Reference no: EM131623021

Portfolio Project Assignment

General Directions:

The Portfolio is intended to encourage your reflection on course topics in personally meaningful ways. Your responses should be within the page length guidelines provided for each assignment and no longer than that. I encourage you to compose outlines and rough drafts prior to writing up the final entries to gauge the length of your project.

Your responses should be written in Word files, which are compatible with the Blackboard system. Be sure to save electronic files on your computer and a flash drive so as not to lose your work. Responses should be double-spaced using 12-point font and 1 inch margins. For full credit you must follow the directions in terms of format, length and content. You are welcome to include photographs or other creative elements.

The title page should include your name and title of the course. Beyond that, the design of the cover page (graphics or photos) is up to you. If you do include graphics within the project those materials will not count as space toward your writing page limits. The overall design of your Portfolio should be attractive and professional looking.

Include a table of contents and remember to number the pages. A sample table of contents is provided at the end of this document.

Submit your Portfolios online by the deadline toward the end of the semester using the directions provided on Blackboard for the Turnitin system. Note that this is a plagiarism detection system. Do not directly copy the work from your sources without proper attribution or copy the work of a previous student in the class.

Projects must be received (you will receive a time stamp from the Blackboard system) by the deadline. Late assignments will lose 20% of total points and will be accepted only up to two days (48 hours) late. Plan ahead and submit your materials on time to avoid losing points needlessly. Portfolios are due toward the end of the semester as listed on the course calendar.

If you have trouble submitting your work, you must immediately contact me (before the deadline); otherwise your project is considered late. If you follow directions there will be no problem with your submission of the project. Thousands of students have done it.

For each section of the Portfolio, copy the section heading followed by your response. If you answer the questions thoughtfully and thoroughly you will do a good job on the Portfolio. I have been using Portfolios for many years now and have found that students who put forth an earnest effort and answer the questions fully ALWAYS do well. In other words, if you follow the directions and put forth an honest effort you have nothing to worry about. Also, refer to the grading rubric under the menu item "Portfolio."

Section #1: PBS Untold Stories Project

View the video segment, read the PDF file, and complete the study guide for each of the Untold Stories on African Americans, Native Americans, and Japanese Americans.

Note that the study guides can be used as reference material for the exam. You DO NOT have to turn in the study guides. This will be the only online assignment that will also require information for an exam.

Respond to each of the essay questions below:

Yosemite Buffalo Soldiers

1. African American tourists comprise less than one percent of the visitation to Yosemite National Park. Shelton Johnson has made it his life's work to connect the general African American population to the national parks. Present ideas that you have that would result in the national parks being more attractive to African Americans as a tourism destination.

Mount Rushmore, Telling America's Stories

2. Gerard Baker is the first American Indian to be Superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Discuss your thoughts on the inclusion of American Indian history and culture, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. In other words, to what extent should Native American history be interpreted in our national parks? What, specifically, should tourists be exposed to in terms of Native American history?

Manzanar, Never Again

3. How should our country at war balance our citizens' civil liberties and the need for national security? What relevance does this period of history have in our world today (think 9/11) and some of the statements of the new president of the United States? How does the fact that our country established a national site to honor a difficult period in our past reflect on us as a nation? What is it that tourists should learn about when they visit Manzanar?

Length: Three to five pages

Again, the entire Portfolio is not due until the end of the semester as indicated on the first page of this document. Please read all of those directions carefully. In other words, you don't submit anything now, but rather at the end of the semester when the whole project is due. Your Portfolio will consist of ONE document to be submitted on Blackboard.

Section #2: Codes of Cultural Behavior

Choice of Country

1. Choose a destination (one country) anywhere in the world. To begin this section, explain why you chose this particular country.

Brief Cultural Overview

2. Provide a brief cultural overview of the country to include historical background, language, religious beliefs, and other information you believe is pertinent. Provide references cited in parentheses by title only, immediately after the information presented. For example: (CountryWatch)

Codes of Cultural Behavior

3. Conduct additional research on the codes of cultural behavior in the country. Provide information on cultural "Dos" and "Don'ts" for tourists to the country. Analyze at least five "Dos" and five "Don'ts" which document the codes of cultural behavior in the country that will assist tourists in avoiding conflict with the cultural values of the hosts. Again, discuss (not just list) the "Dos" and "Don'ts" as a major component of this assignment. After each of the "Dos" and "Don'ts" make certain that you provide the reference cited. The references may appear by title only, in parentheses, after each listing. For example: (CountryWatch)

Unusual Aspects of Culture

4. Explain which of the "Dos" and which of the "Don'ts" seem most unusual to you and might contribute to your unease in the country you chose.

You must have a minimum of two online resources and two library reference works. Do not cut and paste material from the online resources. You must report the information in your own words. The Turnitin system detects direct plagiarism. Again, a total of at least four sources must be used. List these under the heading "References" at the end of this section. It is not necessary, in this class, to provide the full citation (since it will be easier for you this way and I'm already familiar with all the reference works). Note: Use only credible online sources. Do not use Wikipedia. The more reference material you refer to, the higher quality your response will be, and will result in higher points.

I encourage you to go to the University library to complete this assignment where you will find all of the traditional reference works. The librarians are happy to assist you with this. Also, if you have any trouble with the online resources the librarians can provide help with that too.

Additional information on this project may be found by clicking on "Online Work."

Length: Five to seven pages

Section #3: Mountains Beyond Mountains Essays

Answer each of the following questions from the course readings.

Application of the W Curve of Cultural Change

1. In his first year in Haiti, Paul Farmer reflected on a young doctor who was anxious to return to the United States. Farmer revealed, "I wasn't feeling judgmental. Haiti was something he was seeing that he could leave and erase from his mind, and I was thinking, Could I do that? He was leaving Haiti, really leaving in body and mind, and I realized I was going to have trouble with that." Relate this to the "W Curve of Cultural Change, Adaptation and Adjustment" discussed in class. Explain the obligation you feel we have, if any, to other places we see-even though we return home.

Connecting with People Who are Different

2. Paul Farmer finds ways of connecting with people whose backgrounds are vastly different from his own. How does he do this? Are his methods something to which we can all aspire? Consider how you might adopt some of his methods.

Beyond Mountains There are Mountains

3. The title of the book comes from the Haitian proverb, "beyond mountains there are mountains." What does the saying mean in the context of the culture it comes from, and what does it mean in relation to Farmer's work? Can you think of other situations-personal or societal-for which this proverb might be apt? Explain.

Five Major Lessons

4. What do you believe are the five major lessons that can be derived from the book?

Perspectives on How You See the World

5. How has reading this book changed how you see the world?

Length: Three to five pages

Section #4: Midterm Online Survey

This is an online survey to be completed the night of the first exam. To receive 5 points credit for this assignment, complete the anonymous survey posted on Blackboard. Note that this is not extra credit; it is built into the total points you can earn for the Portfolio. For those who complete the survey a check mark will appear next to your name under the survey heading in my grade center on Blackboard. Five points will be added to your Portfolio score at the end of the semester when a grade is assigned for this entire project.

Section #5: Project Implicit

This online project is associated with fascinating research about attitudes toward various aspects of nondominant cultures. It is well known that people don't always "speak their minds" and it is suspected that people don't always "know their minds." Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology and for our purposes concerning cross-cultural perspectives. The Project Implicit web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with previous methods. Research using this new method has been conducted at the University of Washington, University of Virginia, Harvard, and Yale.

On the Project Implicit web site you will find a Demonstration Site and a Research Site. Choose the Demonstration Site. There you will find preliminary information and an "important disclaimer." Read over this material carefully before you proceed, knowing there is a possibility of encountering interpretations of your test performances with which you may not agree. If you opt not to proceed please talk with me about an alternative assignment. (Over the past five years, not a single student has opted out!)

As you continue you can choose from about 15 possible tests that interpret your responses to various aspects of nondominant perspectives, cultures, views and traditions (such as Asian-European American, African-European American, Arab Muslim-Other People, and Native-White American).

Choose any five of the tests (of the 15 or so, the categories vary over time) and complete them. In other words, you can choose the tests according to your personal reasons.

Copy the results of your tests to be included in the Portfolio as explained for this section under the menu item "Online Work." With reference to the results from the tests, analyze your findings. You must provide a copy (screen shot) of your results. The copies of test results should follow your discussion of these questions:

Interpretation of Results

1) Explain to what extent you agree or disagree with the interpretations provided.

Relevance to Cultural Diversity

2) What does this entire assignment have to do with a general education course with the "cultural diversity" distinction?

Relevance to Cross-Cultural Perspectives of Tourism

3) What does this assignment have to do with cross-cultural perspectives of tourism?

Length: Three to five pages (copies of results don't count toward page limit)

Section #6: VolunTourism

Review the home page to understand the resources available on this web site and to get a feeling for what VolunTourism is. On the menu (left screen) under "Who Are You?" click on "Traveler." Read this page on VolunTourism for Travelers.

The Difficult Questions

1. Click on "Getting Started" and read. Complete the following exercise in this section: The Difficult Questions. Start by answering "Where do I want to go?" Then complete Questions #1-10. Add to your Portfolio.

Insights about Trip Preparation

2. Under "Quick Links" click on "Trip Preparation" and read. (Note that we skipped the section on "Trip Selection.") After carefully reading the material, list three important insights you gained about trip preparation. Add to your Portfolio.

Processing Experiences

3. Under "Quick Links" click on "Processing Experiences" and read. What is your response to this section? In other words, what do you think of the advice given about Processing Experiences? Present at least three insights you gained. Add to your Portfolio.

Post-Trip

4. Under "Quick Links" click on Post-Trip and read. What is your response to this section? In other words, what do you think of the advice given about Post-Trip? Present at least three insights you gained. Add to your Portfolio.

Summary of Articles

5. Next, read the five articles that are posted on our Blackboard course management site for this assignment (click on "Online Work") and summarize each of the articles (two to three paragraphs for each). Add to your portfolio.

VolunTourism for You?

6. Finally, is VolunTourism something you would consider in future travel plans? Why or why not? Add to your Portfolio.

Length: Six to twelve pages

Section #7: Final Online Survey

This section will be presented in the form of an online survey to be completed the night of the second exam. To receive 5 points credit for this assignment, complete the anonymous survey posted on Blackboard. Note that this is not extra credit; it is built into the total points you can earn for the Portfolio.

I am seeking your input about course content and the "blended" learning approach employed in this class. For those who complete the anonymous survey a check mark will appear next to your name under the survey heading in my grade center on Blackboard. Five points will be added to your Portfolio score if you complete the survey. (You lose those points if you don't complete the survey.)

Again, these points will be added to your total score for the Portfolio at the end of the semester when a grade is assigned for this entire project.

Important Notes:

The completed Portfolio (everything but the surveys, of course, which are done separately on Blackboard) is due by the deadline listed on the course calendar.

Remember to provide a table of contents and to number your pages. A sample table of contents is provided on the next page. Note also the headings and subheadings you should use for each section in your project, as provided on the sample table of contents.

To be sure you have done everything correctly, please review the directions on the first page of this document and follow the directions carefully before turning in the assignment on Blackboard.

Table of Contents Page #

Section 1: PBS Untold Stories Project

Yosemite Buffalo Soldiers
Mount Rushmore, Telling America's Stories
Manzanar, Never Again

Section 2: Codes of Cultural Behavior

Choice of Country
Brief Cultural Overview
Codes of Cultural Behavior (Dos and Don'ts)
Unusual Aspects of Culture
References

Section 3: Mountains Beyond Mountains Essays

Application of the W Curve of Cultural Change
Connecting with People Who are Different
Beyond Mountains There are Mountains
Five Major Lessons
Perspectives on How You See the World

Section 4: Midterm Online Survey (Grade Center Check Mark)
(Not actually part of this document, credit to be added to final score)

Section 5: Project Implicit

Interpretation of Results
Relevance to Cultural Diversity
Relevance to Cross Cultural Perspectives of Tourism

Results for 5 Tests

Section 6: VolunTourism

The Difficult Questions
Insights About Trip Preparation
Processing Experiences
Post-Trip
Summary of Articles
VolunTourism for You?

Section 7: Final Online Survey (Grade Center Check Mark)

(Not actually part of this document, credit to be added to final score).

Attachment:- Library.rar