GLO420 Genetic Engineering Development Impact on Human Health Research Paper The final research paper is intended to provide students with an opportunity t

GLO420 Genetic Engineering Development Impact on Human Health Research Paper The final research paper is intended to provide students with an opportunity to research and write on an issue of personal interest and to articulate a personal vision of what it means for them to be a member of a global community and a future leader in business and society. When considering the future the focus should be on looking beyond the next 5 to 10 years, to the next 20 or 30 years, i.e. to 2040 or ideally 2050 CE.The final paper should be a minimum of 2500 words (10 pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font). It should include a title page, an introduction, the body of the paper, and a conclusion identifying the implications of the research for our understanding of the future as well as questions or issues that, from the student’s perspective, merit further consideration. GLO 420: Future Societies
Global Futures Research Paper Guidelines
The second major assignment for the Future Societies course is a final research paper
in lieu of a final exam. The final research paper is intended to provide students with an
opportunity to research and write on an issue of personal interest and to articulate a
personal vision of what it means for them to be a member of a global community and a
future leader in business and society. Students will select a research topic early in the
term and are encouraged to work on the paper throughout the term. Students will have
an opportunity to submit and received feedback on a draft paper or outline in the latter
part of the term and will prepare a “presentation poster” on their research paper for
class discussion at the end of the term. The final research paper is due during Exam
Week. See MyCourses for due dates.
The final paper should be a minimum of 2500 words (10 pages, double-spaced, in 12point font). It should include a title page, an introduction, the body of the paper, and a
conclusion identifying the implications of the research for our understanding of the
future as well as questions or issues that, from the student’s perspective, merit further
consideration. The “presentation poster” should consist of one piece of poster board
(22” x 28”). It should use photographs, drawings, diagrams, maps, or other visual
images in addition to words and text to convey the student’s analysis of the research
topic and its implications for the future.
Selecting a Research Topic
For this paper students must begin by articulating a question about the future that is of
personal interest. When considering the future the focus should be on looking beyond
the next 5 to 10 years, to the next 20 or 30 years, i.e. to 2040 or ideally 2050 CE. The
parameters for what would make an appropriate “research question” are intentionally
broad and open-ended, to allow students maximum scope to frame their research
around a topic of personally compelling interest. The following examples are offered as
ways of thinking through how to frame a research question for this paper and should
not be taken as prescriptive of the questions that can or should be asked or as limiting
in any way the range of questions that students might wish to consider.
1. One way to frame the research question for this paper is geographically. For
example, a research question could be, what will the city of San Francisco or the
San Francisco Bay Area look like in 2050? Or, how will the city of Mumbai or
communities along the Goa coast in India be impacted by and adapt to rising
ocean levels as a result of climate change? Or, how will the European Union
develop and evolve socially, politically, and economically over the next 30 years?
2. Another way to frame the research question is in terms of the future of an
industry. An industry consists of a network of companies, customers, suppliers,
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investors and other stakeholders organized around a particular need or service,
such as the financial services, the real estate industry, fashion, information
technology, travel and tourism, transportation, and so forth. When taking this
approach, there are a range of questions that could be asked, such as, how will
the industry develop over the next 30 years? Or, what role will the industry play
over the next 30 years in shaping the planet’s future in either positive or negative
ways? Or, how will the industry be transformed by the development of the new
technologies of the 4th industrial revolution? Or, what role might the industry play
in addressing one or more of the grand challenges that currently confront human
societies and the global community?
3. A third way to frame the research question could be in terms of a specific
technology and its potential impact on individuals and societies. For example, the
research question could focus on how societies might be transformed over the
next 30 years by the development of increasingly powerful virtual reality
applications. Or, how human experience and/or human societies might be
transformed by the development of biogenetic technologies and their impact on
human health and life expectancies. Or, how the Internet of Things and an
always-on, always-connected world with diminished expectations of privacy
might impact how people lead their daily lives.
4. A fourth way would be to take a more philosophical approach by asking
questions like, how might the success of efforts to extend life expectancies
resulting in societies where there are many more older people and relatively few
children change our understanding of the meaning and purpose of human life
and experience? Or, how might living in a world of abundance rather than
scarcity, or in a world where few people engage in what we today would consider
work, reshape a society’s values, goals, or expectations about the future? Or,
how might the development of human-like artificial intelligence impact our sense
of identity as a species or our understanding of what it means to be human? Or
how will societies be transformed by the need to adapt to the impacts of climate
change?
As noted, these suggestions on developing a research question or framing your
research topic are not intended to be exclusive or exhaustive. The challenge is to come
up with a research question that interests you, and to frame that question in such a way
as to support and encourage an exploration and elaboration of the research topic. The
formulation of a research question that is at once specific, manageable, and openended, represents a significant challenge. Therefore, students are required to submit
their proposed research question to the instructor for approval before beginning their
research. An assignment box has been set up in MyCourses for submission of
proposed research questions.
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Developing Your Research Topic
Once students have decided on a research question, they will need to consider and
address the following questions:
1. What is the current situation with regard to this research topic and how did
we get here? To address this question students will need to conduct research on
their selected topic. What are the current opportunities or challenges confronting
a specific geographic region? What are the current sources of competitive
advantage or threat in your selected industry? What is the current state of the art
with regard to a particular technology and how has that technology already
begun to impact human societies and behavior? What are the different ways in
which philosophers and social theorists have thought about or approached your
selected philosophical issue or question? The scope and best approach to
conducting this research is likely to vary by topic. However, coming to some
understanding of the history of the topic and its current trajectory will be critical
for arriving at an informed understanding and appreciation of its possible futures.
2. What are the forces driving change with regard to the selected topic, and
what forms are those changes likely to take? Again, research will be required
to answer this question. As O’Reilly noted in the assigned reading from WTF, our
capacity to understand and anticipate the future is dependent on the accuracy of
our current mental maps. What is the “mental map” that you are using to guide
you in your consideration of your selected research topic? In other words, what is
your understanding of the forces that are driving change in this particular
domain? What are the most important cultural, social, economic and political
institutions that are shaping, and being reshaped, by the application of these
forces? Given the interplay of these forces and institutions, what form or forms is
that change likely to take? Will it emerge organically through a process of growth
and decay (Iife-cycle change)? Will it be a process of gradual adaptation as
social systems and human behavior respond to a changing environment and the
emergence of new ecological niches (evolutionary change)? Will it be shaped by
human action and intention, a process of social and perhaps environmental
engineering leading to the creation of a new society (teleological change)? Or will
it result from a clash of competing forces leading to a sudden, perhaps even a
revolutionary transformation of society and human existence (dialectical
change)? When considering your research question, what model or models of
change seem most relevant?
3. What is your own personal vision of the future with respect to your
research topic, and how might we get there? The answer to this question will
ultimately require an act of imagination. Given what you’ve learned about the
current state of play with regard to your research topic and the mental maps you
hold regarding the forces driving change, what do you imagine the world, and
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more specifically, the domain of your research question, will be like 20 or 30
years from now, in 2040 or 2050 CE? Your vision for the future could be consist
of one particular outcome or could be represented by a range of possible
outcomes with varying degrees of probability or impact (e.g. a best case, middle
case, and worst-case scenario, or a most likely, still possible, and least likely
future outcome). Once you’ve developed your vision of the future, you will need
to write the story of how we might get there. This story could be about humanity
in general, or those living in a particular region, or those working in a particular
industry. The story you create should articulate where we started, where we’re
going, why we might make particular choices or take particular actions, and
therefore the path we are likely to take (remember your “mental map”) in arriving
at your future vision.
4. Finally, the question you should ask yourself is, how do you want to
contribute to shaping the development of this future vision and who would
you want to be in this future society? Answering this question will require you
to reflect on your own values, your own priorities, and your own sense of efficacy.
For this, you will want to consider your own emotional response to the current
situation and the future possibilities. What role do hope and fear, optimism and
despair, love and anger play in shaping your responses, and perhaps
determining the choices you are likely to make as you look to the future? How,
for example, are your values and beliefs about the nature of human experience,
the nature of society, or our relationship with the natural world and with each
other, likely to shape your future actions? How are these values and beliefs
reflected in, or perhaps also contradicted by your vision for the future? To what
extent do you feel a sense of efficacy in your capacity to shape a future to your
expectations, or a sense of powerlessness in the face of the overwhelming power
of the forces driving change? What role, if any, is there in your vision of the future
for empathy, compassion, and the wisdom that comes from an understanding of
the interconnectedness of all things? Finally, in what sense do you or might you
see yourself as a leader, in business and society, in creating your future vision?
Assignment Submissions
As noted above, the research paper submission must include a title page, an
introduction, the main body of the paper, and a conclusion. It should also include a
bibliography listing the sources consulted and cited in the research paper.
1. Title Page: The title page should include, at a minimum, a descriptive title, your
name, and the date of submission.
2. Introduction: The introduction should define and describe the research question,
provide an overview of the structure and content of the main body of the paper,
and summarize the main points or observations from your conclusion. In most
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instances you will find it easier to write the introduction after you have completed
the rest of the paper.
3. Main Body: The main body of the paper should address the first three questions
outlined in the preceding section. In this section of the paper you will want to
describe:
a. the historical development of the current situation;
b. your “mental map” or understanding of the main forces driving change,
and the main institutions that are likely to shape the direction of that
change;
c. your expectations, based on this “mental map”, of how that change is
likely to occur, i.e. whether it’s basic trajectory will be shaped by life-cycle,
evolutionary, teleological, or dialectal change processes; and
d. your vision for the future and how we’ll get there.
There is no set structure for the main body of the paper. The paper could
certainly be divided into three subsections with separate headings for “The
Current Situation”, “My Mental Map” and “My Future Vision”, but there are likely
to be other and perhaps ways better ways to organize your research paper
depending on your particular research topic. However you decide to structure
and organize the main body of the paper, you are encouraged to use headings
and subheadings to guide the reader as you present the results of your research.
4. Conclusion: The research paper submission should include a conclusion that
reflects on the implications for you personally of the research you’ve conducted
for this paper, as suggested by the fourth research question outlined above. In
this context, the conclusion should consider the implications of your research for
our understanding of the future as well as highlight issues that you feel merit
some further consideration.
5. Bibliography: The bibliography should consist of a list of works cited in your
research paper, listed alphabetically by author, in APA style.
In addition to submitting the research paper, which will be due at the end of the term
during Exam Week, students are also required to prepare and bring to class during the
last week of the term a poster about their research. The “presentation poster” should
consist of one piece of poster board (22” x 28”). The poster should represent in some
way the research topic, your sense of the current situation and forces driving change,
and your vision for the future. You should use photographs, drawings, diagrams, maps,
or other visual images as well as words and text to convey the results of your research.
Students will be assigned to present their research on one of the two class sessions
during the last week of class. During the relevant class session students will have a
chance to circulate and look at each other’s posters and to share their future visions.
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Students are also required to submit a photograph of their presentation poster along
with the submission of their research paper.
Grading Criteria
A rubric for assessing the final research papers and presentation posters will be posted
to MyCourses. As noted above, students will need to obtain approval for their research
question before proceeding with their research and will have an opportunity to submit a
draft or outline of their research paper in the latter part of the term and receive
feedback. However, only the final version of the paper will count toward the final course
grade.
Research papers should be a minimum of 2,500 words (10 pages). They should be
formatted in 12 pt font, double-spaced, with 1” margins, and should be submitted as
Word documents. All papers will be reviewed by TurnItIn.com and receive a TurnItIn
non-originality score. Papers must include a title page, an introduction, the body of the
paper, and a conclusion. Students are encouraged to use headings and subheadings to
organize the body of their paper. Students must support their analysis by citing relevant
and reliable sources. In-text citations should be in the APA style. The appended
bibliography, properly formatted, should include at least fifteen books, journal articles,
magazine articles, newspaper reports, or other relevant publications by think tanks,
nongovernmental organizations, government agencies, and/or intergovernmental or
transnational institutions.
In general, good final papers will draw on the material covered in the course, material
covered in other courses, academic research, and other relevant sources of information.
They will clearly articulate a response to the research question, addressing the four
questions highlighted above. Good papers will offer a vivid and compelling vision of the
future, or a range of possible futures, and include a thoughtful consideration of the
factors and forces driving change and shaping these future possibilities. Good papers
will also show evidence of personal reflection on the implications of these changes for
the author’s own life and on their own potential role in shaping these future possibilities.
Good research papers will, of course, clearly document their sources of information
using the APA style and will be well organized and of appropriate length; written in clear
English that is generally free of errors; and demonstrate an understanding of the
conventions of academic writing.
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