Please address one of the following questions. Essays should be between two
and three pages long. If you quote or make direct references to your sources or
readings(and you should get into this habit), you must cite them by using footnotes,
endnotes, or parenthetical references. When you do use one of these forms, use
them correctly and be consistent. In Political Science two general sources on style
are accepted: The Chicago Manual of Style or Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual For
Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. The latter is highly
recommended. If you do not own a copy, you should obtain one. Make full use of
an introductory paragraph to set up your discussion, state your thesis or main
premise, and inform your reader of how you plan to support that thesis. Avoid use
of personal anecdotes, and be careful in your use of personal pronouns. There are
better ways to emphasize a point than I think, or I believe, or in my opinion. Of
course,it is your opinion, or what you think or believe, but why advertise that?
Couch your thesis in fact and your sources. Treat your essay as serious academic
writing. It is also a good idea to get into the habit of attaching a list of references or
a bibliography. Letter grades are given to each essay based on the following criteria:
assigned length, writing ability, organization (use of an introduction and conclusion)
content(details, grasp of core ideas as presented in the syllabus, lectures or focus in
the essay question), focus/use of an established thesis, critical thinking(ability to draw
a conclusion), and use of source materials(especially assigned readings)with proper
reference style
1. It is generally accepted that the Western Liberal Tradition really began with the
ancient Greeks, this seems to be especially true regarding the modern notion of politics.
What developments separated the Greeks from the kingdoms of Asia in this regard? How
did they see law, government, and the role of the individual, indeed. how did they define
2. It is well established that the founding fathers of the United States knew a great deal
about and indeed admired two ancient Greek states, Athens and Sparta, but it is also clear
they favored one over the other. Describe the systems of both of these states and explain
why the founding fathers liked one better than the other

Directions: Respond to one of the questions from the list provided below. The response must be 2-3 pages, however many words that might be, up to 1500, or, as one class said, not long, 12-point font – including all punctuation – and double-spaced. You must cite in accordance with a standard citation style and include a bibliography page. You must submit the essay to Safe Assign by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, October 1st, my first day of classes after I return from Vienna, in case there was any confusion about that.

What is the story of the Ring of Gyges? Do you find it persuasive? If not, why not?

Suppose Dr. Phil comes to you and tells you that many of the parents in his television audience are crying out for information on whether they should get a divorce or stay together for the sake of the children. His basic question is the following: When a marriage is not going well, is it better for the children if the parents get a divorce or if they stay together?

As background for this television show, Dr. Phil asks you to give him a research-based review of the literature. He asks you to provide him with some information on the following:
the effects of divorce on children
the effects on children of living in a two-parent home in which the parents’ marriage is of low quality
which factors need to be considered when comparing the two different options
For the purposes of this assignment, consider children between the ages of 6 and 10 (school age).

Finally, based on what you found out from your review of the literature, he asks you to take a position on which of the following is best for children in poor quality marriages:
The parents divorce.
The parents stay together for the sake of the children.
Dr. Phil intends to use your position to help him decide what to tell his television audience about whether they should get a divorce.

Your task is to write a paper that satisfies Dr. Phil’s request. As a psychologist, Dr. Phil has specifically asked that you base your position on research evidence, not your own opinions, feelings, or experiences. Make sure that you are very clear and explicit regarding exactly what advice you would give to Dr. Phil regarding what he should tell his television audience. Try not to let your own personal opinions and attitudes influence the advice you give to Dr. Phil.

Carefully and thoroughly document your position with reference to relevant research. Also consider what school-age children between the ages of 6 and 10 years are experiencing developmentally during this period of time. However, some of the information you will find may just refer to children in general (and not children of a particular age). Feel free to use that information.

Write a brief analysis of Pablo Goldstein’s “We Provide Meals that Are Completely Unaffordable and Unappealing to People Who Actually Live in this Neighbourhood,” published online in McSweeney’s. Discuss the ways in which the writer establishes the meaning of this piece, and “guides” (or tricks?) the reader into interpreting it in a particular way or ways. What exactly is Goldstein trying to communicate? How effectively is this managed?

You will not have space to provide a full introductory paragraph or conclusion, but your essay should nonetheless both “introduce” and “conclude” in a logical manner, and should show evidence of a logical structure that provides a scaffolding for your argument. You do not need any “apparatus” (i.e., bibliography or citations) for this exercise. For a little more guidance, you may wish to consult the Essay 1 Guidelines for this assignment. Also of some value are the course Essay Guidelines for Students, which include more detailed information (only some of which is applicable to this assignment) on essay writing.

It is well established that teenage drivers have higher accident rates than do older drivers. One of the reasons is that they have particularly high rates of driving while intoxicated. Currently, there is considerable educational information available at schools, in the media, from parents, and from other sources describing how dangerous it is to drive after drinking alcohol. Nevertheless, despite this awareness of the risk of driving while drunk, many teenagers still engage in this behavior.

Why would a teenager engage in a behavior that he or she knows places him or her at high risk for a driving accident? One might think that the rate of driving while intoxicated would be close to 0, given how strongly teenagers are advised not to do so. A school principal comes to you, as a young human development scholar, and asks for some ideas about why drunk driving occurs and what the school can do about it. In this paper, use the theories covered in Chapter 1 of your Human Development textbook to consider why driving while intoxicated occurs and to provide advice to the school principal.

To address the principal’s request, analyze why drunk driving occurs using three of the following theories from your textbook, lesson, and two outside references:

Freud’s psychosexual theory
Erikson’s psychosocial theory
classical conditioning (Pavlov)
operant conditioning (Skinner)
social learning theory
Piaget’s theory
Bronfenbrenner’s theory
As part of your analysis, be sure to incorporate a brief review of each theory, including its basic purpose, its major claims, and, finally and most importantly, how the theory would explain why teenagers drive intoxicated when they know the risks of that behavior.

For each of the three theories, you should include the following:

Its basic purpose.
A brief description of the theory’s major claims. For example, a few of Freudian theory’s major claims include that personality consists of an id, ego, and superego and that much of our behavior is caused by unconscious motivations. A few of operant conditioning’s major claims are that behavior that is reinforced is more likely to occur again and that behavior that is not reinforced will be less likely to occur in the future.
How the theory could be used to help us understand why teenagers may drink and drive when they know it is risky to do so.
Then, in a concluding section, state which theory you believe does the best job of helping us understand why driving while intoxicated occurs. Most importantly, defend your choice in terms of why this theory is better than the others in explaining this phenomenon. Finally, provide advice to the school principal regarding how to encourage people to be more service oriented.

Prepare a written report of no more than 3-4 pages that summarizes the research and
analysis undertaken below. Your focus is to provide a clear synopsis of the material
presented, as well as your perspective from your research undertaken in The Exchange
assignment. The purpose of this report is to educate board directors of a local bank as
part of a new board training initiative.
Background
1.) Read the article: “The Yield Curve as a Leading Indicator: Some Practical
Issues.”
This reading, “The Yield Curve as a Leading Indicator: Some Practical Issues”, discusses
the ability of the yield curve to predict the probability of future recessions and
addresses a number of issues related to making real-time forecasts based on the yield
curve, such as how best to define recession periods, measure the yield curve spread,
and interpret changes in the spread.
Begin by reading to define and comprehend the following terms used in the reading
including:
• Yield curve
• Real-time forecast
• Yield curve inversion
• Term spread
• Recession
Then, consider the following issues and questions:
1. Why do economists and financial market participants keep their eyes on the yield
curve and pay special attention to yield curve inversions? What distinction do
Estrella and Trubin make between empirical research and theoretical research?
Why are both types of research important for their study of the yield curve as a
leading indicator?
2. How can monetary policy cause the yield curve to flatten or invert? Will changes
in investor expectations as a result of monetary policy reinforce or weaken the
policy’s effect on the yield curve? Explain.
3. How do Estrella and Trubin recommend measuring the steepness of the yield
curve? Why do they recommend this particular method?
4. What do Estrella and Trubin conclude about the importance of each of the
following for the effectiveness of the yield curve as a predictor of future
recessions?
• the size of a yield curve inversion
• the duration of a yield curve inversion
• the source of a yield curve inversion: an increase in short-term interest rates
or a decrease in long-term rates
Source: “The Yield Curve as a Leading Indicator: Some Practical Issues.” Arturo
Estrella and Mary R. Trubin, Current Issues in Economics and Finance 12(5), Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, July/August 2006
2.) Also, review the attached research article from economist Ed Yardeni which is
focused on the U.S. yield curve and the current environment.
Questions to consider…
• Why do we care about the yield curve and what can it help to tell us? Why does it
matter for financial markets, the economy, banks / financial institutions and
consumers?
• What trends are evident?
• What risks and opportunities are inherent in the data?
• How will bank consumers be affected?
• What are other economists and market watchers saying about the topic currently?
• What does it all mean? What is likely to occur with the yield curve?
• What recommendations do you have for the board? What should the bank do?
• What further research should be done?
• Has the yield curve looked this way previously and if so, what did it mean then for
the financial markets, the banking sector and the economy?
• How does this discussion fit with a look at what has happened to bond spreads?
• What additional questions do you have on this topic?

Discussion Question: McMinn discussed guidelines when confronting sin during a counseling experience and the lectures reviewed some factors as well. Your thread needs to be answered in two parts:

First, what would be the challenges (based on the lectures) of confronting clearly wrong behavior/ “sin” in the life of your client if you were working in a secular human services setting? Draw in concepts from the lecture to support your position. How might the approach from psychology make it difficult to confront clearly wrong behavior (worldview and perspective on attribution, for instance)?

Second, assume that you counseled in a human services setting in which you could integrate spirituality and a Christian worldview. Review the following brief “case” and answer the following questions:
Based on the lectures and McMinn, why can’t a sensitive Christian counselor just automatically and quickly confront obvious sin in the life of the counselee?
Of the cautions mentioned by the course materials, which ones do you think counselors most often overlook?
From what you learned from the lectures/McMinn, how would you best address the clearly sinful behavior of this client?
Case Study

Jim is a client in your counseling center, who you have seen for about 8 months. He has been cycled through several other counselors and one described him as a “basket case.” Jim has several children, each with a different mother. He casually mentions that he rarely sees them, and since he can’t hold down a job, he provides no financial support. Some of his children are now in foster care. He engages in unprotected sex on a weekly basis. Typical of many of your clients, Jim drinks heavily and abuses street drugs. He comes to counseling only because it is required for him to receive the tangible support services of your agency. You are at the point in your counseling with Jim that you’d like to “let him have it” but your counseling training did not include that as a valid counseling technique. There is obviously much more to Jim’s story but suffice it to say that he is repeating many of the behaviors he learned from his parents’ dysfunctional parenting.

While you are sharing opinion here, you must demonstrate informed opinion by supporting your points with references to the course materials.

Nowadays, there is this big question that has been going around the country; Is college actually worth the time or money? To be honest, It is really hard to answer this question in this modern system. There are multiple factors that make people question both sides. The student loans, economy, the financial situation of the families, the future of the student, the opportunities given to graduates and non-graduates. Furthermore, there is a contradiction that leads us to believe that college actually might not be worth it. On one hand, without a bachelor degree, you usually cannot get anywhere in life with this system built by corporations and depending mostly on the money. On the other hand, people who are skilled and have the passion for what they do, can get to places some of the college students can never get. For these people, college can even be an obstacle, like required classes that waste the students time or financially force them to take student loans. For others who are a little bit more confused about what to do, it is a good opportunity to figure out what they want to do. Regardless of both arguments, every year education prices are getting higher just like the student loan rates. It is undeniable that education is a necessity for the future of this country. Although this may be true, seems like the system we’re getting it is a profit plan of the government and may be a waste of time for certain people.

Follow these steps to the letter to achieve a high grade on this assignment.

1. Look for an issue. Do some news reading, find a video, or address an everyday event or item that can be thought of argumentatively. Remember that an argument is literally any aspect of the world which is being used to lead you into a particular belief or action. You can write on anything you want, in fact, without any limits.

2. State your issue in the form of a question. This forms the reason for the paper. An argumentative essay always seeks to answer a question. The issue question (IQ) should be stated at the very top of the paper. It’s the very first thing I should see.
State your answer in one sentence. If you formulated your question well, then this will be easy. If your question was confused, then you’ll have trouble with this step. This sentence is the conclusion of the outline and should be the third line of the modus ponens argument. It is also the “B” Statement in the outline.

3. Complete crafting the argument in the form of modus ponens. You should now have three lines (exactly!). Example:

If I am going to the movies, I will need to bring money.
I am going to the movies.
I will need to bring money.

4. Do any necessary research. Ask yourself whether the argument that you have crafted relies on premises that are factual in nature. Are you claiming that something is true about the world? If so, then you should support this factual claim with good references. Whenever possible, double-source all such factual claims. Make sure, however, that you are only trying to source factual claims. It does no good to provide references for ethical claims. The ethics of the paper — the “shoulds” — are your own, and no one can argue them for you.

5. Write your first paragraph. This paragraph will support the first premise. Be very precise here. Ask yourself what the first premise of your argument is saying, and then support that claim with specific reasons. Each sentence should be on point and there should be no wasted language. Avoid, for example, saying how controversial the topic is or how long people have been arguing about it.

6. Write your second paragraph. This paragraph will support the second premise. The same principles apply as in the first paragraph.
Check your word count. You should be up to at least 350 words and no more than 450 words for the outline + paragraphs. These are strict word count limits

An essay of 2 pages (minimum 5 paragraphs) about how an idea or event from any article from this list (https://lgray61.wixsite.com/comp102/authors-readings) parallels an event or realization in your own life. Possible situations include but are not limited to these: a time when you made an atypical choice (Frost), a time when you realized how you treated others (O’Conner), a time when you experienced a departure from being too busy in a complicated life (Thoreau), a time when church made you confused and sad (Hudges), and so on.

You must reveal the outcome, good or bad
You may use “I”
Theses statement as the last sentence in introductory paragraph
MUST have at least 2 references to the chosen text, quoted directly
Example for thesis statement: At that time in my life, much like young Langston Hughes in Salvation, I felt confused and dismayed because of negative experience at church.