For this discussion, consider the following case vignette:

Susie is an 8-year-old Asian American girl; the youngest child in a family of four older siblings. Her parents are both high school teachers. When Susie was 5 years old, she was hospitalized for three weeks for a serious illness. Since that time, she has been in good health.

Susie is extremely shy and avoids situations in which she needs to interact with new people or large groups. She worries about making mistakes in her schoolwork and becomes extremely anxious when taking tests. Sometimes, she becomes so nervous that her heart races; she begins to tremble and has difficulty breathing. Susie is also afraid of the dark and does not want to be alone in her room at night. She often requires the presence of one of her parents or older sisters until she falls asleep.

In your discussion post:

1. Take the perspective of a theorist from each of the three models of abnormality—biological, psychological, and sociocultural—and briefly explain how you would view the factors leading to Susie’s presenting behaviors.
2. Describe an integrated approach for understanding Susie’s symptoms of anxiety (avoidance, worry, nervousness, and fearfulness) using Figure 2.12 as a model. Consider how biological, psychological, developmental, systems, and social factors would interact to cause anxiety in Susie.

 

Case Study II  – The Press Conference as Critical Incident 

However skillful we are with framing, at times we are apt to go “off message.” That is, under stress and in times of crisis, we may fail to communicate our best thoughts, self-image or regard for others. Leaders are especially vulnerable to go “off message” when meeting the press. Reporters are seeking a story of dramatic interest for the public. If a leader is not properly prepared for such moments, the leader’s failure may become “the story.” Press encounters require delicate framing and human sensitivity. As such, they provide excellent opportunities to learn about the art of framing in highly pressurized situations.

To begin your case study, select a televised press conference that involves a business, charity or political leader. The kind of conference to select is illustrated by Fairhurst’s (pp. 2-14) discussion of Robert E. Murray’s response to a Utah mine crisis. Consider as well her discussion of Hillary Clinton’s Pakistan encounter (pp. 127-131).  View the selected conference and, where possible, obtain a transcript. Write a 5-7 page evaluation on how well the leader communicated his or her message, image and relationship to an audience.

Use these questions to guide your analysis:

 

• How well does the leader enact, or fail to enact, Fairhurst’s “Rules of Reality Construction?”
• In your view, does the leader marshal the best “Cultural Discourses” for his or her cause?
• Does the leader seem well “primed” for the occasion?
• How well does the leader use language forms discussed by Fairhurst (p.93)?
• One cannot stay on message, if one lacks a message. Does the leader give evidence of having a vision and mission? Does he or she repeat the “master frame” sufficiently?
• Does the leader effectively maintain emotional regulation?
• Does the leader create audience rapport?

 

Requirements:

 

1. In a two to three paragraph introduction, provide the context for the press conference including:

• Sponsoring organization
• Speaker with a brief introduction if possible
• Intended audience
• Purpose and intent of message
• A link to press conference video and possible transcript should be included in the appendix.

In 4 to 6 pages, analysis the communication strategies based on synthesis of the course readings and other resources or references. Use the guiding questions as possible approaches to the analysis.

• Discuss how well the leader communicated the message
• Discuss how well the leader constructed an image
• Discuss how well the leader created and relationship to an audience.

In a 2 to 3 paragraph conclusion, reflect on what you have taken away from this analysis to apply in your communication strategies during a critical incident. The case study should include the following:

• APA Formatting including heading and subheadings.
• Graduate level writing free from grammar and mechanical errors.
• Citations from readings or other relevant resources to support information presented.
• The document should make best use of the technology.

 

For this assignment, you will analyze a research study that was published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. This study is typical of how communication research findings are presented in scholarly journals. It follows a set pattern that all research studies in the empirical tradition follow, so you will look more at its “structure” than its content.

Go to “The Impact of Language Variety and Expertise on Perceptions of Online Political Discussions.”

Write a 1,050-word essay in which you describe the study based on the major headings used in the article. Make sure your essay answers these questions:

* What is a literature review?  What does it do?

* What terms are defined?

* How many hypotheses are there?

* Where does the Research Methodology appear in the study?

* How many cases or subjects were there in the study?

* How many hypotheses were supported by the data?

* Where are the “conclusions” given in the research paper?

(You will likely be baffled by the statistical analyses used on the data collected by the researchers unless you have had a few courses in statistics. You can skip this section of the study.)

Finally, analyze what you learned about the study. Based on what you have read in our course content, was this study well designed? Why or why not?  Make sure to support all your claims with directly quoted, summarized and paraphrased material from your course resources that you have properly cited with APA-style in-text citations and end-of-text references.

Assignment 2: Required Assignment 1—Measuring Financial Health and Performance

In M2: Assignment 2, you identified specific ratios for a specific scenario at Compnet. In the scenario, you determined the ratios for a potential investment opportunity. These ratios will help you interpret the performance trends of Compnet and make appropriate investment and loan decisions.

In this assignment, you will analyze the scenario from M2: Assignment 2 in detail. You will calculate the ratios identified and compare your calculations with two other companies in competition with Compnet. You will create a PowerPoint presentation of your analysis. The components of this presentation are detailed below.

The two companies with which you will compare Compnet’s results are Electro Scientific (Stock Symbol: ESIO) and CTS Corp (Stock Symbol: CTS). By conducting an Internet search, you can find the companies’ current financial information and determine the trends in the industry. You can obtain the financial information of the two companies at the following links:

• Thomson Reuters www.reuters.com
• Yahoo Finance www.finance.yahoo.com
• MSN: Money www.money.msn.com
• The Wall Street Journal: Market Watch www.marketwatch.com
• Investor information at the company’s corporate Web site

Tasks:

1. Conduct a financial analysis using Excel:
   1. Calculate the ratios you identified in M2: Assignment 2 for Compnet and the other two companies. Click here to access the ratio calculator to calculate the ratios for the three companies. Save the document as AUO_MS6010_Ratio_Analysis_Lastname_Firstname.xls. Create the following three tabs in this document to represent the data for the three companies:
      • Compnet
      • ESIO
      • CTS
   2. On the basis of your calculations, compare Compnet with the two other companies and answer the following questions:
      • Do ESIO and CTS appear to be making effective financial decisions compared with Compnet? How does Compnet’s performance compare with that of the other two companies?
      • Is Compnet effectively using assets and debt compared with the other two companies? Why or why not?
      • If you could invest in only one of the three companies, would you invest in Compnet? Why or why not?

2. Create a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation that includes the following:
   1. A brief description of the scenario you are working with
   2. The ratios you identified for the scenario in M2: Assignment 2
   3. A comparison and summary of the financial positions of the three companies
   4. Your investment decision to invest in Compnet along with the rationale for that decision
   5. Speaker notes to include background information and points that you would communicate verbally in a presentation

Notes:

• You should prepare your presentation for an audience of fellow investors.
• Post questions, if any, for your instructor.

Submission Details:

Produce a 10–12 slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.ppt. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document will be named SmithJ_M3_A2.ppt. Use APA format to cite your sources.

 

 

PART I: Short Response Questions

 

 

 

Directions: Please answer each of the following questions and provide examples from the text, if applicable.  Each response should be at least two paragraphs in length composed of five to seven sentences and be written in complete sentences.

 

 

 

1.      List three guidelines to follow in order to avoid ethical lapses when conducting research.

 

 

 

2.      List the three major disadvantages of Internet search engines, then briefly describe other electronic research tools that overcome those shortcomings.

 

 

 

3.      Describe the elements of a formal business plan.

 

 

 

4.      Explain the three basic categories of analytical business reports and provide at least one example of each type.

 

 

 

5.      Describe the general function of internal proposals, and provide at least one example to illustrate.

 

 

 

6.      What four topics are commonly covered in the introduction to a business proposal?  Briefly explain each one.

 

 

 

7.      Briefly explain how a wiki can help teams and other groups, and describe at least three points wiki contributors should keep in mind to increase their effectiveness.

 

 

 

8.      Discuss six principles to keep in mind when designing visuals regarding the aesthetic and symbolic aspects of graphic art.

 

 

 

9.      Briefly explain the difference between descriptive titles and informative titles for visuals and provide an example of each.

 

 

 

10.    Describe six strategies (in addition to using the AIDA format) for strengthening your argument in business proposals.

 

 

 

 

 

PART II: Journal

 

 

 

Write a three page APA-formatted paper in which you describe a time in which a company that you either are familiar with personally or read about in case studies used graphics or charts to explain and communicate instead of writing.  What was the outcome?  Why would one select this method over formal business writing?  Explain and describe your viewpoint and cite at least two scholarly references.

The Topic:

 

The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?