Assignment: Independent Decisions.

Assignment: Independent Decisions.

Assignment: Independent Decisions.

independent decisions. It also can allow for experimentation with a variety of behaviors, some of which are not very healthy. A large national study involving more than 90,000 adolescents in Grades 6 to 12 found strong differences between teens who regularly ate dinner with a parent and those who did not (Fulkerson et al., 2006). In particular, teens who spent less dinner time with parents showed significantly higher rates of smoking, drinking, depression, violence, and school problems, even after controlling for family support and family communication. The direction of causality is difficult to pinpoint here because it may be that troubled teens simply choose to spend less time at home. However, other studies have also documented the importance of parent involvement as a buffer against unhealthy behaviors during the teenage years (Cookston & Finlay, 2006).

This point leads us to a third feature of adolescence—risk taking. Today’s teens face tough decisions regarding a number of dangerous behaviors such as smoking, drug use, and sexual activity. And there is no doubt that adolescence is a time of experimentation with reckless activities (Santelli, Carter, Orr, & Dittus, 2009). For example, 1.4 million American youth under the age of 18 started smoking cigarettes for the first time in 2010 (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2010). Furthermore, a recent national survey revealed that 47% of 9th through 12th graders reportedly have had sexual intercourse (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). The same study found that 17% of the teens had carried a weapon (i.e., gun, knife, or club) during the 30 days preceding the survey, 39% had drunk alcohol, 23% had used marijuana, and 40% of sexually active students had not used a condom (see Figure 1.13). Moreover, 24% had ridden in a vehicle in the last 30 days that was driven by someone who had been drinking.

Some of this risk taking may be a function of what scholars have labeled “adolescent egocentrism” (Elkind, 1967, 1985; Schwartz, Maynard, & Uzelac, 2008). In particular, teenagers often seem preoccupied with their own thoughts and appearance and assume others are equally interested in their adolescent experiences. This view of the self as unique and exceptional can in turn lead to a feeling of invulnerability to negative consequences (Greene, Krcmar, Walters, Rubin, & Hale, 2000). In other words, self-focused teens think they are different from everyone else and that tragedies occurring to others “won’t happen to me.” Indeed, studies show that teens routinely underestimate their own personal chances of getting into a car accident compared with the risks they assume others face (Finn & Bragg, 1986). Similar misjudgments have been found among

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

• The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

  Discussion Questions (DQ)

  • Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
  • Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
  • One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
  • I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

  Weekly Participation

  • Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
  • In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
  • Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
  • Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

  APA Format and Writing Quality

  • Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
  • Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
  • I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

  Use of Direct Quotes

  • I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
  • As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
  • It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

   

  LopesWrite Policy

  • For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
  • Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
  • Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
  • Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

  Late Policy

  • The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
  • Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
  • If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
  • I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
  • As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

  Communication

  • Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
    • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
    • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.