Sustainability

Assignment
Guidelines

·
You must include your name in the parts of the team project assignment
that you
contribute.
(i.e. the work of each team member must be easily
identifiable).
·
The assignments are due at the end of each module.
Specific due dates are provided in the Course
Timeline.
·
Assignments should be submitted in MS Word preferably (.doc or .docx) or
PDF (.pdf) format.
·
Assignments must be uploaded to the Blackboard before 11:59 PM Arizona
time the day the assignment is due. Not by email. It is HIGHLY recommended that
you schedule to upload them several hours before the posted dead line (ideally,
a day before).
·
The total grade for each assignment is based on 100 points. Specific
point breakdowns is provided in the instructions for each assignment.
·
There is no strict page limit; 7-10 pages are recommended based on double
spacing, 12 point Times Roman font, not including references.
·
You are expected to list citations in a professional manner (any style is
fine). Clearly indicate where source material is from. Plagiarism will not be
tolerated.
·
Please use tables and figures liberally; these are especially good at
demonstrating your synthesis of concepts and results. Any figures used from
other sources should be cited in the Figure label.
·
Clearly demarcate your answers according to the questions provided.
·
What is important is your analysis, not your regurgitation of facts. Write
as a scientist/analyst, not as a newspaper reporter.
·
While it is not a requirement, we appreciate creativity and risk taking
in your responses.

Choosing
a Technology

Your choice of a technology is a
key decision. You should pick a technology that interests you and that you know
or have the capacity to know something about. You should also pick a technology
that has an interesting “sustainability story” – either because of its positive
potential, or because there’s uncertainty and/or controversy about it.

DO NOT SELECT SPECIFIC PRODUCTS. A
product is an example or enactment of a technology; a products and its
technology are not one in the same. Product is specific, technology is generic.
You should not do a technology analysis of (e.g.) Chevy Volt or ASU’s
solar power grid; but you could
do a technology analysis of electric automobiles or solar grids. You could
further focus each of those if desired, e.g. low-speed electric vehicles or
micro-solar grids.

Remember that “technology”
incorporates both the physical system and the socio, economic, and information
systems. For example, if you were looking at new, more sustainable building
materials,
you might also consider the standards and building codes and laws that
constrain and shape the material choices available, or the software that’s used
to evaluate material sustainability.

When you choose a technology, keep in mind that your reports
are talking to one of two types
of stakeholders:
An
investor or manager who is interested in a technology because of the
products and/or
services that can be created with it.
A manager
who is interested in a technology because it will help improve
organizational sustainability performance if adopted.

You should choose a technology
because it’s a technology specifically developed to address a particular
environmental and/or social issue, either in a pro-active (by reducing impacts)
or reactive (by adapting to change caused by impacts) manner. If you choose a
large topic (like solar energy) you may want to narrow it down to a particular
type of solar technology.

Examples technologies that you could
choose are: Fuel cells; solar power; solar-powered water heaters; wind energy;
hydro energy; micro-grids; organic farming; oil sands; biomaterials;
sustainable packaging technologies; water treatment; HVAC technologies; nuclear
energy; electric cars; energy cogeneration; microloans; wave energy; recycling,
specific bottom-of-pyramid technologies.

Learning objective: Explore the
intersection of technology and sustainability.

As a team, select a particular
sustainability-related technology.
There will be an opportunity to modify this after the first module based on
instructor feedback.

1.
Develop and execute a plan to learn about the
technology.
a.
Provide a summary of your search strategy. (10 pts)
b.
Indicate your sources and comment on their validity.
(10 pts)

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