SOCW 6520 WK  responses 

Respond to the blog post of three colleagues Has to be responded to separately and different responses in one or more of the following ways: Name first and references after every person

Respond to the blog post of three colleagues in one or more of the following ways:

• Expand on your      colleague’s posting.
• Make a      suggestion to your colleague’s post.

Peer 1: David Jones 

Understanding the community context within which an individual lives is crucial to understanding development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1997), yet many different definitions of community are used. Community is used interchangeably with neighborhood (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000). Community effects on adult substance use where I intern and other problem behaviors are usually conducted at the individual-level: examining how individual perceptions of the community context have influenced individual outcomes (Arthur, Hawkins, Pollard, Catalano & Baglioni, 2002; Leffert et al., 1998; Resnick, Ireland, & Borowsky, 2004). Correlations among community risks, resources, and poverty are found in high levels of economic risk. This same community is associated with higher levels of crime, a more pro-substance use environment, and worse district functioning. A negative association between residential instability and the substance use environment are major contributing factors.

Economic risk and residential instability may be decreased through logistical efforts such as increasing job opportunities and/or the minimum wage, and improving access to higher education or trade schools which are some services provided. Levels of collective efficacy may be increased by incorporating physical structures and places into neighborhoods that encourage community residents to interact with each other while engaging in constructive activities.

 The first step in the planning of our drug abuse prevention program with the community is to assess the type of drug problem within the community and determine the level of risk factors affecting the problem. The results of this assessment can be used to raise awareness of the nature and seriousness of the community’s problem and guide selection of the best prevention methods to address the problem.

 references

Arthur MW, Hawkins JD, Pollard JA, Catalano RF, Baglioni AJ (2002). Measuring risk and protective factors for  substance use, delinquency, and other adolescent problem behaviors – The communities that care youth  survey. Evaluation Review. 

 
 

Bronfenbrenner U, Morris PA (1997). The ecology of developmental processes. In: Damon W, editor. Handbookof  human psychology. 5. New York: Wiley.

 Leventhal T, Brooks-Gunn J (2000). The neighborhoods the live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on adult outcomes. Psychological Bulletin. 

Peer 2: Alicia Simpkins  

Working with individuals and families and groups is always inevitable in the social work setting. Working with individuals and families seems to be especially intertwined. When working at this level, the focus is on “the scope of practice on the interactions of individuals and families and their environments” (Birkenmaier & Berg-Weger, 2018). When working with the individual, one will likely get an understanding of how the family and the environment surrounding all parties may affect the individual. When working with groups, one may encounter different individuals from all walks of life, all of which have one common goal and are there to support one another. According to the text, group practice “shares a commitment to a system perspective, group dynamics, common intervention concepts and processes, and evaluation” (Birkenmaier & Berg-Weger, 2018).

Group practice seems to be most common at my intern placement. While there is often individual and family sessions with clinicians, there is commonly group practice. We have group meetings for those who are participating in intensive outpatient services for our substance abuse treatment program.  We also have group practice for adolescents that are utilizing services provided by our organization, such as mentoring services, or support groups to reduce truancy, to name a few. Group practice and being able to interact with all individuals of from various backgrounds is extremely common in and allows clients to support each other since they all share a common goal.

References

Birkenmaier, J., & Berg-Weger, M. (2018). The practicum companion for social work: Integrating class and fieldwork. New York, NY: Pearson.

Peer 3: Amber Hopf  

Explanation of individual, family, and group context in agency

           Social workers work in different contexts to meet the needs of their clients (Laureate Education, 2013). For instance, social workers may approach situations and experiences differently depending on what services they are providing. Birkenmaier and Berg-Weger (2018) discuss how a social workers role consist of addressing the issues at hand and providing clients with the proper treatment in order to meet their needs as well as create a change within the community. In other words, social workers are meant to ensure that clients are receiving the appropriate services and resources needed to enhance their well-being.

           With that being said, at my internship my role consists of working with foster and biological families to help them achieve the goals of reuniting parents with the children. Thus, my role involves more interaction with families and their achievement in reaching their goals and meeting their needs. In fact, I continuously collaborate with both parties to ensure that biological parents and children are getting these opportunities to meet and rebuild that parent-child relationship. In doing so, I am focused on reconnecting parents with children so that they can be reunited in the future. On the other hand, my role consists of working closely with case workers regarding the cases. This includes emails detailing the visitation sessions as well as any concerns that may arise with the case. In adapting to these contexts and roles, I am better able to provide additional services or resources that could benefit both the parents and children. The ultimate goal is for the biological parents and their children to rebuild these relationships with the hopes of reuniting in the home. Therefore, the procedures and treatments utilized are to give professionals the ability to provide best possible treatment in order to meet the needs of the families.

References

Birkenmaier, J., & Berg-Weger, M. (2018). The practicum companion for social work: Integrating class and fieldwork (4th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Laureate Education. (Producer). (2013). Individual, family, and group contact [Audio file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu.

our Discussion postings should be written in standard edited English and should follow APA guidelines. Be sure to support your work with specific in-text citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources such as those found in the Library. Refer to the Pocket Guide to APA Style to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct. Initial postings must be 250–350 words (not including references).

Post your answer to one of the following topic questions (one post answer) by Saturday, then respond to two or more fellow classmates (two posts) by Tuesday that are thoughtful and advance the discussion. Student responses postings must be 100–150 words (not including references).These required posts (totaling three) should be completed on three or more separate days.

Choose one of the following: 

1. Select a healthcare organization with which you are familiar with (or one that you would like to learn more about), and think about the role of budgeting in that particular organization. Conduct research, as needed, to find out more about the budgeting process of this organization.
2. Bring to mind a wide range of healthcare organizations, such as a long-term care facility, large for-profit hospital, physicians’ practice, VA hospital, or state-run clinic. Consider how budgeting would be influenced depending on an organization’s sources of funding. How do the purposes or uses of a budget vary according to the kind of healthcare organization it is?

 

Research problems can come from a variety of places. A topic can come up during a discussion with a colleague that motivates you to want to learn more about it. You may have a question for which you cannot find an answer, so you decide to conduct a research study in hopes of finding an answer. You may identify a particular gap in knowledge and be inclined to investigate that gap and close it with the results of a research study.

For this Discussion, consider how crafting a good research question is the cornerstone for designing robust studies that yield useable data. Review the Sessions episode on the Talia Johnson case. Locate two articles authored by the researcher David Lisak on the topics of the undetected rapist and predatory nature.

Post two potential research questions related to the Sessions episode. Consider potential ethical or political issues related to the feasibility of investigating the questions. Evaluate each question in terms of how it might:

1. Contribute to development of new knowledge for social work
2. Lead to more effective practice interventions
3. Lead to social change
4. Be useful to other researchers

Finally, explain the criteria you used to decide which sources of information should be included. Please use the resources to support your answer.

You have been assigned to a section for this discussion. ( professor never assigned so I guess describe all briefly then pick a section to focus on)

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, explore the philosophies behind four approaches to criminal sanctions—retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation—as considered in the Wright (2012) text. In addition, please review the assigned website, Bureau of Justice Statistics (Links to an external site.),  https://www.bjs.gov/ and read Contemporary Prison Overcrowding: Short-Term Fixes to a Perpetual Problem (PROVIDED IN ATTACHMENTS)(Pitts et al., 2014). You will also consider an application for life course theory in criminology relevant to criminal sanctions. Please review resources referenced in Week 1, the Messer, Patten, and Candela (2016) article pages seven through nine, and/or content in the Salvatore (2017) article pages one through two, which respectively summarize life source theory in criminology.

Respond to the prompts within your assigned section. In an initial post of at least 250 words in length, address the following:

Retribution (Section 1)

• Define retribution. What is the philosophical basis for retribution?
• Interpret how at least one constitutional principle relevant to social and criminal justice relates to retribution.
• Describe how life source theory in criminology could either challenge or support retribution.

Deterrence (Section 2)

• Define general and specific deterrence. What is the philosophical basis for deterrence?
• Interpret how at least one constitutional principles relevant to social and criminal justice relates to deterrence.
• Describe how life source theory in criminology could either challenge or support retribution deterrence.

Incapacitation (Section 3)

• Define incapacitation. What is the philosophical basis for incapacitation?
• Interpret how at least one constitutional principle relevant to social and criminal justice relates to rehabilitation.
• Describe how life source theory in criminology could either challenge or support incapacitation.

Rehabilitation (Section 4)

• Define rehabilitation. What is the philosophical basis for rehabilitation?
• Interpret how at least one constitutional principle relevant to social and criminal justice relates to rehabilitation.
• Describe how life source theory in criminology could either challenge or support rehabilitation.

All students

• Of the four approaches, which do you think is the most effective framework for criminal sanction? Why? Make sure to substantiate your reasons with citations to scholarly or credible sources.

Financial Research Report (this is a two part assignment. Only part one is needed now)

Introduction

Imagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client. 

Define their characteristics and goals:  John is a 32-year-old IT analyst working as a government contractor in a defense company.  He is not married and has no kids and as such is a risk taker.  He has $15,000 in savings, and owns his home, a moderately sized 2-bedroom condo and drives a late model VW STI, which is fully paid.  

Next, research the stock of any U.S. publicly traded company that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client (Tesla, SmileDirectClub, or GW Pharmaceuticals). Your investment should align with your client’s investment goals. (Note: Please ensure that you are able to find enough information about this company in order to complete this assignment. You will create an appendix, in which you will insert related information.)

Instructions

Your final financial research report will be 6–8 pages long and be completed in two parts. This assignment only covers the first part. This assignment requires you to use at least five quality academic resources and cover the following topics:

• Rationale for choosing the company in which to invest.

• Ratio analysis.

• Stock price analysis.

• Recommendations.