Assignment requires you to write an essay of 8 to 10 pages, double-spaced (1800 to 2200 words). Select one of the topics below. The topic must address an issue of public or government policy on one or more aspect(s) of globalization. Public policy issues are discussed in all units of the course, but particularly in Units 4 and 5.
Citations & References
Guidelines to help you apply important citation standards:
- For an essay of 1800-2200 words, you should use at least five credible sources outside of the course materials to gather research material for your chosen topic.
- Do not use Wikipedia as a research source or a source of definitions; since any page can be edited by any user, it is NOT a credible source of information for university-level research.
- Citations give credit to the original author and help the reader find the original source. Each idea that is not your own, whether quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise used to substantiate your analysis, should be accompanied by an in-text citation, with a complete reference in a references page. This applies to written material, charts, graphs, and other kinds of data.
- Back up your statements with proper citation references. You can build a stronger argument through referencing.
- Sources need to be specifically cited in the text with complete references included in a list at the end of the paper.
- You may use either MLA or APAStyle for citing references. The Athabasca University Write Site provides help with essay writing. It is also a good source of information regarding the proper use of APA and MLA referencing styles, and it provides an overview on avoiding plagiarism through the use of proper documentation. See the section entitled "Documentation & Plagiarism."
- Please be aware of Athabasca University's Student Academic Misconduct Policy.
Essay Topics
- Choose any country of interest. Discuss, in detail, how the country has evolved economically and politically over the past 50 years, what areas of the country have improved, where the county stands now, and what type of challenges and public policies need to be implemented to enhance future economic development prospects and standards of living.
- With regard to corporate social responsibility and globalization, companies are realizing the high costs associated with irresponsible and unethical behaviour now more than ever. Examine a corporation with respect to international policy, corporate citizenship, health and safety, environmental protection, and international practices.
- Intellectual property rights is evolving into a major issue both in terms of the need to have legislation in place to attract MNCs and FDI but also in terms of the extent to which these rights are violated in many developing countries. Discuss the evolution of intellectual property rights and the implications violating these rights. (Note: China tops the US annual list of countries criticized for inadequate protection of copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property rights).