Objectives
This capstone course concludes with a research-based Course Project that starts during the first week of the session and continues throughout the duration of the course. It culminates with the submission of a formal, written report in Week 7.
For the project, each student will identify and explore an emerging technology. This will be a technology that may already exist but is drawing attention because of new applications, anticipated impacts, or potential controversies. Examples could include, but are in no way limited to, the following subjects.
- Nanotechnology
- Genetically modified organisms
- Drones
- Automatic cars
- Remote or robotic surgery
- Wireless electricity
The student will address the historical, social, cultural, moral, and ethical issues presented by their selected technology.
Listen
Guidelines
The primary focus of this assignment is for the student to research and assess the issues associated with a specific emerging technology. It requires that students submit an APA-formatted, 10-page paper during Week 7 of the session.
The paper must be well researched and utilize scholarly resources The final product should include the following components.
- A title page
- An abstract
- A table of contents
- An introduction, including a clearly defined thesis statement (roughly one page) (10 points)
- An historical timeline that diagrams at least three predecessors to the emergent technology that includes a written assessment on how these technologies influenced the development of the current technology (roughly two pages)Please note that the timeline should be a horizontal visual component at the beginning of the section, and the written assessment should take up a majority of the two pages.
- An analysis of the technology's influence on society considering all of the following components (roughly four pages)Social
- Cultural
- Political
- Economic
- Environmental
- An evaluation of the ethical considerations associated with the technology in relation to its impact on humanity (roughly two pages)
- Concluding remarks that include predictions for the future of humanity given the technology's emergence (roughly one page)
- In-text citations and a reference section in APA format
- A one-page peer evaluation analysis detailing the following information.
- A copy of the Peer Evaluation Presentation Assessment form, completed by a peer
- The edits added or subtracted from the suggestions provided by the collaboration
- A description of the reasoning behind the changes
- Appropriate statistical graphs or visual aids to support the paper