The Genographic Project

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the Genographic Project, a 5-year research partnership headed by Dr. Spencer Wells, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. It discusses the mission and goals of the project, as well as the fundamental elements of the project's general process. The paper then discusses the possible pros and cons of the project and its results to date.

Table of Contents:
A Summary of the Project
Its Sponsors
Its Mission/Goals
Its Process
Its Findings to Date
A Discussion of the "Pros" or Possible Beneficial Outcomes of this Project
A Discussion of the "Cons" or Possible Negative Outcomes or Methodological/Theoretical/ Social Problems with this Project
Present your Opinion Regarding this Project using the Information from your Research to Support your View

From the Paper:

"From a personal perspective, the Genographic Project represents a timely enterprise that can assist sociologists and other social researchers in their understanding of how people came to live where they do today as well as some fresh insights into their origins of their ancestors. Based on an informal Google search for "ancestry" and "genealogy" the 129,000,000 and 104,000,000 Web pages identified, respectively, clearly indicate that there is a growing interest in discovering one's "roots" today. The results of the project could also be useful in helping various ethnic groups establish their rights to a given piece of real estate. In reality, these goals appear to be sufficiently benign and worthwhile to overcome any potential objections. Nevertheless, it is also reasonable to suggest that if the powers-that-be wanted to misuse this type of information for social engineering purposes, the Genographic Project could become the basis for targeting specific segments of a society in much the same way the Nazis did in World War II."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Breen, Glynnis. (2007, January 23). "Who are You and Where Did You Come From?" The Genographic Project. [Online]. Available: https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ genographic/silk_route_announcement.html.
• Ethical framework. (2008). The Genographic Project. [Online]. Available: https://www3. nationalgeographic.com/genographic/pdf/Genographic-Project-Ethics-Overview.pdf.
• The Genographic Project. (2008). National Geographic Society. [Online]. Available: https:// www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/.
• Loughran, Michael. (2005, August 17). "IBM transforms the art of scientific expeditions." IBM. [Online]. Available: http://www-03.ibm.com/industries/healthcare/genographic/ doc/content/news/pressrelease/1448875132.html.
• Wade, Nicholas. (2006, March 7). "Still Evolving, Human Genes Tell New Story." The New York Times. [Online]. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/07/science/ 07evolve.html?_r=1&ex=1143867600&en=a04127a97c0b93ef&ei=5070&oref=slogin.

More papers on The Genographic Project:

• Film Review # 110859 : "The Genographic Project"
• Essay # 40039 : " "The Arcades Project"
• Research Paper # 93933 : "The Effective Project Manager"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: