Sunday, August 30, 2009
RJA #2c: Delicious Account
Explore my bookmarks which are related to my research topic - the effect of divorce on children.
RJA #2b: Research Topic
My initial list of potential topics included tax and family law issues. With regard to tax issues, I initially did some research online and reviewed my Tax I textbook. I decided to stay within the topic of "personal taxes" as I thought this was the one area that the majority of my audience (my classmates) could relate to, but I found that because I am so unfamiliar with this topic, I did not feel comfortable pursuing it. Therefore, I started researching family law issues by reviewing articles about divorce and related issues. Again, I was not convinced that my audience could relate to these issues. Also, I deal with family law issues on a daily basis so I believe that I am too familiar with these issues. When I was about to give up my search, I found an article about children and divorce and I thought that this would be an interesting topic because it is not an issue that I deal directly with at work; therefore, I decided to research the topic of children and divorce.
I have been working in the area of family law for over 20 years, so I am very familiar with all family law issues including divorce and the process people have to go through to obtain a divorce. As I stated earlier, the topic of children and divorce is not an issue I deal directly with on a daily basis. What I know about children and divorce is that sometimes parents going through a divorce are so angry that they cannot put the needs of their children before their own. Sometimes they cannot see how their negative actions toward each other or their attempts to get back at each other by putting their children in the middle of their arguments can be harmful or hard on their children. I am currently involved in a case where four year old twins are seeing a psychiatrist because their parents cannot get a long and apparently cannot see how their actions are affecting their children. This divorce will be over soon, but these children may have problems that last a lifetime. This is an extreme case. Of course there are many parents who can put their children first and the children may have an easier time of it; regardless, I believe that the divorce process for any child can be difficult.
I know from my work experience how difficult the divorce process can be for adults. I listen to their complaints all the time. I do not know how the children handle these situations or how they feel about their parents' divorce. I never get to talk to the children in our cases. What I do not know, with the exception of the extreme case mentioned above, is how difficult the process can be for the children of divorce. Not just the process of going through this difficult time, but the effects this may have on the children in the future. What I want to learn about this topic is the effect of divorce on children.
Friday, August 28, 2009
RJA #2a: Possible Topics
Tax Issues
1. I'm an accounting major so I'm definitely interested in this topic.
2. I believe this is an academic topic since tax is taught at MSCD.
3. I believe I can cover a topic in this area adequately in 3600 words.
4. I believe I shouldn't have any trouble finding the required sources.
5. I'm not too familiar with this topic.
6. I cannot determine if topics concerning this issue have been used too much.
Pros: My audience should be able to relate to this issue as almost everyone should have filed a tax return at least once.
Cons: Although I'm interested in this topic, I'm very unfamiliar with this topic and do not feel I have adequate time to do enough research to narrow my topic down to a specific issue within the topic of "taxes."
Family Law Issues (Separation and other Marital Agreements, Disposition of Property, Maintenance (f/k/a alimony), Child Support, Allocation of Parental Responsibilities and Procedural and Evidentiary Matters)
1. These topics all involve my current profession as a paralegal in a family law firm and because I deal with them day in and day out, I may not find them too interesting.
2. As the subject of family law is taught in college, I believe these can be considered academic topics.
3. I believe I can cover a topic in this area adequately in 3600 words.
4. I believe I shouldn't have any trouble finding the required sources.
5. I may be too familiar with a topic in any of these areas.
6. I cannot determine if topics concerning these issues have been used too much, but it is doubtful.
Pros: I would have plenty of resources since I work in this field. My research might not be too difficult.
Cons: I feel too familiar with these topics and am not particularly interested in them. I don't think most of my audience could relate to these topics.
Children and Divorce
1. I'm very interested in this topic.
2. This could be an academic or scholarly issue. This topic could fall under the category of social sciences (psychology).
3. I believe I can cover this topic adequately in 3600 words.
4. I believe I shouldn't have any trouble finding the required sources.
5. I don't think I'm too familiar with this topic as my job doesn't deal with how a client's child is effected by the divorce or problems of his/her parents.
6. I cannot determine if this topic has been used too much.
Pros: I love this topic because I'm always concerned about the children when their parents are going through a divorce. This topic could be very interesting. Statics show that approximately 50% or more of marriages end in divorce, which means that a lot of people could relate to this topic. I'm not as familiar with this topic as I would be if I choose a topic under "family law issues" and therefore, this might be more challenging.
Cons: Because I'm not as familiar with this topic, the "challenging" aspect might be difficult.
1. I'm an accounting major so I'm definitely interested in this topic.
2. I believe this is an academic topic since tax is taught at MSCD.
3. I believe I can cover a topic in this area adequately in 3600 words.
4. I believe I shouldn't have any trouble finding the required sources.
5. I'm not too familiar with this topic.
6. I cannot determine if topics concerning this issue have been used too much.
Pros: My audience should be able to relate to this issue as almost everyone should have filed a tax return at least once.
Cons: Although I'm interested in this topic, I'm very unfamiliar with this topic and do not feel I have adequate time to do enough research to narrow my topic down to a specific issue within the topic of "taxes."
Family Law Issues (Separation and other Marital Agreements, Disposition of Property, Maintenance (f/k/a alimony), Child Support, Allocation of Parental Responsibilities and Procedural and Evidentiary Matters)
1. These topics all involve my current profession as a paralegal in a family law firm and because I deal with them day in and day out, I may not find them too interesting.
2. As the subject of family law is taught in college, I believe these can be considered academic topics.
3. I believe I can cover a topic in this area adequately in 3600 words.
4. I believe I shouldn't have any trouble finding the required sources.
5. I may be too familiar with a topic in any of these areas.
6. I cannot determine if topics concerning these issues have been used too much, but it is doubtful.
Pros: I would have plenty of resources since I work in this field. My research might not be too difficult.
Cons: I feel too familiar with these topics and am not particularly interested in them. I don't think most of my audience could relate to these topics.
Children and Divorce
1. I'm very interested in this topic.
2. This could be an academic or scholarly issue. This topic could fall under the category of social sciences (psychology).
3. I believe I can cover this topic adequately in 3600 words.
4. I believe I shouldn't have any trouble finding the required sources.
5. I don't think I'm too familiar with this topic as my job doesn't deal with how a client's child is effected by the divorce or problems of his/her parents.
6. I cannot determine if this topic has been used too much.
Pros: I love this topic because I'm always concerned about the children when their parents are going through a divorce. This topic could be very interesting. Statics show that approximately 50% or more of marriages end in divorce, which means that a lot of people could relate to this topic. I'm not as familiar with this topic as I would be if I choose a topic under "family law issues" and therefore, this might be more challenging.
Cons: Because I'm not as familiar with this topic, the "challenging" aspect might be difficult.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Research Journal Assignment #1: Areas of Academic Interest
My major area of academic interest is accounting. Following are the accounting classes I have taken or are taking to date:
University of Colorado at Denver
- Acct. 2200 - Financial Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis
- Acct. 2220 - Managerial Accounting and Professional Issues
- Acct. 3054 - Accounting Systems and Data Processing
- Acct. 3220 - Intermediate Financial Accounting I
- Acct. 3230 - Intermediate Financial Accounting II
Metropolitan State College of Denver
- Acct. 3090 - Tax I
I think tax issues would be an interesting topic to cover. I'm just not sure I know enough about this topic. I would have research this topic more as there are so many issues related to this topic.
I currently work in the field of family law. Following is a list of family law issues that I deal with on a regular basis:
Family Law Issues
- Separation and other Marital Agreements
- Disposition of Property
- Maintenance (f/k/a alimony)
- Child Support
- Allocation of Parental Responsibilities (custody/decision making/parenting time)
- Procedural and Evidentiary Matters
This area is not my major area of academic interest, but I'm comfortable with this topic because I have worked in this field for many years. It may be easier for me to narrow down an issue under this topic for my research paper.
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