Week One Assignments

1. Read chapter one in An introduction to human services
2. Read chapter one in Introduction to human services: Cases and applications
3. Answer the discussion board question by Wednesday and midnight and respond to a minimum of two fellow students by Sunday at midnight.
   • When you think about human services, what images first come to your mind?  Who do you think typically uses human services? What stigmas are attached to using human services?

4.     Complete the following homework assignments, due in the next class or by class time (note they can also be submitted through Blackboard below). From Introduction to human services: Cases and applications, complete Introduction (p. 2, 10 points), Exercise: What about you? (p. 3, 5 points), Exercise: You and Human Services (pp. 4-5, 8 points).

Complete one of the Blackboard assignments  below, to be submitted by midnight on Sunday.      

Week One BB Assignment

Option One:

Visit the website for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (If you can’t get there through this link, the website is: http://hhs.gov/). Pick one of the specific areas of information on services and provide three interesting items that you learned from that information, and then correctly reference that information.  For example, you could click on the link for safety and wellness, then click on Immunizations/Vaccines, and then click on Childhood Immunization and share the following information:

Many diseases, such as measles, polio and tetanus, are now at their lowest levels in history (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2008, ¶ 1). 

If you don’t get a vaccine, you will actually have to experience the illness to build the immunity to the germ that causes that disease (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2008, ¶ 2).   However, children who have a serious allergy to eggs should not be given the MMR vaccine (Family doctor.org, 2008, Section: Are there any reasons my child should not be vaccinated, ¶ 1).

Note that I went to the familydoctor.org site through the links on the other site but it is a separate site so it is a separate citation. It is also important to note that I reworded what I learned –because, as we know, copying word for word does not indicate learning).

Reference:

Familydoctor.org. (2008).  Childhood vaccines: What they are and why your child needs them. Retrieved December 2, 2008 from: http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/vaccines/028.printerview.html.

U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2008). Medline plus: Childhood immunization. Retrieved December 3, 2008 from: 

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childhoodimmunization.html.

Option Two:

Look through the newspaper or a legitimate news website.  Count the number of stories on the front page of the newspaper of the homepage of the legitimate news website.  Answer the following questions, and make sure to reference correctly.

1.     How many of the stories deal with problems that might be addressed in a human services setting?

2.     Are any specific human services agencies mentioned?  If so, which ones are mentioned?

3.     After reading this newspaper page or website, would you have a positive or negative or neutral impression of human services? Explain the reasons for your answer.

For example, I looked at the homepage for WRAL.com on December 3, 2008.  I counted six stories that directly involved human services.  My answers to the assignment would be as follows:

1.     4.

2.     The Wake and Durham County health departments were mentioned related to giving flu shots, the Lubbock State School was mentioned in relationship to abuses in Texas care facilities, and a North Carolina Youth Program was mentioned in relationship to an award being given by President Bush.

3.     I would have both a positive and negative impression.  If I had only seen the story on the Lubbock State School, I would have a decidedly negative impression but the other stories balanced that out as they described services that seem truly helpful.

References:

Carlton, J. (2008, Dec. 3). Texas time warp? State criticized for mental care. Retrieved December 3, 2008 from WRAL.com homepage: http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/4071337/.

Chou, R. (2008, Dec. 2). Bush honors N.C. youth program. Retrieved December 3, 2008 from WRAL.com homepage: http://www.wral.com/news/local/noteworthy/story/4057191/.

Mask, A. (2008, Dec. 1).  Flu shots are for adults, too. Retrieved December 3, 2008 fromWRAL.com homepage: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/story/4057336/

WRAL.com. (2008, Dec. 3). Homepage.  Retrieved December 3, 2008 from: http://www.wral.com/.