Use appropriate academic sources. This is a research paper, and not an opinion-based paper. Thus, you must use references to support your points, and the references must be properly incorporated into the body of your paper.
Instructions
The result of this assignment, which you will submit through www.turnitin.com, will be a short but formal research paper. It is expected that you will use the tools you have learned in class that are related to: outlining, referencing, writing style, organization, and academic writing expectations.
This paper is a research report, and not an essay. You are expected to demonstrate your ability to critically think when analyzing the technology as it relates to society. The body of the paper should be 6-8 pages in length, double-spaced. This length is for the content (from Introduction to Conclusion) and does not include the abstract or references. The font should be 12 point, Times New Roman. The margins should be one inch (or 2.54 cm) on the top, bottom and both sides.
In this paper, you MUST state your objective(s) AND scope. These items, however, do not need their own separate sections for this length of paper. They should be discussed/stated in the Introduction section. Following the Introduction, use relevant content sections as well as a Conclusion section and Reference section.
In this paper, you are NOT required to includea title page or table of contents (or list of tables, figures or appendices). You are, however, required to include an Abstract and Reference section. The Abstract and Reference section do not count towards your 6-8 pages.
Content of your paper
The following list of ideas and questions should be considered when researching for your report. Due to the limited number of pages allowed in this assignment, there may not be enough room to cover all the topics listed below. Thus, you might choose only to briefly mention some topics, while going into more detail in other areas. It is recommended that you support your analysis with examples, in order to justify your statements. The specific ideas you choose to expand on will depend on which ones you can get detailed information about and which you feel will make the strongest examples to support your points.
What is the technology? How does it work? (This should be only a brief description due to the limited number of pages allowed in this report)
How did society function prior to the wide-spread use of the technology or its first use or introduction of it?
oYou may consider how society functioned politically, socially, and economically
oYou may consider people’s health and welfare, as well as the state of theenvironment
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•How did society function after the wide-spread implementation of the technology?
oAgain, you may consider what changed regarding how society functioned politically,
socially, and economically
•Consider the impacts on people’s health and welfare
oYou should try to provide a balanced discussion
â–ªinclude both positive and negative impacts
Following your analysis of the technology’s impact on people’s health andwelfare, you may wish to evaluate the balance of positive and negative impacts
oDo the positive impacts outweigh the negative ones (or vice versa)? How did you arrive at that conclusion?
oBe sure that you have carefully considered the impacts on society if the technology were no longer available
oBriefly discuss alternatives
oBe sure to explain your reasons for your opinion–they should be based on the facts
that you have already presented
Consider the impacts on the environment
oYou should try to provide a balanced discussion
â–ªinclude both positive and negative impacts
•Following your analysis of the technology’s impact on the environment, you maywish to evaluate the balance of positive and negative impacts
oDo the positive impacts outweigh the negative ones (or vice versa)? How did you arrive at that conclusion?
oBe sure that you have carefully considered the impacts on society if the technology were no longer available
oBriefly discuss alternatives
oBe sure to explain your reasons for your opinion–they should be based on the facts
that you have already presented
What does this example of the impact of technology on society suggest about how
engineering should be practiced?
Demonstrate your critical thinking skills in assessing and evaluating thetechnology’s impact.
You will often find evidence in the literature to support both the negative and positive impacts, so it is likely that through your analysis, you will choose to support and emphasize one side. Be sure that you include evidence to support your claims.
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Grading
You will be graded based on the following:
- content
- thoroughness of analysis
- writing quality and style
- use of language and communication: clarity, grammar, spelling, etc.
- formatting
- originality
- appropriate use of references in the text (in-text citations) and reference list
- correct formatting of references
- quality of references (are they credible?)