Provide a brief overview of the topic you chose. Why is it an important issue and how is it relevant to child development? For some topics, it would be helpful to provide your reader with prevalence and incidence rates. Does the severity of issue differ base on gender, race/ethnicity, and age?

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Critiquing Child Development Research

Choose three articles from any peer-reviewed periodical or journal on one of the following topics:

  • The birthing process and cultural differences
  • Advantages and disadvantages of cesarean delivery to natural childbirth
  • Maternal mortality
  • The effects of society, culture, and the individual
  • Adjusting to parenthood for mothers and fathers
  • Post-partum depression
  • Prenatal care and education
  • The effects of drugs, alcohol, and nicotine on prenatal development
  • The importance of nutrition for the fetus during prenatal development
  • Low birth weight babies, the causes and effects
  • The effects of environmental hazards on the developing fetus

Using the questions listed as follows, write a critique of the articles from the viewpoint of a scientist seeking the truth. This paper should be 4 pages long, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman Font and in APA Format. To receive credit for your work please provide a reference page in APA format for the three articles you found and any additional sources you used to write this paper.

Summary of the topic:

  • Provide a brief overview of the topic you chose. Why is it an important issue and how is it relevant to child development? For some topics, it would be helpful to provide your reader with prevalence and incidence rates. Does the severity of issue differ base on gender, race/ethnicity, and age?

Critique of each article (make sure you fully explain your answers):

  • Who is the audience for the article (e.g., researchers, doctors, parents, teachers, adolescents)?
  • What was the specific topic of the article? (For example, an article may be about “Maternal Morality,” but are the authors discussing pre- or post- partum issues? Are they review differences in socioeconomic status or ethnic differences?
  • What are some examples of information provided?
  • Does the article emphasize heredity (nature) or environment (nurture)?
  • To which domain of child development does it refer (physical, socioemotional, cognitive)?
  • Does the article rely on scientific findings, expert opinion, or case example?
  • Do the conclusions of the article seem valid?

In a concluding paragraph(s), give your personal evaluation of what was covered in the article and whether it advances our knowledge and understanding of child development.

Identify the outcomes, data or information produced by each assessment you propose in your plan, and review the considerations for facilitating feedback from each type of assessment. 

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Leadership Assessment at Robinson Insurance Agency

Todd Robinson, president of Robinson Insurance Agency, couldn’t be happier. The company that Todd’s father, Edger, started thirty years ago is prospering and poised for future growth. Over the past three years, Robinson Insurance has successfully purchased two regional insurance agencies whose owners were ready for retirement. The acquisitions went smoothly, and the firms merged under Todd’s capable leadership. The company now has 13 branch offices, in five different cities, in the greater Portland metropolitan area. The headquarters office—the site of the original Robinson Insurance Agency office—is located in the bustling downtown district in Portland, Oregon.

At 56 years old, Todd Robinson has earned a reputation for being a savvy businessman and a successful entrepreneur. He hopes to acquire at least one other small agency in the next year—a move that will expand the company by two additional branch offices in suburban Portland neighborhoods. However, managing the company is beginning to consume more and more of Todd’s time and energy—time he would like to spend with his family. Todd realizes that he needs to identify potential middle and senior management leaders within the company who can be trained to play a larger role in both day-to-day and strategic decisions.

Todd knows that selecting individuals to fill future leadership positions will be extremely critical to the long-term success of the company. He wants to ensure that the individuals who are identified for growth opportunities have the knowledge, skills and abilities to move into new middle and senior leadership positions as these positions are created. He also wants to ensure that the new leaders will possess and exemplify the “Client First” philosophy that characterizes the company. Frankly, he has concerns that some current managers—especially those from the agencies purchased by Robinson Insurance—may not fully share the company’s values and may only give “lip service” to the company’s customer-oriented values and practices. However, with 13 branch offices, Todd isn’t as familiar with each manger’s potential as he would like to be.

Thus, Todd has retained your services to help plan an assessment-based professional development program. The goal of the program is to identify people within the company who have the potential for greater levels of responsibility and authority, and then to invest in these individuals by providing training and other professional growth opportunities. Todd also wants help creating a succession plan to position the company for long-term success, even after he retires in five to eight years.

In a paper of at least 1750 – 2100 words (or 7-8 pages) in length (excluding title, abstract and reference pages), describe a comprehensive assessment plan for the company, including a sound defense of the feasibility of the plan, to meet the company’s leadership development objectives. In your paper, address the following:

  1. Discuss the key factors for identifying leadership potential.
  2. Identify an assessment-based approach for identifying potential among the managers at Robinson Insurance Agency. Describe how assessment processes and assessment instruments can be used to identify potential leaders and their leadership development needs.
  3. Include in your assessment approach at least three specific assessment instruments to evaluate leadership potential, justifying the use of each assessment instrument for its intended purpose.
  4. Identify the outcomes, data or information produced by each assessment you propose in your plan, and review the considerations for facilitating feedback from each type of assessment.
  5. Provide details of practical considerations of your plan, such as who will implement which parts of the assessment plan (an insider, an outsider, or a combination of both), what type of certification may be necessary to administer each assessment, and how the managers within Robinson Insurance will be consulted and involved in the assessment process.
  6. Identify the potential legal ramifications that may arise if Robinson Insurance Agency implements an assessment-based approach to identifying potential. Discuss ways of ensuring that the approach you recommend for the company is legal and justifiable.

You do NOT have to create a training and development plan for the identified future leaders; you only need to detail the assessment component of the plan and describe how the assessment information might be used to design the development activities.

In addition to your Scott and Reynolds (2010) textbook, the assigned articles for the course, and any Internet sources you reference to gather information about the assessments you have chosen, reference at least five additional scholarly sources (academic journal articles) to support your plan.

Summarize and synthesize the information addressed in the Freedman (2010) article and the Goldacre (2011) video presentation.4. Critically analyze the research literature applied to the Week 7 paper:

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Discussion Instructions: Read an article and watch a presentation to better understand critically thinking as a scholar and the ethical challenges associated with research.  When doing so, students should consider the research articles they read in this class and the Literature Review paper they wrote.

1. Read the following article: Freedman 2010 lies damned lies and medical science.docx

2. Watch the following video:

3. Summarize and synthesize the information addressed in the Freedman (2010) article and the Goldacre (2011) video presentation.4. Critically analyze the research literature applied to the Week 7 paper:

  • what information could have been withheld from the literature to support the claims of the authors (cite specific examples)?
  • what information is still needed to further support or refute your Week 7 Literature Review topic (provide specific examples)?

5. How can information from the Freedman (2010) article and the Goldacre (2011) video presentation help you (the student) critically analyze your Week 7 Literature Review paper?

  • Based on your critical analysis of the research, what are some potentially misleading comments and/or claims you provided as a student (quote your own comments if needed)?  Keep in mind the goal of this question is not punitive, but rather this question is designed to help students learn how to reflect on their own work and improve future papers and research.

References

Freedman, D. H. (2010, November). Lies, damned lies, and medical science. The Atlantic. Retrieved fromhttps://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/

Goldacre, B. (2011, July). Battling bad science [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/h4MhbkWJzKkNOTE: as always for every discussion and assignment, students must properly cite resources in-text and in a “References” list.Reply Quote Email AuthorSelect: All None

Describe the stage or stages of the theory that are most applicable to the current phase of life of the person discussed in the case study

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Preparation

  1. Launch and explore the following multimedia piece. After you have reviewed the two case studies, select one to analyze, either Thomas or Imani.
    • Human Development Case Studies.
  2. Next, imagine that you are a caseworker or any other psychology professional gathering information from a client represented by either Thomas or Imani. Based on the information presented, consider the developmental challenges the person is facing. Then identify at least two developmental theories (such as attachment, cognitive development, moral development, psychosocial development, et cetera), and apply the theories to understand the person in the scenario.
    • While it is not possible to fully understand the person in the scenario based on the limited information provided, there are a number of developmental theories that can provide context and offer a possible framework for understanding the person’s attitudes and behaviors.

Instructions

Based on the scenario and theories you chose for this assessment, create a PowerPoint presentation (12–14 slides) using the Assessment 2 Template [PPTX], in which you complete the following:

  1. Give a brief overview of the chosen scenario in your own words.
  2. Provide an overview of the theories you have selected to apply to the scenario.
  3. Describe the stage or stages of the theory that are most applicable to the current phase of life of the person discussed in the case study. Describe in some details the stage of life according to the theory. (For example, in Erikson’s psychosocial development theory a child who is 4 years old is in the stage of “initiative versus guilt.”)
  4. Search the library for at least two scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles that provide research about the concerns faced by the person in the chosen case study.
  5. Describe how the research from the articles applies to the person in the scenario you selected.
  6. Apply the theories to describe how they help us to better understand this particular person at the current point of life based on the concerns and their impact on the person’s well-being.

Your presentation should include the following:

Title:

  • Title your presentation.

Introduction:

  • Describe the scenario you chose.

Theories:

  • First theory:
    • Describe your first theory.
    • Describe the stage of life for your chosen scenario based on this theory.
    • Explain how it fits your chosen scenario.
  • Second theory:
    • Describe your second theory.
    • Describe the stage of life for your scenario based on this theory.
    • Explain how it fits your chosen scenario.

Applied Theories:

  • Detail how your first theory helps explain your chosen scenario.
  • Detail how your second theory helps explain your chosen scenario.
  • Applied research:
    • First article.
      • Describe the findings.
      • Describe how they apply to your chosen scenario.
    • Second article:
      • Describe the findings.
      • Describe how they apply to your chosen scenario.

Conclusion:

  • Review key points and important take-aways.

References:

  • List all references according to APA format so that your fellow researchers can follow up on anything they found interesting or important to their own research.

Slide Structure:

  • Slide 1: Title Slide.
  • Slide 2: Overview of Selected Case.
  • Slide 3: Selected Theory 1.
  • Slide 4: Theory 1 Application.
  • Slide 5: Selected Theory 2.
  • Slide 6: Theory 2 Application.
  • Slide 7: Scholarly Resource 1 Findings.
  • Slide 8: Scholarly Resource 1 Application.
  • Slide 9: Scholarly Resource 2 Findings.
  • Slide 10: Scholarly Resource 2 Application.
  • Slide 11: Research Methods.
  • Slide 12: Summary Slide.
  • Slide 13: References.
Additional Requirements
  • Written communication: Writing should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
  • APA formatting: References and citations should be formatted according to the current APA style and formatting.
  • Presentation length: 12–14 slides, including a title slide and references slide.
  • Font and font size:Presentations should use minimum 18-point font. Make sure that the fonts you choose are clear and legible.
  • SafeAssign: Use SafeAssign to check your writing and ensure that you have paraphrased, quoted, and cited your sources appropriately.

Recommendations:

  • It is recommended that you use RefWorks to organize and format any sources you select for the presentation.
  • It is also recommended that you use Smarthinking for assistance in editing and reviewing your presentation.