Topic: Developing and maintaining resilience in infrastructures, communities, or organizations

Thesis Statement: In the United States, critical infrastructures remain the major concern during an emergency disaster (both natural and manmade). Hence, the need for infrastructure protection of which the priority should be on infrastructure resilience. Therefore, in this paper, I will discuss the benefits of protecting the infrastructure and the challenges involved by looking into the mitigation factors, how the communities can contribute to resilience and how the attack on one infrastructure can result in cascading effect.

Instructions.

The length of the body of the paper should be approximately 12-20 pages (approximately 250-300 words per page, for a total of about 3,000-5,000 words), not including the Title Page (with Statement of authorship), Table of Contents, Abstract, Tables, Appendixes (if any), and References. Use the same formatting (margins, font, etc.) as for the Individual Assignment essay. APA citation style should be followed throughout the paper. Keep in mind that overall length is just one criterion; the major criterion is the quality of the content.

Note:

With this assignment, as with all others, you must adhere to UMUC policies regarding academic integrity. Avoid plagiarism, both intentional and inadvertent, and provide accurate documentation and attribution of the work of others. UMUC’s policy recommends “carefully following accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects should accurately record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased or summarized, and papers and research projects should acknowledge these sources in references.

I will use Turnitin to generate an Originality Report with a Similarity Index score to check all the papers for any possible plagiarism, or an excessive proportion of direct quotes and paraphrasing relative to your own work. If so, I will inform you of the results in my feedback. Even if you include citations and used quotation marks to avoid any risk of plagiarism, you should strive for a proper balance. It’s necessary to cite, and occasionally quote from, appropriate sources to support your own arguments and assertions, but you should avoid simply copying-and-pasting large sections or paragraphs from the work of others to form a new paper.

Through successful completion of this assignment, you will:

• Devise and execute a research strategy to produce a quality, graduate-level research paper.

• Use the electronic UMUC library resources effectively and integrate sources in support of your research position.

• Analyze, synthesize, and evaluate elements of the topic.

• Present the information clearly and logically in a well-documented research paper.

Scholarly Research

You are expected to use scholarly publications in support of your topic (part of your research strategy). That means searching UMUC’s online library databases for your sources. In other words, do not use search engines such as Google as your primary means to find sources. Do not rely on Wikipedia as a source.

You must develop your paper using at least 10 high-quality references. Of the 10 or more references, you must rely on and cite a minimum of 5 scholarly or substantive government publications, such as articles from academic journals, books or official reports. You should search the UMUC Library databases for journals or government documents. You must also include 5 or more references from other well-respected sources, such as government, think tank, or professional association publications or Web sites.

Limit the number of secondary sources such as online articles from newspapers, popular magazines, or trade journals. Also, limit informational web pages you use as sources to no more than two (2). Using simple web pages for research—even official web pages from government agencies—is not generally appropriate for graduate-level research papers, as these web pages seldom include authors, publication dates, or citations, and they are often brief and more informational than substantive. Also, avoid relying on vendor-provided information (unless, for example, you are comparing and contrasting vendors’ claims), and avoid the use of online encyclopedia or dictionaries.

Citation Tips

You must cite correctly and follow the standards in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) for in-text attribution of sources and for the reference list at the end.

Specifications for the Research Paper

Content Specifications

The contents and organization of the paper should include:

  • Title page
  • Abstract
  • Main body (see below)
  • List of References or Works Cited
  • (OPTIONAL) , Table of Contents, Appendices for figures, tables, etc.
  • Statement attesting to original work (see below)

Follow general APA formatting guidelines, with the exception that the document may be either single or double-spaced. I strongly recommend using subject headings in bold to organize the narrative and introduce transition points from one major topic or issue to another, and use paragraphing to break up and further organize the narrative in the body of the paper. I would also appreciate pagination (i.e., inserting sequential page numbers). Good papers clearly present your research findings and analyze and assess those findings. At the graduate school level, you need to do more than report on your research; you must evaluate the significance and potential ramifications of the issue at hand. Where appropriate, you should also critique information you found in the sources you used. End your paper with a meaningful conclusion section. Conclusions summarize your evaluation of the topic or show how you proved your thesis statement. Conclusions do not present new information!

The body of the paper should be approximately 12-20 pages (approximately 250-300 words per page, for a total of about 3,000-5,000 words), not including the Title Page (with Statement of authorship), Table of Contents, Abstract, Tables, Appendixes (if any), and References. These are guidelines, and not absolute or strict requirements. If you can brilliantly present an idea in 2,800 words, that is acceptable. If you exceed 5,000 words because you have significant analysis to present, that is fine. What is not acceptable is a paper that is brief rather than substantive, or includes excessive verbiage that strays off topic or consists of “filler” and “fluff.”

Support all statements of facts, assertions, and conclusions with credible sources. Cite the source, whether you are summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting directly. Follow the APA guidelines for quoting sources, including specific page or paragraph numbers in the in-text citations.

Only a limited amount of material should be quoted, summarized, or paraphrased from sources. You are to provide original analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of information. If it appears too high a proportion of your paper is quoted, it will be subject to additional scrutiny. Evaluate the quoted material to determine if it carries your analysis forward (good!) or if you are using it in place of your own critical thinking (bad!).

 
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