WHO Cares About Hawaii??
Go To Current Phase of Project
Project Assignments for Teams
1. Basic Questions. Our class discussion generated a number of questions that seem to be important for establishing the nature of the environmental issues facing Maui. These questions are basic in the sense that they need to be answered before we can proceed with a psychological analysis of the issues and an assessment of possible solutions:
In the next few weeks each team will be responsible for gathering and interpreting information relevant to one of the above questions, sharing your information and interpretations with the rest of the class, and producing a written report which will be published on the class website. Which question your team tackles will be determined by the FIGIT method ("First In Gets IT").
Due no later than Thursday, September 4. Your first assignment, then, is to decide as a team, which question you would like to work on and then notifying me in writing what it is, along with your second choice. All members of the team must sign the notice. This is to help ensure that the decision involves all team members. Deliver the notice to me (if I'm in my office) or to the secretary in the main psychology office and ask her to write the date and time on the notice and put it in my mailbox. Remember, FIGIT! Email me if you have any questions.
2. Consolidation of Information Pertaining to Basic Questions. The next task will be to integrate and analyze the information we have gathered in phase 1. That is, what are the facts that we know and how do they relate to the basic questions raised above? What are the implications of the information we have gathered?
Due Tuesday, September 30. Each team should be prepared to give a 15-minute verbal summary to the rest of class of their findings so far, and an assessment of how they have progressed in answering the questions the team was assigned.
Due Tuesday, October 14. Each team should submit an electronic report of their findings and their assessment of the implications for the team's questions. The report should be a minimum of three pages in length (equivalent of 8.5 x 11 inch pages, double-spaced, 12-point type, 1" margins). Include references to source material in APA style, with the references identified at the end of the paper (again, in APA style). Example: "According to World Wildlife Federation (1995), more species of plants and birds have become extinct in Hawaii than anywhere else in the U.S. One reason for this appears to be the importation of competing species for human consumption that occurred when the Hawaiians first settled the islands (Forester, 1991). Another reason is ........"
The report will be posted under the team's authorship on the course website. The evaluation of the report will count 35% toward the total grade for the Hawaii project. The remainder will be determined by the upcoming psychological analysis written report (50%) and final presentation (15%). The report should include one or more small graphic elements that enhance the interest and informational value. These should be "public domain" elements from the WWW or elements that you have obtained written permission to use. Send me the exact url where the element(s) can be found, and indicate where you want the element(s) to appear in the report. I encourage you to use subheadings in your report and -- if appropriate -- to structure the report as two or more "pages" linked by hypertext (click here for an example). The report should be sent to me electronically or it can be on a pc-compatible floppy disk saved as a popular word processor file (eg. wordperfect or word) or text file. If you include hypertext links to WWW sources, indicate the words that serve as links by enclosing them in asterixes, and provide a list of the words paired with the exact urls (check the urls carefully to make sure they are correct!).
Individual grades for the report will be based on the overall evaluation of the team's product, plus team members' assessments of each person's contributions. This will also be the procedure for the final report.
3. Understanding Problems and Approaching Solutions: With the basic background information we collected in phase I, we are now in a better position to understand the psychological and social bases of some of the environmental issues that confront the people of Maui. Hopefully we can now also make more informed recommendations for dealing with those issues by tailoring suggestions to take into account the specifics of Maui's unique situation and characteristics.
The next task, then, is to (1) identify some particular problems or issues on Maui that we can analyze from a psychological point of view, using the concepts, theories, and research findings that we have been studying, and (2) on the basis of our analyses make recommendations for how those problems and issues might be approached most effectively.
Due by 5 p.m., Monday, November 3rd: Each team should electronically submit a 1-paragraph report that (1) identifies an environmental problem or issue facing Maui and (2) briefly describes some set of possible psychological/social concepts or theories that the team will apply to understanding the issue and making recommendations. In case of extremely similar projects, we will follow the FIGIT procedure (First in Gets It).
Due by 5 p.m. Tuesday, November 25th: Each team should electronically submit a final report using a web format similar to the Phase I reports. This report should be longer, a minimum of 6 pages, broken into a minimum of three appropriate subunits linked by hypertext. As shown in the model we discussed in class, each unit should have a minimum of one external link and one graphical element (you must obtain written permission in advance to use graphics and forward the replies to me with your report). As before, indicate the words that are the links and include the exact urls for the targets and the urls for the graphics, and indicate where you want the elements to be placed (this can be on a written form of the report). Whenever appropriate, incorporate links to phase I material (your own and other groups') and to the phase II projects of other teams.
Grading will focus on the rigor and thoroughness of your analysis, your use of materials both on the web and traditional literature sources, the organization of your report, and the level of contribution of all team members.
Psy 412 Miami University. Last revised: . This document has been accessed times since July 15, 1997. Comments & Questions to R. Sherman . Also See: Social Psychology at Miami University