Miami University

Semester Project: Humans & Natural Hazards

Overview:

For this project, you will select an aspect of natural hazards that interests you and independently research the topic in depth.  This assignment will be worth 20% of your final grade.  To guide you through the process, you will complete various phases of the project throughout the semester.  This document describes each step in detail and should be used as your guide.

Learning Objectives:

The goal of this assignment is to allow each of you to research an aspect of natural hazards that interests you and share the information with your classmates (and me!) through peer-review and in-class presentations.  Through this project, you will learn to do one or more of the following:

• Explain the relevance of natural hazards to human lives and activities,
• Consider the influence of context on natural hazard impacts,
• Identify and assess implications and consequences of human activities on the impacts of natural hazards.

Process:

This assignment is divided into six steps that you will complete during the semester.  The goal of using these steps is to help guide you through the writing process and provide feedback at each phase of the research.  The steps are outlined below, including their due dates and point values.  The total project is worth 20% of you grade (calculated from 110 points).

Step 1: Topic Selection (10 points)………………………………..                                                                                               Due Week 5

Select a paper topic from the following choices:

Option 1: Regional Focus   Select a specific region (city, state, country, etc.) and consider one or more natural hazards that impact the area.  Your goal is to determine how humans living in this area manage hazards.  You may focus on a specific aspect of this question (e.g., How are buildings designed to withstand hurricanes in Florida?) or keep it at a general level (How does Los Angeles plan for earthquakes?  How is fire managed in the Pacific Northwest?) You should address the following questions in your research:

• What types of hazards impact this area?
• How does this region mitigate this/these hazards?  Any phase in the process is fine (pre-disaster: risk assessment, mitigation, preparedness or post-disaster: relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction) 
• What challenges are there to managing hazard events in this location?  How have they been addressed?

Option 2: Mitigation Strategies   Select an aspect of hazard mitigation (pre-disaster: risk assessment, mitigation, preparedness or post-disaster: relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction) and consider a particular method that is used.  Some examples include: how is remote sensing used to monitor floods?  How do insurance companies manage multiple major hazard events?  Your goal is to assess the effectiveness and/or practicality of the technique you choose.  You should consider the following questions:

• How is this method used to assess risk/mitigate/prepare or assist in relief/rehabilitation/reconstruction? 
• What have been the successes of this method?  Shortcomings?
• What potential impediments are there to using this method (economic, technological, etc?)

Option 3: Role of Context   Select a type of hazard and compare how impacts of this hazard depend on context.  Your goal is consider how the social, economic, political, or cultural landscapes play a role in hazard impacts.  You may also consider how the physical setting may be significant (e.g., Kobe earthquake vs. Northridge quake).  You may choose to compare specific locations and events (How and why were the impacts of Hurricane Andrew in the U.S. different from those of Hurricane Mitch in the Caribbean?) or focus on how a particular hazard impacts different types of places (e.g., How and why are earthquake impacts different in LDCs vs. MDCs?)  You should consider the following questions:

• What factors cause the locations to be different (with respect to hazards)?
• How are mitigation strategies different in these places?  Why?
• How do the social, economic, political, cultural, and/or physical setting influence hazards in these places?

Option 4: Other Ideas   If you have a paper idea that doesn’t quite fit into any of the formats above, let me know and we can likely work out a plan for you.  I do not want to limit your options for this assignment.  Be sure to select something that interests you, since you will be working on this all semester.

Submit an abstract of your proposed topic (about a paragraph) including the following information:

1. What do you already know about this topic?
2. What more would you like to know about this topic? (phrase this as a research question)
3. What do you expect to learn during your research?

I will assist you in clarifying your paper idea if needed.  Also see me if you are unsure what to chose.  If you are completing a senior capstone project in a related area, this paper can be incorporated into it.

Step 1 will be evaluated on:

Thoughtfulness- have you given some serious consideration to choosing your topic?

Clarity & completeness- have you explained your idea in sufficient detail, including addressing the questions asked above?

Overall- is your abstract free from spelling, grammatical, and typing errors?

Step 2:  Annotated Reference List (15 points)…………….…..                                                                                               Due Week 7

Locate TEN Sources

In researching your topic, you should use a minimum of 10 sources.  These sources can be government reports, books, and journal articles.  You may use no more than 3 websites and they must be legitimate (not personal web pages, travel sites, etc.)  If you are unsure about a website, see me. 

Format & Annotation

You should use a reference format compatible with most scientific journals (APA is an example of ONE of these).  All references in the bibliography should include author, year, chapter or article title, journal or book title, page numbers, and publisher (for a book). 

Submit a document containing the complete references for all articles (or books, etc.) you plan to use to research your paper.  Following each entry, write a paragraph explaining how the source will inform your writing.  If it is a book that you have not yet read completely, you may scan it to get a sense of the kind of the information you hope to get from it.  The annotation requires you to read your sources before listing them on your bibliography.  In other words, do not wait until the day before the assignment is due to locate your references- you will not have time to read them and write the annotation.

Step 2 will be evaluated on:

Quantity of references- do you have the required minimum of 10 sources?

Quality of references- are the sources acceptable for a college-level research paper? (not children’s books or personal websites)

Annotation completeness- have you explained the way that each source will be used?

Overall- are the references listed in complete detail and is the document free of spelling, grammatical, or typing errors?

Step 3: First Draft (25 points)……………………………………….…                                                                                               Due Week 10

Write a first draft of your paper using the references submitted in Step 2.  This should be a complete paper with no sections missing.  Pretend this is the final version of the paper.  You will receive feedback from three people- two classmates & me.  This feedback will help you to revise the paper into its final form.

This paper should include an introduction to the topic you researched (see topic descriptions above for more detail), statement of your research question(s), synthesis of material found in your library research, discussion of issues and/or controversies where appropriate, and conclusions that include a restatement of your research question (with its answer based on your new knowledge) and summary of what you have learned.  Papers should be 10 to 12 pages double-spaced (12 point Times or similar sized font) not including references, etc.

Bring 3 copies of the paper to class on the due date.

Step 3 will be evaluated on:

Research question- have you stated a clear research question early in your paper?

Depth- is your paper a detailed investigation of the topic (rather than a superficial overview?)

References- do you have sufficient references that are cited in the text?

Clarity & organization- does your paper follow a logical sequence, guiding the reader through your research?

Overall quality- is your paper generally free from spelling, grammatical, and typing errors?

Step 4: Peer Review (15 points)………….………………….…….….                                                                                               Due Week 11

In addition to receiving comments from me, you will exchange papers with two of your classmates for a peer review. 

Process: on the first draft due date, each of you will receive two papers from other students.  You will have one week to read them outside of class.  As you read your classmates’ work, keep in mind the evaluation criteria set for Step 3 (see above).  You may write on the papers, but don’t spend time on typing, spelling, or grammar- focus on content, clarity, and organization.  Write a brief review of each paper including:

• What you like about the paper- what did you find interesting about the topic, the information presented, and/or the way the paper is written and organized?
• What suggestions could you make to improve the paper- what would make the paper easier to follow?  Are there questions about the topic that seem unanswered?

The goal of the peer review is to offer several different perspectives (not just mine!) on your work.  It is alright to offer suggestions on your peers’ writing, but keep it in a positive tone: “I really like the way you explained X, but it might be helpful to include more details on Y.”  Reviews should be no more than 1 page single-spaced per paper.

During class, you will get together in small groups with the two students whose papers you have read and go over your written comments.  You should take notes on the feedback you receive from your classmates, so that you will remember details later on.  I will ask for feedback from each group during the class period.  I will help keep track of time during the session, so that each person gets a chance for feedback.  After the in-class discussion, submit your written reviews. 

Step 4 will be evaluated on:

Thoughtfulness- have you carefully reviewed your peers’ work?

Balance- have you offered praise for each paper in addition to giving suggestions for improvement?

Overall quality- are your reviews clearly written so that your classmates can incorporate your suggestions?

You will receive 5 points for each written review, plus 5 points for actively participating in the in-class discussion of the reviews.

Step 5: Final Paper (30 points)…………………………………....…                                                                                               Due Week 14

Revise your first draft using the feedback obtained from the peer reviews and my written comments.  If you have conflicting suggestions, it will likely be your choice which one to take - if you are unsure, check with me.  Some suggestions may include simple organizational changes, increasing depth on some aspect of the paper, clarifying points, etc. 

Your final paper should be single-spaced, so the length will be 5 to 6 pages (not including references, tables, figures, etc.)  This formatting will save paper and the extra line spaces are not needed since this version will not be rewritten. 

Submit your final paper with the following items in this order:

1. your final paper (Step 5)
2. peer reviews of your first draft (what you received for Step 4 - there should be two)
3. your first draft (what you submitted for Step 3)
4. annotated reference list you submitted for Step 2
5. abstract you submitted for Step 1

Step 5 will be evaluated on:

Research question- have you stated a clear research question early in your paper?

Depth- is your paper a detailed investigation of the topic (rather than a superficial overview?)

References- do you have sufficient references that are correctly cited in the text?

Clarity & organization- does your paper follow a logical sequence, guiding the reader through your research?

Incorporation of feedback- have you made changes to your first draft that reflect suggestions you received from peer and instructor reviews?

Overall quality- is your paper free from spelling, grammatical, and typing errors?

Checklist- Have you included all required materials (work from earlier steps)?

Step 6:  In-Class Presentation (15 points)………………………….….                                                                                               Due Week 15

The last part of the project is to present an overview of your paper to the rest of the class.  We will schedule presentations for the last week of classes (you will sign up for a day a few weeks ahead of time).  Your presentation should be about 10 minutes in length (we will leave a few minutes for questions at the end). 

You are welcome to use PowerPoint (on the computer) for your presentation.  Overheads are also fine if you prefer.  If you have other media requirements, let me know (the room already has a DVD and VCR).  If you would prefer to produce a poster, that is also fine, but you still need to spend some time ‘presenting’ the content to the class. 

Your slides (or other media) should contain brief statements (i.e., bulleted points- NOT long passages of text) and complementary pictures, photos, figures, and/or tables.  Try to keep the text to a minimum.

Step 6 will be evaluated on:

Content- have you provided a succinct overview of your paper?

Clarity & Organization- is your presentation clear & organized so that we can follow your logic?

Slide/media quality- are your slides or other media clearly designed?  Are they free from typing & spelling errors?

Questions or concerns?

If you have questions about ANY aspects of the project, please ask!  I have tried to anticipate most of your concerns in this assignment description, but please let me know if I have overlooked

anything. Good luck!