Review Chapter 9 in your course text, The Dynamics of Conflict: A Guide to Engagement and Intervention. Select one international conflict that you feel has reached impasse or otherwise stalled in the resolution process.

/in /by

 

Impasse is a point at which parties to a conflict believe they can currently take no further action. They are, in essence, gridlocked. Although the word impasse itself may connote impossibility, impasse does not mean that action is impossible, only that no movement toward resolution is wanted or possible at the time. Sometimes, in fact, disputants may use impasse purposefully to exert power, look for alternatives, or stall the process. Refusing to engage further in negotiation can have very high stakes in some types of conflict, particularly international conflict, because often the escalation of such conflicts after impasse has been reached leads to economic sanctions or military action, both of which have the potential to be disastrous for citizens.

A famous example of international impasse is the Bay of Pigs Invasion (or Invasión de Playa Girón, as it is known in Cuba) instigated by the United States against Cuba, and the subsequent nuclear missile standoff between the two countries (with Soviet Union support for Cuba). After a miscalculated secret attempt to destroy Cuban military aircraft and train Cuban immigrants in the United States to lead a coup to overthrow then leader Fidel Castro, relations with Cuba became openly hostile. The United States was exposed for having lied to the United Nations about these efforts as well. Cuba responded by allowing the Soviet Union to build ballistic nuclear weapons on its island, thus providing an insurance policy against further U.S. attacks. Many of U.S. President Kennedy’s advisors recommended the missiles be destroyed before they were operational. Kennedy preferred to implement a naval quarantine to block Soviet vessels from reaching Cuba. The world waited, white knuckled, in apprehension of a nuclear war as the leaders of the two countries faced an impasse with catastrophic potential consequences for the planet. Kennedy remained committed to diplomatic solutions and privately agreed to disable U.S. nuclear weapons in Turkey. He also pledged that the United States would not attack Cuba, to which Soviet Premier Khrushchev responded by agreeing to dismantle the arms program in Cuba. Never in history before or since has an impasse had such grave potential consequences.

For this Assignment, you analyze an international conflict that has stalled or reached impasse to determine why the impasse exists, why the parties were unable to reach Pareto optimality, and strategies or steps they might take to move beyond the impasse.

To Prepare:

  • Review Chapter 9 in your course text, The Dynamics of Conflict: A Guide to Engagement and Intervention.
  • Select one international conflict that you feel has reached impasse or otherwise stalled in the resolution process.

The Assignment (5 pages):

  • In two pages or less, briefly describe the relevant facts of the conflict you selected, such as sources, stakeholders, interests of each party, and interventions attempted.
  • In at least three pages, answer each of the following questions:
    • Prior to the conflict stalling, how did the parties deal with the integrative and distributive aspects of the negotiation?
    • Why were the parties unable to reach Pareto optimality?
    • Has true impasse been reached? How do you know?
  • Finally, in at least two pages, explain what steps can be taken for the parties to effectively work through impasse. (Refer to Chapter 9 of The Dynamics of Conflict: A Guide to Engagement and Intervention, and keep in mind that working through impasse sometimes means finding the next best step; do not force an agreement or push the parties out of impasse if that is their best option.)
  • The entire paper should be 6–8 pages and include a minimum of three outside peer-reviewed sources in addition to references to the Learning Resources from the course.

What surprised me in the material this week was the discussion about homosexuality being genetic (Thomas, 2018).

/in /by

Each reply must be minimum 250 words APA format cited biblical worldview verse

https://download.liberty.edu/courses/d6yv9.mp4

https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-28372193-dt-content-rid-343425574_1/xid-343425574_1

https://download.liberty.edu/courses/rx9cq.mp4

https://download.liberty.edu/courses/nhtpl.mp4

Nikiah’s Post:

What surprised me in the material this week was the discussion about homosexuality being genetic (Thomas, 2018).  Dr. Thomas’s position was not surprising, but I was in wonderment to hear someone argue the same position I have with the examples that he did.  He talked about how there is evidence that supports that homosexuality could be genetic, but that just because it may be genetic does not mean that homosexuality is right (Thomas, 2018).  I also found an article that reported on studies showing some link between genetics and having relations with individuals of the same sex (Price & Kaiser, 2018).  Thomas (2018) even mentioned findings that there is a “genetic load” for individuals who rape others.  I think this comparison strongly supports that just because a person is created a certain way, does not mean it is okay to behave that way.  I have often agreed that I cannot truly dispute that homosexuals were not born that way, but rather that it is a sin for them to practice it.  We are all born sinners (Psalm 51:5, New International Version), but the Bible tells us that when we give in to the desires of our flesh that we are deserving of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:3).  Many scriptures, like Leviticus 20:13 and Romans 1:26-27, declare that same-sex relations are sinful.

Key Themes

Three key themes that I took away from the presentations are with regards to change therapy, alternative approaches, and “the fall”.  First, I think it is important to remember that as Dr. Thomas and Dr. Yarhouse both discussed that change can be along a continuum, where you may not see a complete change in an individual from gay to straight, but that some change has been seen in individuals from the gay community with undesirable same-sex attractions (Garzon, 2016; Thomas, 2018).  Though change therapy may not be as successful as one may hope, I think it is important to understand the research and to consider whether or not it would be useful or a viable option for you and your clients.

Secondly, knowing that there are alternative approaches to working with gay clients besides gay-affirmative counseling was something else that stood out to me. Myers (2018) indicated how it is considered unethical for a counselor to refer a homosexual client based on religious beliefs.  Thus, it is important to explore various ways of working with this population. Considering that change therapy may not be very effective and gay-affirmative may not be suitable, Dr. Yarhouse discussed alternative approaches that focus on things like healthy coping, identity, and celibacy (Garzon, 2016;Yarhouse & Burkett, 2002).

Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, Thomas (2018) discussed that although homosexual desires may be genetic, that does not justify acting on them.  He noted that these desires are a result of Adam and Eve’s original sin, known as “the fall” (Thomas, 2018). Dr. Yarhouse also talked about how some individuals, like me, see homosexuality as part of living in a “fallen world”(Garzon, 2016).  What I like about Dr. Yarhouse’s description of this position is that he says it allows one to have compassion for the homosexual individual, recognizing that their feelings may not be their fault (Garzon, 2016).

If I could ask the three presenters one question it would be what their one piece of advice or recommendation would be to future Christian counselors who do not want to necessarily work in a Christian setting, but who do not agree with counseling a gay person when their issue is related to homosexuality, such as in marriage counseling.  Dr. Myers discussed evaluating and determining how your ethics work with your religious belief, but it would be interesting to hear from each of them additional recommendations and how they themselves dealt with this issue (Myers, 2018).

Aimmie’s Post:

When I read the topic for week four as I was preparing for this course, I had a sense of dread.  There are many in the church – heterosexual followers of Christ – that have caused pain and suffering to homosexuals for years.  For example, their participation and attendance in church services are openly discouraged or banned, the church has played a part in the damage of familial bonds by clobbering their lifestyle, and publicly persecuting them because of sin (Gnuse, 2015).

I have seen Christians judge sin by its context and the degree of its sinfulness.  Now, I admit I am guilty of this myself, “Oh, I only told a little white lie to spare her feelings” or “It was just a lustful thought, not full-blown adultery.”  However, for homosexuality, the church applies absolute standards of morality that warrant an absolute penalty.  Interestingly, homosexuality is the only sin that the church – heterosexual followers of Christ – is not tempted to commit. This highlights my first take away – pride.  In “A Biblical Worldview of Homosexuality,” Dr. Thomas (2018) references Proverbs 6:16-19, stating, “In the seven things God says he hates, sexual immorality is not listed.  Pride is listed, and it is separated to say that He [God] really hates pride.” (14:50).   Pride causes us to filter out the sin in our own lives and focus on the sin of others (Lyon, 2012); which is what I see the some in the church doing.

Another point that surprised me was when Thomas (2018) stated, “They are not those people, but our people.” (14:35).  Thomas (2018) stated that the principle of equifinality may apply to homosexuality; if so, then there is truth in saying, “I was born this way.”  Personally, I believe that every human is born with a natural desire to sin.  We are guilty of lying, stealing, fornicating, coveting, greed, drunkenness, lustful thoughts, adultery, and so on.  If we were tried in a court of law for some of the abovementioned sins, we would go to jail.  But, what would happen if someone came to pay the fine for our crime?  We would be set free.  This is precisely what I think many Christians forget.  Though we are all different in some way, shape, or form… we are all children of God.  These are all our people.  Jesus Christ came and paid the fine for our sins – even homosexuality. I think caveat to that is, to be forgiven by God, they must first repent.

Near the end of his presentation, Dr. Myers (2018), offered this suggestion, “Don’t let these organizations speak for you.” (18:40).  I am a member of both the American Counseling Association and American Association of Christian Counselors and try to stay involved with current events in the profession.  I took his words as more of a challenge than merely a suggestion because when I first joined, I wanted to make a difference (at least in my place of practice) but quickly learned that I am one extraordinarily small piece of the professional counseling profession.  However, if we do not take a stand for what we believe, we are failing as counselors.

My question would be for Dr. John Tomas: You seem fired up when it comes to this topic.  I agree that we should love them as we have been commanded, but I see so much hate coming from those in the church.  Has there been a time in your career that your position, accreditation, reputation, or freedoms have been threatened because of the issue of homosexuality?

 Choose a social welfare problem that you believe is in need of change and write a letter to an elected local, state, or federal official regarding the issue you have chosen.

/in /by

In social work, advocacy is very important to promote social change. Letters are often used as an effective tool to bring attention to social justice issues. This assignment requires you to choose a social justice issue that is important to you, gather current research and data on the subject matter, and write a one page professional and formal letter to your elected local, state, or national representative responsible for your social justice matter you have identified.

Choose a social welfare problem that you believe is in need of change and write a letter to an elected local, state, or federal official regarding the issue you have chosen. You are not required to send the letter; however, it must be written in a professional, well organized, clear, and concise format.

Writing letters to public officials is a form of political advocacy for clients and social workers. For this Assignment, you will write an advocacy letter to public official about a problem and a policy. In addition, you will write a 1-2 page explanation of your letter. Your explanation will provide the rationale behind your chosen issue and the approach you took with the specific representative.

 

By Day 7

Assignment: In the same document, submit both Part I and II of the assignment (2-4 pages):

Part I: Letter to Representative

Your letter should include:

  • A description of the social welfare issue
  • An explanation of how you want the legislator to respond to the issue (vote, create legislation, hold public hearings, etc.) and why.
  • Support of your viewpoints with credible facts and research.

Part II: Explanation (1-2 pages, double-space, APA format)

For this part of the assignment, provide an explanation of:

  • Why you selected the issue
  • How the issue affects social work
  • The reason you chose the specific representative
  • The approach you took with the representative (consider the representative’s voting history, political affiliation, and any other factors you considered)

 

 

Required Readings

Beerma, D. (2012). Advocacy handbook for social workers. National Association of Social Workers – North Carolina Chapter. Retrieved fromhttp://c.ymcdn.com/sites/naswnc.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/Advocacy/Advocacyhandbook.pdf

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Baltimore: MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
“Working with Clients with Dual Diagnosis: The Case of Joe” (pp. 77–78)

Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2015). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Chapter 8, “Mental Health and Substance Abuse” (pp. 164-193)

Humphreys, K., & McLellan, A. T. (2011). A policy-oriented review of strategies for improving the outcomes of services for substance use disorder patients. Addiction, 106(12), 2058–2066.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Provide an analysis of the extent to which addiction to psychoactive drugs is a biological versus a psychological phenomenon.

/in /by

300 words or more

Substance abuse and addiction are difficult conditions to successfully treat. For example, the 12-month relapse rate among alcoholics is more than 60%, and it is nearly 75% for smokers and heroin users. One possible reason for treatment failure is the powerful way in which addictive substances affect the brain. Most addictive drugs appear to tap into the brain’s reward circuit, so that any behavior (taking a drug) preceding the psychological experience of reward is strongly reinforced. If addiction is a product of brain activity, it is logical that the treatment also must involve some change in brain activity. In fact, there are several forms of biologically-based drug treatments, including the use of agonist drugs that mimic some of the addictive drugs’ effects (e.g. methadone for heroin addiction), as well as other substances that alter activity in the reward system (such as Baclofen).

Watch this TEDMED Talk by Neuroscientist Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the NIH, on why our brains get addicted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnd2-al4LCU

Then answer the questions below.

  • Provide an analysis of the extent to which addiction to psychoactive drugs is a biological versus a psychological phenomenon.
  • Support or refute the practice of using drug therapies for treating addiction. Be sure you are including current supportive research for your reply.
  • Include in your argument above, discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of relying on drug therapy to treat addiction.