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In the last few years, the fate of the Social Security administration has come into question. The system faces various challenges like the growing number of retirees and the shrinking number of workers paying into the system. In this module, you will look at possible solutions to such problems. You will also examine the political and economic consequences of implementing changes in public policy.

Your textbook proposes several solutions for maintaining the solvency of the Social Security administration.

• Select one solution from the textbook that you believe might be effective.
• Using the Social Security Administration Web site (www.ssa.gov) and the Argosy University online library, research the arguments made in support of this solution.

Social Security in the United States averages to about 40 percent of the citizens’ wages. This is two-thirds of the international average, which is about 60 percent (Macionis, 2009). In addition, politicians in the United States want to cut benefits further. Keeping this in mind, respond to the following:

• Explain reasons for the disparity in Social Security between the United States and other industrialized countries.
• Discuss whether cutting benefits is a good policy decision for the United States.
• Give examples and reasons in support of your response.

Provide appropriate justification for your analysis.

Write your initial response in 200­–300 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

By Saturday, February 2, 2013, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, February 6, 2013, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses. Cover the following items in your posts:

• Provide a statement of clarification.
• Provide a point of view with rationale.
• Challenge a point of discussion, or draw a relationship between one or more points of the discussion.

For the progress assignment, you will be completing a threat assessment of a non-traditional threat.  This entity should pose a threat to the United Statesin some way.  You will NOT choose a nation-state, but rather a non-state actor.  (“Climate change” or “superbugs” are not non-state actors.)  By the end of Week 5, please message the professor with your proposed threat topic and proceed with your research once you get approval. 

This will be an 8-10 page double-spaced (in Times New Roman 12 font) essay assignment.  However, keep in mind that this will not be structured/written as a typical “research paper.”  You should rather be attempting a threat analysis product.  As such, you will perform a lot of research and learn a lot of information that might not actually make it into your product.  However, the knowledge you gain will provide the basis for your analytical opinion.  With only 8-10 pages double spaced and many different topic areas (9 of them!), you will need to be very clear and concise in your writing.  Remember to always put the “bottom line up front” (BLUF).  This should happen at the very beginning of the essay as you provide an overall threat assessment of the threat and then also within the sections as you provide a BLUF for the various required elements.  The BLUF should explain what is most important to know about each element of the threat.  The BLUF should also explain why it is important to know these things.

Remember, this isn’t a history paper.  Do not submit lengthy recitations of historical events.  Including some history is OK as long as it is pertinent and clearly supports your BLUF.  Include only the facts, evidence, data, etc. that supports your main point.  In the intelligence world, consumers often have very little time to read a written product so the analyst needs to clearly get his/her most important points across clearly right up front.  The consumer may just read the first part and skim the rest of the document. 

Below are the required sections.  Please include the section headings in red on your assignment.

      OVERALL THREAT ASSESSMENT:  How much of a threat does this non-state actor actually pose to the United States, taking everything into consideration?  

      HISTORY:  This is the section where you can discuss the history of the group, but, again, don’t give a long recitation of historical event.  Discuss why and how the threat came to be.  Why did it become a threat?  What was its initial motivation?  What environmental/societal/economic/etc. factors contributed to its formation?  

      MEMBERSHIP/LEADERSHIP:  Who makes up the threat?  Why do they participate in threatening the US?  What is their motivation?  Who are the leaders, if any?  How effective are they?  

      STRUCTURE/ORGANIZATION:  How is the threat structured?  Is there an organization?  What is it?

      CURRENT GOAL/MOTIVATION:  What is the current goal/motivation of the threat entity?  What is it trying to achieve?  Has it evolved since its formation?  

      TACTICS/CAPABILITIES:  What tactics does the threat employ?  How capable are they?  What weapons/tools do they use?  

      FUNDING/CONNECTIONS:  Where does the threat get funding?  Supplies?  Weapons?  Does the threat have connections to any other organizations, nation-states, etc.?

      LOCATION/SCOPE/MAGNITUDE:  Where does the threat operate?  How broad in scope is the threat?  Are they a regional threat or a global threat to the US and/or its interests?

      COUNTERING THE THREAT:  Please suggest possible ways to mitigate or counter the threat.  Try to think outside the box and be a little creative.  I understand that you won’t have total information, but just give it a try!

If any of these sections do not apply to your particular topic for some reason, you need to at least include the required section heading along with a short explanation as to why it doesn’t apply.

Please let me know if you have ANY questions at all about this assignment.  Be sure to use Turabian style for citation of all of your sources.  Remember, any time you borrow a sentence OR a phrase from another author, you MUST put the words in quotation marks to show that it isn’t your own writing.  Source any facts or data that you get from other sources. 

Your final submission may include a title page, but remember that the written portion of your submission should be 8-10 pages.  You must also include a bibliography at the end of your submission (this does not count toward the page count).

IT/205

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper identifying and describing how information is used and how it flows in an organization.

Explain this use in your current place of employment or an organization you are familiar with.

Describe concerns with properly controlling this flow, including keeping it safe from unauthorized use.

Need to write new paper from scratch.

In this unit, you will become the investigator of three (3) healthcare systems and predict which one has the most promising marketing potential. By the end of this unit, you will be able to proficiently discuss how the 5 P’s of marketing and research-supported assessment strategies impact the marketing potential of a healthcare system.