Research Proposal Assignment Help
Obesity is a problem that is far more prevalent within the African American community than other racial and ethnic groups of Americans, and this is particularly true among younger people (Delva, O'Malley, & Johnston, 2007).  The exact explanation for this is elusive and has both genetic and dietary components (Delva, Johnston, & O'Malley, 2007).  The proposed project is in two distinct phases.  The first phase is to collect information retrieval, both through conducting surveys and reviews of the literature, to determine the causes of this common disease.  The second phase of the proposed project is to apply this epidemiological knowledge by creating an educational campaign that the African American community can use to reduce the incidence and severity of obesity.

RESEARCH TITLE

The chosen title of the research is “Attribution of Obesity to Individual and Environmental Factors”.

RESEARCH AIM

The aim of the research is as follows –

1. Develop an integrated etiological model combining all the probable determinants of obesity in American people.
2. Identify the differences in vulnerability between demographic variables (gender, age, ethnicity) when subjected to a set of determinants of depressive disorders

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

In order to reach a deterministic conclusion, the research aims can be further simplified into following objectives –

1. Determine the factors that may cause obesity
2. Demonstrate the effect of these factors on people varying in demographic attributes (gender, age, ethnicity)
3. Compare the effect of these factors on the research population and establish a cause-effect relationship with probable causes
4. Identify the point of inflection in the career (if any), when these factors start impacting the person adversely and differently

A PICO (T)(Oxford University, 2016) question devised for the aforesaid research would be –

How frequently obese people in California opt for fast food items in a week and to what extent the figure is different for people who are non-obese?

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS & TECHNIQUES

The research methodology for the proposed research would follow a mixed technique, i.e. both exploratory and confirmatory research will be conducted. Questionnaires, observational techniques, in-depth interviews will be part of the research instruments. The detailed technique would involve the following –

• Research Population: This would include the participants in the survey. This group would comprise of people suffering from obesity as well as non-obese people.
• Sampling Frame: The sampling frame will include the entire California population. As obesity is common from childhood through matured adult age and so on, the sampling frame must contain people aged 10 or above.
• Sampling Method: As the research involves people from varying demography (age, gender, ethnicity), the most suitable sampling technique would be cluster sampling. Cluster sampling divides the entire population into groups which are heterogeneous inside and homogeneous outside, i.e. each cluster can be perceived as a homogeneous and unbiased representation of the entire population. A cluster can be chosen among all the clusters of California population with the simple random sampling technique. The underlying assumption would be the following –
• all the clusters demonstrate similar behavioral traits
• every individual belongs to one and only one cluster
• the number of observations within each cluster Ni is known, and N = N1 + N2 + N3 + ... + Nn-1 + Nn
• Eligibility Criteria: The sampling eligibility criteria would be the following –
• respondents must provide a written consent about participating in the survey
• age of respondents must be more than or equal to 10
• Sample Size: In order to determine the effective sample size, several parameters are needed, such as population size, the margin of error, confidence level is chosen by the researcher and standard deviation. The margin of error determines the extent to which the sample mean may differ from the population mean. Standard deviation is defined by the expected variation in the responses obtained (Smith, 2013).

Sample size (S) = ((Z-score) * StdDev * (1-StdDev)) / (Margin of error)

For e.g. if we consider 95% confidence interval (the Z-score obtained from the standard normal table is 1.96), standard deviation of 0.5 and a margin of error as +/- 5% then

S = (1.96 * 0.5 * (1 – 0.5)) / 0.05 = 385 (approx.)

The standard deviation for the research population can be obtained from syndicate research data during the planning stage.

• Expected Response Rate: We assume that we can achieve an expected response rate of 0.2. This implies out of every 10 people chosen for the survey, only 2 will generate a valid and complete response.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

In the field of medical research, data should not be furnished from an unwilling respondent, i.e. without his consent. The clinical research should be conducted following protocol. The participants must be informed about any medication provided and their outcomes; data solicited from them and the use of that data.

Legally, no other person has the right to touch a patient even without his/her consent. Any such act without permission is termed as “battery” (Richards, 2009), which is a punishable physical assault. In general, battery possesses three legal threats. If the patient is lied about anything, the consent is invalid. The second situation is when the patient is incompetent to consent and receives improper treatment. And finally the third, when the patient is unwilling to consent, and yet the care is forced upon him/her.

Apart from these, the vulnerable groups in the sampled population must be safeguarded. They are the disadvantaged section of the community who require ancillary considerations and utmost care.

PROPOSED ANALYSIS OF DATA & INSTRUMENTS FOR ANALYSIS

Data recorded during the research study, need to be processed and cleaned at first. Thereafter various data mining tools and techniques will be used to predict the outcome of the survey and draw inference on the same.

Based on the above parameters, cross-tabulation can be carried out such as following –

Table no 1. Cross-tabulation of sample data (prepared as a mock analysis)

	Suffering from obesity?		Total
Gender	Yes	No
Male	1000	1250	2250
Female	1750	2000	3750
Total	2750	3250	6000

Correlation analysis interval data and chi-square tests for nominal and ordinal data can be computed between the attributes and variables to figure out whether there is any correlation between them or not.

A hypothesis can be drawn as the following –

Null Hypothesis: A teenager consuming fast food on 4 or more occasions in a week is less likely to be obese compared to a teenager consuming fast food less frequently.

Alternate Hypothesis: A teenager consuming fast food on 4 or more occasions in a week is more likely to be obese compared to a teenager consuming fast food less frequently.

With hypothesis testing (Weisstein, 2016), the null hypothesis can be rejected or may not be rejected. By calculating the p-value, we can decide the same for any confidence interval (for e.g. p-value can be tested for 0.05 for 95% confidence interval).

Apart from these, thematic analysis for categorizing the respondents using words and concepts, decision tree and information gain techniques for the prediction of obesity and causal analysis can be performed to identify any trend in the sample data. The sample statistic can then be estimated for the entire population with suitable estimation techniques.

REFERENCES

1. Delva, J., Johnston, L. D., & O'Malley, P. M. (2007). Availability of more-healthy and less-healthy food choices in American schools: a national study of grade, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic differences. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(4), S226-S239. Retrieved May 14, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17884570
2. Delva, J., O'Malley, P. M., & Johnston, L. D. (2007, October). The epidemiology of overweight and related lifestyle behaviors: racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status differences among American youth. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(4), S178-S186. Retrieved May 14, 2016, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17884566
3. Oxford University. (2016). P I C O: Formulate an Answerable Question. Retrieved May 11, 2016, from learntech.physiol.ox.ac.uk: http://learntech.physiol.ox.ac.uk/cochrane_tutorial/cochlibd0e84.php
4. Richards, E. (2009, April 19). Battery—No Consent. (T. L. Site, Editor) Retrieved May 11, 2016, from biotech.law.lsu.edu: http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/map/BatteryNoConsent.html
5. Smith, S. (2013, April 8). Determining Sample Size: How to Ensure You Get the Correct Sample Size. Retrieved May 11, 2016, from qualtrics.com: https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/determining-sample-size/
6. Weisstein, E. (2016). Hypothesis Testing. (MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource) Retrieved May 11, 2016, from mathworld.wolfram.com: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HypothesisTesting.html

Business Communication Assignment Help

         Rengsona Limbu

             4th December 2015

Communication is about passing information between people or an organization.  It is an essence of human interaction and learning.  It can be in different forms like: communicating with phones, Short Message Service (SMS), Video messages, letter, e-mail, Internet, face-to-face, body language, hand signs, etc.  Before civilization, people used smoke signals; drums and some people had messengers.  People also communicated by drawing on rocks, which is called rock paintings.  In those ancient times, messengers were also used to deliver important communications from A to B, either by foot or on horseback.  Some marathons that run today trace the route taken by these early couriers.  Carrier pigeons have also been used to transfer physical messages from place to place.

The purpose of communication is for human beings to be able to understand each other in different ways and for several reasons.  It can be any means, not just verbal.  Communication entails expressing and listening to each other’s problems, and solve the difficulties we face in day-to-day operations in our work and personal life.  To achieve effective communication, communicative skills need to be developed.  With effective communication skills, people can easily explain things to each other and express themselves. We also communicate in a business environment.  Explanations or expressions of what an individual demands and what a supplier can supply is the backbone of communication in the business environment.  It helps us find solutions to difficulties that may face our businesses.  It is important to know the audience so that whatever is being communicated to them will be relevant, not offend them, and, as a result, be received appropriately.  People should be aware how to communicate with other people from different ethnic groups, workplaces, age groups, etc.  If a person knows the audience, they can more effectively communicate with and persuade that audience.  Knowing the customers or listeners beforehand helps the person to present information more effectively.

Business communication is in many forms: writing business documents, including letters, memos, and reports; speaking, including interviews, meetings, public presentations, and daily interactions at a more informal level; word processing and telecommunications; behaving, including the way a person shakes hands, sits during an interview, dresses, talks, walks, and moves.

Stages of communication

Communication is a process.  For the message to be properly relayed, there are six major stages that are involved.  These stages include; the sender-

Communication starts with the sender.  It is the person interested in sharing information or seeking an explanation.  The message- This defines what needs to be communicated.  It expresses the concerns or explains the knowledge of the person communicating.  The symbol- The symbol is the third stage of communication.  The sender composes the message in the way the other party or parties will understand.  The channel- The channel of a communication involves the route, the tools or the method the message is relayed.  It is how the sender chooses the information to reach the audience. The receiver- This is the recipient of the message.  The receiver is supposed to decode the message from the sender. And finally, the feedback- Once the receiver has received the message and decoded it, he/she is supposed to send back a response to the sender.  This feedback also helps the sender to improve their communication skills. (Guffey and Loewy).

Different methods of communication:

As stated earlier, communication can be of different forms. These include;

Verbal communication, non-verbal communication, written communication that is in the form of; formal writing and informal writing, sign languages, body languages, pictures, electronic presentation and facial expression.

Verbal communication is the most important and most effective type of communication.  It can be either face-to-face communication with a person or a group or a call to the people you are communicating using telephones.  Face to face communication is the best.  There is a direct contact, and the sender can see or hear what the person says and feels.  Communication through the telephone is also effective, but not the best.  The sender can only hear but cannot see the person or group of people you are communicating to or with.  Effective verbal communication involves listening to people or a group of audience, and not much to do with speaking.  It is listening to people’s concerns and trying to find solutions.  These are used when you have conferences, seminars, discussions, etc.

The non-verbal communication is a type of communication that does not involve words.  It could be written, or sign language, facial expression and gestures that help understand the person with whom one is communicating.  With non-verbal communication, great attention is important since even the small things make a lot of difference.

Written communication is the most common form of business communication.  It is essential for all business owners and managers to develop effective written communication skills and to encourage the same in all employees.

Formal communication can be considered as communication efforts that are used to fit customary rules.  It follows proper order, and procedures, and can be recorded to store the outcomes.

Informal communication can be about anything from emailing your friends, it can be a chat about anything: it can be work related, texting friends, leaving post, short notices, and letters to friends or employers.  It can also take place at informal meeting where people meet up for small discussion.  Discussion can also take place in small café, lounge or Starbucks, etc.

Sign language is a language, which uses manual communication and body language, facial, and other body movements as the means of communication, especially among deaf people.  A method of communication, as between speakers of different languages, that uses hand movements and other gestures.  Sign language has largely been standardized in the world.

Many people have a hard time with communication, and can find it difficult to tell others what they think or to give them bad news.  Sometimes, it is difficult to find the right words to express the things one wants to say.  Body Language, however, is mostly honest and can be counted on.  Some people who find it hard to hear or talk can use sign languages or facial expression to communicate what they feel. 

Picture communication is when one gives information through the use of images.  It was originally used for children with autism, however, nowadays; it is becoming common among preschoolers, as it is very easy to understand.

A presentation is a process of presenting a topic to an audience.  It is typically a demonstration, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, or build good will.   A presentation program, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, OpenOffice.org, is often used to generate the presentation content.  Modern internet-based presentation software, such as the presentation application in Google Docs also allows presentations to be developed collaboratively by geographically different collaborators. Presentation viewers can be used to combine content from different presentation programs into one presentation. (Newman and Ober)

Facial expressions are vital to social communication between humans.  Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication.  They are a primary means of conveying social information between humans, but they also occur in most other mammals and some other animal species.

Barriers to effective communication

Effective communication is a difficult skill to learn.  There are so many variables that can affect communication, which people often do not consider.  These variables include both the sender’s skills at communication and also how receptive the other party is in the message.  Even though a person is the best communicator in the entire world, if the other party is not interested, then there is no point of communicating.  Barriers to effective communication include: 

• Physical/ geographical barriers.

Geographical location can strain communication in the sense that probably the persons communicating are in different locations.  The issue with time difference can also strain communication.  Physical objects, mostly opaque objects can also block people from communicating non-verbally.  This is because the parties involved might not be able to observe the other person gestures, facial expressions, and other non-verbal cues. 

• Dialect and Regional Differences

Regional difference can be a businessman from London and a farmer from Scotland can have or will find that neither one of them will be able to understand each other, due to dialects, accents and, other regional differences.

• Language

In the world, there are so many different languages.  When people speak in a different language, it is difficult to understand what the other person is communicating.  It is amusing how many people forget about the fact that not everyone uses the same language.  In business, people interact with people who speak different languages.  In this case, the parties should be aware of the problem and not assume the other party will understand, be as fluent or understand as fast.  It is possible that sometimes the message will not be relayed properly. If this is the case, try to get the other party to rephrase and repeat their words to make sure you understand what they are saying.   This should apply to any communication method.  Preparing and learning other languages can help you in future.  To solve this issue, it is advisable to use sign language if all parties involved are conversant with it.  It is also advisable to use gestures.  If none of this works, then interpreters who understand the different languages should be called upon to help in the translation.

• Lack of subject knowledge

For communication to be effective, all parties should understand the subject being communicated.  If this is not the case, then some people will not get anything being informed.  The audience may not have too much information, but the communicator is required to have understood the subject perfectly.  If the communicator does not fully understand the subject; they might lie to the audience or even confuse them.  It is also possible that the audience might lose interest in the process.

• Emotions

Emotions hinder communication since sometimes they cloud people’s judgment.  For instance, when someone is angry they may not be receptive or patient to get the information you want to pass along.  Some of the most basic tenants of communication and the first thing an individual should learn is to make sure they do not alienate or make people feel out of place and awkward in their presence.  It is difficult to get any business deals or meet and make new friends easily if a person put everyone in the room on edge.

• Noise

Noise distracts people’s attention.  When there is a noise communicators need to strain to be heard, and the receivers should also strain to hear what is being said.

• Cultural barriers

The cultural difference has a major impact on potential barriers to communication.  It is very challenging for the people to communicate with others from different cultures.  The cultural difference includes different things from people in the way of seeing, hearing and interpreting.  Also, the same words can mean different things to people from the different cultures.  So this is why the cultural difference can be an impact on barriers to communication.

However, there are many ways of improving a person’s communication skill and reducing the barriers to effective communication.

Word choice: First of all, it is important for the sender to select words that they are sure mean what they are communicating.  There are certain words meaning to different people.  This kind of information can be obtained when the audience gives feedback.  The speaker should put into consideration and do a little practice. Using simple words will be better than using complicated words.  Over complicating your speech does not make you sound intelligent, it just makes the speaker sound showy and can confuse people if they do not have a broad vocabulary.  Using technical terms to people that are not in the organization you are in or understand the same organization means you will alienate rather than improve, making the barriers to effective communication get bigger and harder.

If the method of relaying the message is electronic, that is by sending emails or digital messages, it is important to use surgical in word choices.  Choosing the correct words and stamping out ambiguity is the only step to making communication without the recipient more effective.  Physical communication barriers can be some of the worst.  Many people rely on the body language to understand the message without realizing it.

The most effective way to overcome communication barriers is to understand the audience and the message.  If the sender has clear understanding of what they want to communicate, the can simplify it for the audience ad even choose the best method to communicate.  A person who also understands the people they are communicating with is also likely to deliver the message effectively.  Knowing the recipients of the message will help the sender to understand all their weaknesses.  They work on it and, this way, they are better prepared and equipped to relay the message.

By understanding the motivations and behaviors of a particular customer, an individual, will both be able to plan their communications activity more effectively, and also develop a healthy approach to evaluation. To run a successful organization, a hardworking, intelligent, punctual, team working staffs are paramount to deliver effectively.  These are the main points to have in your workplace or any organization to help your business grow.  For example:

1. Daily communications meeting to provide updated and to plan daily strategy
2. Continual monitoring of social media, contributing to conversations when appropriate
3. Helping to plan communications activity based on customer insight
4. End of week meeting to assess performance and communications activity

COIT20249 Assignment Help

Assessment item 4—Portfolio

Due date:	11:55pm  AEST, Friday, Week 12	ASSESSMENT
Weighting:	30%	4
Length:	Not applicable

Objectives

This assignment is designed to develop a portfolio of resources that you can use during your degree.The compilation of your Portfolio is progressive throughout the term. Please refer to the course profile to see how this assessment item relates to the course learning outcomes.

These objectives will be measured by the ‘closeness of fit’ to meeting the requirements and the marking criteria below.

General Assessment Criteria

Assessments provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to achieve the required standard. To do this, assessment responses need to be both clear and easy to understand. If not, the University cannot determine that students have demonstrated their knowledge and skills. Assessments will, therefore, be marked accordingly including the potential for 0 (zero) marks where relevant.

All assessment items must focus on the topics given in the specifications for each item. Any assessment items outside the required topic may be awarded 0 (zero) marks.

All portfolio items require students to write about your views, reflections and/or experiences from a personal viewpoint. Therefore, all items should be written in first person where such requirements are made. However, various written communication conventions have been discussed in the course content and you should follow the writing styles appropriate for each assessment item. Do NOT simply write in ‘conversational’ style.

The length of each submission must be within the recommended range. If the submission exceeds the maximum word count the marker will stop marking.

If you use Track Changes when writing your submissions you must ensure that the submitted document is the finaland correctversion of the document. That is, if your submitted document contains Track Changes or Comments or any other editing marks it may be awarded 0 (zero) marks. It is your responsibility to submit the final and correct version of your report.

Academic Integrity

ALL assignments will be checked for plagiarism (material copied from other students and/or material copied from other sources) using Turning. If you are found to have plagiarized material or if you have used someone else’s words without appropriate referencing, you will be penalized for plagiarism which could result in zero marks for the whole assessment item NOT just the individual submission. In some circumstances a more severe penalty may be imposed.

The University’s Academic Misconduct Procedures are available at: policy.cqu.edu.au/Policy/policy_file.do?policyid=1244.

Useful information about academic integrity (avoiding plagiarism) can be found at:

CQUniversity referencing guides

https://www.cqu.edu.au/student-life/services-and-facilities/referencing/cquniversity-referencing-guides 

Note: You need to ensure that your portfolio submissions are free of any spelling, grammatical and typographical errors before submission. 

Submission

Submit each file individually into Moodle using the Portfolio links in the Assessment block for Assessment item 4 on the course website. Please note there should be five (5) files submitted; one file for each portfolio item. Be sure to check that the correct file is submitted for each portfolio item.

The due date for this assignment is the Friday of Week 12. It is STRONGLY recommended that students complete the work during the term using the time frame suggested in the Requirements section below.

All uploaded documents must be fully submitted for marking. At the due date of the assessment Moodle will auto-submitfiles that have been uploaded and left as a draft. However, any files uploaded after the due date must be manually submitted. This means thatif you have been granted an extension or are uploading a late assessment (after the due date) you must complete the Moodle submission process. Further details on completing the submission process are available via the ‘Moodle Help for Students’ link in the Support block of your Moodle website.

If your report is left as a draft in Moodle after the due date it will accrue a late penalty.Late submissions will attract penalties at 5% per day of the total available mark for the individual assessment item. See details in the Assessment of Coursework procedure at policy.cqu.edu.au/Policy/policy_file.do?policyid=1242. 

Requirements

Week 3– Portfolio: Critical Thinking (5 marks) 

Task

This portfolio item requires you to write about Critical Thinking. The document should have two parts.

Part A – Critical Thinking

Write approximately 200 words describing why you need to be a critical thinker.You should refer tostudy, work and personal life.You should include your definitionof the term critical thinking.

Part B – ICT professionals

Explain why it is important for ICT professionals to be critical thinkers.You need to provide at least three (3) relevant unique points in your discussion.This should be approximately 250 words.

Marking Criteria

Critical Thinking:

• Your definition of the term Critical Thinking. Please note that this is to be your definition; do NOT just quote from other sources. If you do use other sources to support your definition then you should acknowledge the reference using Harvard citation and referencing guidelinesor APA referencing style(1 mark).
• Statement about why you need to be a critical thinker - study, work and personal life(1 mark).

Note: Some students may not have previous or current work experience. In that case, focus on your expectations in a future work scenario. Use ICT work experience if you have, otherwise, any work experience is accepted.

ICT professionals:

• At least three (3) relevant unique points about the importance of ICT professionals being critical thinkers(3 marks).

Note: If you have current or previous ICT work experience, you may use examples from that for this section as well. However, the focus here and the examples have to be different from the previous section where you are discussing about ‘you’. This is a generic discussion. You may use third person perspective and examples here.

Note if the submission contains grammatical and/or typographical errors or is NOT well structured and easy to understand or it is too long or too short (less than 400 or greater than 500 words) there will be a penalty of –1 mark. 

Week 5– Portfolio: SWOT Analysis (5 marks) 

Task

Conduct a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis of your presentation skills. An example can be found on page 16 of the prescribed textbook. The SWOT analysis should be presented in a square with four (4) quadrants or in a list as it is presented in the textbook. Each quadrant/section should have at least two (2) unique points. In addition to the SWOT analysis, you should outline some strategies to address one of the weaknesses that you identified in your presentation skills. That is, if you identified ‘fear of public speaking’ as a weakness then describe at least two strategies that you could use to overcome that weakness.

Marking Criteria

SWOT analysis:

Each section/quadrant of the SWOT analysis must have at least two (2) unique points that are an accurate appraisal of your presentation skills (4 marks).

Strategies:

Identify a weakness that is listed in the SWOT analysis section.Must descries beat least two strategies that are reasonable ways to overcome the weaknesses you identified(1 mark).

It is difficult to prescribe a recommended word count for this portfolio itemas it will vary depending on how it is presented. It is expected that it would be about one (1)A4 page.

Note:

1. If the submission contains grammatical and/or typographical errors or is NOT well structured and easy to understand there will be a penalty of –1 mark.
2. If you present the SWOT analysis as a quadrant it MUST NOT be an image. The marker has to be able to add comments or edit your submission to provide feedback - penalty of -1 mark.

Week 7– Portfolio: Reflective Writing (5 marks)

Task

Some people love Social Networking through technology (for example, Facebook and Twitter) whilst others loathe it. Write reflectively about your experiences with the use of a Social networking technology (Facebook, Twitter or another technology). You will need to provide a brief description of the experience and then write three paragraphs of reflective writing where you analyse the experience, what you have learnt from the experience and how you would handle it differently in the future. If you can, choose a significant event such as your account being hacked or negative comments about you or a friend being posted. Your submission should cover the three key points on reflective writing (see below).This should be approximately 400 words.

If you do not use Social networking technologies you could write a reflection on why you do NOT use Social networking technologies or choose another life experience that really challenged you and write about that.

Note this experience must be about a situation where you played a major role. It should not be about someone else’s experience or where you did not play a significant role.

The key points to consider when writing reflectively are:

1. You need to demonstrate what you have learned from a particular experience not just describe what happened.
2. There is no right or wrong answer—reflective writing is about what you learned from the experience.
3. Ask yourself the following questions and give your responses in your writing: Why did Xhappen? What did I do in X situation? What were the positive and negative outcomes inthe situation? How might I do things differently next time? What have I learnt and howdoes this knowledge contribute to my development?

(McCulloch & Reid, 2015, p. 131)

Note 1: You should re-read pages 130-132 of the textbook to ensure you know what is meant by reflective writing.

Note 2: This reflective writing is about evaluating yourself; it is NOT about evaluating social media.

Marking Criteria

The reflective writing on Social Networking through technology should:

1. Include a brief description of the experience (1 mark).
2. Reflect on why the experience happened and how you contributed to the experience (include both positive and negative contributions as applicable) (1 mark).
3. Demonstrate what you have learned from the experience (1 mark).
4. Describe how you would handle the experience differently in the future (1 mark)
5. Explained the positives and negatives of the situation (1 mark).

You should format your submission as 5 paragraphs (each one addressing one of the markingcriteria). You must use relevant headings to make it clear to the marker that you have covered the five criteria above.Use the three key points listed above to check that you have written reflectively about your experience.

Note if the submission contains grammatical and/or typographical errors or is NOT well structured and easy to understand or it is too long or too short (less than 350 or greater than 450 words) there will be a penalty of –1 mark. 

Week 11– Portfolio: Personal Ethical Framework (5 marks) 

Task

In week 9 you learnt about how to develop a personal ethical framework and last week you learnt about work and cultural issues. Understanding who you are and how you relate to others in both your personal and work life can make you aware of the values that are important to you as well as the values that you may need to work on to improve your professional standing. This portfolio item is designed to make you think about how to build a reputation as a good ICT professional. Itrequires you to write about your perceptions of a good ICT professional, your work ethic and values,how you communicate with work colleagues and how to work with others from diverse backgrounds. As you are training to be an ICT professional you should refer to the ACS Code of Ethics and/orACS Code of Professional Conduct when writing this personal ethical framework.It should be approximately500 words.

Use the following headings:

• ICT professional
• Work ethic and values(you may want to use sub-headings. See marking criterion 2 below)
• Communication with colleagues
• Diversity in the workplace

Marking Criteria

Your Personal Ethical Framework should include:

1. Your perception of a good ICT professional. Note this should refer to the ACS Code of Ethics and/or ACS Code of Professional Conduct(1 mark).
2. Statements about:
   1. your work ethic (1 mark).
   2. values that are important to you (1 mark).
3. How you relate to and communicate with work colleagues(1 mark).
4. Your views on working with diversity in the workplace and how to be sensitive to the people who have been brought up in cultures different to your own (1 mark).

Note if the submission contains grammatical and/or typographical errors or is NOT well structured and easy to understand or it is too long or too short (less than 450 or greater than 550 words) there will be a penalty of –1 mark. 

Week 12– Portfolio: Successful Completion(10 marks)

Task

This portfolio item requires you to justify that you have successfully achieved the course learning outcomes and to provide feedback about your experiences with the course. The document should have two parts. 

Part A – Justification

Create a document called ‘Successful Completion’ andwrite a reflective analysis that demonstrates you have satisfied all eight(8) course learning outcomes that are listed in the course profile for COIT20249 Professional Skills in ICT (they are listed below). In no more than two (2) A4 pagesjustify how the work you have completed this term has satisfiedall eight (8) course learning outcomes.Please note it is important that you JUSTIFY that you have satisfied the course objectives do NOT just summarise the course content and/or assessment items OR define the course learning outcomes.

From the Course Profile:

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the basic principles and importance of effective interpersonal communication, active listening and reading for meaning.
2. Demonstrate teamwork skills.
3. Communicate ideas effectively both verbally and in written form using appropriate language.
4. Create and deliver effective oral presentations.
5. Argue the importance of ethics, codes of behaviour, and societal, privacy and legal issues within the ICT industry.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of common work practices and values operating in the Australian workplace.
7. Assess how ICT can be used to improve organisational processes.
8. Evaluate the application of emerging technologies to communication and collaboration. 

Part B – Feedback

Write two things you liked about this course and provide the reason or reasons you liked them. Also describe two suggested improvements to the course and justify why they would improve the course.

Upload the Successful Completion document into Moodle. 

Marking Criteria

Justification:

Justify that you have successfully achieved all eight (8) course learning outcomes (1 mark per successful justification of each course learning outcomes). Please note that a summary of the course content and/or assessment items or defining the course learning outcomes will receive ONE mark only.

Feedback:

1. Two things you liked about this course plus reasons (1 mark).
2. Two suggested improvements to the course plus justification(1 mark).

Note if the submission contains grammatical and/or typographical errors or is NOT well structured and easy to understand there will be a penalty of –1 mark.

If the submission is larger than two A4 pages you mark will be reduced by –1 mark. Please note that if you have a Title page for your assessment submission that is NOT counted as part of the length.