Author: chris

Below is a list of options from which you are to select a topic for the Week Two assignment. These same topics will be featured in subsequent weeks. Make sure that the topic you select for this week is different from the topic you intend to select for the Week Three assignment and the topic you intend to utilize for the Outline of the Final Paper and the Final Paper (Weeks Four and Five, respectively). Examine one of the following topics on lifespan development connecting research and life.

• What do twin and adoption studies tell us about the effects of nature (i.e., genetic influences) and nurture (i.e., environmental influences) on human development? Select at least one of the main domains of human development (i.e., physical, cognitive, or social-emotional).
• How much credit or blame do parents deserve for the way we are? Select at least one of the main domains of human development (physical, cognitive, or social-emotional) for your answer.
• To what extent are the lives of adolescents and young adults shaped by parental and peer influences?
• Why do we have a need to belong (to affiliate with others)?
• How do our bodies and minds change from early to late adulthood?
• What are the factors that affect our well-being as middle aged and older adults?
• Why are some people attracted to members of their own sex whereas others are attracted to members of the opposite sex?
• How do memory and intelligence change as we age?
• Does an infant’s temperament shape his/her cognitive and socio-emotional development?
• Are babies pre-wired for survival?
• Are adolescents more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior than older adults?
• Can physical exercise affect cognitive performance in old age? Consider the time of occurrence of physical exercise (i.e., earlier in life or during old age) in your answer.
• Are there personality traits related to longevity?
• Does bilingualism improve brain functioning?
• Why do students in the United States tend to under-perform in math and science?

Once you have chosen your topic, examine the various theories of human development learned in the course and choose one or two that best assist you to understand the issues involved in your topic.

For this assignment address the following:

• Examine various theories of human development, describing relevant terminology, and addressing how the theory assists in the understanding of issues involved in the selected topic.
• Identify and describe at least two domains of human development (physical, biological, emotional, cognitive, and/or social) and how they are impacted by the chosen topic.
• Identify and describe the stages of development that are affected by the chosen topic.
• Describe the cultural and historical perspectives of the chosen topic, demonstrating an understanding of how the topic has been perceived over time and by other cultures. Provide relevant examples.

Writing the Assignment

The Assignment:

1. Must be two to three double-spaced pages in length (excluding title and references pages), and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must include a title page with the following:
   1. Title of paper
   2. Student’s name
   3. Course name and number
   4. Instructor’s name
   5. Date submitted
3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
   1. Begin with an introduction to the selected topic in which you define all concepts that will be discussed in the paper.
   2. For example, if you select “How do memory and intelligence change as we age?” as your topic,  you will need to define the terms memory, intelligence and aging.
4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
   1. Conclude with an answer to the selected question. Did the evidence you surveyed answer the question satisfactorily? Including your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the available evidence.
   2. If possible, suggest the course that future research should take if answers to the selected question are less than conclusive.
6. Must use at least two scholarly sources, all of which must come from the Ashford University Library or Google Scholar.
   1. It is important that you ask yourself if the articles specifically address the selected topic. It is not always easy to find the right articles. Thus, give yourself some time to search before you finalize your selection.
   2. You may reference your textbook and other required materials from the course; however, these will not fulfill the resource requirements.
7. Must include an annotated bibliography which briefly summarizes each article including the purpose of the investigation, its methodology, and results.
   1. If possible, select peer-reviewed articles that summarize the evidence available in a given field of study (e.g., meta-analysis combines the findings of different studies to uncover trends, commonalities and differences).
   2. Order the articles in the way you think you will discuss them in your paper. Then develop a summary of the scientific evidence that answers the question you selected.
8. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
9. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
   1. The reference section will be the final page of the paper.

 

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

The line managers in the production department have heard a lot of good things about value chain management. They heard that you have done considerable research on this topic. They have come to your office today to discuss value chain management with you.

• Summarize 3 examples of how value chain helps companies become more competitive. You are presenting these to the administrative team from the production department.
• Discuss how value chain helps companies create and build value for their clients and partnering organizations by answering the following questions:
  • How do you believe value chain management works?
  • How do you think value chain management can help companies be more competitive?
  • How do you think value chain management helps companies create and build value?
  • Be sure to include your references, and format your submission in APA format.

Successful Business Communication

Read the article “Successful Business Communication: It Starts At The Beginning” and explain, through your own experience, why it is important to match the words used with non-verbal cues to create consistent messages with customers, employees, or other managers. How do these consistent messages influence understanding and trust within an organization? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Write It Right
Are you sure that readers perceive your written message as you intended it? If you want help revising a message that you’re completing, use the Paradigm Online Writing Assistant (POWA). With this interactive writer’s guide, you can select topics to get tips on how to edit your work, reshape your thoughts, and rewrite for clarity. At POWA’s website, you’ll learn how to improve the final draft of your message. Explore POWA’s advice, then answer the following questions:
Why is it better to write out ideas in a rough format and later reread your message to revise its content? When revising your message, what questions can you ask about your writing?
Name the four elements of the “writing context.” Imagine that you’re the reader of your message. What questions might you ask?
When you revise a written message, what is the purpose of “tightening”? What is one way to tighten your writing as you complete a message?

Highlander

The following is a classic distributive bargaining scenario, wherein each party is attempting to maximize their gains at the expense of the other. In this situation, Michelle is interested in purchasing a Toyota Highlander. Michelle has two dealerships to choose from (Toyota of Louisville and Green Tree Toyota). Although she has no desire to travel a long distance, there are dealerships in Cincinnati, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana that she could represent as alternatives as well. Michelle decides to visit Toyota of Louisville first and finds the vehicle she wants – a 2013 Toyota Highlander.

The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the vehicle is $29,865, while the factory invoice (the price paid by the dealership for the car) is $27,929. While Michelle only knows the MSRP for the vehicle, the dealer knows both the MSRP and the factory invoice price. Michelle has a trade-in, but she is unsure of whether or not to let the dealer know this, as she is unsure of what impact this will have on the dealer’s initial offering price.

What should Michelle’s negotiation strategy be (e.g., how much information should she share concerning where she is in the buying process, that there is a vehicle trade-in, that she is looking at other dealerships as well, that she knows the MSRP, whether and how much deception is ethical/allowable, etc.)
What do you expect the behavior of the salespeople to be when Michelle visits the Toyota dealership?
Develop a negotiation plan, including the characteristics of the opening offer, reservation price, tactics, tradeoffs, they should make, how to react if the seller bring up issues before you are ready to discuss them (such as whether you have a trade in vehicle). Do you have a Plan B if your original plan becomes untenable?

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

Write between 750 – 1,250 words (approximately 3 – 5 pages) using Microsoft Word in APA style, see example below.
Use font size 12 and 1” margins.
Include cover page and reference page.
At least 80% of your paper must be original content/writing.
No more than 20% of your content/information may come from references.
Use at least three references from outside the course material, one reference must be from EBSCOhost. Text book, lectures, and other materials in the course may be used, but are not counted toward the three reference requirement.
Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) in the paper and list on a reference page in APA style.

References must come from sources such as, scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, CNN, online newspapers such as, The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc. Sources such as, Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc. are not acceptable for academic writing.

Artists such as Lalo Guerrero, Los Lobos and Carlos Santana, to name a few, all began their music careers playing Mexican rhythms/music and eventually incorporated into some of their more mainstream music such as rock and roll. In the case of singer Linda Ronstadt, she started off as a pop/rock singer and experimented with many musical genres such as country, big band and popular opera. However, she eventually transitioned into her Mexican musical roots and recorded various Mexican song genres, that people commonly label “mariachi music.” Although, they are all part of the American mainstream, why do you believe that often Chicano musicians, often go back to their traditonal Mexican musical heritage as a source of inspiration?

A manager who understands the concepts for developing and managing teams and can apply those concepts to improve team performance is likely to be successful in managing a high-performing team. In this assignment, you will apply these concepts to a given situation. You will examine issues within a team, uncover root causes, and develop a plan to improve team performance.

Research concepts to improve team performance using your textbook, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet. Select at least three authoritative resources, one of which may be your text, to use in this assignment.

Assume, you are the supervisor of a product development team that creates designs for widgets for your company’s ABC product line. After they are approved, the designs are sent to manufacturing. The last set of designs your team submitted to manufacturing were altered to reduce manufacturing costs as mandated by senior management. The widgets were then manufactured using the altered design. Unfortunately, the sales of the widgets are not making the target numbers as published in the sales marketing plan. Your team believes the poor sales results are because of the changes in design.

Additionally, there have been some performance issues with the widgets produced so far. Each time one is found, it is brought to the attention of top management and your team. Your team provides a fix to the design, which is then sent to manufacturing. Management is concerned about the number of performance issues that keep arising week after week. Your team has regular, weekly meetings to discuss risks, issues, product improvement ideas, and the status of any project work currently underway. These meetings have become unproductive and a waste of time because team members continue to rehash old issues. They believe senior management is to blame for the market failure of your teams’ product. As a result, you are unable to get anything accomplished. One team member is particularly outspoken and has become belligerent in your team meetings.

The team seems unfocused and unwilling to look at root causes for the poor development of designs that do not perform well. Several of the team members are even looking for new jobs because they are afraid they will soon be laid off. Both motivation and morale continue to decline each week.

Download and review the Team Performance Report template from the Doc Sharing area. Analyze the case information and fill in the template.

Write a detailed report for senior management addressing the issues you described in the Team Performance Report. Use the filled in template to support your assertions.

In your report, include the following:

• Identify at least one performance issue that could be contributing to the team’s poor performance and at least three root causes for the performance issue(s) identified.
• Develop two specific suggestions for improvements that could positively impact each root cause. You will have six suggestions in all.
• Create a communication plan for your performance improvement suggestions for three different audience types in the organization. Include at least one written communication sample piece. Identify as many details as possible that will need to be considered for each audience type.
• Determine two strategies for motivating/incentivizing employees that would improve performance and morale. Justify your suggestions.
• Identify two strategies for developing the team as a whole. Justify your strategies.

Give reasons and examples from your selected resources in support of your assertions.

Write a 5–6-page paper in Word format. Be sure to include your filled-in Team Performance Report. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

1-    Be three pages long; single spaced.

 

2-      Identify each of your portfolio’s submissions by title. Please use quotations when referring to your submission titles in the cover letter-e.g., “When Lightning Strikes: A Study of Inspiration”;

 

3-       Provide an analysis of the submissions contained in the portfolio. To do this, avoid extensive summary;

 

4-      Demonstrate sustained writing self-awareness. Awareness includes your ability to be reflective about your own writing strengths and weaknesses;

 

5-       Point to specific examples from your submissions that illustrate the claims you have made about yourself as a writer

 

6-       Demonstrate knowledge of the writing, revising, and editing process by showing how this knowledge applies to the submissions in your portfolio;

 

7-       Describe your strategies for researching and integrating sources;

 

8-       Reflect on the ways in which you have written/revised to accommodate audience needs, expectations, and/or values.

Corrections Programs

In this assignment, you will consider various treatment-related community corrections programs and their effectiveness in terms of controlling crime. Select two types of treatment-related community corrections programs. You may select programs described in this week’s readings or others pending instructor approval. Then, write a 2-3 page Essay in response to the following prompts:

• Briefly describe each corrections program, including its components and the type of crime(s) it addresses.
• Assess the potential effectiveness of each program.
• Explain which of the two you think is more effective.

Be sure to address all prompts and cite your sources in APA format.

 

Reference

T. Scott. (2012). Introduction to criminal justice: Current perspectives from InfoTrac® (1st ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage.

Essay

Less-Than-Lethal Weapons

Less-than-lethal weapons have proven a huge asset for law enforcement. Due to this technology, injuries of both law enforcement officers along with the suspects have been reduced. In a 1-1.5 page Essay, please respond to the following prompts:

What are the two major less-than-lethal weapons developed for law enforcement?
How have these weapons helped law enforcement and reduce injury?
What are the risks associated with these weapons if any?

Discuss how law enforcement technology has evolved, what are the new pieces of equipment used these days and what are the benefits? Remember to make this a strong finish by making substantial posts and responses, utilize your references and cite them in your posts.

Be sure to address all prompts and cite your sources in APA format.

Reference

Peak, K. J. (2012). Policing America: Challenges and best practices (7th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson.

 

Federalism

This week, we continue completing the worksheets in preparation for the Final Paper. One of the most important structures in the national government is federalism. Understanding the relationship between local, state, and national level governments is critical in being able to understand all of the key features of our national government. Describe an advantage and a disadvantage to a national policy that an agency in the federal bureaucracy must implement. In addition, recommend an option to maintain the advantage and one to improve the disadvantage.

To complete the assignment, save the Week Two Learning Activity Worksheet to your computer, fill it out, and submit it.

Develop a detailed outline of your second main point using the Week Two Learning Activity Worksheet.

1. Federal Policies:
   1. Provide a paragraph that briefly describes one advantage and one disadvantage to a national policy that must be implemented by one agency of the federal bureaucracy.
   2. Provide a paragraph that recommends one option to maintain the advantage and one to improve the disadvantage.
2. Scholarly Support: (For assistance with your research, the Ashford University’s Library provides tutorials and recorded webinars on a variety of topics. To access these helpful resources look for the links located under the FindIt@AU search box on the library home page. For help with writing, please review the APA Style Aid, and Ashford Writing Center’s Sample Annotated Bibliography for additional help.)
   1. Provide two credible sources in APA format to support your main points.
   2. Briefly discuss how these sources support your main points.
   3. Briefly evaluate your sources for bias, validity, and reliability.