DIASS Module 2: Defining the Applied Sciences

1. What is counseling? Why do you think counseling is considered a discipline of the

applied social sciences?
- Counseling is a form of 'talk therapy'. It is a process where an individual, couple or
family meet with a trained professional counselor to talk about issues and problems that
they are facing in their lives. It is also the act of helping the client to see things more
clearly, possibly from a different view-point. This can enable the client to focus on
feelings, experiences or behavior, with a goal of facilitating positive change . Counseling
is considered a discipline of the applied social sciences because our societies have
become very complex, the relationships we form with different people and the
structures of society are complex as well. Studying these relationships falls under the
social science discipline. Within the social sciences are many branches including
economics, psychology, anthropology, geography, and linguistics.
2. Why social work is considered a discipline of the applied social sciences? How do social
workers help members of the society?
- Social Work may be defined as the applied science of helping people achieve an
effective level of psychosocial functioning (Barker, 1991).The practice of social work
requires knowledge of human development and behavior; of social, economic, and
cultural institutions; and of the interaction of these factors. Social workers help
individuals, families and members of groups and communities restore their capabilities
to function in society. Social workers are trained to help people improve their
developmental capabilities, problem-solving skills and coping mechanisms.
3. Why is communication studies considered as applied social science?
- Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals
with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication
in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in
different cultures. Communication is commonly defined as giving, receiving or
exchanging ideas, information, signals or messages through appropriate media, enabling
individuals or groups to persuade, to seek information, to give information or to express
emotions effectively. Communication studies is a social science that uses various
methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge
that encompasses a range of topics, from face-to-face conversation at a level of
individual agency and interaction to social and cultural communication systems at a
macro level. It is considered as applied social science because communication aims at
developing knowledge about interactional processes and communicative behavior. The
discipline focuses on contacts and bonds between people, both in private and public
 contexts, and both face-to-face and mediated through various communication
technologies.

Practical Research

Strengths Limitations

Findings can be generalized if selection process Related secondary data is sometimes not
is well-designed and sample is representative of available or accessing available data is
study population difficult/impossible

Difficult to understand context of a

Relatively easy to analyze
phenomenon

Data may not be robust enough to explain

Data can be very consistent, precise and reliable
complex issues

DIIIDDIIDD

Literature

1. Green Girl is a fantasy story written by Cyan Abad Jugo. Although it may sound like a story for
children, the story is actually not meant for kids. Green Girl is actually a story that raises the
issue of gender and social criticism. Green Girl is a fantasy story written by Cyan Abad Jugo.
Although it may sound like a story for children, the story is actually not meant for kids. Green
Girl is actually a story that raises the issue of gender and social criticism. However, as Cyan
Abad-Jugo is a writer who prefers to write using a child’s point of view, it seems like a fairy tale
at first glance.
2. The story of the Green Girl by Cyan Abad-Jugo has given me a lesson that as child’s curiosity will
lead you to discovering new things that can affect you either in a good or bad way. Milton was a
kid that was told about many explainable things that triggered his curiosity. With curiosity we
need to have an answer to our question but sometimes taking risk to challenge out curiosity is
very freighting and dangerous. That is eventually happened in the story his curiosity took over
him and it led him to trouble. The story tells us that we must obey our parents because they
 know what’s best for us and what’s good for us and we need to know our limitations in life
because it is for our own good.
3.