Students will be assigned countries and will conduct research on two countries
located in two different regions of the world. (Kenya & China)
After a group discussion and research on different countries, you will write a 2
page paper (excluding references and appendices of tables or figures; double-
spaced in 11-12 point font, printed single sided, page numbered, error free, and
stapled together) that includes information and your personal views (compellingly justified based on data and your own reasoning) on the following topics:
a. The interrelationships among the two countries. This could be with respect
to trade and investment (e.g. trade agreements, investment in a country)
currency (e.g. dollarization, pegged currency), and/or other issues (e.g.
historical colonial ties). Discuss at least one interrelationship. State what it
is and provide evidence to support this assertion. You may discuss more
than one interrelationship if desired
b. The impact of structures (e.g. social structure), systems (e.g. political
system, economic system), and/or interrelationships (per part a) on
sustainability and well-being. Explain how at least one of these factors (i.e.
structures, systems, interrelationships) influence at least one UN
Sustainability Development Goals. Discuss how structures, systems,
and/or interrelationships impacted at least one of the comparison
countries. You should demonstrate an understanding both of the
sustainability issue(s) as well as how the country’s (or countries’, if
interrelationships are discussed) context(s) influence sustainability.
Papers should include in-text citations (after every sentence and phrase that is not your own) and references in APA format. In addition, where judgment is needed, data should be used (and explained) to justify your viewpoint. Where data is not clearly available, use the data you have found to try to glean information about the country, referencing appropriately in APA format. Please also use permalinks for database sources (see the country comparison resources webpage on Brightspace for more details).
Note that direct quotes suggest you do not understand the material and therefore should not be used or should be kept at a bare minimum – paraphrase points instead. You may find it helpful to use charts, figures, and the like to show relevant data. In this case, you can include appendices (labeled one per page) that are referenced in the text (e.g. “see Appendix 1”). Be sure to include in-text citations for the data in the appendix. These appendices do not count towards the page limit in the text.
Grading is based both on content (i.e. covering the appropriate material and points for each assignment) as well as process (e.g. formatting, clear and logical
organization, lack of spelling and grammatical errors, using APA format for intext
citations and references and permalinks for database references).
