Assignment 1: LASA 2: Generating a Policy Proposal

Although some states and cities have passed laws to ban texting and using handheld phones while driving, there is no current law to ban all cell phone use while driving. However, according to the National Safety Council (2009), 28 percent of all crashes—1.6 million per year—are caused by cell phone use and texting by drivers. The mission of a new national nonprofit organization called FocusDriven, patterned after Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is to make phone use while driving as illegal and socially unacceptable as drunk driving. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood supports FocusDriven and its efforts: According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,LaHood said this movement will become “an army of people traveling the countryside” to push for bans on cell phone use and tough enforcement (Schmit, 2010).

As a political advocate interested in this issue, you will be writing a policy proposal that utilizes the current research to propose a solution to the issue and submit it in this assignment.

Please note that your proposal is not an opinion/position paper, and your conclusions need to be based on the scientific research you reviewed earlier. Please follow the typical steps in proper academic writing (planning, outlining, drafting, revising, proofing, and editing) to generate the following proposal structure:

Introduction

In the introduction, you should set up the purpose for the proposal, provide a bit of background on the topic, and present your thesis.

Policy

Now that you have researched a variety of studies (in M4: Assignment 2), compile that information together to create a recommendation for policy makers regarding cell phone use while driving.

1: In a one-page summary, compare and contrast the results of the various studies regarding the cognitive abilities that are affected during cell phone use while driving.

2: Using that research, develop and explain particular recommendations for policy makers. For instance, restrict texting, or regulate the use of hand-held phones. All your recommendations must be supported by your research findings.

3: Based on the gaps in current research, describe the variables, populations, and situations which you would like to see future research address.

Conclusion

Review the important current research, your conclusions from that research, and how the future could look in both policy and research. Keep your goal in mind: To convince the reader to support your current policy proposal and future research to examine this issue more closely.

Your proposal should be written in APA style (which includes a title page with running header and a reference page), and free of typographical and grammatical errors. The body of your proposal should be 3-4 pages long.

Case Study 2

Mrs. Smith is a 30-year-old married woman whose family brings her to the emergency room due to what they call “odd behavior.” Mrs. Smith is the youngest of 5 children. She was born prematurely, but despite being low in weight, there were no other negative consequences from this. She met all her developmental, cognitive, and social milestones on time. It was reported that she did well in school academically, made friends easily, and interacted in several extracurricular activities to include yearbook and cheerleading. After graduating from high school she began working in a bank, as her family did not have enough money to send her to college. She was married 5 years ago and has 2 children, ages 1 year and 3 years. Mrs. Smith did not return to work after the birth of her first child. One week prior to her family bringing her to the emergency room Mrs. Smith went to her primary care physician complaining of dizziness and trouble sleeping. She also reported to him that she has been feeling “down in the dumps” and that she was a failure as a mother and wife. Her doctor made her an appointment with a therapist for the following week. Before she could attend the appointment though, her family brought her to the emergency room due to her “odd behavior.”

Four months prior, Mrs. Smith had left her husband and moved in with her mother and father. Shortly after she moved back home with her mother and father, her brother was in a car accident and was seriously injured, and the man she had been dating went to jail on a drug charge. About a month after she moved home, her family began to notice a deterioration in her ability to take care of herself, including making her own meals and bathing. This culminates in the police finding her wandering about a mile from her home. She is unable to tell them who she is or how she got there. On that day she is brought to the hospital in a very agitated state and reports to the hospital staff that voices are telling her to kill herself and her husband. Mrs. Smith is hospitalized and treated and discharged 3 days later to begin outpatient treatment. Three months later she is brought to the hospital by her family. She reports at this time that she has been experiencing anxiety, insomnia, delusions, and auditory hallucinations during the past 3 weeks. On further investigation, she reveals that the hallucinations and delusions have been occurring for the past 3 months, but she was worried she would get readmitted to the hospital, and so she did not want to share this with her outpatient therapist. She describes that she thinks others are out to get her and that she is getting messages from the television. She reports that she can hear others talking about her but when she looks no one is there.

Mrs. Smith’s mother also reports that about 3 weeks ago her daughter started to go on frequent shopping sprees. At first this made her mother happy, as she thought her daughter was coming out of the “funk” she had been in. But her mother reports that Mrs. Smith also had an overabundance of energy and had difficulty sleeping in the evening, often pacing the floor. About 3 days before this hospital admission, she became irritable and was talking about how the teacher at the college she was attending was “out to get her”. On returning home from school she reported that she heard God talking to her and that voices were discussing her, accompanied by the feeling that someone was touching her although no one was there. She slept for only 1 or 2 hours on the nights prior to being admitted to the hospital. Instead she would sing loudly, dance, and recite Scripture.

During this second admission, she is irritable and hyperactive, displays a flight of ideas, and talks nonstop. She also believes she can heal others with her thoughts.

Case Study 2 is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module/Week 6.

Follow the example below as you complete your Case Study assignment. You will have 3 major areas to your case study response: (1) key issues, (2) diagnostic impressions, and (3) treatment recommendations. This assignment does need an APA-formatted title page, and you are required to cite the sources for the treatment recommendations and include a reference page. It should be 3–4 pages for content. The case study assignment is an opportunity for you to think through a clinical case, identify and prioritize key issues involved, consider and clarify relevant diagnostic issues, and formulate treatment recommendations that are most likely to be helpful to the client.

1. Key Issues

   1. List in order of importance the key issues you believe are involved in the case study, as if you were the client’s counselor. Provide a rationale for the order in which you prioritized issues. What are the most important features to you, and why?

   2. Link your rationale to what you believe outcomes of treatment should be for this client. How will your order of priority contribute to a successful outcome for the client?

1. Diagnostic Impressions

   1. Based on the information provided in the case study, use the current version of the DSM to accurately diagnose the type(s) of disorder(s) involved. Refer to specific diagnostic criteria when presenting your impressions. What category could this be in? What disorder in that category does this appear to be and why? Provide rationale for diagnosis, giving consideration to differential diagnostic considerations. In other words, what disorders in this category or other closely related categories were considered? Why could this not be any of those disorders?

   2. Be sure to consider other disorders in addition to the main disorder. Is there more than one diagnosis? Provide rationale for diagnosing any additional disorders.

1. Treatment Recommendations (cite sources in this section)

   1. List your recommendations (e.g., 1., 2., 3., etc.) so that you can clearly delineate what you believe will be of most help to your client. Consider recommendations that will be motivating to your client and reflective of a collaborative approach.

   2. Be sure to consider the biopsychosociospiritual aspects of the case. Make sure your recommendations are relevant to the case, able to be implemented by the client, and have some basis of support from professional literature—include academic sources here (2–3).

In 250 words or more please address the following:

1. Examine the relationship between advances in technology and the responsibilities of global citizenship

2. Describe how technology has changed the way in which people pursue knowledge and how they                 address social concerns.

3. Assess the challenges and benefits of a technical and global community, and recognize the impact of           technological and global influences in your life

Frederick Douglass 

1.  Frederick Douglass is very detailed in his description of Mr. Plummer. Why?

2.  Why might a slave be willing to die rather than submit to a cruel master or overseer?

3. How does Douglass cope with the cold with only a shirt to wear? Answer this question and then record at least 3 other details in Chapters 3–5 about the living conditions during his childhood.

4.  Why might a white person resort to violence quickly?

5.  What is Douglass’s hope, and why does he have the hope?

Answer:

Write a paper of 2 pgs regarding the similarities and differences observed in the terminology used as well as the possible reasons for these similarities/differences. Use the Week 1 readings as references as well as your discussion in the Main Forum. 1. Your own attitudes toward sexuality. 2. Your parent’s attitudes toward sexuality. 3. Society’s attitudes toward sexuality. 4. Your upbringing. 5. Your own comfort level with sexual topics. 6. What you already know about human sexuality. 7. What you would like to learn in this course