ABS 497 WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT COMMUNITY CHANGE

ABS 497 WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT COMMUNITY CHANGE

Community Change. Write a two- to- three- page paper (excluding title and reference pages) that identifies a problem faced by your community. Discuss how a model of community change could be implemented to improve the problem.

Describe six features of your community (e.g., cultural make up, size, and locality).
Define the problem (e.g., obesity, environmental pollution, teenage pregnancy, graffiti, truancy, gangs, drugs, child labor, or insufficient educational programs) and explain why the problem is detrimental to the community.
Select a model of community change identified in the textbook and explain how it could be implemented to improve the problem.
Identify:
At least three aspects of the problem you think that the model will be most successful at solving and provide reasoning as to why.
At least three aspects of the problem you think that the model will struggle to solve and provide reasoning as to why.
The bulk of your paper should focus on the third component above (the model of community change). Your paper must include a minimum of two scholarly sources and be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Fabian’s Story. Read Fabian’s story in the “Human Behavior and Community Macro Systems: Sociopsychological Perspective” section of your textbook. Briefly describe the sociopsychological perspective and compare it to at least one other perspective the book discusses. How can the sociopsychological perspective be used to understand, and perhaps solve, Fabian’s issue? Is there another perspective that would offer a better solution? Explain your answers.

Doug’s Story. Read Doug’s story in the Human Ecology Perspective section of your textbook. Respond to the ethical questions that follow. To what extent is economic inequality fair? Did Doug have the right to vent his anger in such a violent manner? What, if anything, could be done to improve Doug’s economic and ecological status?

Parenting Styles. Briefly describe the different parenting styles discussed in this week’s readings. How could they impact cognitive and social development? Identify the style that your parents applied to you, or the style you apply to your children. What do the readings say about the effects of this parenting style on cognitive and social development? Is this evidence supported by your own experiences?

Ethnicity and Learning Theory. Select an ethnic group from your textbook, or outside readings, and discuss how the application of learning theory may vary according to the cultural beliefs and values of this group. Based on the research, justify why you think specific learning techniques could be used by your chosen ethnic group.

Communication PowerPoint Presentation. Develop a 10- to12– slide PowerPoint Presentation designed for training the staff at a local high school. The PowerPoint Presentation should focus on strategies that promote communication skills among adolescents.

Students are encouraged to approach the assignment creatively, adding graphics, visuals, charts and/or graphs to their work. Slides should be designed to address the selected topic clearly and concisely. Each slide should be developed with professional presentation style (e.g., bulleted items in brief statements rather than complete sentences). Notes should complement the slides and provide details useful to the speaker if an oral presentation were to be given.

Creating the PowerPoint Presentation

The PowerPoint Presentation:

Must be 10 to 12 slides, and formatted according to APA style as outlined by the Ashford Writing Center.
Must include a title slide with the following:
Title of the training
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
Must present a thesis statement regarding why social skills training would be appropriate for adolescents.
Must explain different types of communication (e.g., aggressive and assertive).
Must share four strategies on how adolescents could improve their communication skills.
Must create at least three hypothetical scenarios of problems that adolescents might encounter, including one that involves cultural/ethnic issues. The scenarios should show how adolescents could use improved communication skills to solve these problems.
Must develop conclusions that reiterate the opening thesis statement, include a summary of the social skills training discussed, and offer evidence of its effectiveness.
Must use at least four scholarly sources (in addition to the course text), including a minimum of two from the Ashford Online Library. References are to be provided as needed within the slides.
Must include a separate reference slide, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
For tips on creating an excellent presentation, read this overview

Suicide. Chapter 7 of the textbook discusses adolescent suicide. Select a group that could be considered a minority (e.g., Hispanics, homosexuals, or students with learning disabilities) and discuss the potential suicide risk for this group. What factors may make them more or less likely to attempt suicide than other groups? What support can be given to individuals and/or groups to decrease suicide attempts? Rely on research findings to answer these questions.

Development Theories. Select either Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, Gilligan’s theory of moral development, or Fowler’s theory of faith development. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your selected theory. Which stage of your selected theory, do you think that you are currently experiencing? Provide examples to reinforce your answer.

Leadership Theories. Briefly compare and contrast the leadership theories presented in Chapter 8 of your textbook. Select a historical figure (living or dead) who has been a leader. Use one of the theories to explain the successes and failures of the leader you selected. What type of leader does your historical figure exemplify?

Problems of Adolescence. Describe a major problem often experienced by adolescents (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or delinquency). What are its likely causes? How is the problem typically treated? Identify alternative treatments that could be more effective. Rely on research evidence to support your views.

Macro Social Systems. Outline the three macro systems theories discussed in Chapter 12 of your textbook (functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism). Describe how each of these perspectives would explain the macro system problem of crime and delinquency. Which approach do you support the most? Explain your reasoning.

Imagine that you are a researcher and are conducting a study to investigate a community problem. Using behavioral research principles, select a macro systems problem to investigate (there are many suggested in the textbook, e.g. domestic violence, homophobia, sexual abuse, delinquent gangs) and design a study to solve this community problem.

The purpose of your Final Paper is to solve this community problem.

The Final Paper should be eight- to- ten pages (excluding title and reference pages) that includes the following components:

(Please note that for the purposes of offering instruction, examples have been given below about a research study involving the use of financial reward programs to combat truancy. Please make sure that you create a study that does not investigate the same content.)

Introduction – This section should include a brief summary of the community problem that will be addressed, as well as the approach that will be used to investigate and solve the problem.
Statement of the problem – The purpose of this section is to specify the main research question (e.g., Does enrollment in a financial reward program reduce truancy?) and define the community problem in more depth (e.g., truancy), analyzing why it is a problem. In addition, you will explain the problem-solving method you plan to employ (e.g., enrollment in a financial reward program) and state your main hypothesis. (e.g., Enrollment in a financial reward program is expected to reduce student truancy in the short term, but its long-term effects are difficult to predict.)
III. Literature Review – In this section, research findings pertaining to both the community problem and problem solving method need to be illustrated. (e.g., Relevant articles may include those on the prevalence of truancy, the impact of truancy, previous methods used to combat truancy, and the benefits of financial reward programs.)

Methodology – Explain how your Final Paper will investigate the problem. How will the study be designed? How many participants will be involved in the study and how will they be recruited? (e.g., Four classes at a local high school will be given the opportunity to participate in the research study. Two of these classes will be enrolled in the financial reward program.) How will data be collected? (e.g., Truancy data will be collected on all of the participants for the six months preceding the reward program, for the duration of the program, and for the six months after completion of the reward program.) What statistics will be used to evaluate the data? (e.g., Inferential statistics will be conducted to compare the truancy levels of the group of students participating in the program with those of the group of students who are not participating in the program.) Ethical considerations should be discussed to ensure that no unethical research is suggested.
Conclusions – This section should contain concluding remarks about any potential problems that might be encountered in conducting this research study. It should also include speculations on the potential results of the study.