Sociology Question

1. Case Analysis Assignment (30%; Individual Paper Assignment: The paper should be at least 12 pages in length, excluding the cover page, reference pages, and the three required diagrams. An abstract page should not be included.):

For Section I, students are required to interview a refugee or immigrant who meets the following inclusion and exclusion criteria:

a. Inclusion criteria:The individual must (1) Identify as a racial or ethnic minority, (2) Have used social and/or health services at any point; and (3) Have resided in the United States for less than 20 years.

b. Exclusion criterion:The following individuals are not eligible for this interview (1) International students (e.g., F-visa holders), Business visa holders (e.g., E-visa holders), or Other temporary visa holders (e.g., travel or tourist visas), as these individuals are not classified as immigrants for the purposes of this assignment.

c. Recruit your interviewee through trusted intermediaries, such as agencies, field placement sites, cultural centers, existing personal connections, or community leaders.

d. Students must adhere to the following ethical standards:

Participation must be fully voluntary.

No incentives, pressure, or obligation may be used.

Written informed consent is required prior to the interview.

Participants may withdraw at any time without consequence.

These safeguards are essential to ensuring ethical engagement, protecting participant dignity, and aligning with professional social work standards.

For Section II (Policy Analysis), you will interview a staff member at the organization (or a similar organization) where the immigrant/refugee interviewee from Section I currently receives or previously received services. The purpose of this interview is to understand:

a. How macro-level factors (such as social policies, laws, or regulations) shape the organizations ability to serve immigrant and refugee clients effectively, and

b. Areas where improvements or policy amendments are needed to better meet the needs of these populations.

In developing Section II, you are expected to clearly connect the interviewees personal experiences and the barriers identified in Section I with the policy or law being analyzed. The policy selected should directly address a service barrier or systemic issue that emerged from the interviewees narrative. This integration is essential in demonstrating your ability to bridge micro-level lived experiences with macro-level analysis, reflecting a core competency of advanced social work practice.

Informed Consent: Two informed consent forms are available on D2L for your interviews:

One form is designated for the refugee or immigrant interviewee in Section I.

The other form is for the staff member from the social service organization in Section II.

Both completed and signed consent forms must be submitted along with your final paper to ensure ethical compliance and documentation of voluntary participation.

The paper’s structure is outlined as follows:

(1) Introduction: Please integrate the following contents.

Background Information: Begin by providing key background details about the interviews conducted with the immigrant/refugee and the staff member from the organization. Include demographic context (e.g., the immigrant/refugees origin and the organizations mission) to establish relevance.

Interview Process: Offer a concise summary of the interview process, specifying the date, time, location (in person or virtual), and main themes discussed. Highlight how the interviewees experiences align with the focus of the paper.

Rationale for Selection: Explain why the specific interviewees were chosen, emphasizing their relevance to the topic, how they meet the inclusion criteria, and their connection to the research objectives.

Methodological Approach: Briefly mention how the interviews were conducted (e.g., semi-structured, open-ended questions) and any ethical considerations, such as informed consent and maintaining confidentiality.

Overall Structure: Conclude with an overview of the papers structure, outlining the key sections and their purpose. This helps readers understand the flow and objectives of the discussion.

(2) Section I: Case Analysis

Brief Introduction to the Interviewee

o Provide basic demographic information, including but not limited to gender, age, current occupation, family composition in the United States, and (if the entry was legal) the type of visa.

Cultural Background

o Explore the following cultural factors:

Customs and traditions: the ways of doing things, including social norms, rituals, and behaviors that are passed down from generation to generation.

Beliefs and values towards gender role and older people: the underlying principles, attitudes, and assumptions that guide a culture’s worldview and moral code.

Religion and spirituality: the beliefs and practices related to the divine, supernatural, or sacred that are important to a culture.

Social organization: the ways in which a culture is structured, including family and kinship systems.

Food and cuisine:the dietary practices, traditions, and cuisines that are unique to a culture.

Education and learning: the ways in which knowledge and skills are acquired and transmitted within a culture.

Attitudes towards time and space: the cultural perspectives on punctuality, time management, personal space, and public vs. private space.

Attitudes towards physical and mental health and help seeking behaviors

o Note: For each subsection of this Cultural Background section, be sure to integrate a comparison between the interviewees personal cultural experiences and the broader cultural norms of their home country, supported by relevant scholarly literature and citations. Additionally, clearly identify and explain any changes in the interviewees cultural practices that have occurred since migrating to the United States.

Pre-Migration History

o This section aims to identify the push factors that motivated the interviewee to migrate to another country. These push factors can operate at the individual, family, and/or societal levels.

Describe basic information first, including, but not limited to:

The interviewee’s family composition, occupation, class, and education in their home country

Geographic location, political and economic conditions, and/or natural environments that affected their lives.

Describe the push factors that motivated the interviewee to decide to migrate to the United States and how they decided to migrate. This section should include the identification, description, and discussion of at least one theory that explains the interviewee’s decision to migrate.

Migration Experience

o Describe the route that the interviewee took to migrate. If they entered the United States through a visa, please identify the type of visa and the process they went through. This section should also include the timing of departure, the length of migration, and any significant losses or trauma experienced during the process.

Adaptation and Acculturation Processes:

o While exploring the interviewee’s adaptation and acculturation process, identify the duration of their residency in the United States and the reason why they decided to settle in Minnesota.

o Include any difficulties, different stages within the family system, role changes, and environmental stressors that the interviewee has been going through.

o Explore the interviewee’s experiences in using social/healthcare services, and include any barriers/needs that the interviewee identifies when using these services.

Self-observations about Your Working Relationship with Interviewee:

o In this section, critically reflect on your relational and professional engagement with the interviewee. Specifically, address the following:

Describe your overall comfort level during the interview process and how cultural differences, the interviewees migration history, and their level of acculturation shaped your interactions.

Analyze your own positionality, including your personal biases, social location, power dynamics, and how these factors influenced your perceptions and responses.

Explicitly connect your reflections to relevant NASW core values (e.g., dignity and worth of the person, social justice, integrity) and principles of cultural humility.

Discuss any challenges that emerged due to cultural, linguistic, or experiential differences, and explain how these challenges affected your communication, rapport-building, and data collection.

Reflect on what you learned from this engagement about yourself as a developing social work professional.

Integrate at least one social work practice theory that informed your approach to the interview processand explain how this theoretical lens guided your interactions and interpretations.

Include (a) a culturagram, (b) an ecomap, and (c) a genogram at the end of this paper (i.e., after the References section).

o Ecomap:

o Genogram: (The genogram should include at least three generations to provide a more complete picture of family dynamics.)

o Culturagram: Refer to Page 133 of the textbook

Use a minimum of 5 peer-reviewed articles for this Part I.

o Information on organizations websites or news articles can be used; however, they are not counted for this minimum requirement.

(3) Section II: Policy Analysis

Introduce the policy/law of interest

Find a name of a policy that impacted the interviewees use of health/social services.

Describe why you selected the policy/law in relation to the interviewee’s experience in using social or health services (as discussed in Section I).

Provide introduction to this policy/law from the textbook and the relevant literature.

Assess the policy/law in terms of how the policy/law affects the organizations program/service delivery model

o (i) Include in the discussion what you find from the literature about the policy/laws negative effects and a barrier from fulfilling culturally competent practice for immigrants/refugees.

o (ii) Include in the discussion your findings from the interview with the staff. The contents include:

i. Their perspectives in working with the immigrants/refugees under this policy.

ii. Their perceived limitations/barriers when delivering effective services to their immigrant/refugee clients

Discuss a program/activity the organization is planning and/or implementing as an alternative to the limitations/barriers

o Include in the discussion the findings from the literature about a similar/better program other countries have for immigrants/refugees.

In your discussion, compare/contrast the program and activities in the United States with the programs and activities in other countries.

o Include in the discussion the findings from the interview with the staff about an alternative they consider or plan to implement.

Use a minimum of 5 peer-reviewed articles for Part II.

o Information on organizations websites or news articles can be used; however, they are not counted for this minimum requirement.

(4) Dont forget the following 2 directions:

Ensure that you include at least one citation for each of your personal interviews: one with an immigrant/refugee and one with the staff member. For guidance on citing a personal communication, refer to the following link: . Note:Personal interviews are not considered recoverable data, so they should only be cited within the text as personal communication and should not be included in the reference list.

Put relevant headings per topic listed above and, wherever relevant, please add sub-headings

i. See to know how to put heading levels:

WRITE MY PAPER