Describe one additional, current paradigm shift or change in the armed forces and explain its impact, or potential impact, on military personnel and their families.

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With the repeal of DADT in September 2011, American military service men and women were able to, for the first time, openly identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered. Enacting change in the military may occur slowly as proposed changes are often debated passionately before any new policy is implemented. Then, once a new policy is implemented, the resulting changes to military culture may take place slowly. Still, paradigms are shifting, and these changes affect military personnel and their families.

For this Discussion, refer to the resources and current literature or news media to learn about the impact of the repeal of DADT, as well as other changes occurring in the military. Select one paradigm shift to address in addition to the repeal of DADT. (2 to 3 pages).

Post a description of one way the repeal of DADT may impact military personnel and their families and the services and programs that support them. Describe one additional, current paradigm shift or change in the armed forces and explain its impact, or potential impact, on military personnel and their families. Explain one way you, as a helping professional, can support military personnel and their families with these changes or paradigm shifts. (2 to 3 pages).

Be sure to support your post with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.

 

Required Readings

Schading, B., Schading, R., (2007). A civilian’s guide to the U.S. military: A comprehensive reference to the customs, language, & structure of the armed forces. Cincinnati, OH:Writers Digest.
Chapter 9, “Changes in the U.S. Military” (pp. 192–205)

Gentile, C., & Zoroya, G. (2011, September 8). Proposed changes in military benefits worry troops. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-09-07/Proposed-changes-in-military-benefits-have-troops-worried/50305324/1

Parco, J. E., & Levy, D. A. (2013). Policy and paradox: Grounded theory at the moment of DADT repeal. Journal of Homosexuality, 60(2-3), 356–380.

Wilder, H., & Wilder, J. (2012). In the wake of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: Suicide prevention and outreach for LGB service members. Military Psychology, 24(6), 624–642.

Describe the stage of program implementation in which the evaluation occurred, the informants, the questions asked, and the results

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Just as in needs assessments, interviews and focus groups are common tools for obtaining information about the processes involved in the implementation of programs. Process evaluation should include specifics about purpose, questions which the evaluation will address, and methods that social workers will use to conduct evaluations.

Review the many examples of process evaluation results described in Chapter 8 of Dudley, J. R. (2014). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do. (2nd ed.) Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books, or in the optional resources. Select an example of a process evaluation that produced valuable information. Compare the description of those results with the Social Work Research Qualitative Groups case study located in this week’s resources..

By Day 3

 

Post a description of the process evaluation that you chose and explain why you selected this example. Describe the stage of program implementation in which the evaluation occurred, the informants, the questions asked, and the results. Based upon your comparison of the case study and the program evaluation report that you chose, improve upon the information presented in the case study by identifying gaps in information. Fill in these gaps as if you were the facilitator of the focus group. Clearly identify the purpose of the process evaluation and the questions asked.

Reading Required

(Google Books-free chapter 8)

Dudley, J. R. (2014). Social work evaluation: Enhancing what we do. (2nd ed.) Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books.

Chapter 8, “Improving How Programs and Practice Work” (pp. 167–207)

 

Plummer, Sara-Beth, Sara Makris, Sally Brocksen. Social Work Case Studies: Concentration Year. Laureate Publishing, 10/21/13. VitalBook file.

Social Work Research: Qualitative Groups Page 68-69

 

A focus group was conducted to explore the application of a cross-system collaboration and its effect on service delivery outcomes among social service agencies in a large urban county on the West Coast. The focus group consisted of 10 social workers and was led by a facilitator from the local office of a major community support organization (the organization). Participants in the focus group had diverse experiences working with children, youth, adults, older adults, and families. They represented agencies that addressed child welfare, family services, and community mental health issues. The group included five males and five females from diverse ethnicities.

 

The focus group was conducted in a conference room at the organization’s headquarters. The organization was interested in exploring options for greater collaboration and less fragmentation of social services in the local area. Participants in the group were recruited from local agencies that were either already receiving or were applying for funding from the organization. The 2-hour focus group was recorded.

 

The facilitator explained the objective of the focus group and encouraged each participant to share personal experiences and perspectives regarding cross-system collaboration. Eight questions were asked that explored local examples of cross-system collaboration and the strengths and barriers found in using the model. The facilitator tried to achieve maximum participation by reflecting the answers back to the participants and maintaining eye contact.

 

To analyze the data, the researchers carefully transcribed the entire recorded discussion and utilized a qualitative data analysis software package issued by StatPac, which offers a product called Verbatim Blaster. This software focuses on content coding and word counting to identify the most salient themes and patterns.

 

The focus group was seen by the sponsoring entity as successful because every participant eventually provided feedback to the facilitator about cross-system collaboration. It was also seen as a success because the facilitator remained engaged and nonjudgmental and strived to have each participant share their experiences.

 

In terms of outcomes, the facilitator said that the feedback obtained was useful in exploring new ways of delivering services and encouraging greater cooperation. As a result of this process, the organization decided to add a component to all agency annual plans and reports that asked them to describe what types of cross-agency collaboration were occurring and what additional efforts were planned.

As you work on your summary, remember to refer to the assignment guidelines and rubric below to make sure you’re fulfilling each aspect of the assignment.

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While you take a break from your essay as it “incubates,” let’s learn some ways to effectively integrate sources into your writing so that you will be ready to confidently place them in your paper when the time comes.

Complete the THREE activities on this page to review your understanding of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.

NOTE: Your answers for Activity 3: Summarizing Assignment will be submitted for a grade.

Activity 1: Quoting

Quotations* are exact phrases taken directly from the source material. They are denoted by quotation marks that enclose the specific borrowed phrase.

Click on the question mark icon below to complete the activity.

click to display review questions

Activity 2: Paraphrasing

Paraphrases* convey the meaning of the source while using new and unique word choice and grammatical structure. It is still important to credit and cite the source and author, but there should not be quotation marks because it is not a direct phrase used by the author.

Click on the question mark icon to complete the activity.

click to display review questions

Activity 3: Summarizing Assignment (GRADED)

Summaries* are used for longer passages. They provide a basic overview of a source using new and unique phrasing.

Within the introductory paragraph of your critical analysis essay that will be the final submission for this course, you will be asked to include a summary of your chosen article to help readers of your essay become oriented to the work you will be discussing. In this assignment, you will summarize your chosen reading in 3-4 sentences and cite it properly.

As you work on your summary, remember to refer to the assignment guidelines and rubric below to make sure you’re fulfilling each aspect of the assignment.

Assignment Guidelines

Overview: When you use sources in your paper, you will need to either quote, paraphrase, or summarize the information. Summaries are used for longer passages; they provide a brief, overview of the source, using new and unique phrasing.

Prompt: Summarize one of the following original texts using 3 to 4 sentences. Include a single citation at the end for your selected reading.

“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan (2006)

“Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris (1999)

“Some Lessons From the Assembly Line” by Andrew Braaksma (2005)

Guidelines for Submission: Save your work in a Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins.. Then, check your writing for errors. Once you have proofread your document, submit it

Discuss the theories in terms of how they can help people understand strengths and weaknesses in visual processing and how the theories might help us overcome weaknesses.

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Imagine you are working as a cognitive psychologist who specializes in visual perception. In this role, you are assigned to create a short presentation that will help a target audience in a professional setting (for instance, teachers, marketing professionals, driving instructors, pilots, etc.) understand the basic principles of visual perception and why they are important for everyday life and their profession. You should create a five-minute presentation that meets the previously mentioned goals. Be sure to identify at least two different theories from your reading that support your presentation. Discuss the theories in terms of how they can help people understand strengths and weaknesses in visual processing and how the theories might help us overcome weaknesses.

 

My infomation related to the assignment of the reading.

According to Sternberg and Sternberg (2012), the complex process of perception gives us the ability to recognize, organize, and make sense of the sensations provided by environmental stimuli. In other words, perceptions rely on the cognitive process in order to process and understand shape, color, and objects which is driven by stimuli. Visual Perception is broken up into two categories the bottom-up approach and the top-down approach. Both approaches have their own theories and understanding of perception. Sternberg and Sternberg (2012) described the top-down process as constructive perception. In other words, constructive perception is the understanding of a particular stimulus in relationship to perception by using cognitive assessments of the stimuli. The bottom-up approach is when data or information is absorbed by the eyes which creates perception driven by data sensory (Sternberg, Sternberg, 2012). In other words, it is the way our eyes understand sensory data in correlation to a picture. Furthermore Sternberg and Sternberg (2012) discussed the feature analysis system and the configuration system. The feature analysis system allows recognition of objects, well the configuration system allows facial recognition. These two topics can be explored by taking the visual recognition, blind-spot, light from above, and facial recognition test.  The visual recognition test measures the perception reaction time and the number of correct answers. The visual recognition measured the perception by finding the blue triangle versus blue squares and red triangles. During this test I was able to answer all the questions correctly, but I did notice my reaction time was slower when I had more shapes and colors in comparison to less shapes and colors. This test helped me realize that I am able to block out distraction, even though there may be multiple objects in the way. The second test I did was the blind-spot test and the results were inaccurate or I was conducting the test wrong. I was not able to locate my blind-spot by the end of the test. I did notice that my peripheral kept searching for the white spot no matter what direction the white spot went. The third test was light from above where you tried to figure out if the dots were facing left or right depending on how the light from above or below hit. This test was not easy and I found out I was able to identify all the directional positions when the light came from above, but once the light came from below, I was not able to locate the directional position of the light. This had to be the most difficult of all four tests. I did learn this test does have a correlation with my driving because when I turn the light on at night it is hard for me to make out the objects as well as directional positions of the lanes and lines. Lastly the face recognition test used celebrity faces and asked you to identify them. Sternberg and Sternberg (2012) discussed configurational system as facial recognition. This test showed me how much I do not watch television because I was able to get five out of 30 correct. Due to my lack of social media and current celebrities this minimized my facial recognition of people who at this time are important in the world. Also, since I learned that light effect my perception I think it’s a good idea if I go to the doctor and see if I need glasses to drive at night.

Reference

Sternberg, R. J., & Sternberg, K. (2012). Cognitive psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.