10.8 Written Brief Assignment

Scenario:

You are an analyst at a non-governmental organization (NGO). You are tasked with analyzing the Global Peace Index (GPI), comparing where the United States ranks in relation to other nations. You are also tasked at analyzing the role of scale in the index by assessing the spatial patterns within the United States Peace Index. What are the spatial patterns? What role does scale play? Using what you have learned about peace, what are some strategies the United States can employ to improve their GPI ranking and have more equitable Peace Index scores in the 50 states?

Assignment Requirements:

Remember the elements of a written brief introduced to you in Lesson 8.

Review the Global Peace Index map and rankings on the Vision of Humanity website.

Note: you can change the year by clicking on the “Year.” If you click on the country, you can see a country’s overall ranking, index score, and scoring on individual components.

Review the United States Peace Index map and rankings on the Vision of Humanity website.

Note: The map interface is similar to that of the GPI. Notice that the latest data for the US is from 2010. Consider comparing it to the GPI for the United States in 2010.

Within your written brief, you must provide:

• A strategy for improving United States GPI ranking and having more equitable Peace Index scores across the states.
• Compare the US ranks to other states.
• Discuss the potential role of scale with regards to these rankings
• Discuss the spatial patterns within the United States and Globally.

Your brief should:

• Be no longer than 350-600 words, not including any ancillary graphs, maps, and figures.
• Follow the basic rules for written briefs provided in the “Writing a Brief” section of lesson 3, including putting your bottom line up front. 
  • Hint: Your main point should be the first sentence of your first paragraph. All of the information that follows should support that main point, in decreasing order of importance.
• Include citations