Knowledge:
By completing this assignment, you will better understand:
How state and local political systems relate to the federal government.
How unpredictable issues and government policies shape the experience of everyday citizens.
Skills:
By completing this assignment, you will better understand:
Federalism and how it plays a role in state government.
The role that the federal government has in uniting the states, and the challenges that arise with the power of the state.
Task:
After viewing the movie, write a coherent essay (introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion) that addresses the following questions:
Why did the communication system break down hours after Hurricane Katrina? (Worth 15 points)
What was the purpose of the Hurricane Pam exercise? (Worth 10 Points)
What lessons could have been learned, had the Hurricane Pam exercise been completed? (Worth 10 Points)
How did federalism play a role in what happened with Katrina? (Worth 30 points)
Is Texas prepared to handle the next big hurricane? (Worth 15 points) Why or why not? (Worth 20 points) For these responses, do not just provide your own opinion. You will lose points if you do not provide outside research to answer these questions.
Criteria:
Situation Explanation
No citations within the essay Will not be graded
Less than 1 page Will not be graded
No works cited Will not be graded
*Copied work Will not be graded
*Copied work includes work that is copied and pasted. This may result in academic probation.
Background Information for the Assignment:
The Storm (Running Time: 60 Minutes) HYPERLINK http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/storm/view/ \\t _blank http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/storm/view/
This video takes an in-depth look at what happened behind the scenes of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Even though this video is not directly focused on Texas Government, it provides an excellent real life example regarding federalism and the relationships between federal, state, and local government. Additionally, there were many people that resettled into Houston as a result of the hurricane. The video has been broken down into five smaller parts to increase the quality of the video and audio. You will need to watch the whole video to complete this activity and to get the information within its proper context.
The transrpt is available here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/storm/etc/srpt.html
Avoiding Plagiarism with this Assignment:
All drop boxes are connected to Turn It In and will provide you with a report about plagiarism (if you are not sure how access this report, see notes on this in the highlighted section below).
Make sure you have looked at the report and made changes as needed before submitting your final copy (pay attention to the highlighted sections). Even if you are sure that all material is in your own words, I strongly advise you to check the feedback report. I will grade based on this report and will not grade any work that does not acknowledge all sources.
I will only grade the final submission of your essay, so if you need to submit the essay several times in order to access the feedback report that is totally fine. Every time you reference the work of someone else, you must acknowledge the source of the information both in the body of the essay (in-text citations) and on the works cited page (reference page). If you have concerns about this process, be sure to visit or communicate (by email, etc.) with your instructor, the Academic Success Center, or the LSC librarians. We all realize that everyone is coming from different backgrounds in writing and we are more than happy to help you.
It is important that you use sources that are known for reporting information in a nonpartisan format. Although there are a number of other sources that can be used, the Houston Chronicle, Texas Tribune, and Texas legislature online are good outside resources to use in this class. The strongest essays are those that meet and exceed all requirements, and demonstrate evidence of critical thinking. Additionally, this is a class in Texas politics, and you must make sure that all of your written assignments are centered on this topic (many students write about the federal government).
Reviewing the feedback report:
To access the feedback report once you have submitted your document, go into the folder where you submitted your work again. Click on the icon that shows a color and percentage. The percentage tells you how much of your writing is coming from someone elses work available on the internet. The information within your document that is highlighted shows you which information came from a different source. It is necessary to have information in your essay that comes from different sources; but, you must provide in-text citations and put the information in your own words or provide quotation marks. Otherwise this information will be considered copied and pasted. If you are still unsure how to review this report, look for feedback report notes under the content section of our class in D2L.
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