Published on GEOG 588: Planning GIS for Emergency Management D7 Upgrade (https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog588)

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Group Writing Assignment

This week, I would like you to work together to research key phases of emergency management and the use of GIS to support those activities for a recent disaster. I've also included a link to relevant datasets to give you something to analyze to add context to the other things you manage to find.

**For Fall 2017** -- Paul and Kevin work on Response topic and Diena and Madelyn work on Recovery topic 

Lesson 8 Group Writing Assignment Description

  • Response
  • Recovery

Lesson 8 Group Writing Assignment Guidelines and Criteria

The disaster I want you to research is the 2015 Nepal Earthquake, which caused massive loss of life and property in Kathmandu and other places across the country of Nepal. Each group should create a short report for their phase of emergency management according to the following criteria:

  • One paragraph describing generally what happened to people and infrastructure during this phase
  • One paragraph identifying key stakeholders and their needs in this phase
  • 2-3 paragraphs on how GIS was used in this phase - what worked, and what did not work? Did geospatially-oriented social media play a role? If so, how?
  • Include at least three pictures and/or videos (more = better) and link when appropriate to external sources that back up what you are reporting
  • Together, I'd like you to create at least one analytical product using one or more of the datasets I've linked to here [1] (or others you find on your own). This product should include a map and supporting graphics/text such that it can stand on its own if it were distributed widely. It's up to your group what you would like to highlight - there are dozens of datasets out there now and a wide range of possible stories you might try to tell using them. Creativity is encouraged!

I have created pages in this lesson for each group to edit.

I encourage you to use the commenting areas and e-mail to coordinate your group activities and make sure that everyone in your group shares the burden of this assignment.

Lesson 8 Group Writing Assignment Submission Instructions

The pages following these instructions are blank and identified by Group number and topic (Group 1: Vulnerability Assessment and Mitigation, for example).

To complete the group writing assignment you will need to click on the "edit" tab at the top of your group's page and enter content using the editor. You can embed pictures, format sections, change colors, etc... using this editor.

I recommend you save your edits *frequently* by clicking the "Submit" button at the bottom of the editor page. Before you click the "Submit" button, expand the "Publishing Options" section at the bottom of the page and make sure that "Published" and "Create new revision" boxes are checked, and the other boxes are unchecked.

If you have problems editing/submitting content using the page editor, e-mail me so I can help!

Lesson 8 Group Writing Assignment Grading Criteria

I'll assign grades by group, and your grade will be based on your work's content, clarity, impact, and the degree to which your submission satisifies assignment guidelines. For each of the four criteria, I will assign points on a scale from 1-5, with 5 being excellent and 1 being very poor. I define "Impact" as the strength and logic of the arguments and analytical insights you provide with your writing. I define "Content" as the level of understanding and knowledge of relevant topics you demonstrate with your writing. I define "Clarity" as the readability and organization of your writing (including formatting and appropriate graphic design where applicable). I define "Meets Criteria" as the degree to which your work satisifies the guidelines provided with the assignment.

Impact, Content, Clarity, Meets Criteria: 5 = Excel., 4 = VG, 3 = Satis., 2 = Poor, 1 = V. Poor

Source URL: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog588/l8_p3.html

Links
[1] https://data.humdata.org/group/nepal-earthquake