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WLDC202

Project Proposal (2 examples)

Dr. Sandra Alexander

My comments: these are good examples of well-structured proposals that do everything outlined

in the proposal guidelines! My only criticism of these two examples are that they are TOO

LONG, given that I tell you to aim for approx. 600 words total (minus references/work cited).

Also, bear in mind that you need a MINIMUM of three, quality sources for your research; one of

these two students went well beyond three sources. (I did not mark them down for that, but know

that you only need a minimum of three; please do not just ‘bulk up’/add sources for looks, or to

make your research appear deeper than it was. Only cite sources that were of real use to you.)

EXAMPLE 1

Regarding my group’s issue of choice (littering), I was to focus on the ‘littering culture’

present in Jordan and its causes within societal norms and individual psychology. My research,

which ranges from environmental organizations to surveys of the Jordanian opinions about

littering, highly suggests that the cause of littering is rooted in a personal detachment from the act

of polluting. Many Jordanians simply see no problem in trashing their communities because they

fail to draw a connection between their actions and themselves (Abboud 2018). Surveys suggested

that Jordanians have high standards for cleanliness in their own homes but do not care for their

neighborhood due to a psychological dissonance between littering and the detriment it causes to

their beloved communities (Ritzmann 2017). Analysis of the most common types of littering assert

that business owners, who haphazardly dispose of plastic bags, have a massive part to play in the

epidemic (Saidan, Linah, & Hakam 2017).

With the onset of globalization comes a consumerist culture, one that focuses on

purchasing and monetary prowess as a measure of success. Due to American influences in social

media affecting the Jordanian youth, the laissez-faire attitude of teenagers from such platforms has

infected Jordan’s once highly collectivist culture. Thus, the younger generations fail to see how

their littering habits have eroded their standard of living and harmed their community values.

Jordan’s disproportionately young population has severed its patriotic identity from their civic duty

of care towards the country, replacing it with a ‘littering culture’ as pervasive as the Jordanian

culture itself. Accordingly, to dismantle the culture of littering would be to dismantle and

reconstruct the very concept of what it means to be a Jordanian. The solution to such a problem

must redefine patriotic identity as the antithesis of the Jordanian stereotype of carelessness. My

research allowed me to empathize with the country’s older generations, particularly mothers of

young children, who wish to instill community values into the youth (Wood 2018). In most cases,

the younger generations are impacted more profoundly by Jordan’s ‘street culture, where littering

is an essential characteristic of fitting in. The solution must find a way to communicate the message

via channels (street presence) that these children can accept.

My solution is divided into two complementary parts, each targeting a different segment

of the Jordanian population. First, the “Talk with Trash” campaign targets the younger generation

who immerse themselves in ‘street culture’ and are characterized by mindless littering habits. Due

to the littering culture brought forth by globalization and social pressure, the “Talk with Trash”

endeavor aims to remove the cognitive dissonance between littering and community responsibility

by characterizing litter with personal and communal expression. The campaign would spread

various ‘smart’ waste-bins across the neighborhoods and popular hangouts in Jordan. The first

disposal prototype is a simple see-through glass waste-bin, separated in the middle. At the top of

the bin surface is a polarizing question with two alternative answers, such as “What is the best

football team in the world?” with “Real Madrid” and “Barcelona” as choices. Each choice is

written above one half of the clear disposal, with a narrow opening so that the voter would cast

their opinion by disposing of their cigarette under their answer. The clear glass would display the

popularity of each choice; this causes the polarizing nature of such questions to invoke a personal

choice to dispose of the cigarette butt into the bin and not onto the street. Such a bin draws a

connection between litter and a strong, deeply personal opinion. In this way, the person’s

perception of litter is transformed from a useless byproduct to a channel of personal expression.

A more sophisticated disposal is that of the smart screen recycling bin, which will be

erected in Rainbow Street (a popular cluster of murals and restaurants). Contrary to the ubiquitous

placement of the poll bin, this bin will be placed in downtown areas due to its technologically

advanced features. A recycling bin with four options (Plastics, Paper, Cans, and General) is

equipped with a camera and a large screen on its body. A category of dialogue is written

corresponding to each option (“Advice” under Plastics, “Motivation” under Paper, “Q&A” under

Cans, and “Story” under General). When disposing of an object, a person will place the object in

the corresponding material category and record a video message related to the title under it. For

example, a person throwing a plastic bottle will record a thirty second video providing a piece of

advice to the next disposer. This will continue so that each person will watch a video (whether it

be advice, a funny story, or motivation) recorded by a previous person and will record a video

themselves for the next person. Doing so associates the act of disposing trash with the rewarding

experience of giving and receiving advice. A subconscious connection is drawn between recycling

and a close-knit community, one that is much more rewarding than dropping trash on the ground.

The “Talk with Trash” campaign ultimately tackles the cultural norm of littering by transforming

individual perceptions of patriotism from a littering street culture to a supportive, collaborative

effort to care for one’s community.

Community participation is the most formidable challenge when it comes to the campaign,

particularly the engagement of Jordanian youth. Such a project can only be successful if our

targeted demographic chooses to participate in the voting and discussion process. Because the

youth tends to conform to social and cultural norms, social media influencers and prominent

figures will be encouraged to promote engagement with such smart-bins. Relevant topics of

discussion and topics of interest must be addressed in the voting bins such as football references,

talent show polls, food debates, and Arabic pop culture. Our targeted millennial demographic will

respond well to the modern take on an ancient problem that deviates from the preach-like anti-

littering campaigns. The “Talk with Trash” campaign also utilizes the Americanization of

Jordanian adults by appealing to the humanitarian and social responsibility motifs present in

western films. I hope that the modernity, youthfulness, and positive reinforcement of such smart-

bins can reinvent the nationalistic identity within young adults and deter them from mindless

littering.

Citations (MLA)

o Abboud, Nura A. “Tackling Litter in Jordan.” EcoMENA, 18 Apr. 2018,

www.ecomena.org/litter-jordan/.

o Ritzmann, Dana. “Battling Litter in Jordan's Open Spaces.” Earth Island Journal, Earth

Island Institute, 3 Jan. 2017,

www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/battling_litter_in_jordans_open_spa

ces/.

o Saidan, Motasem N., Linah M. Ansour, and Hakam Saidan. "MANAGEMENT OF

PLASTIC BAGS WASTE: AN ASSESSMENT OF SCENARIOS IN

JORDAN." Journal of chemical technology & metallurgy 52.1 (2017).

o Wood, David. “One Womans Battle against Jordans Littering Nightmare.” The Switchers,

15 Aug. 2018, www.theswitchers.eu/en/switchers/womans-battle-jordans-littering-

nightmare/.

EXAMPLE 2

Income Inequality In India: Flip The Ladder Walkathon

Income inequality is the disproportionate distribution of income in a population (“Income

Inequality” 1). It has been a problem that is rapidly progressing in India where there is a huge

economic gap, that has been self-evident, between the extremely rich and the dreadfully poor

(Weisskopf 1). Earning inequality in India has doubled in the past 20 years, and one of the main

drivers of this issue is globalization (“India’s Income Inequality Has Doubled in 20 Years” 1).

Globalization allows the upper class to have a reach that wasn’t available in the past. People with

purchasing power in India can import the needed goods for a lower price instead of buying the

products from local producers. The availability of reach is causing the rich to become richer and

the poor to become poorer (Munir 2).

To face this issue, there are many challenges to tackle. First, we are currently living in a

fast-moving world with advancing technology. As it may be shocking to some, the advancement

of technology is aiding the world in many different ways, but with this particular problem, it is

making it worse by widening the income inequality gap. The reason behind that is many jobs

today are requiring the use of technology, and that is “exacerbating global inequality” because

the civilian workers’ earnings are diminishing as the profits are all going to those who do own

the machinery needed (Basu 3). Another challenge would be questioning whether the benefits of

the proposed solution for India would reach the poor as intended (Mokkapati 4).

Corruption is a big part of India’s culture as a country. The Indian society has asset

concentration with the top 0.1% of elites have more growth in their income than the bottom 50%

combined (“Income inequality in India” 1). This type of wealth distribution the elites are causing

further corruption when they utilize their wealth in lobbying the government for their preferable

taxation regimen, exchange rate, and trade policies. Implementing their favorable policies will

result in massive earnings for the wealthy and lower returns to the assets owned by the less

fortunate which further increases income inequality in India (Gupta, Sanjeev, & Abed 2). The

direction of empathy is towards the less fortunate in India because due to income inequality they

are living in a financial disaster.

To solve this problem, it has to be comprehended by the majority how prominent this

problem is in India. To demonstrate, I will be sketching a hypothetical economic ladder that

portrays the income gap in the country as the top 10% of India’s population holds 77.4% of the

total national wealth (Press Trust of India 2). It is crucial to bring awareness to this problem, and

through that process, we will be able to fund Indian communities and aid them in generating

income. An annual walkathon labeled “Flip The Ladder Walkathon” will be held in the UAE

which will include participants of all ages and all nationalities coming together to bring

awareness to this issue and generate money which will be used to aid in solving the problem. The

name of this walkathon was inspired by the sketch (will be drawn/shown in final portfolio) of the

hypothetical economic ladder as this walkathon is intended to flip the ladder and convey

equality. The walkathon will be funded by sponsors who have the power to bring awareness to

this issue such as radio stations since they can speak about this problem live to all radio listeners

and they can market their brand/station during the event. The funding from the corporate

sponsors will make this walkathon come together and will be the source to purchase the

merchandise needed. The focus to generate the money required to solve this issue will be on two

ways; first, merchandise will be sold. Second, sponsored athletes can volunteer to walk during

the event in which they will be able to donate to this cause. Once the event ends, there will be a

panel located in the UAE that will evaluate the proposals from individuals in India who need

funding for their creative idea; in addition, this panel will encourage them to work on jugaad

innovations that can generate income for them and help their community. Their business/idea

should be able to generate long-term income once established, and that will set off the Indian

population one by one slowly but surely. The funding will be from the merchandise sold, the

volunteering athletes, and the sponsors. This solution will be able to change the economic culture

by bringing hope to the less fortunate people in India who have the creativity yet lack the

funding. Since this panel who will evaluate the proposals will be based in the UAE, that will

avoid the problems of the corrupt economic elite culture in India.

This event is a hypothetical solution, but in my opinion, it would make a positive

contribution to the people of India. However, if it were to be implemented in reality, it would be

difficult to get approvals from the government/authorities. In addition, it would also be a

challenge to attain the sponsors needed to host an event such as Flip The Ladder Walkathon.

This potential solution can be addressed at a global level because it can go beyond India’s

population if the event gets held in many countries to generate money and contribute to other

countries facing income inequality such as China, Zambia, and South Africa.

Work Cited

Basu, Kaushik. “Is Technology Making Inequality Worse?” World Economic Forum, 2016, www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/is-technology-making-inequality-worse/

Gupta, Sanjeev, and George Abed. "17 Does Corruption Affect Income Inequality and Poverty?". Governance, Corruption, and Economic Performance. USA: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, 2002. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781589061163.071 Web.

Income inequality in India: Top 0.1% earned more than bottom 50%." Daily the Pak Banker[Lahore, Pakistan], 16 Dec. 2017. Infotrac Newsstand, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A519117622/GPS?u=audu&sid=GPS&xi d=302a2683. Accessed 15 Mar. 2019.

“Income Inequality.” Inequality.org, 2014, inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/.

“India’s Income Inequality Has Doubled in 20 Years.” The Frontier Star (Northwest Frontier Province, Pakistan), 2011. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.aud.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthTyp e=ip,url&db=edsgin&AN=edsgcl.274443965&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Mokkapati, Sathya Raghu V. “Three Ways to Reduce Economic Inequality.” @Businessline, The Hindu BusinessLine, 11 Feb. 2018, www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/three-ways- to-reduce-economic-inequality/article22723857.ece.

Munir, Kashif, and Maryam Sultan. "Macroeconomic determinants of income inequality in India and Pakistan." Theoretical & Applied Economics 24.4 (2017).

Press Trust of India. “Wealth Of 9 Richest Indians Equivalent To Bottom 50% Of Country: Report.” NDTV.com, 21 Jan. 2019, www.ndtv.com/india-news/richest-9-indians-wealth- equivalent-to-bottom-50-of-the-country-oxfam-study-1980607

Weisskopf, Thomas E. "Why worry about inequality in the booming Indian economy?." Economic and Political Weekly(2011): 41-51.