This assignment requires you to write a research paper of approximately 3000 words on a topic that explores a key issue in business and society in a changing world. Your paper should examine a problem or controversy that raises policy or governance questions related to one of the two topic areas described in section II below.
The list of topic areas below provides general guidance, but you are expected to further define the research question and line of inquiry that will form the basis of your paper. While you should use the relevant course readings please be advised that the key goal of this assignment is to utilize outside research materials – primarily scholarly articles and books – to develop your proposal and bibliography and eventually your final paper.
In the case of both topic areas A and B, several possible specific sub-topics are indicated. You may include multiple sub-topics where it allows you to address the research question you have formulated.
A. The Climate Crisis. Discuss the social, economic, ethical and/or political challenges related to the climate crisis. Your paper may address one or more of the following questions:
To what degree will dealing with the climate crisis require new business and policy models?
What are the prospects and obstacles for making the necessary social and economic adjustments?
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Are the best models for change also consistent with economic growth or do they require consideration of structural changes such as “post-growth pathways,” as Hickel argues?
What are the political constraints and conditions for developing effective approaches to the climate crisis?
B. The Digital Platform Economy: Social and Regulatory Challenges. Many of the “corporate transformations” in the early 21st century have been linked to the rise of digital platforms, which have brought innovations and convenience to our lives, but have also raised concerns and controversies about their social and economic impact. Among the examples that have been featured in this course are:
Targeted advertising.
Changes to our news and information ecosystem.
Challenges for workers as a result of new technologies and the rise of digital
labour and service platforms.
Taking one or more of these areas of digital economy transformation, analyze and explain what, if any, aspects have become controversial and the possible issues of regulation or reform.
