Getting Started

Diversities including race, ethnicity, disability, immigration and refugee issues, gender, sexual orientation, poverty, and other factors provide the macro social worker great opportunity for helping communities or organizations gain greater access to justice and resources. Community or organizational change efforts can help diverse communities and populations at risk assert control over their lives.

There may be contemporary social justice issues related to racial, social, and economic justice in your community or organization. These can present various future opportunities for community or social action. In this activity, you will discuss your reaction to several contemporary community or organizational social welfare issues. Additionally, you will reflect on how these social justice issues are relevant given what you have learned about demographics and diversities in your community.

Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to:

• Explore the impact diversity and difference have in working with communities and organizations. (PO 2)
• Explore injustice and oppression within the social environment at local and global levels. (PO 3)

Resources

• Video: TEDx: Problem-Oriented Policing: Where Social Work Meets Law Enforcement
• Article: Black Lives Matter: Differential Mortality and the Racial Composition of the U.S. Electorate, 1970–2004

Background Information

The TEDx video and the Rodriguez and colleagues article highlight how structural and institutional racism affect which at-risk populations can fully engage in community or organizational change efforts, as well as in broader political change. The social stratification theoretical framework presented by Rodriguez and colleagues notes that because at-risk people often belong to different socioeconomic groups, live in different physical spaces, and are exposed to various psychological and physiological stressors, they often can’t fully engage in community or organizational change efforts. Macro social workers must consider these barriers.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
2. Watch the video, “TEDx: Problem-Oriented Policing: Where Social Work Meets Law Enforcement” and/or read the Problem-Oriented Policing Transcript.pdf file.
3. Read the article, “Black Lives Matter: Differential Mortality and the Racial Composition of the U.S. Electorate, 1970–2004.”
4. Review the assessment criteria in the grading rubric below to understand the grading guidelines for this discussion.
5. Navigate to the threaded discussion and respond to the following prompts. Your initial post should be 200 to 300 words long.
   1. Based on what you observed in the assigned video and reading, what are your thoughts on the program discussed.
   2. The program in the video is “thinking outside the box”, what is an example of a social action opportunity in your community that would improve understanding among different (diverse) populations (not the intervention you have been writing about in your assignments)
   3. Reflect on how these social welfare issues affect your community.

1. This assignment provides you with an opportunity to complete three major items: a cover letter, a resume, and a professional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. The cover letter should be a three-paragraph memo that has been tailored to a specific job that interests you. The resume should adhere to the steps outlined in Chapter 14 (see page 206). The details within the resume must be current with all relevant and up-to-date information. The SWOT analysis should address your professional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Bullet points are acceptable for the resume and SWOT analysis; however, they must be detailed. Again, the cover letter must include three paragraphs. Also, the resume must be at least one page, and the SWOT analysis must thoroughly address each of the four parts of the analysis. Be sure to have the major items in the proper sequence: first, the cover letter; then, the resume; and finally, the SWOT analysis. Format each major item as you wish; however, be sure the details are professional and legible. Save all three within one word-processing document (e.g., Word) before submitting the file in Blackboard for grading.

2. This question involves analyzing the advantages of an organization that offers quality services that are related to human resources. Specifically, think about two major areas of a performance evaluation: (a) quality and (b) remaining positive throughout. Use your critical-thinking skills to describe some techniques that you could apply toward quality and positive service while conducting a performance evaluation for an employee. Your response must be at least 200 words in length.

3. This question provides you with an opportunity to analyze the advantages of an organization that offers quality customer service. First, describe what it means to you to provide quality customer service for both internal customers and also external customers. Second, use your critical-thinking skills to explain how quality customer service can impact an organization’s entire culture. Your response must be at least 200 words in length.

Discussion 2: What Makes a Good Interview?

The intent of a qualitative interview is to encourage, elicit, and illuminate the interviewee’s experience in rich, thick detail. Consider that most interviewees will only have a general idea of your research goals and the depth you need for analysis. Therefore, your presentation of the interview questions and engagement with the interviewee are the tools that guide the process.

As you consider your interview, think about:

1. Asking of questions to ask to encourage stories and examples
2. How to “reframe” questions to reduce ambiguity and bias
3. What you can do to make the interviewee at ease
4. What you can do to build rapport and trust

For this Discussion, you will examine the characteristics of a good qualitative interview.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the chapters of the Rubin and Rubin course text and consider the characteristics of a good qualitative interview.
• Review the Yob and Brewer interview questions in Appendix A at the end of the article and consider how interview guides are used in research.
• Review the Interview Guide Instructions and the Interview Guide Example found in this week’s Learning Resources and use these documents to guide you during your interview.

Post your explanation of the characteristics of a good qualitative interview. Also include what makes a good interview guide. Use the interview questions from Yob and Brewer’s interview guide to support your post.

After reading, “China vs. the U.S.: The case for second place”, examine how China’s rise to power compares to other cases in which a rising nation has challenged an existing superpower, such as the American challenge to British hegemony a century ago. Describe the political obstacles that China may face in integrating with an international order that has been dominated by western democracies. Evaluate whether the U.S. should attempt to contain China’s rise through containment or engagement.

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.

Overview: An effective presentation includes a summary of the main points in the presentation slides, but the presenter adds additional content to unpack each
point on the slides. This is where speaker notes are particularly useful. Some presenters have the capability of memorizing the details and being cued by the
outline in the presentation, or even speaking off the cuff. However, for the purposes of this project, you will document your speaker notes to accompany the
presentation slides you will develop in Week 8. This step will help you consider the outline of your presentation and the content you will want to include on each
slide.
Prompt: Your presentation will have accompanying speaker notes to fill in the details you would include in the presentation, but not necessarily include in the
presentations slides. Your speaker notes can either be bulleted points for each step of your presentation or more developed paragraphs to help you deliver the
presentation. This part is up to you; either way, these notes should contain substantial details to address each of the required parts of your presentation.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Provide a brief overview of your artifacts, theme, and thesis statement. How are they situated within the domain of the humanities?
II. Explain how the theme, as it is expressed in the cultural artifacts, and thesis statement impact the audience. In other words, how is the theme relevant
to members of the audience? Why should the audience care about your thesis statement? Support your response with specific examples from your
exploration document.
III. Describe the evidence from subjective and objective cultural analyses that you have to support your conclusions about the impact of the theme and
cultural artifacts on you personally and on your audience. Support your response with specific examples from your exploration document.
IV. Explain why the theme and cultural artifacts are important to you personally. In other words, why did you select these artifacts to study? Why did you
select your theme, especially if there are other themes that could apply?
V. Explain how studying the humanities can give you both a personal and professional advantage. In other words, what is the benefit of studying the
humanities?
VI. Explain why the humanities are important to society. In other words, what do the humanities tell us about our own culture and experiences? How do
the humanities impact us? Support your response with specific examples from your exploration document and your own personal and professional
experiences.
VII. Communicate your message in a way that is tailored to your specific audience. For instance, you could consider your vocabulary, your audience’s
potential current humanities knowledge or lack thereof, and what is specifically important to the audience.