Reflection Paper #2
Reflection Paper Topic
ESRI and others in the geospatial community contend that GIScience should be the linchpin of homeland security and emergency preparedness that allows emergency management professionals and other governmental leaders to break out of their stovepipes, share information, and ultimately improve their communications and cooperation through a "Common Operational Picture" or COP. Susan Cutter similarly believes that geographers using geospatial techniques as part of "vulnerability science" should play a key role in emergency preparedness and response. In 1000 words (plus or minus 10%) critically analyze this proposition and both defend and challenge it using examples. Conclude with your own analysis and opinion that either supports or rejects the contention that GIScience should play the central role in emergency management.
Technical Specifications
Your reflection papers are to be 1000 words (plus or minus 10%) which is about four double spaced pages in a 12 point font. A major part of this assignment is to ensure you can conduct a critical analysis and convey your results concisely. Policymakers are pressed for time. Analysts must be able to present their results clearly and concisely. I will return submissions over 1100 words (not including titles and references) unread for reediting. Ensure you have a descriptive title and your name on the paper. Use one inch margins all around and please use either Times Roman or Arial as your font.
Your paper must be highly organized and include an introduction which includes a purpose/thesis statement, and an outline of how you will approach your topic and accomplish your purpose. You may want to begin your paper with, "The purpose of this paper is to ..." The body of the paper follows with paragraphs in logical succession that allows you to make your point. Finish with a conclusion that very briefly summarizes the paper and powerfully ends with your concluding statement.
There is a school of thought that academic work should be written in the third person so the scholar maintains objectivity and does not personalize the work. We will use this convention. Thus do not write in the first person (e.g. I think this or that…) and do not refer to "we" or "us." You are an objective author, scholar, analysts, researcher engaged in higher order and critical thinking.
You should include at least some of the course material to include readings to make it evident that you read and understand the lesson material. You must do some research (probably online) and synthesize some other ideas into your reflection. Ensure you cite these sources using the mechanism of putting the author and date in parenthesis at the end of a section containing their ideas, e.g. (Corson 2007). You must then include a "Works Cited" section at the end of the paper that list the author(s) last name first, date of publication, title, and publisher information. Here are some examples:
Multi-authored journal article:
Palka, Eugene J., Francis A. Galgano, and Mark W. Corson (2006) "Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Military Geographical Perspective," The Geographical Review Vol. 95, No. 3, pp. 373-399.Single authored journal article:
Corson, Mark W. (2000), "Hazardscapes in Reunified Germany." Environmental Hazards. Vol. 1, No. 2.Book Chapter:
Corson, Mark W. and Eugene J. Palka (2004), "Geotechnology, the US Military, and War," in Geography and Technology edited by Stanley D. Brunn, Susan L. Cutter, and JW Harrington Jr. Dordrect: Kluwer Academic Publishers.Book:
Corson, Mark W. (2007), I Wish I had Written a Book (New York: No Such Publisher)
The purpose of citations is to give authors credit for their work, and to make it easy for readers to go back to your original source material. You must cite your sources and make it easy for me to reference the full citation in the works cited section. References in the works cited section do not count against your 1000 words.
Please insert page numbers at the bottom of the pages. You may also include images, maps, charts, etc. Please ensure you include a caption and reference the graphic in the text. Graphics should be referenced in the text so the reader can associate the graphic with the appropriate part of the paper. Captions do not count against your 1000 words. Cite the source of the graphic in the caption, e.g. "author's photo".
Please submit your reflection paper in Microsoft Word Format using the following file naming convention:
Lastname_Firstname_lesson08_Reflection_Paper_2.doc
Follow this link to view the feedback sheet I will use as a grading aid.