Author: chris

Identify all the signs/symptoms each individual demonstrates, which diagnostic criteria he/she appears to meet, and what severity specifiers might apply to each individual.

For this written assignment, apply the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual on Mental Disorders 5 criteria to the case study of an Adolescent and an Adult based upon the following information below. 1. Identify all the signs/symptoms each individual demonstrates, which diagnostic criteria he/she appears to meet, and what severity specifiers might apply to each individual. Provide examples from the case studies to support your conclusions. (Remember, each individual is using multiple substances.) 2. Include in your response – How effectively or not does the DSM 5 criteria apply to each case example? Provide a rationale to support your perspective. 3. Why the ages of each person an important factor when considering a diagnosis or diagnostic criteria. 4. What additional questions would you like more information about before arriving at a conclusion? While there may be no definitive or “clear cut” answers, some responses may be more appropriate than others. You are expected to develop a coherent response of at least 2-3 pages (12 point font), maximum of 4 narrative pages, excluding a cover page and references. Remember, the readings are the raw materials or sources of information for you to utilize. They provide you with a CONTEXT to the questions to be addressed in the paper. Remember to cite and reference all of your readings and any other source you believe will be helpful in writing the paper. You should explain all the technical terms and cite the course texts. APA formatting is required. Formatting Instructions for Assignments • Margins & Alignment: One inch top/bottom, 1” left, 1″ right but flush left (creating uneven right margin). • Font Size and Type: 12-pt. font (Times New Roman or Arial are acceptable typefaces). • Spacing: Double-space throughout the paper including the title page, body of the document, references, appendixes, footnotes, tables, and figure captions. • Title page: Your name, the date, course name, and assignment title: • Paragraph Indentation: 5-7 spaces. • Pagination: The page number appears one inch from the right edge of the paper on the first line of every page beginning with the title page. • In-text citation: APA style includes the last name of the author(s) and the date of publication (page numbers only if it is a direct or paraphrased quotation). • References: APA style puts them on the last page (called “References”) and generally includes, Author(s) last name, first initial (date of publication) title of article, name of journal, volume(#), pages. • Abstract: Not required Case Study #1: Maria C. Maria C. is a 16-year-old Latina female. She smokes marijuana once to twice per week, and drinks alcohol at least one to two weekends a month. She has no current health problems. Recently she began dating a man several years older than her and they have been using cocaine together once or twice a month. She plans to graduate from high school next year and attend a local community college; her goal is to work as an Administrative Assistant in an Attorney’s office, and eventually become a Paralegal. She lives with her parents and her younger brother, Roberto age 12. Although. Maria has always gotten along with her parents, they found marijuana in her room twice which resulted in heated arguments. They are also beginning to suspect she has been using other drugs when she returns home late at night from being with her boyfriend, whose age they are unaware of. When they confronted her with their suspicions, more arguments resulted. They have threatened to send her to counseling if this continues, but haven’t followed through with their threats. She wishes they would mind their own business. She has never been in trouble, does not believe her drug use causes problems as she goes to school and has sound academic performance. She does her chores at home. She realizes her marijuana and alcohol use has increased from her initial use, but doesn’t really see this as a problem (and infrequent cocaine use is not a concern) because it hasn’t interfered with her school performance. Case Study #2: Terry M. Terry M. is an unemployed 26-year-old Caucasian male. He is 5’8″ and weighs 230 lbs. He has been drinking heavily for the last three years. Recently he began using cocaine a few times a week and has been doing so for 2 months; his drinking has escalated over the last 7 months. He states he doesn’t feel the effects of alcohol until he has had at least 6 drinks. He has no withdrawal symptoms, however, he has experienced blackouts on a few occasions. He has had some contact with AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), and has gone to three NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings with a friend but does not find them helpful. He wonders if his cocaine use is a problem and if it is his alcohol use that causes him to have extreme mood swings. He has had problems with his girlfriend. He stopped drinking completely 2 years ago because of the problems with his girlfriend and noticed changes after he stopped; however, he began drinking again on weekends with friends. He tries to limit his drinking to weekends but he has returned to daily drinking and now includes the use of cocaine. He currently lives with his girlfriend Janice. She is “fed up” with his drinking and cocaine use, and gave him an ultimatum “to do something” or move out. He has high blood pressure for which he’s been prescribed medication. His doctor has told him to cut down on his drinking or stop all together. His doctor is unaware of his cocaine use. Terry also smokes 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes a day. He has no significant psychiatric symptoms, although he becomes very angry and hostile when using cocaine and alcohol together. This has added to his problems with his girlfriend.

Focus on the values expressed in the physical locations.

Write a 7-10 page ethnography report using the guidelines from Creswell (2014), Chapter 9. Report is to be written using APA, 12 point font, 1 inch margins, and page numbers, cover page, reference list, and appendices if appropriate. Include a discussion of how your research could be of value to each of the organizations used in your study.
Assignment Guidelines:  Select two “organizations” to observe (Best Buy and Staples).

Special Note:  Students are not permitted to explicitly interview, discuss, or otherwise engage members of the organizations.  Students are to observe and access publicly available documents, websites, and conduct unobtrusive visits as members of the public.
Visit the two selected organizations.
Observe the architecture, inner space and artifacts of each organization.
Focus on the values expressed in the physical locations.
Does each organization have an implicit theme?
If they were books, what would be their titles?
What cues within the organizations support the themes?
What cues detract from the themes?
Do the organizations distribute literature/memorabilia?
How many of your five senses are involved in experiencing the organizations.
How are the organizations furbished?
What banners or posters are on the walls?
What happens when you enter the organizations?
When you leave? Create a metaphor for what it is like for you to experience the public space?
As soon as you leave, write field notes on your experience.

Go to the web sites of each organization. Find the part of the web site that identifies their mission statement (and/or values statement). Does the décor of each organization reflect their respective mission?

Best Buy Mission Statement
Although not officially labeled a “mission statement, the Best Buy corporate website declares this to investors and employees:

“Our formula is simple: we’re a growth company focused on better solving the unmet needs of our customers—and we rely on our employees to solve those puzzles.

Staples Mission / Vision Statement:

“What’s Staples Soul?

“Staples Soul reflects our commitment to corporate responsibility. It’s a holistic approach to business that recognizes the close connection between our financial success and our desire to make a positive impact on our associates, communities, and the planet by joining together the following areas: diversity, the environment, our community, and ethics. It’s how we do business—that’s Staples Soul.

Evaluate the ethical outcomes that result from the position you take on the issue and explain how those outcomes would influence society and culture.

The topic of your project needs to be a contemporary societal problem, such as healthcare reform, immigration reform, privacy rights, euthanasia, First Amendment Rights, stem cell research, capital punishment, corporate prisons, legalizing drugs, ageism, animal rights, cloning, prayer in schools, racial profiling, recycling/conservation, sexism, outsourcing jobs, workplace bullying, etc. The topic must focus on a single aspect, as in “How far do corporations intrude into the private lives of their employers?” or “The social costs of financing the distribution of custom-designed drugs.” You may suggest another topic to use, but the instructor must approve the topic during the Week Two Discussion.

The Final Research Project will present research relating the responsibilities of a critical thinker to contemporary society. In this assignment, you will do the following:

  • Research one aspect of a contemporary social problem.
  • Define the problem.
  • Propose a possible solution for the problem.
  • Create an argument that supports your thesis position. You should take on the perspective of a critically thinking researcher. The argument must present a thesis statement and evidence to support the thesis statement.
  • Evaluate the ethical outcomes that result from the position you take on the issue and explain how those outcomes would influence society and culture.
  • Interpret statistical data from at least two peer-reviewed scholarly sources.
  • Evaluate evidence using the following standards: validity, reliability, and bias related to the chosen topic and accurately identify strengths and weaknesses.

Research and Define the Problem

You must take on the perspective of your major field of study and explain in your paper what that perspective is and how it informs your view of the topic. The topics listed above are far too broad to write about in 10–12 pages (3,300–3,900 words). Instead, you must choose a narrowly defined thesis and approach it from the perspective of your field.

Example: If you are an economics major, and you are interested in immigration reform, you should approach a very specific aspect of immigration reform through the lens of economic theory and practice. A specific thesis question would not be, “How does illegal immigration influence the U.S. economy?” One could write thousands of pages on such a topic. Instead, a better question would be, “How do illegal immigrant hotel workers in Chicago impact the economy of Northern Illinois?” You would then want to do the research and determine the positive and negative impacts they have, ultimately trying to conclude how illegal immigration in this area should be approached ethically.

How to Hone Your Thesis: It is important that you start your research early in this course. Try to find the most important contemporary questions and theories in your field of study and then align the most important questions with a very specific aspect of the general topics above. For example, if you are a psychology major, you might want to start thinking within the realm of healthcare reform or aspects of mental health and criminality in the prison system.

Your Argument

You must present a complete argument, including a major claim with at least five points of evidence, information, or data that will prove the claim.

  • The thesis statement must be
    • A clear, simple declarative sentence as the first or last sentence in the opening paragraph of the essay.
    • Of such a nature that it can be substantiated, corroborated, verified, and proved through appeal to primary or secondary academic research source materials.
  • The introductory paragraph must
    • Present the thesis statement, an explanation for the importance of the topic, and its relation to the student’s field of study.
  • Beliefs, opinions, and personal opinions must not be introduced at any point in the essay.
  • All beliefs and opinions should be supported with academic evidence. Sweeping generalizations with no supporting academic evidence do not reflect adequate critical thinking skills.
  • Do not include rhetorical questions in your essays. All the questions that are pertinent to your project need to be answered in your essay and your answers again need to be supported with evidence from peer-reviewed journal articles and academically published books.

Attributes of Good Critical Thinking in Papers

  • Your paper should include academic sources that explain multiple sides of the issue.
  • The evidence that you use should come from high-level researchers engaged in your field of study.
  • Your interpretations of the evidence should be objective and state the conclusions and theses presented in the evidence clearly and fairly.
  • Your paper should place the various forms of evidence in relation to one another and demonstrate why one form or perspective is stronger than the other positions that one could take on the issue.
  • Your paper should point out the limitations of current evidence and attempt to indicate areas for future research.

Ethical Outcomes of the Position You Take

After you have defined the problem and created an argument about how one ought to respond to the issue, you need to explain the ethical outcomes of the position you have taken. This should again be in relation to the field of study in which you are working. There might be different ethical outcomes that result from your analysis. For example, going back to the example issue above, from an economic standpoint, illegal immigrants might contribute positively to the economy of Northern Illinois in a specific number of ways. Thus, an economist who believes that positive impact to the economy is the greatest good would say that one should promote the use of illegal immigrants. However, because these workers are often paid less than others and eliminate jobs that could be done by residents of Chicago, there could be other negative ethical outcomes that would outweigh the positive impacts to the economy. It is your goal to draw out the ethical implications of your thesis and explain the underlying rationale that is the foundation for your claim that one action is better than another.

  • Critical thinkers are those who can outline the positive and negative ethical impacts of their positions. In addition, they are able to provide a rationale for why they believe a specific position is the right position, even when it leads to negative outcomes.
  • Critical thinkers are also able to be honest and objective about the limitations and gray areas that pertain to their theses.

Final Research Project Requirements

The Final Research Project may be presented as a formal research paper (essay format), a PowerPoint presentation, a video, or a podcast equivalent to a minimum of 10 – 12 pages in APA format (approximately 3,300 – 3,900 typewritten words, excluding title page and reference pages). Written essays must adhere to all APA formatting standards and requirements, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

PowerPoint presentations must include the full text (at least 3,300 words) in the speaker notes portion of the slides, with appropriate citations, and full reference pages. PowerPoint presentations must adhere to the basic principles of PowerPoint presentation design and must include citations and references according to APA standards and requirements.

Videos and podcasts must include a full transcript, in APA format, including appropriate in-text citations and a references page.

Quotations:

There must be no more than 15% quoted content in the body of your essay. All quoted material must bear quotation marks and a full quotation citation.

Source Documents:

  • There must be 10 or more source documents used, cited, and referenced.
  • Multimedia sources (such as videos) may be used, but no more than two such sources may be used. If multimedia sources are used, then they must be authored and distributed by credible sources, such as universities, law schools, medical schools, or professors, or found in the Ashford University Library.
  • Where print documents are used for source materials, those must be peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles, and academically published books. Popular media sources (e.g., newspapers, magazines, television and radio shows, etc.) may not be used. Materials from advocacy groups (e.g., Greenpeace, Human Rights Campaign, National Organization for Women, etc.) may not be used.
  • Two of the peer-reviewed scholarly sources used must include statistical evidence, which must be accurately interpreted.
  • Sites such as ProCon.org and Wikipedia should not be used.
  • Religious texts are neither peer-reviewed nor scholarly and so may not be used in any way.

Summary Conclusion:

You must have a summary conclusion as the last paragraph(s) of the project, presenting the major point of the essay and the evidence supporting that point.

Word Count:

The content body of the project must be 3,300 words or more. The word count does not include anything in the title page, running header, or reference list. It is expected that you meet all logistical requirements of this paper.

Reference List: 

  • The list of references must include only those source documents that are cited within the body of the project.
  • The project must fully comply with APA formatting standards and requirements as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center: title page, running header with page numbers, font face and size, line spacing, citations, and reference page(s).

Discuss what approach is most appropriate for forecasting.

Collect data on any topic of interest to you, preferably something related to your work (application of the techniques from this course to your work will add value to your organization and to you.) You may choose to do either Time Series Forecasting or Causal Forecasting.

Time Series Forecasting

Pick a variable you want to forecast, and collect data on its values in the past (at least 25 time periods, preferably closer to 50). The data should NOT be annual, since that will prevent the study of seasonality, if any. Choose monthly or quarterly or daily or hourly data.
Create a scatter plot showing the data over time. Discuss what approach is most appropriate for forecasting.
Regardless of the above, forecast using all the methods discussed in class – Naïve, Moving Average, Exponential Smoothing, Regression, and Classical Decomposition.
Compare all methods using appropriate evaluation criteria (Bias, MAD, MAPE, MSE, Standard Error)

Causal Forecasting

You must have at least 5 independent variables (can be a mix of categorical and numeric) and a dependent variable (numeric). The number of observations will depend on the circumstances, but in general, the more the better – rule of thumb is to get at least 10 times as many observations as variables (so for 5 variables, you need 50 observations).
For each variable, show distribution of observations with frequency charts, mean and standard deviation computations, etc.
Show relationships of each independent variable individually with the dependent using scatter plots.
Perform regression analysis to show overall model for predicting the value of the dependent. Remember to eliminate variables that are not significant, and run regression analysis multiple times until your model has only significant variables, or until you conclude that nothing is significant.

Interpret the results and write a report. The report must first briefly describe the background, what you are trying to predict, what the variables are, and how you collected the data, before showing the analyses and results. The report must stand alone – one should be able to understand the salient points of everything you did without having to look at your spreadsheet.

Report Format

Introduction: What motivates this study? Who is it important to? Provide general background
Data: How much data was collected? Number of Observations, the variable(s), the way the variables were measured, the source of the data
Preliminary Analysis: Scatter Plot(s), and interpretation of the plots. For time series, what does the plot tell you about the relationships and the method of forecasting that might work best? For causal forecasting, draw multiple plots, and interpret each. How does each X seem to relate to Y?
Forecasting: Forecast Y using all the methods. Draw graphs of actual vs. forecasted value.
Evaluation: Compute Errors, compute Bias and at least one of MAD, MAPE, MSE (SE). Compare the values across methods.
Conclusion: What is the forecast for the next time period using the best of the methods for this data?

“Effects of the shrinkage of the Aral Sea”

Drawing from the 2 sources below, prepare evidence that you will be using in an essay on the following topic:
“Effects of the shrinkage of the Aral Sea”
To help you prepare for this, refer to your CP, pp. 254-261. Evidence will be in the form of direct quotations (passages no longer than 2 or 3 lines from the original sources) and paraphrases of your own. For both types of evidence, you will still have to acknowledge the author and the source.
You have also to prepare your outline for this essay (see CP, pp. 247-249).
You will be writing your essay in Class #20. You will be permitted to have with you:
your outline with a strong Thesis statement (refer to CP, pp. 233-239) and Topic sentences for each of your supporting points (refer to CP, pp. 250-252)
Consider the type of introduction you will be writing (refer to CP, pp. 389-392). You may choose the method that you deem the most appropriate for your essay.
your different pieces of evidence from all the sources below
your English/English dictionary and/or Thesaurus (paper format only).
Important note: You will not be allowed to come to class with the whole essay written out. The essay you will write in Class #20 will have to be between 450 and 500 words in length.

Sources and References
Micklin, P. P. (1977). “Desiccation of the Aral Sea: A Water Management Disaster in the Soviet Union” (in your CP, pp. 310-319 (Fall 2014 Edition)

Lowman, E. (December 5, 2013). “Shrinkage of the Aral Sea: Detrimental Effects”. Retrieved from the following Web site:
http://blogs.dickinson.edu/quallsk/2013/12/05/shrinkage-of-the-aral-sea-detrimental-effects/
Prof.: Eric B. – Education Department – Concordia University

Discuss two (2) media events (past or present) that have positively and or negatively influenced the public’s opinion of a government agency.

Title of the Paper Goes Here

(Delete this sentence from the paper.  Begin the body of your paper here with responses below each question as the sample below.   3-4 pages total length required  excluding reference).

 

  1. Discuss either two (2) civil liberties or two (2) civil rights events (past or current) that have influenced a sense of social responsibility in the American government today. Provide examples to support your answer. Note: In your response, consider how the events influenced the way state, local or national political leaders or agencies responded in a socially responsible or ethical manner toward the community.

Responses

1)     Civil Liberties OR Civil Rights events discuss #1 HERE:

 

The freedom of speech.

 

2)  Civil Liberties OR Civil Rights events discuss# 2 HERE:

 

  1. Discuss two (2) media events (past or present) that have positively and or negatively influenced the public’s opinion of a government agency. Provide examples to support your answer. Note: Consider how a news story or media coverage of an event positively or negatively changed the public’s opinion (or perception) regarding how responsible a government agency should be towards meeting the needs of its customers; i.e. the American people.

Responses

1)     Media #1 discuss here

 

 

 

2)     Media #2 Event discuss here

 

  1. Discuss two (2) differences between the Republican and Democratic parties that may have an ethical impact (positively or negatively) on the American people. Provide examples to support your answer. Note: Consider the different ideals, values, morals, and/or goals held by the Republican and Democratic parties, and their different views on the ethically or morally right way to govern and make the best policies for the people they serve.  Determine if your example presents any type of ethical concerns for or against the public interest of the American people.

Responses

1)     Discuss differences #1 here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2)     Discuss differences #2 here