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Assignment 1: Applications of the Scientific Method
Due Week 4 and worth 160 points

The scientific method is useful in problem solving and decision-making in a wide variety of fields. In this assignment, you will demonstrate how to use the scientific method to make decisions and solve problems in your field of study or everyday life.

Identify a specific problem often faced in your field of study or everyday life. Research your problem and assess your data / research. Examples of such problems could be:

1. Business
   1. Developing a new product that is superior to competitor’s brands; or
   2. Establishing a price for a new product using the law of supply and demand;
2. Information Systems and Technology
   1. The use of personal electronic devices for work purpose, or
   2. Determining in the most cost-effective computer for your business;
3. Criminal Justice
   1. The reliability of eyewitness testimony, or
   2. Determining what evidence reveals to you about a crime;
4. Everyday Life
   1. Selecting a particular brand of detergent, or
   2. Determining the most cost-efficient transportation / route for your commute.

Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you:

1. Explain the scientific method and describe the overall manner in which you would apply it in your field of study or everyday life.
2. Propose one (1) testable hypothesis to explain / solve the problem you have selected. State the expected outcomes of your actions and include criteria for determining whether or not these actions would succeed. Note: Your hypothesis should be stated very precisely.
3. Describe the main actions that you intend to put into place to test the hypothesis that you proposed in Question 2. Describe the way in which you would evaluate the success of your program. Include the results that you would deem as a success and the results that would be considered a failure.
4. Discuss the wisdom behind the strategy you would use to test the hypothesis from Question 3, and describe the additional steps you might take, depending on the results of your test. Note: These additional steps might be to revise your original hypothesis (if the results were unsatisfactory) or to propose new hypotheses. The goal is to continuously improve your understanding of the factors influencing your outcomes, to be able to achieve greater results over time. 
5. Use at least two (2) quality resources / references in this assignment. Note:Wikipedia and personal blogs do not qualify as quality resources.

Your report must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Apply concepts in physical sciences to evaluate current trends and issues in the modern world.
• Describe the physical processes influencing climate and weather.  
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in physical sciences.
• Write clearly and concisely about physical sciences using proper writing mechanics.

No Plagiarism

Due Tomorrow September 13, 2016 by noon

Use 2 references from the list of reading material below

I need the answer to be at least 200 words (excluding references)

Problem Solving:

Problem Solving is a challenge for any leader and organization. How have you employed the leadership principles of Problem Solving in your own organization and what have you learned from the readings this week that may modify or change your approach?

Based off the reading assignments pick a tool used in problem solving and apply it to a managerial position in an administrative work environment

Assigned Reading:

·         International Public Safety Leadership and Ethics Institute: http://www.ipslei.org/

·         The Public Side of Public Safety: http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=2011623542&site=eds-live&scope=site

·         Public Safety Leadership in Times of Crisis: http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=poh&AN=53323165&site=eds-live&scope=site

·         Deference Link 5.2 Creative Leadership

·         http://www.sagepub.com/northouse6e/study/materials/reference/reference5.2.pdf

·         Reference Link 5.3 Task Leadership http://www.sagepub.com/northouse6e/study/materials/reference/reference5.3.pdf

·         Reference Link 5.4 Leadership in Organizationshttp://www.sagepub.com/northouse6e/study/materials/reference/reference5.4.pdf

·         Audio Link 6.1 Podcast #97, Bob Sutton, PhD, “Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to be the Best…and Learn from the Worst” http://www.leanblog.org/2010/08/podcast-97-bob-sutton-phd-good-boss-bad-boss/

·         Reference Link 6.4 Leadership Effectivenesshttp://www.sagepub.com/northouse6e/study/materials/reference/reference6.4.pdf

·         Video Link 9.1 (Transactional vs. Transformational) Leadership Development Course: Transactional vs. Transformational Theoryhttp://www.metacafe.com/watch/2763496/leadership_development_course_transactional_vs_transformational_theory/

·         Video Link 9.2 (The Addictive Effect) Transformational Leadership by Tom Bloomer Part 1 http://vimeo.com/2360113

·         Reference Link 10.1 Stewardship http://www.sagepub.com/northouse6e/study/materials/reference/reference10.1.pdf

·         Reference 10.2 Servant Leader Beginningshttp://www.sagepub.com/northouse6e/study/materials/reference/reference10.2.pdf

Dissection 1

As technology continues to develop and advance, we are exposed to greater impacts on everyday life. This holds true especially for advances in media technology. The media is a universal aspect of life on a day to day basis. A time when it really becomes prevalent is in regards to government and political information. The Internet has become an important tool for people around the world to not only gain political knowledge, but to engage themselves in the political process itself. Some scholars suggest that this may “revitalize democratic society, enabling citizens to command the political and economic resources needed to become effectively self-governing” (Winner, 2003,p. 167). I use this reference to express just how times have changed because of this social networking medium. The idea that the Internet may create a shift in how certain people view democracy is not a new one. The revolutions of the newspaper, radio, and television each raised the same questions. Certain media sites share news from a conservative perspective while others are more liberal, and this is an ongoing debate in society, is there such a thing being able to learn about a situation, without having your views challenged, or have reassurance that you are right in how you see our current situation. My point being, it is difficult to find different issues than those in previous posts have discussed, because other than a few controversies different media outlets, report on what they feel is important, making it hard to establish what really is a problem or important.

                Multiple media sites such as; CNN, NY magazine, Whitehouse.gov, bbc, MSNBC, FOX and CBS to name a few outlets have covered heightened controversial issues such as the enforcement on immigration (Travel ban), retracting the Affordable Care Act, interrogation techniques, border patrol, building and funding of a wall, to name a few. When we read the news, it feels like literally the only thing ever being spoken about are the horrible things happening in this world. But when it comes to politics, why do media outlets pick and choose what to speak about. Take CNN and ABC, at one point, prior to FOX news surpassing other media reporters in ratings, had the biggest audiences, however, according to business insider, they also were also not the most trusted in America. Conservative leaning outlets seem to be the least trusted, yet liberal outlets also, ranked lower than Wall Street journal and NY times. Once a media outlet establishes who their audience is, they can then adjust what content they will focus on because that is how you keep people coming back for more, how you can relate to them.

Pal discusses criteria related to that of implementation and how certain indicators can be used to determine whether a policy can actually be successful, depending on administration standards, and provided that these new policies are free of conflict, no external constraints, valid theory and any miscommunication between the parties of interest, to include the developers of said policy and the citizens. Depending on the majority of which political party controls the house, policies may lean more in favor of their best interests, while still benefitting the nation as a whole, just not as much perhaps. Let us use California as an example, a blue state, has been at the forefront of refuting a lot of policies/ executive orders being passed by our current administration. Here we see a gap between state and federal governments, not being able to work together, which in turn I feel questions pal in a way that how can a policy ever be “successful” if there is such dissonance within the different levels of government.

Dissection 2

The new presidential administration has been in the news for a variety of different policies and proposed laws over the past 50 days or so.  The news media has focused on two big issues during the last couple weeks.  The first issue that has received around-the-clock coverage over the last month has been immigration.  The topic of immigration has been a wide-ranging issue because of the increased number of arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants as well as the affect of the president’s executive order travel ban.  One of the reasons that this issue has received so much attention is due to the fact that there seems to be no agreement upon the objectives of this administration’s policies.  The is a sharp contrast in what is being told to the public and what is actually being implemented.  This is why the president’s executive order was stopped by the courts.  There was not a clear alignment in the thinking of the administration and the language of the executive order.  There has also been a lot of discussion about the increase in military spending and how it will affect other aspects of the president’s first budget.  The president stated this past week that he intends to increase military spending by $54 billion and in the process there will be severe cuts to “education, the environment, science, and poverty” (Shear & Steinhauer, 2017).  The cuts in federal programs will also look to benefit retirees as well as defense spending.  This has received a fair amount of media attention as well because of how large our military budget is compared to many of the other areas of federal spending.  These issues do deserve a there share of media attention but there are other policy issues that deserve much more attention.  There has been little mention of how what investments will be made to the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.  It also seems that the issue of health care slips in and out of media coverage as well.  I think the media has focused on military spending and immigration for a few reasons.  The increase in military spending comes at the expense of many other federal programs that people rely on.  The president has also said that “We have to start winning wars again” and that when he was young “We never lost a war” (Cesca, 2017).  This has many in the media speculating whether or not the country is preparing for armed conflict in the near future.  Immigration has received a large amount of media coverage because it is an issue that touches close to home for many people.  Many people are related to or have friends or acquaintances that are in the country illegally.  Whether people agree on the topic of immigration, nearly everyone is affected by it in some fashion or another.  The coverage of these issues is definitely covered different based on the network reporting the story.  Fox News will report these issues in a way that is supportive of the president.  MSNBC will largely report the negative effects of these policies.  CNN does a better job of reporting reporting the facts without bias but they still lean slightly left in their reporting.  Many of the problems that have arisen from these policies is in how they have been presented to the public.  There is a clear difference in the way policies are explained by the administration and how they are being implemented.  The policies lack many of the elements for successful implementation as listed in the Pal text.  The policies lack proper design and there appears to be a lack of communication in the creation of these policies.  

In Chapters 6 and 7 of Davidson et al. describe the organization of Congress and committees along party lines. Leaders are said to “stand at the intersection of the two Congresses” (155) and face the task of resolving the collective action problem of members who “want to dodge the responsibility for making the compromises necessary to pass legislation” by “devising sufficient incentives (political, policy, or procedural) to attract majority support” (132f). However, Davidson et al. concludes, “typically party leaders cannot command their colleagues. Their leadership rests chiefly on their skill in giving others reasons to follow them” (161).

You might consider this an implicit limitation imposed on Congress by the political process. Remember, Chapter 2 describes limits on Congress, both explicit and implicit. Explicit limits on the power of Congress include prohibitions against bills of attainder and ex post facto laws, but Davidson (22) also notes that the political process and dependence on the people is an implicit limitation and cites The Federalist No. 51.

The Federalist No. 51 concludes with a discussion of the separation of powers. The separation of powers is implicit in the Constitution, and the Court has relied principally on The Federalist Papers for understanding it and the implicit limitation that “it is the reason of the public alone that ought to control and regulate the government” (No. 49).

After reviewing the course readings on The Federalist Papers, select 1 of the following structural elements from The Federalist Papers: large republic, free suffrage, length of term, or size of Congress. Explain how the chosen structural element contributes to meaningful deliberation and the public good.

Organizing the Research Paper & Outlining