What specifically did the first person say? In what way did the other person understand it? What did the person really mean? 

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Critical Thinking is Compassionate Thinking

One of the most important ways to grow intellectually (and otherwise) is to actually listen to others and seek to understand them as they intend to be understood. Yet it is all too common for people to understand others in ways that do not reflect the best and most fair interpretation of their intended meaning.

Prepare: To prepare for this discussion, take a careful look at the sections of Chapter 9 about the Principle of Accuracy and the Principle of Charity. Take a look as well at the required resources from this week.

Reflect: Find specific examples in the media or in life in which someone misunderstands someone else. This happens a lot with political and religious arguments, but it also happens in daily life, especially when we find ourselves in conflict with others. Have you interpreted others uncharitably?

Write: Present a case, either in the media or in your own life, of a case in which someone interpreted another uncharitably, and answer the following questions:

  1. What is the principle of charity? (Cite the textbook here!)
  2. What specifically did the first person say? In what way did the other person understand it? What did the person really mean?
  3. Do you think that the misunderstanding was intentional? What were the consequences of the misunderstanding?
  4. How might the situation have been better if the person had practiced the principle of charity? (Tie your answer explicitly to the definition of the principle of charity from the textbook!)
  5. Finally, are there areas in which you could do more to understand others favorably? How might you be a wiser person if you did so?

 

Guided Response: Respond to the examples presented by your classmates in a way that furthers the conversation. You might, for example, share an example in your own life in which you have experienced a similarly uncharitable interpretation of someone (and what the consequences were). You might add further thoughts to their answers to the questions. You might offer another possible charitable interpretation of what the first person said. You might offer suggestions for things that people can do to further better mutual understanding. In any case, let your response further the goal of the appreciation of the shared goal of furthering charitable interpretation.

Post at least two strategies social workers may use to become advocates for social change through cultural competence. In addition, identify at least two challenges administrators may face in developing cultural competency within their organizations.

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Discussion 1: Looking Through Different Lenses

As a social worker, you bring your own lens—that is, your own set of assumptions, biases, beliefs, and interpretations—into your interactions with clients and the human services professionals with whom you collaborate. Human services organizations have their own cultures that influence their organizational lenses. An organizational lens reflects key assumptions about the individuals to whom the organization provides services. These assumptions influence the organization’s policies and procedures which, in turn, impact service delivery. For example, an organization that focuses on understanding the perspectives of the clients it serves may allow clients to provide feedback about their client experience through membership on advisory boards or boards of directors. The clients may have the power to make recommendations and decisions about the organization’s policies and procedures.

Understanding cultural lenses—your personal lens, as well as those of the organizations and other individuals with whom you work and interact—will enable you to better serve your clients.

Focus on the Paula Cortez case study for this Discussion. In this case study, four professionals present their perspectives on the Paula Cortez case. These workers could view Paula’s case through a variety of cultural lenses, including socioeconomic, gender, ethnicity, and mental health. For this Discussion, you take the role of the social worker on the case and interpret Paula’s case using two of these lenses.

By Day 3

Post how you, as a social worker, might interpret the needs of Paula Cortez, the client, through the two cultural lenses you selected. Then, explain how, in general, you would incorporate multiple perspectives of a variety of stakeholders and/or human services professionals as you treat clients.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

By Day 5

Respond to at least two colleagues in the following ways:

  • Address a colleague’s post that differs from yours with regard to at least one cultural lens and expand upon the colleague’s interpretation of Paula’s needs.
  • Explain whether you might use your colleague’s strategy for addressing multiple perspectives when treating clients, and explain why.

Return to this Discussion to read the responses to your initial post. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

(Discussion 2: Administration and Culturally Competent Advocacy)

 

Discussion 2: Administration and Culturally Competent Advocacy

Social work administrators can use their roles as leaders to increase cultural competency within their organizations and, thus, help to create positive social change. As social work administrators critically assess situations in which social injustice or inequality has taken place, they may discover an organizational need for increased cultural competency. However, changing the culture of an organization is not an easy task since administrators must address personal and organizational assumptions about diversity and cultural competency simultaneously.

For this Discussion, consider how social work administrators might apply their leadership roles to increase cultural competency within their organizations.

By Day 4

Post at least two strategies social workers may use to become advocates for social change through cultural competence. In addition, identify at least two challenges administrators may face in developing cultural competency within their organizations.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

By Day 6

Read a selection of your colleagues’ posts.

Respond by to at least two colleagues who identified strategies and/or challenges that differ from the ones you posted, and respond in at least one of the following ways:

  • State whether you think the strategies your colleague identified would be effective in advocating for social change through cultural competence, and explain why.
  • Identify a strategy social work administrators might use to address one of the challenges your colleague identified, and explain why this strategy might be effective.

Return to this Discussion to read the responses to your initial post. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

Provide a reference list for all of the articles cited in this assignment, following APA 6th edition formatting (see chapter 7 of the Publication Manual for examples).

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Section 1.1: Research Topic (2 paragraphs)

State your research topic as you have refined it to this point. Ensure that you address the following elements in Section 1.1:

  • First paragraph: Describe the specific topic to be studied in a clearly stated paragraph, including relevant, appropriately-focused key concepts.
  • Second paragraph: Describe the significance of the topic to your program or field (e.g., Psychology, Counseling and Human Services, Business, Technology, Public Service Leadership, Education, etc.) AND its significance to your program specialization.

The Research Topic should be correctly formed:

  • Your research topic should be appropriate for your specialization.
  • Your research topic should use appropriate language for key concepts/phenomena.
  • The target population should be named.
  • The concepts should be appropriately focused.

Note: You do not need to describe the relationships between or among the concepts for this assignment. You will address these relationships in Track 2.

Section 1.2: Research Problem (1 paragraph)

Write a brief statement that fully describes the problem being addressed. In simplified terms, the research problem should take this form:

“The research literature on ________ indicates that we know ________, we know ________, but we do not know ________.”

The Research Problem should be correctly stated:

  • Existing literature and key findings should be summarized.
  • Gaps or problems in the existing literature should be clearly formulated.
  • The Research Problem should be explicitly stated, not implied.

Section 2.1: Research Problem Background (3 paragraphs)

Provide a brief SUMMARY of your review of the research literature on the topic. This should include citations from at least 5 articles, but should indicate that you have performed a review of the literature (acceptable for Track 1) on the topic. This should be demonstrated by providing a statement about the body of existing literature on the topic, then, summarizing recent research findings on the topic, highlighting the findings that are most relevant to y our proposed study, demonstrating how your proposed research could add to the existing literature on the topic. Be sure to provide appropriate in-text citations and include references in the reference section.

 

Section 6: References

  • Provide a reference list for all of the articles cited in this assignment, following APA 6th edition formatting (see chapter 7 of the Publication Manual for examples).
    • APA Style Central has additional guidance, examples, and tools you can use for researching, writing, and formatting your paper and for citing and referencing resources in APA style. See the APA Style and Format section of the Writing Center for instructions on accessing and using APA Style Central.
  • Use current (within 5-7 years), scholarly, PRIMARY resources to support statements throughout your paper.

Summarize research related to the influence of nature versus nurture on the cause of Jefferson’s disabilities. Provide a hypothesis of Jefferson’s likely prognosis. What supports or services might maximize this outcome?

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Assignment 2: Traumatic Brain Injury: Jefferson’s Case

When new parents are expecting a baby, they rarely consider the possibility that the baby could have significant challenges. For those who have children with severe, multiple disabilities, planning for the future is a critical, lifelong process and requires considerable investments of time and effort, while potentially causing significant stress to the parents. With advances in our understanding, there are many more resources available to children and families than there were previously.

Review the following scenario:

Jefferson is a six-year-old boy in kindergarten. He has suffered from cerebral palsy and a severe seizure disorder since he was an infant, resulting in significant physical and cognitive impairment. Although he has received services and support through early childhood intervention (ECI) services, as he enters formal schooling, his parents have become increasingly concerned about his future. Jefferson spends most of his time in a wheelchair and uses a special touchscreen augmentative communication device. In addition to their concerns about the future, Jefferson’s father also harbors considerable guilt that he or his wife might have caused their son’s disabilities.

Based on your research, respond to the following:

  • Summarize research related to the influence of nature versus nurture on the cause of Jefferson’s disabilities.
  • Provide a hypothesis of Jefferson’s likely prognosis. What supports or services might maximize this outcome?
  • Evaluate what Jefferson’s future might have been if he were being raised in the U.S. in the 1940s.

Write a 3–5-page paper in Word format (not counting the title and reference pages). Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Be sure to include a title page and reference page, also in APA format. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M4_A2.doc.

By the due date assigned, deliver your assignment to the Submissions Area.

Assignment 2 Grading CriteriaMaximum PointsSummarized research related to the influence of nature versus nurture on Jefferson’s disabilities.8Provided a hypothesis of Jefferson’s likely prognosis and the support or services that might maximize this outcome.40Evaluated how Jefferson’s future would have been different if he were being raised in the U.S. in the 1940s.32Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.20Total:100