Examine the background, marketing, and ingredients of a processed food item. Evaluate the veracity and quality of a variety of resources.

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Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is for you to critically examine what food is, especially in today’s world, and how we make decisions about what we eat.

Skills and Knowledge:

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

Examine the background, marketing, and ingredients of a processed food item.

Evaluate the veracity and quality of a variety of resources.

Reflect upon what food is (and is not) and how you go about making your food choices.

Demonstrate professional critical thinking and writing.

Task:

For this assignment, you are asked to select a processed food item that has at least 5 ingredients. At least one of the ingredients must have been a living organism prior to processing and at least one other of the ingredients must be a food additive (a substance designed to protect or improve the flavor, texture, and/or appearance of the end product).

You need to conduct research on the product itself as well as the company that produces the product. You will then need to select two ingredients: one that was a living organism prior to processing and the other a food additive. You will then conduct research on the evolutionary history and current production of the living organism and about the development and use of the food additive.

For this research, you can use all available sources, including blogs and Wikipedia, but you need to try to verify the truthfulness of all the material that you present in this assignment (that is, if the information is available in just one place, are you sure it is true?). You do need to cite at least two academic sources (defined as peer-reviewed journal articles or books/book chapters published by an academic press (e.g. Oxford University Press). Note that many government documents, particularly government websites, are not considered academic sources. These citations should occur in Parts 1-3 of the template. Please refer to this Guide to Evaluating Resources from Cornell College for how to determine an academic (scholarly) source. You must cite all of your sources in the text and list the full citation information at the end of the template.

After researching and writing up your findings, you need to reflect upon the variety and types of sources that you used to complete this assignment. In order to conduct this evaluation, please refer to the Evaluation Criteria for Internet Resources chart in the Guide to Evaluating Resources from Cornell College.

Reflect upon how completing this assignment and your coursework thus far has helped you think of how we define food and how you make decisions about what you will eat. You need to cite at least one course source (reading, lecture, or video) in this reflection.

Use the required template to write up your research results and your reflection.

Post an explanation of your assigned step of the research process and how you would complete that step.

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About 15 years ago, before evidence-based practice became a standard to which to aspire, a professor found an article describing a treatment program for substance-abusing African-American women that incorporated their children and aimed to preserve their families. The program was built around principles of African-centered theory. The professor thought the program appeared well designed and heartily urged students to study the article and possibly find ways to imitate the program ideas, if not the program itself. A few years later, the professor, having continued her education, especially in the area of research, searched for a follow-up on the program, perhaps reporting outcomes and evidence of effectiveness. No research evidence on the program appears in the scholarly journals. In fact, no evidence that the program continues to exist at this time has been found. The fact that what appeared to be a promising practice approach did not endure or have the opportunity to benefit from evaluation is unfortunate.

Note: This week you will work as a class to create a plan for evaluating the rite of passage program described in the assigned article. Each member of the class will be assigned one step of the research process:
Research problems and questions

To prepare for this Discussion, read the Poitier et al. study and then revisit what you have learned about your assigned step of the research process. Consider what would be the most important information to share with your colleagues about that step. Together the class will create a research plan for evaluating the rite of passage program described in the assigned article.

By Day 3

Post an explanation of your assigned step of the research process and how you would complete that step.

 

By Day 5

Respond to a colleague’s postings with a suggestion, insight, or addition to that particular step of the research process.

Resources:

Poitier, V. L., Niliwaambieni, M., & Rowe, C. L. (1997). A rite of passage approach designed to preserve the families of substance-abusing African American women. Child Welfare, 76(1), 173–195.

Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Review “Working With Survivors of Human Trafficking: The Case of Veronica.” Think about how one might become an ally to victims of human trafficking . Then go to a website that addresses human trafficking either internationally or domestically.

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Discussion: Developing Alliances in Social Work Practice

Have you ever heard the term or saying “straight but not narrow”? This is an example of a statement of being an ally—recognizing one’s unique position of privilege yet standing with others who are oppressed. By taking this course, you have started the process of becoming an ally. Evan and Washington (2013) identify the steps toward being an ally, which include being supportive of those who are unlike you, learning about other cultures, becoming aware of the oppression and marginalization, and becoming aware of one’s own privilege. Getting involved in issues is part of that process. You will consider how to become an ally this week.

To prepare: Review “Working With Survivors of Human Trafficking: The Case of Veronica.” Think about how one might become an ally to victims of human trafficking . Then go to a website that addresses human trafficking either internationally or domestically.

Write a brief description of the website you visited.

1-Explain how you might support Veronica and other human trafficking victims incorporating the information you have found.

2– Explain how you can begin to increase your awareness of this issue and teach others about human trafficking victims.

3-Describe opportunities to get involved and become an ally to those who have been trafficked.

4-Identify steps you can take to begin to support this group.

Please provide references

Please write down each question before each response

Explain the steps you might take to incorporate policy advocacy in your practice based on insights, experiences, and/or opinions your colleagues described.

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Discussion 2: The Social Work Advocate in Politics

Social workers often have commitments to specific policies, laws, or funding of programs that are vital to the population they serve or an issue that they strongly support. Such commitments often lead social workers to become involved in political issues and the campaigns of specific candidates. Being a social worker, such campaign experiences, the outcomes of your efforts, and how effective you felt you were may affect your view of the political process and the likelihood of becoming involved in similar campaigns in the future.

For this Discussion, reflect on your experiences if you have ever participated in a political campaign. What was the outcome of your participation? If you have not participated in a campaign, choose a campaign topic you support or oppose and consider the ways you might like to participate in that campaign. Likewise, think about your experiences if you have ever lobbied on a topic. If you have not, choose a topic for which you might like to lobby in favor or against. Finally, consider how you think social workers might have a powerful and positive effect as elected officials.

Your answer should be in a essay format. But write down each question before each answer.

1-Write an explanation of the role of lobbying and campaigning in social work practice.

2-Explain how you think social workers might have a powerful and positive effect as elected officials.

3-Explain of the impact, if any, the experiences and opinions of your colleagues have had on your own experiences and opinions.

3-Offer a suggestion for how your colleague might gain political and/or lobbying experience for the political issue your colleagues described.

4-Explain the steps you might take to incorporate policy advocacy in your practice based on insights, experiences, and/or opinions your colleagues described. Be sure your explanation takes the perspective of a social work professional with a responsibility to uphold professional ethics.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.

Please provide references APA style