Category: Social Sciences

Understanding Digital Identity Formation

Instructions
You are working for a local department store in the Operations Department. You notice that their business practices and use of technology are not up to date. One day while working, you are having a discussion about technology and identity formation with your supervisor. Your supervisor continues to explain that individuals and organizations have digital identities that are formed and impacted through various methods. Your supervisor continues, saying, “They can develop or change through social media, positive or negative press, word of mouth, and so on.”

You begin to understand that the digital footprint of a business or organization can greatly impact their success or failure due to many factors, including the rapid dissemination of information that can occur digitally.

Your supervisor, through the course of the discussion, acknowledges that you are very fluent in the area of digital identity and asks you to conduct research and create a visual presentation explaining how digital identity is formed for both individuals and organizations. Your supervisor says, “This visual presentation will be presented to not only me, but company stakeholders and your coworkers in order to help them understand how identity is formed, and how to best maximize digital identity to contribute to the overall success of our store.”

Your supervisor continues, saying, “From this presentation, decision makers will be able to work on identity management and can then implement digital strategies in order to maintain or improve the store’s identity. In the end, this is intended to help increase exposure to the store, enhance the customer base, and the overall success of the store. The visual representation should be interactive and informative and can be presented in any visual format that you choose.”

For this research and presentation, you are to reflect upon and address the following topics:

What are the key methods of identity development? Consider available technology, socioeconomic status, generational issues, access to technological resources, etc.
Explain how technology and digital forums can aid in identity formation.
Consider available technology, socioeconomic status, generational issues, access to technological resources, etc.
Are there differences between identity development in the digital world and in the physical world?
As technology improves and changes, what are some things that individuals and organizations do to impact change and development in the digital age?
How can individuals change the course of action for organizations and their digital footprint?
How is the digital identity of your store in the above scenario formulated, and what impact might that identity have on the overall success of the store?

Understanding Digital Identity Formation

Instructions
You are working for a local department store in the Operations Department. You notice that their business practices and use of technology are not up to date. One day while working, you are having a discussion about technology and identity formation with your supervisor. Your supervisor continues to explain that individuals and organizations have digital identities that are formed and impacted through various methods. Your supervisor continues, saying, “They can develop or change through social media, positive or negative press, word of mouth, and so on.”

You begin to understand that the digital footprint of a business or organization can greatly impact their success or failure due to many factors, including the rapid dissemination of information that can occur digitally.

Your supervisor, through the course of the discussion, acknowledges that you are very fluent in the area of digital identity and asks you to conduct research and create a visual presentation explaining how digital identity is formed for both individuals and organizations. Your supervisor says, “This visual presentation will be presented to not only me, but company stakeholders and your coworkers in order to help them understand how identity is formed, and how to best maximize digital identity to contribute to the overall success of our store.”

Your supervisor continues, saying, “From this presentation, decision makers will be able to work on identity management and can then implement digital strategies in order to maintain or improve the store’s identity. In the end, this is intended to help increase exposure to the store, enhance the customer base, and the overall success of the store. The visual representation should be interactive and informative and can be presented in any visual format that you choose.”

For this research and presentation, you are to reflect upon and address the following topics:

What are the key methods of identity development? Consider available technology, socioeconomic status, generational issues, access to technological resources, etc.
Explain how technology and digital forums can aid in identity formation.
Consider available technology, socioeconomic status, generational issues, access to technological resources, etc.

Are there differences between identity development in the digital world and in the physical world?

As technology improves and changes, what are some things that individuals and organizations do to impact change and development in the digital age?

How can individuals change the course of action for organizations and their digital footprint?

How is the digital identity of your store in the above scenario formulated, and what impact might that identity have on the overall success of the store?

social categories and stratification

For this paper, you will complete 1 of the IATs available, and you will answer some questions about the experience. There is no need to prepare for the test. Keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers.

Take the test here: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html IAT. In case you need it, here is some Navigation Help for the Test.

Then, write a paper to respond to each of the following assignment questions. Your response to each question should be 12 paragraphs and supported with examples.
Describe the difference between implicit and explicit biases.
Discuss how you believe people develop implicit biases. Be sure to consider social constructs and socialization.
Describe the purpose and process of the IAT, why you believe this process was used, and your overall thoughts and experience on taking the test.
If implicit attitudes are subconscious, how do you think such negative implicit attitudes can be reduced?

Submit your paper in Microsoft Word. Make sure that it is double-spaced and includes a title and your full name

Any topic (writer’s choice)

Assignment #1: Read the excerpt from C. Wright Mills The Sociological Imagination. Then answer the following questions in one essay.
– What is the sociological imagination? Why might it be useful?
– How does Mills differentiate between a personal trouble and a public issue? Why is this
distinction important?
– Using your sociological imagination, explain how a personal trouble from your own life could
actually be part of a public issue. Be sure to support your position that the problem is indeed a
public issue by citing either a newspaper article or a peer-reviewed article that reinforces the
public nature of the problem.
The essay shall not exceed three pages (double-spaced, 12 font).
Cite the sources (using either MLA or APA format) within the body of your essay as an in-text citation.
Also provide a works cited page.

Sociology Media and Society

You are the Regulator

You are on a U.S. Congressional committee tasked with improving the quality of our information ecosphere. (Note: this could include professional journalism broadcast on mass media channels and/or less professional content shared through social media or the web.)  Before getting started, you need to do some background research on recent regulatory issues, inhibitors of a free press, information quality, etc., and then explore possible solutions.  Your objective is to write a brief report recommending reform of one regulatory issue that you believe will most drastically improve the information ecosystem in the United States.

First, provide a brief explanation of the problem as you see it.  For example, if you are concerned about the power of owners/conglomerates, indecent content, or (un)equal web access, then you might discuss FCC regulations governing those issues.  Alternatively, you might be concerned about digital platforms (Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) allowing false or misleading information to spread rapidly, which could lead you to discuss Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and what responsibilities it gives platforms as compared to traditional publishers.  Regardless of your focus, be sure to explain the regulatory issue, its recent/current status, and what effects it has on the health of the information ecosystem. That is, what kind of regulatory issue are you dealing withaccess, content, ownership, or something elseas outlined in AMAS chapter 5?  Then, explain how it might be reformed, why the reforms you propose could help address the problems improvements, and if you foresee any complications or potential unintended consequences.

In researching and drafting your report, you should draw on the assigned readings and other relevant course materials.  You may also reference popular media or other policy resources if you find them helpful.

Discussion on Common Client Payor Systems and Funding Sources; Continuum of Care

Instructions
After you have completed your assigned readings and reviewed the lecture content, respond to all of the discussion board questions. Take into consideration the requirements as you create your response.

For this week’s discussion, please respond to the following case.

You are a clinician in an OASAS Licensed Program. Richard Ortegada (Ricky) has seen you for 5 individual sessions of treatment for his opioid use disorder (in early remission). He is a very charming , persuasive and likable 32 year old Puerto Rican American male. He is married with 3 pre-school children and has a good union job providing heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) services to the Marriott hotel chain in the NYC Burroughs. Despite wearing steel toe boots, he managed to break 3 toes on his left foot last year and was out of work for 4 months debt has piled up. He was over prescribed an opioid medication and became dependent. He began buying pills from a coworker before he went back to work, so that he could go back to work (every step still hurts) and start getting full paychecks to support his family again (workers comp was only paying two-thirds of his salary).

Recently Ricky was arrested for possession of opioid Rx pain pills. He is on pre-trial probation for felony possession of a controlled substance and is due back in court next month; you have a signed consent form to communicate with his probation officer (who you know well from previous shared cases you have a trusting relationship). If he violates his probation or gets convicted he will lose his job. Ricky is required to maintain participation in treatment as part of his probation deal, otherwise they would hold him in jail until his next court date. I cant break my kids hearts I am not my Dad. He reports that he forgot to fill out the continuing case report for workers comp and “it has raised hell with everything”, including his insurance coverage which is temporarily cancelled, but starts again in 10 days he shows you the paper. He knows you need to get paid for visits at the agency and figures it would be ok if he sees you this week, like he has to, but you just date the visit for next week so he doesnt blow his probation and lose his job. Or maybe he could just skip the visit but you can still tell probation that he is in compliance with pre-trial weekly counseling anyway because he will be good to go next week. His wife is being seen at the clinic as well and maybe you could bill this as a family session for a couple of weeks.

Discussion Questions
How do you respond? What are the options for you both here? Discuss your dialog with him including anticipated reactions from him. Start your discussion with him right after he tells you all this and asks So what do you think? Whats your first response? Where do you go from there? How does this end?

readings, video:
https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/block-grants
https://oasas.ny.gov/legal
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Administrative-Simplification/NationalProvIdentStand/

NASW CODE OF ETHICS

Read the NASW code of ethics taking note of where the terms, “evaluation and research” are written. Summarize, in approximately 500-800 words, the main points of guidance that the NASW Code of Ethics provides to social workers regarding research and evaluation. here is think to the NASW CODE OF ETHICS  https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Foundations of Treatment Principles for Traumatized Children and Adolescents

Instructions
Review the Barnes Family Timeline for the years 1994-2004 and focus on Samantha. Then, respond to the prompts below.

For this discussion, I would like for you to assess the possible challenges that Samantha will face when she is 9 years old and her adoptive mother dies. Please discuss how you believe her previous life experiences will influence Samantha’s resilience, or lack thereof, regarding the loss of her adoptive mother and the grief of her adoptive father. In your initial post, please include:

Experiences that you infer will affect Samantha’s reaction to her adoptive mother’s death.
Behaviors you suspect Samantha will exhibit.
Identified intervention principles that should be employed to help Samantha.

video:
https://youtu.be/tsV7tXwPBn0

https://vimeo.com/15851924

Middle aged men to suicide

Please submit as a single document (PDF or word)

Total 20% of final course grade

General guidelines

There are two objectives for this assignment.

Objective A: present a critical sociological analysis of a chosen social problem in the Canadian context

      Analysis: More than just identifying or describing the problem, but breaking it down into smaller units to understand the whole, using the sociological imagination and conceptual/theoretical tools. You may of course combine your analysis with empirical data using statistics, graphs, charts, etc. to illustrate the issue as well as your sociological stance.

Objective B: discuss considerations for policy and practical solutions

      Based on your analysis, discuss the practical directions that policy should take to address/mitigate the issue. You can think of this part as policy evaluation and recommendation:

–        Evaluation: look at what is already being done in the real world, and evaluate whether you believe it is enough/effective. What about current policy approaches is working, and what is not?

–        Recommendation: What about current policy approaches should stay the same or change? What else/more should be done (or what would a different, better policy approach look like?)

Technical guidelines

Choose one scholarly style you are comfortable with, and stick to it for your papers format, referencing, citation, etc. The most common styles are MLA, APA, and Chicago (notes/bibliography OR author-date).

Please include a title page and a reference list. Appendices are optional, if your paper includes any images, graphs or tables. These elements must abide to your chosen scholarly citation style.

Alongside the specificities of your chosen scholarly style, the paper must be double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman, minimum 8 pages and absolute maximum 11 pages. Your title page, reference list, and appendices are not part of the page count.

Minimum 6 sources, but a majority of them must be academic. (Academic sources are works that are peer-reviewed, usually from academic journals. Our Questia and presentation articles count as academic sources. Books are dependent, but our course textbook will count as an academic source.)

Please ensure that all sources are cited in-text and referenced properly. (Please double-check your assignment before submission to make sure there arent any errors/discrepancies!)

You may use I/first person voice.

Evaluation

Will be graded out of 20 marks, based on the following:

Content

Does the discussion address both objectives?
Background/context of the social issue: Does it provide relevant and illustrative details? Does it provide a sense of its significance?
Analytical tools (theories, concepts): are such identified and explained concisely? Are they effective for its sociological analysis? Are they applied in the analysis?
Analysis of the social issue: is the social issue analyzed, not merely described? Is the analysis effective for understanding the social issue sociologically?
Policy evaluations and recommendations: are they premised on reasonable grounds? Are they drawn from the analysis that took place?
Presentation

Is the discussion, overall and in its parts, clear, well-written, and organized?
Does the discussion stay on topic?
Does the discussion provide an effective set-up (intro, background/context, theoretical framework) and closing (conclusion) to the analysis of the social issue, and evaluations/recommendations of policy?
Technical requirements

Does the discussion meet the length requirement?
Does the discussion exhibit proper citation, referencing and overall formatting?
Some general writing tips (there are more in the course syllabus!)

Page limits are more than just about quantity. Knowing how much space you have guides the writing process and can improve the final product. If your paper is too long, can you re-phrase ideas, make them shorter/more concise? Are there excessive considerations you can just exclude, in the spirit of specificity and focus? If your paper is too short, can you expand on certain things to provide more detail/clarity? Add in more elements to your analysis? Ultimately, these are all considerations for quality.

Pretend your reader is not a sociologist and does not know much about your chosen social issue. This can compel you to seek a strong understanding of what you are writing; and once you get into it, to write clearly, tease out ideas, balance detail with relevance and comprehension (how can you explain the issue without making it too complicated/overwhelming, also given the space limits); not let direct quotes speak for themselves, etc.

See below for an idea of how to structure your paper. NOTE: this is a pretty standard format, which you can adopt for other assignments (hopefully!) For our assignment, you may have to make slight tweaks depending on your chosen topic. As well, you may title these sections differently; as long as the function of each section is clear.

1. Introduction: the big picture of your entire paper, informs your reader of whats to come in the following pages

Introduces the chosen social issue
Thesis statement: your sociological analysis of this social issue, including your chosen theoretical perspective, summarized in 2 or 3 sentences. If you have space, you may briefly identify your ideas for policy.
Brief outline of your paper
Tip: considering the length of this assignment, your introduction should be half or 3/4 a page (double-spaced). If it hits a page or exceeds it, it is too long!

2. Background/context: description of the social issue

Lays out the reality of the chosen social issue: who does it impact, what is the scope, etc.
Rationale: why is this issue a problem? Why is it urgent or important?
        Tip: here is where a majority of your grey literature will go. You can integrate statistics, graphs, or charts.

3. Theoretical framework: the tools you will use to sociologically understand the social issue

An informed definition and explanation of the chosen theoretical framework(s), either single or a combination.
Be specific: which perspectives and elements of the theoretical tradition are you utilizing? What do they highlight about your social issue?
Rationale: why this perspective to understand the social issue?
Tip: You arent limited to the sociological theories we discussed at length in this course (ie. critical race theory, Marxist-feminist theory). You are free to use any theory, as long as they are a) sociological, and b) clearly defined, explained, and cited.

4. Analysis: the breakdown of your argument; basically objective A

Breaking down the issue into smaller parts in order to understand the whole (focusing on the trees of the forest (the forest being your thesis statement)).
Apply the sociological imagination, using your chosen analytical tools as you describe in your theoretical framework.
Tip: Length-wise, this is the largest part of your paper. This section may have sub-sections (the trees of your argument).

5. Policy evaluations and recommendations

See objective B

6. Discussion/Further or additional thoughts (OPTIONAL)

      This section is for any additional or further thoughts or unanswered questions that are crucial to understanding the issue sociologically/tackling it practically, that dont exactly fit in other parts of your paper. This is optional; whether or not you include it does not impact the quality of your paper. Quality comes down to how solid/cohesive your overall discussion is.

      This can be a separate section, either following or preceding policy recommendations; or part of policy recommendations, if your thoughts have implications on what you think policy should look like

7. Conclusion: returning to the forest

Wrapping up your argument; a brief re-iteration of your argument, all things considered. Slightly different from your introduction because at this point, the reader is now aware of all the nooks and crannies of your argument, so please do not copy and paste your introduction!

Sociology

Students have options for effective chapter discussions:

(1) Describe how different social problems are constructed as gendered issues (think about various social institutions, such as work, religion, education, etc.). Then relate these to the continued inequality in housework and child care that exists and how this perpetuates inequality in society in general. Take a position on whether social problems are constructed to perpetuate the status quo or whether they are simply social problems. Make sure you discuss both sides and how each impacts the larger societal issue of gender inequity