the problem and solving it. So, in the end simplicity is key when it comes to English, as most of the problems solve themselves.  

This photo is showing a person editing a paper. 

Clothing for a Cause

       The fashion industry can be at times represented as being shallow and materialistic driven people who only want money. However, the industry also does have its soft side, with clothing for a cause. From helping those who are in third world countries getting access to clean water, or preserving wildlife in Africa, the fashion industry is always ready to help when needed. Something that I have felt vary passionate for is clothing with a story. Were the clothes are made responsibly by upholding the standards of human rights, and have an intend goal that goes far beyond the idea of dressing people. If money was not a problem, I could see myself possibly working at J.Crew and with there charity collaborations that they do monthly. I mean honesty, being a brand that cares the quality of the clothes and the people that help make them is inspirational for me to be a better consumer.  

         Some of my favorite clothing brands that has taken a stance to helping the international community right now is J.Crew. They collaborated with The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for spring and summer of 2015. The organization is about protecting baby elephants where they have lost their mother by poachers in the hunt for ivory. The limited edition collection is a line of elephant grey colored sweaters, with simple illustrations of elephant outlines done by artiest Hugo Geniuses. 100% of the proceeds go directly to the trust in protecting these baby elephants. This is one of my current favorite collaborations, as I love elephants and also J.Crew. But also it shows that the fashion industry is taking a strong stance in helping Africa with the problem of the ivory trade. 

     

  

      The second brand that is also taking a global stance is Fashion4Freedom, as their mission is too produce fashion that is responsible for people and the environment. As around the world workers rights violation happens for the fast production of goods with cheap labor. The goal of F4F is that they are producing goods in developing countries where they are helping workers work out of poverty by helping them work in this growing market. So, this will be allowing them to work in a market of the fashion industry where the fashion is in the craft that the workers produce. Thus, they belive that this translate in to a better product for the consumer. I also believe that this is only one of the few companies that are taking a market that is growing rapidly, and using that to help people that would other wise would not be able to take advantage of. So, by doing that they are helping the prevention of cheap labor. 

        

      The last brand that got my attention was Etike. They are a jewelry brand that works with Native American artist to help them have a stable flow of income. They mainly sell handmade brackets that are made of beads that are from that region. The second important point of this company is also to help showcase the traditions of the Native American art. As each of the pieces in the collection have a backstory that is tied in with each of the artist that makes them. I found this interesting because this in the United States, and that this art is so small and the push to make it in to the mass market seemed interesting to me. In the end, I found that the correlations interesting to me as they each shared the same sets of morals. As each of them believe in the craft of each pice, rather then the cost of the clothes. And, the also each uphold the importance of the labor polices. 

          

The Bag in Question.

     We all have dreams, and most of my dreams are related to the handbag kind. And, the current one at the top of my list is the Celine Trapeze bag in the tricolor, and my god this bag is a beauty. The amazing wings of the bag, from the amazing lock closer , and the soft leather that it comes in. The situation is that the bag is at the current price of $3,500, and I'm going to college next year.

      However I did think about the other alternatives to getting the bag...the counterfeit market. Then this made my think, is the counterfeit market really that bad? I mean I could get a good Chanel 2.55 medium Boy bag replica in the color mint for $400 instead of the $4,800 or that dream Celine bag. I mean, I like Celine with whole cool girl French vibe, and also Phoebe Philo with her modernist references. However, was I in love with the brand that much to ask my sugar parents to get me the bag?


      With some research I had a second thought before getting that bag made of dead cow. From the Business Insider last year they stated that China has a "...$25 billion in estimated counterfeit products..." I was shocked, but then I was not really that shocked. In the law of supply and demand, if people want it then china is ready to crank it out. And, with that kind of price tag, China is happily going cracking out the fake goods for the money. Also from CBS news China is still the number one country to produce and ship out counterfeit goods. Last year, as the article states, there was a billion dollars of merchandise seized, but they still don't know how much is still getting passed into the U.S.

      This research did give me a new insight into the counterfeit market, and that it was kind of bad thing on the scale of morality. And, and that there was a cost to the environment and also the economic struggles that came with it. So, I know that I have no patience for the things I want. Sadly, in this case I might go get a job to fund for this dream bag I want.

(Bags that are bad...like morally wrong.)



(The dream bag by Céline.)

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/counterfeit-goods-from-china-a-continuing-problem-that-costs-billions-a-year/

http://www.businessinsider.com/most-counterfeit-goods-are-from-china-2013-6