Overview of remit
In the practical exercises you have now completed for this module, you have turned attention to uses of GIS not just for assessing current conditions but also for assessing future ‘what if?’ scenarios. Hopefully you have seen that planning for these sorts of scenarios can be useful for a number reasons e.g., identifying numbers of people potentially affected by a given type of change or event, to whether that change or event may impact evenly across all locations or social groups.
For this project assignment, you will not turn thought to consider other ways in which scenarios can be used. The assignment calls you to think about the in which planning for future changes and events may also be useful towards identifying and improving more effective use of GIS. We should not automatically assume that all requirements for effective use of GIS (covering, hardware, software, data, people and procedures) are automatically in place for dealing with any future situation. Rather, scenario planning can help in understanding areas of both opportunity and weakness, and where further development is required, in order to make most effective use of GIS in a given scenario context.
For the present project you are given a choice of scenarios consider You should select one of these scenarios to focus to and should your attention on, and should then research prepare a more extensive scenario for the assessment.
Learning outcomes for this assignment
By completing this assignment you should be able to gain greater appreciation of how forward scenarios can be used to develop plans for GIS projects connected to needs of different users and stakeholders.
In addition you should gain greater knowledge and understanding of the different ways in which GIS can be applied/deployed to real-world situations.
Deliverable
Your report on your chosen scenarios could be 2500 words excluding words in tables and figures, appendices and list of references.
For further information on how to submit this assignment, please also refer to the relevant section in the module guide.
Assessment criteria
The content and organization of the report will be assessed against the elements described in the section below headed ‘criteria for scenario development’.
In addition, your report will be assessed against the presentation standards detailed in the module guide. Please refer to the section of the guide which discusses the presentation standards expected for this assignment.
Choice on scenarios
A range of different scenarios is outlined below. You should choose one to focus you project assignment on.
For each scenario, you will see that only a brief initial description is provided.
It is up to you to develop your chosen scenario further. This will require you to elaborate the future situations associated with your chosen scenario in an appropriate, realistic way. (See also further below.)
Importantly, how develop your scenario should provide a basis for assessing the opportunities and requirements for using GIS effectively to address the future situations you include. You should also think about the actions, changes, resources etc. which should be put in place, in order for GIS to be used effectively given the scenarios under consideration.
The scenarios are as follows:
Scenario 1 – A new ‘Rapid Response’ funding scheme for social science researchers has been established, intended to enable a fast social research response to urgent or unforeseen events. Proposed research will focus solely on urgent data collection and essential initial analysis. Grants must last no more than 12 months with a maximum award of around £125.000. You are a ‘GIS-literate’ social science researcher, and you are preparing a funding application to submit to this scheme. Your proposal is to study the current EU ‘migration crisis in particular focussed on understanding the journeys and experiences of migrants to the EU from across the Mediterranean, and you think it is important to include use of GIS within the study. If choose the scenario, focus on the ways you would develop and use GIS. You should divide the year-long timeframe into quarters.

Criteria for scenario development
You should aim to develop your chosen scenario with reference to the following general points.
• You will see that each initial scenario description omits detailed specifics – e.g. the day, time year of the event under consideration. You are encouraged to fill in those gaps yourself in your writing, giving plausible answers to those sorts of questions.
• Each scenario is divided into a number of sequential time periods. For each time period you should outline in a few paragraphs the state of progress or impacts you would expect, considering the type of event, and other characteristics of the study area under consideration.

NB each scenario has different time periods associated with it – be sure that you work to the time periods specified for your chosen scenario.

Race· Family (Conley, chapter 12) · Religion (Conley, chapter 16) · Globalization and global stratification (Conley, chapters 7; 14) · Poverty and Inequality (Conley, chapter 10) · Stratification and Class (Conley, chapter 7) · How larger social events and movements (i.e. 9-11, the civil rights movements, feminist movements, LGBTQ rights movements, etc.) affected your situation (Conley, chp.18) · Socialization and the Construction of Reality (Conley, chapters 1; 4) ·Applying the Sociological Imagination Essay Guidelines: The sociologist C. Wright Mills writes in The Sociological Imagination (1959), “The first fruit of this imagination – and the first lesson of the social science that embodies it – is the idea that the individual can understand her own experience and gauge her own fate only by locating herself within her period, that she can know her own chance in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in her circumstances.” Mills argues that in the effort to think critically about the social world around us, we need to use our sociological imagination to see the connections between our personal “problems” and the larger forces of history. Mills maintained throughout The Sociological Imagination that it is very difficult for most individuals in society to link their personal troubles to the socio-cultural institutions in which they live. In this paper, you are to use your sociological imagination to analyze a personal problem, past or present, connecting it to a broader social issue embedded in a social and historical context. For example, you may consider the dynamics of a personal relationship, your job or lack of a job, family dynamics, juggling work and school, drug or alcohol use/abuse, your body image, or securing school financing. Here is the assignment: 1. First, write an introductory paragraph introducing the concept of the sociological imagination, and giving a general overview of how you’ll be applying it in your paper. 2. Explain how you are dealing with a situation as a personal issue and label this section “personal explanation”; it can be in the past or present. You may think of something that is worrying you now. You can also analyze the situation of a person close to you if their experience affected you and you know it well enough personally to write in depth about it. Choose a situation that is easily explained through a variety of sociological concepts! Describe what led up to the situation, its resolution if applicable, the whys, who else is involved and what their roles are, etc. How do/did you feel and why? Describe anything else about this situation, the choices you did and didn’t make and why, etc. This section should be no longer than four paragraphs (1/2 – 1 page). 3. Next, applying your sociological imagination, explain the situation sociologically and how society at large has affected the situation. Label this section “sociological imagination;” this section will be most of your paper. Discuss the larger social forces that connect your personal situation to larger, related social issues. Use terms and concepts from the different chapters and readings (Conley textbook), the Galen College online library, discussions, and lectures. You may need to emphasize somepartsofyoursituationoverothersinordertoincludeavarietyofcomplexconcepts. Your sociological imagination analysis should include as many concepts below as are applicable:  &  Always cite any sources you’ve used within your paper itself.· Edit your work carefully for spelling and grammar. · Number your pages · Include your name and date on the first page · Double-space · 12-point standard font · 4-6 pages long – shorter than 4 full pages will lose points · How functionalism, conflict theory and/or symbolic interaction can be used to explain your situation (Conley, chapter 1) Galen College of Nursing – SOC 101 Course Syllabus – On-ground and Online – Version 4.3 11 4. Cite as many social trends and statistics from the Conley text, outside sources (from the Galen College online library), discussions, and lectures, relevant to your situation (For example, divorce rates for various social categories of people vary as do poverty rates, crime and victimization rates, suicide rates, etc. i.e., what is the statistical likelihood that you will get divorced if you are married at 16 versus at 30?). You may need to do some outside research to find relevant statistics. You may also need to research within our textbook for sections you are not required to read – make good use of the index and the online library! Cite the pages your information is from within your paper. If you desire, you may use statistics found on websites, but this is not a requirement. 5. Write a wrap-up conclusion paragraph summarizing the major finding/themes in your paper. 6. Avoid a focus on individualistic, psychological explanations about stress, personality, feelings, personal achievements and characteristics, etc. Refer specifically to information discussed in class, in the texts, and readings and link as many social trends, statistics, cultural values, social policies, or group dynamics as possible to your situation! Your grade is determined by how well you can utilize the terminology and language of sociology you are learning in this course. The following content (5 elements) must be included (see rubric): a. A personal problem/situation b. A sufficient amount of sociological terms and concepts c. A variety of terms and concepts from a wide variety of chapters and subjects (use info from at least 3 different Conley chapters and at least 1 outside source from the Galen College online library) d. Two stats and/or pieces of research from the text, readings or websites e. At least one theory Use a critical reflexive style – write in the first person and include yourself in your paper. The following format and stylistic guidelines must be included (see rubric): · Gender (Conley, chapter 8) ·Ethnicity (Conley, chapter 9)