Philosophical Viewpoints on Social Welfare Policies

Discussion Board InstructionsThe learning theories, upon which this course is based, are actualized in the Discussion Board Forums. At the beginning of each module/week, you will choose a key term to research. You will be required to write a thread of at least 400 words on the topic, complete with page references and specifics to document the response, and post it to the corresponding Discussion Board Forum. Correct use of English and grammar are required.Additionally, you will be required to post a substantive written reply of a minimum of 200 words to at least 3 classmates’ Discussion Board threads.To complete your thread:Select a key term from assigned chapters.Terms cannot be duplicated; therefore, reserve it as a topic on the Discussion Board Forum by posting a thread with only the term in the subject line. Topics can be reserved beginning at 12:01 a.m. (ET) on Monday of Modules/Weeks 1, 3, 5, and 7. Topic reservations posted earlier will be deleted.Conduct an Internet search to find and read 3 recent articles that relate to the term.Select the 1 article that you wish to discuss.Post a new thread that contains the following information in the following format, using the headers so that you ensure that all aspects of the assignment are completed as required. Failure to follow these instructions will result in a 1-point deduction.Definition: Give a brief definition of the key term followed by the APA reference for the term; this does not count in the 400-word requirement.Summary: Give a brief summary of the selected article, in your own words.Discussion:Give a brief discussion of how the article relates to the selected chapter key term. This gives you the opportunity to add value to the discussion by sharing your experiences, thoughts, and opinions. Draw your peers into discussion of topics by asking questions. This is the most important part of the posting!Include the complete URL of each article (use a persistent link for articles from the Liberty University Online Library) in APA-reference format of each article read. These do not count toward the 400-word requirement.Threads are due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the assigned module/week.Click here for assistance with APA formatting.To complete your replies:Read the postings of your peers and the articles which are referenced (This is why it is imperative that the articles be accessible via working URL links). Expect to spend some time each day reviewing all threads and replies, even those in which you are not involved.Write at least 200 words to 3 or more classmates’ threads. You should expect to answer questions posed within each discussion thread. Student interaction is key to success in this course.Replies are due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) Monday of every assigned module/week, except Module/Week 8, in which assignments must be completed by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday. GradingConsult the accompanying document to see a rubric for how your instructor will grade this assignment. Note that late postings will receive zero credit. Also, any form of plagiarism, including cutting and pasting, will result in zero points for the entire assignment, plus a required 500-word written paper on the topic of plagiarism in order to receive credit for this assignment.TipsArticles may be found in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, the Economist, or any other reputable website that deals with business. You will be performing academic research, which utilizes reliable sources of information from reputable magazines or newspapers that are available in electronic format or hard copy.Sites that are absolutely not acceptable are: WikipediaAbout.comCommercial sites (usually a consultant’s web page, but may take other forms)Blogs (be careful, some look very convincing)Education sites (these usually do not contain articles, but rather lecture notes or student papers) You can utilize the Liberty University Online Library portal for research, but note that some articles may not offer persistent links. If you utilize articles found in LexisNexis or other sites that are behind security walls, you will need to make the articles available to classmates by copying and pasting into a Word document and attaching the document to the thread. If this is done, be sure that you include the APA-formatted references included at the bottom of the Discussion Board posting. This is easily accomplished by saving all articles to a folder and then making the folder a zip file. The zip file can then be attached to the Discussion Board submission. Here is a link to the Liberty University Online Library. The availability of the articles that you research regarding the topic is important because classmates must be able to read the articles to form their own opinions and gain further insight into the topic. Students need to understand not merely the key terms but also how to research reliable sources. This is not only to further their education, but also for their professional use.Discussion Board ExampleGroupthinkDefinition: Organizational Behavior notes, “Groupthink is the tendency of highly cohesive groups to value consensus at the price of decision quality” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2008, p. 257).Summary: The article entitled “The Turn to Online Research is Narrowing the Range of Modern Scholarship, a New Study Suggests” written by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow discusses how the internet has made accessing research and other things on the internet extremely easy. By using search engines this has caused groupthink for many students conducting research. (Instructor Note: This is a shorter summary. Do not feel like you have to limit yourself to this length in the summary section.)Discussion: The internet has made performing research for students a matter of seconds. Students used to have to go to the library and conduct research out of textbooks and other publications but now by simply typing your subject in a search engine a variety of choices are at your fingertips. “Millions of journal articles are available online, enabling scholars to find material they never would have encountered at their university libraries” (Tuhus-Dubrow). A recent study by James Evans, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, has “determined that as more journal issues came online news papers referenced a relatively smaller pool of articles which tended to be more recent, at the expense of older and more obscure work” (Tuhus-Dubrow).The internet just like everything else has it costs as well as benefits. Just like the article states the internet has started to dominate people’s lives. People rely on the internet for everything for both work and personal use. “Our daily experience- what we watch, listen to, and read; the people we date and the friendships we maintain—is increasingly shaped by the vast information landscape of the internet, and how it is filtered for personal use” (Tuhus-Dubrow).The internet is considered to be a new form of groupthink because when searching for articles students are not highly selective in the choices they make and they tend to pick one of the few search choices that comes up. Also, the other alternatives of research are now not used due to the convenience of the internet. “Search engines must present results in some kind of order and most sites rely on tools that rank results primarily in two ways: in reverse chronological order and by popularity” (Tuhus-Dubrow). If a search engine filters results by popularity then this is groupthink because others are succumbing to the will of the group by choosing the same articles that show up first as results.Do you feel that internet search engines cause groupthink? If so, elaborate on why you think this. Do you feel that this is why many professors at Liberty University want students to not choose the same discussion board topics? I personally feel that the reason professors want us to chose different topics is so that we will not reflect the same views and chose the same articles which would therefore be groupthink.ReferencesAdler, S. (2009). At davos, beware the tide of groupthink. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/feb2009/db2009021_878209.htmMcShane, S., & Von Glinow, M.A. (2013). Organizational behavior (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Mulrine, A. (2008). The army trains a skeptics corps to battle groupthink. US News. Retrieved from: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/world/2008/05/15/the-army-trains-a-skeptics-corps-to-battle-groupthink.htmlTuhus-Dubrow, R. (2008). Group think: The turn to online research is narrowing the range of modern scholarship, a new study suggests. Boston.com. Retrieved from: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/11/23/group_think/