Research Design

The goal of this summative assignment is to create the Research Design,
which will become the final research and analysis paper for the Homeland
Security Capstone Course. Review the Capstone Research Project.

This Research Design will collectively build throughout the course
and encapsulate most of the research principles addressed in this
course. The Research Design should be between eight to ten pages in
length and address the items listed below. Remember, the goal of the
research design is to establish the research plan and the method by
which research will be accomplished in order to produce the final
research and analysis report which will be due in the Capstone Course
for the Homeland Security and Emergency Management program.

Focus of the Final Paper:
Use the following structure and address all elements of this design template: 

1. Explain a key issue in Homeland Security and Emergency Management and develop a supporting research question.
   • There should be only one research question that you are trying to answer. (½ page)
2. Construct at least two hypotheses that you will research and
   analyze in an attempt to answer you research question. Explain the logic
   for the generation of your hypotheses. (1 page)
3. Identify research variables that you will use to evaluate your
   hypotheses and show how they will be measured. (1-2 pages) Identify the
   method you will use to analyze your variables and what techniques you
   will use to verify that your data is valid and representative of the
   population or theory you are examining.
4. Conduct a literature review related to your homeland security
   research question and your hypotheses. Discuss the findings of this
   literature review. (1-2 pages)  
5. Create a reference page that accounts for all sources you
   identified relating to your research topic. Your literature review must
   have no less than 8 fully documented resources.
6. Describe the research method by which you will gather the data
   to evaluate the research question. Identify the quantitative and
   qualitative methods you will use to collect the data on your variables.
   For example, will you conduct a survey, use existing statistics, or
   create a focus group? (1 page)
7. Finally, describe where you believe the greatest challenge will
   be in conducting research and analysis on your homeland security topic.  

The complete assignment should be eight to ten double-spaced pages in
length (excluding the APA title and reference pages) and be in the
format of a research design. Refer to Chapters 22 and 23 of the course
text for additional information on the creation of research designs. 

Students must use at least eight sources other than the course
textbook when developing their research and analysis. At least five of
these sources must be located via the Ashford University Library. In
addition to the research design, students must include a reference page,
which complements their literature review. Each item of the reference
page should be in APA format and include where the reference was
located.

Writing

1. Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length (excluding
   the APA title and reference pages), and formatted according to APA style.
2. Must include a title page with the following:
   • Title of paper
   • Student’s name
   • Course name and number
   • Instructor’s name
   • Date submitted
3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
6. Must use at least eight scholarly sources
7. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
8. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style.

The assignment must be a completed paper, with APA formatting, all sections complete (using Roman numerals of each section per the outline), references, and good grammar.

You were recently hired as the VP of Logistics for the ABC Manufacturing Company. This is a new position. During the lengthy interview process, the CEO shared her strategic plans for worldwide growth in the company’s consumer sales. Previously, sales had been confined to domestic sales only. As a result of little staff logistics expertise, the company had kept the traditional logistics model of shipping all finished products from its warehouse and factory location on the East Coast of the United States, even though there was a growing market on the West Coast that competition was serving from a West Coast warehouse. However, the CEO pointed out that despite its national popularity from a feature and quality perspective, it seemed to penetrate poorly on the West Coast because of her need to charge higher prices as the result of higher shipping costs.

The marketing manager tried to mitigate this competitive disadvantage by freight equalization so that end customers would pay the same amount of shipping costs as West Coast competition charged, regardless of where they were located. This met with some insignificant success because timeliness of delivery was another important issue. Therefore, the CEO had asked you, as your first assignment, to write a white paper to address the following specific points. She remembered that you had quite a bit of experience addressing some or all of these issues during your career. As a stickler for formatting, she has specifically asked you to use the following Roman numeral sections and headings in the paper:

Section I: Introduction (200 words)

1. In general, what are the qualitative pros and cons for domestic sales of having multiple distribution centers and shipping locations in the United States?
2. In general, what are qualitative pros and cons of having one or more international distribution centers for international sales, as opposed to shipping directly from a U.S. manufacturing location warehouse? 

Section II: Decision-Making Criteria (300 words)

The CEO is considering three options with the same total construction and operating costs: expanding the warehouse next to the East Coast manufacturing plant; building a West Coast distribution center; or building a combination manufacturing and warehouse location on the West Coast. As a completely separate issue, she is also considering opening a distribution center overseas, to serve the fast-growing warm weather markets of France and Spain.

Given the following general information, what are at least 5 criteria that must be considered when locating a new or expanded shipping warehouse domestically? Internationally?

1. The products are primarily medium- and large-size insulated coolers, like you might use for a picnic or trip to the beach. Transportation firms charge by space, or cubic feet, rather than weight, which is the more normal method.
2. The coolers are made of 3 components, which are all produced by suppliers solely on the East Coast; the raw materials to make this product are bulky, and inbound shipping from the East Coast suppliers currently represents 20% of total raw material costs.
3. The market is very competitive with generally stable or decreasing marketplace prices.
4. In states and countries that are warm year-round, sales are pretty steady; in countries and states that have seasons, 90% of sales occur in the May–August period.
5. Domestic demand is expected to increase 5% annually; international demand is expected to increase 15% annually.
6. Right now, to keep West Coast customers happy, the CEO says that they only charge those customers the local freight cost of shipping, which is $200 for anything up to half a truckload.
7. The current exchange rate is 1 euro = $1.50.

Section III: Metrics to Assess Success (250 words)

1. Describe 3 metrics that you would use to assess the success of any logistics plan involving you as a manufacturer and an internationally based mass merchandiser. Provide support for your selections.

Section IV: Qualitative Factors (200 words)

Identify 3 subjective, qualitative factors to consider in the recommendation.

Section V: Quantitative Factors (Excel Spreadsheet)

Provide a detailed recommendation as to whether you should open a West Coast distribution center, add on to the existing East Coast factory and warehouse, or build a combination West Coast manufacturing location and warehouse? Your response must be quantitatively based using the data in section II, the additional data below, and from external resources as needed.

Use this template to show your numeric calculations. Without calculations shown for how you reached your conclusion, section V will earn 0 points. REMEMBER: Decisions like this are based on a comparison of option A versus current methods, or option B versus current methods.

1. The products are primarily medium- and large-size insulated coolers, like you might use for a picnic or trip to the beach. Each cooler occupies 2 cubic feet of trailer truck space; trailers are 10 x 10 x 40’ long and cost $1,000 to ship from the East Coast to the West Coast.
2. The coolers are made of 3 components: 1 lb of raw material A, 1/4 lb of raw material B, and 1 gallon of material C, weighing 10 lbs. Based on this information, the added freight cost to get raw materials to a West Coast manufacturing location would be $0.20, $0.20, and $0.60 per finished-good unit, respectively.
3. The mass merchandiser location on the West Coast will be purchasing 10,000 units per week, but in lots of only 1,000 at a time because of their retail store space constraints.
4. The market is very competitive, with generally stable or decreasing marketplace prices.
5. In countries that are warm year-round, sales are pretty steady; in southern countries and states or those that have seasons, 90% of sales occur in the May–August period.
6. The raw materials to make this product are bulky, and inbound shipping from the suppliers to the manufacturing plant represents 20% of total raw material costs. These raw materials are supplied in the United States from the East Coast; they are not available elsewhere.
7. Domestic demand is expected to increase 5% annually; international demand is expected to increase 15% annually in France and Spain, but only 2% in Northern European countries.
8. In the past, to keep West Coast customers happy, the CEO agreed to freight equalize customer shipping charges to be competitive with West Coast competition. She says that they only charge those customers the local freight cost of shipping, which is $200 per delivery for anything up to half-truckload quantities.

Section VI: Conclusion (200 words)

What are the 3 most important points that you want the CEO to understand about this entire decision-making process?

Section V – Spreadsheet template 

This must be done by Saturday May 2nd – Midnight Central Standard Time.

• Pick a state legislative issue, something that hasn’t passed yet. By state legislative issue, I mean a bill, not a referendum (ballot initiative) facing the public.
• I recommend perusing StateLine Daily for great ideas about rising and trending issues or check CQ Roll Call’s “PREVIEW: What’s Hot in State Legislatures for 2018.“
• Make sure the issue that you pick is substantive enough that you will be able to write about all the components indicated for this assignment. Don’t pick a small issue that is easily resolved, the more complicated the better.
• Please avoid topics dealing with the budget (e.g. taxes), as those are tough to focus down on for purposes of this class.
• You will be doing this assignment from a hypothetical point of view of a particular lobbying interest group or corporation.
• Each future assignment will have a grading rubric, and I will be looking for quality research and your strategic approach to solving political problems based on our lecture notes and readings.

Problem/Solution Essay

Topic: What can be done to help relieve stress in college?

Directions: Write a problem/solution essay.

Problem-solution essays consider the problems of a particular situation, and give solutions to those problems.

There are two main ways to structure a problem-solution essay. These are similar to the ways to structure cause and effect essays, namely using a block or a chain structure. For the block structure, all of the problems are listed first, and all of the solutions are listed afterwards. For the chain structure, each problem is followed immediately by the solution to that problem. Both types of structure have their merits. The former is generally clearer, especially for shorter essays, while the latter ensures that any solutions you present relate directly to the problems you have given.

BLOCK

Introduction
(including ‘situation’ and thesis)

Problem 1

(Problem 2)

…

Transition sentence/paragraph

Solution 1

Solution 2

…

Conclusion
(including ‘evaluation’)

CHAIN

Introduction
(including ‘situation’ and thesis)

A Psychological Selfie Portrait

The selfie is so ubiquitous these days that even iphones have “selfie” modes! The subculture of the selfie exploded with the onset of the mirror camera mode- and now, it would be difficult to find anyone that has a smart phone that does not know what a selfie is. However, this practice has been around for hundreds of years, and was previously identified as a “self portrait”. The earliest that I can identify are from as far back as the Renaissance (1500’s). Not all artists worked in this mode, however this is when we see artists reflecting back on themselves, some more often than others (Rembrandt).

For this week’s discussion, you are going to create a psychological self portrait that is influenced by an artist from the textbook, and analyze it as an art historian might, or someone with a trained eye might, (like yours!).

A psychological self portrait gives us an insight into your emotions and feelings. It tells us of where you are at mentally and emotionally. Color, size, iconography, how much space your image takes up in the composition: these elements together tell us the story of you, in that moment.

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Here are the Requirements:

1. Take a photograph of yourself that is psychologically interesting. It MUST be inspired by an image from the textbook*. Use your phones camera settings to adjust the colors, zoom in, crop, etc. Your selfie portrait must tell a story that you will interpret based on these elements:

Composition, Vantage; are you central and up close? Significantly small and off center? Zoom in! Or out!

• Up close leaves no mystery, as opposed to far away
• Central gives you the dominant role, off center may indicate a role reversal of central importance

Color; black & white, color saturation- vivid, faded. Use your phone’s camera settings to adjust the colors to suit the psychological interpretation.

• Bright saturation may indicate a false intensity
• Faded colors may indicate lack of emotion, loss
• Black and white can tell of loss of vigor, or create extreme drama

Iconography: Props, clothing

• Objects and types of clothing must add to the story of your mental and emotional status and lead to an interpretation.

2. Analyze your selfie based on the 3 elements:

• composition
• color
• iconography/objects

3. Reflection: was it successful? Does it create the psychological portrait you were hoping for?

4. Identify the artist’s work that you took inspiration from. This MUST be from the textbook. Is the inspiration evident? How was it inspired by the artist? Be specific.

Thanks!

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Things to consider:

You may create a factitious character like Cindy Sherman did. This broadens your possibilities. Make up a totally new you!

If you are camera shy, you may photograph someone else that can be your model.

Use an artist from the textbook as an inspiration; you do not have to copy them.

*Refer to pgs 317-323, or images 11.4-11.13 for reference.

Things not to do:

• No normal everyday selfies.
• No environments/backgrounds that are vague or not directly related to your psychological portrait.
• Use the timer mode on your phone, so…..no hands holding the phone. Make it a real portrait!

Peer replies:

• Interpret the photographs as you see them, and does it match up with what the artist intended?
• What can be recommended? How can the photograph be stronger as a psychological portrait?
• What artist from the textbook does it remind you of?