From Shopping to Community Service–What’s Your Preference?

Prepare: As you prepare to write this week’s discussion, take a few moments to review the Notas Culturales from your assigned readings this week, and to consider any additional resources provided in the Instructor Guidance. Identify the different shopping options available in your community. Investigate volunteer and community service opportunities. Find out about services and resources available for Spanish speakers in your community.

• Read Actividades Cotidianas: Las Compras y el Paseo (p. 136)
• Read La Conciencia Social (p. 151).

Reflect: Now that you’ve identified some of the shopping options and community services opportunities in your area, think about what’s missing. When it comes to resources available, is there something that’s missing? Is there a niche that you could fill or would be interested in learning more about? Carefully review the questions listed below associated with the cultural readings. When you have reflected on your thoughts for each, you are ready to write your response.

Topic #1: Las Compras
Describe some of your shopping preferences and experiences by addressing the following questions in your response:

• In Spanish-speaking countries, stores are often named after the product they sell. Which types of stores have you seen in your community that reflect this practice? Are there many ethnic stores in your area?
• Have you ever had a shopping experience that you would consider to have been a cultural experience? Describe it.
• What are your shopping preferences? Do you prefer a modern mall, boutiques, or would you feel comfortable bargaining in an open air market?
• When you travel, do you normally dedicate time to shopping? What types of places do you like to visit for shopping? If you don’t shop while on a trip, what kinds of activities do you prefer to participate in?

Topic #2: Servicio a la Comunidad
In many parts of the Spanish-speaking world, people engage in a wide variety of activities to serve their communities. Discuss your experience with community service by answering the questions that follow.

• In general, do you think that many people in the United States participate in volunteer activities or in community service? Why or why not?
• Which groups of people in your community need the most help? Are there services available for them?
• What type of service activities do you think that more people should participate in, in your community? Why?
• Are there community resources available to Spanish speakers in your community? Is there a particular service that you think is missing? What is it?
• Would you like to work as a volunteer in the future? Why or why not?

Write: Choose one of the topics, and respond to the questions provided. Your response should be at least 300 words in length in order to provide sufficient detail and to demonstrate critical thought with respect to these cultural practices and gifts to society.

Respond to Peers: Review your classmates’ posts, and respond to at least two of your peers. For one of your responses, choose someone who posted on a topic different from what you selected. Share alternate views, provide personal experiences as they relate to the topic, expand upon ideas, or provide questions to encourage further elaboration of the topic. Each response should be a minimum of 75 words.

For this discussion, you are going to research buying a car and you will report on your research.

Here are some of the things you will consider and include in your post:

1. What type of car will meet your needs? Consider some of the following questions: What will you use your car for? Will you need it to haul anything? Will it need to seat more than two people? Will you need four-wheel drive? Will you be traveling long distances with it and/or commuting long distances? How much gas can you afford to buy each month?

2. Now select and list 3 car models that meet your requirements from above.

3. Do some research on your 3 cars and discuss reliability of car, along with mpg ratings and other important features. You may want to look in Consumer Reports for this information. Which car has the better ratings? Which car will you choose? Be sure to include citations to your sources.

4. Now look locally for a car that meets your criteria list the details: Make, Model, Year, Features, and price. You may look at car sales websites, local newspapers or auto trading periodicals. Include your source. Assume you will purchase this car for listed price plus sales tax (use an 8.3% sales tax rate OR use the tax rate for the appropriate city from 
   this listhttp://phoenix.about.com/library/blsalestaxrates.htm (Links to an external site.)).  Assume that you will put $4000 down payment and will get a loan for the rest (retail price + sales tax – down payment). How much will you finance? (By the way, you will use the name of the car you buy as the Subject Line of your post.) (NOTE: no two students should have the exact same data or calculations in these posts!)

5. Look online at your bank’s website or call them to find out what their current auto loan rates. Assume your bank loan will be for 3 years. What is the monthly payment for your auto loan? Show calculations and/or include the variables used in the TVM Solver. How much will you pay in interest with this loan over the three years? What was the total cost of your car after you’ve paid the loan….include down payment, loan amount and total interest paid. (NOTE: no two students should have the exact same data or calculations in these posts!)

6. Now that you’ve gone through this process, what did you learn about purchasing a car? How might this exercise affect your future car purchases?

 

Module 01 Course Project – Environmental Experience

 

As you start your course project, describe your environmental experiences. Within this paper you should:

• Identify the key environmental experiences that influenced your life. Recall childhood memories of special places where you formed some connections with the earth through emotional experiences. This may include places you knew and cherished that have since been polluted, developed or destroyed. 
• Identify key environmental events that forced you to think about your environmental values.  Events like a beautiful sunset, the fantastic complexity of living things, the tremendous power of nature’s floods, earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes. 
• List the educational experiences that influenced your understanding and concern about environmental problems.  Have you arrived at your ecological identity through formal education or directly experiencing nature or both?

Your paper should be 2-3 pages in length and all citations must use APA formatting. Please refer to the Course Project overview for a list of all requirements for this paper.

Project Overview

For a major part of your grade, you are going to research the environmental issues discussed in this course. This will help you build the skills necessary to develop an informed opinion and present that opinion in written form. You will complete four components of this project, perform a peer review, and submit a final paper in Module 06.

Using the content of the course each week, critically evaluate and analyze each controversial environmental issue. You must examine the pros, cons, compromises, and tradeoffs of the issue by gathering credible information from various sources and assess the scientific credibility of the information. You will then develop from this information a well thought out paper that will address the major players involved, relevant cited facts, and a clearly identified opinion. While some readings have been provided to get you started, you should continue to research each topic using the online library, scientific journals, government documents, books, science magazines, and personal interviews. Peer reviewed sources should form the basis of your paper. Use a minimum of 4 sources each week. All submissions as well as the final paper should be double-spaced, and 12-point font with citations in APA format.  Anytime you use the writings or ideas of others as though they were your own, you are plagiarizing (even if you paraphrase). All information and ideas that are not a part of general knowledge must be cited. When in doubt, cite

Each paper should address the following key points:

• The Issue: Identify the issue.
• The Major Players: Who is involved? Why are they involved?
• Important Facts: State relevant facts concerning the issue. Try to separate fact from opinion. Try not to show your own bias. Properly use APA citations.
• Side One:  Arguments; state briefly and cite your sources.
• Side Two: Arguments; state briefly and cite your sources.
• Your Opinion and Rationale:  I believe that…, we should…, I feel that…  Use supporting arguments and rationale.  What arguments would you use to present to those who disagree with you?  Cite all of your sources.
• References:  Alphabetize your sources. Make sure there are sources representing both sides of the issue.

 

In a recent lecture at Yale University, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer cautioned that while most citizens assume that judicial review is an enduring part of American government, judges should not take it for granted. He advises that if judges wish to preserve this undemocratic power they should follow a judicial philosophy that will “build confidence in the courts” (Breyer, 2011). Justice Breyer goes on to describe the kind of judicial philosophy he has in mind. However, some of his colleagues on the Supreme Court would reject his ideas about what philosophy should guide judges.

The role of judicial philosophy (or ideology) in Supreme Court decision-making, especially in its exercise of judicial review to invalidate laws enacted by a democratically elected Congress or state legislature, has become a highly contentious issue both within the Court’s deliberations and in the larger political environment. As the nation becomes more divided over programs and policies that inevitably seem to come before the Supreme Court, politicians and ordinary citizens are caught up in rhetoric about judicial activism or judicial restraint, often with little understanding of what these terms really mean.  

Moreover, as public perceptions of the Supreme Court become more politicized, the legitimacy of its power becomes clouded. If the Court is perceived as just another political institution making political decisions, but a completely undemocratic institution because its judges are appointed and serve for life, questions arise about whether the Court’s power of judicial review should be strictly limited or eliminated altogether. Justice Breyer’s warning comes to mind as the percent of Americans approving of how the Supreme Court does its job slid from 61% in 2009 to 46% in 2011 (Gallup, 2012).

Before writing your initial post, review the assigned resources. To easily access the resources from the Ashford University Library, please see the table located in the Course Materials section.

In your initial post of at least 200-250 words, respond to one of these questions: 

• What judicial philosophy should guide the Supreme Court’s exercise of judicial review?
• Should the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review be strictly limited by a constitutional amendment?

In answering either question, clearly state your position (thesis) at the beginning of your post. Define important terms and explain your position fully. Consider pro and con arguments on both sides of your position and respond to the con arguments. Justify your position with facts and persuasive reasoning.

Fully respond to all parts of the question. Write in your own words. Support your position with APA citations to two or more of the required resources required

Before writing your initial post, review the assigned resources. To easily access the resources from the Ashford University Library, please see the table located in the Course Materials section.

The purpose of this forum is for you to share and discuss with classmates your understanding of some of the academic literature about this subject in order to help you write the Final Paper in the course. Your initial post will have two parts. Fully respond to both parts of the question, and write in your own words.

• In 150 to 200 words, summarize, in your own words, one of the academic articles required for this discussion (from Section 5 of the assigned resources). Select an article from the list that you think may be a source for your final essay. Read it carefully and try to understand the author’s main points that may be relevant to your final essay. First, give the full APA citation for the article. Then, summarize the relevant main points and explain the author’s reasoning as you understand it. At the end of your summary, ask one question about a specific point in the article that you do not understand and would like some help with (refer to a page number).  
• In 50 to 75 words, state what you believe the thesis of your Final Paper will be. State the thesis as clearly and fully as you can. Draw upon what you have learned from all the required resources you reviewed for this discussion. While you can change your mind about your thesis when you actually write the Final Paper, use this discussion forum as a serious opportunity to try out a thesis and receive feedback from your peers.