The Resilience Documentary Project:
 

Human Society and the Challenges of the 21st Century

 

Today’s human society is faced with a need for adjustments to our changing environment, reconciling social, economic and cultural demands and expectations, while at the same time deriving technological and social solutions to enable the sustenance of cultures and resilience of communities from the regional to the global scale.  Your project uses a systems-based approach to examine the natural and social science that is needed for short and long-term decision-making in support of a thriving human future.

 

Research Project and Presentation Overview

In small teams, students work together to develop a mini-documentary presenting their research on an assigned topic to the rest of the class near the end of term. Throughout the semester, each team will collect background information and data on their assigned topic to be used in a term research paper. Then, the paper will be transformed into a standalone mini-documentary using Prezi. This stepped approach allows time to research a topic and later prepare the presentation, avoiding the end of the semester cramming and presentation-day jitters.  When presentation day arrives, each team will be ready to press play and allow their work to shine.

 

For background, discuss in this week’s lab:

Steffen et al., 2015. Planetary Boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science Vol. 347 no. 6223 (https://goo.gl/aPsWqx or here)

 

In lab, we will be discussing the Planetary Boundaries paper so come prepared to provide thoughtful comments.

Discussion questions:

Question 1. What is meant by “Planetary Boundary”? What is the value of defining these limits in discussing humankind’s interaction with the planet?

Questions 2. The article mentions the need for a “sub-global” or “regional” scale in six of the boundaries. Why is it important to add these Planetary Boundaries framework? How do “globally mixed” processes and “heterogeneous” processes affect each other? (See Figure 1)

Questions 3. What are the two components used to measure biospheric integrity? Provide a short description of each.

Questions 4. What is meant by “atmospheric aerosol loading”? How is it caused? What effect is it likely to have if the levels rise above the planetary boundary?

Questions 5. What is meant by “novel entities”? What concerns are associated with these entities? What steps can (and are) being taken to slow or prevent these concerns?

Question 6. What are the two “core” boundaries? How do these two boundaries interact with the other six?

 

Additionally, you might find this older paper helpful: Rockström et al., 2009.  Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity, E&S, 14. (https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss2/art32/ES-2009-3180.pdf or here)

 

Some useful data and data sources are used here: Steffen et al., 2015.  The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration, Anthropocene Review (http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2053019614564785 or here)

 

Project Logistics

This project will consist of two parts: a presentation in the form of a Prezi and a paper, which will act as the ‘script’ for your presentation. Project teams will consist of 2 or 3 people and focus on one of the ten topics listed below. Your team members and project topic will be randomly assigned.

 

Project Topics

1.                    Change in biosphere (biodiversity loss and species extinction)
2.                    Stratospheric ozone
3.                    Climate change
4.                    Freshwater access and use
5.                    Ocean acidification
6.                    Biogeochemical flows (phosphorus and nitrogen cycles)
7.                    Land use change (e.g., deforestation)
8.                    Air pollution (particles, aerosols)
9.                    Food access and use
10. Hydrologic hazards (incl. sea level rise, floods)

 

 

Project Dates

Team members and project topic assignedOctober 4/5, 2017

Brainstorm assignment dueOctober 11/12, 2017

Term paper dueNovember 15/16, 2017

Presentation (Prezi) dueDecember 6/7, 2017

*Dates depend on whether you are in the Wednesday or Thursday lab

 

Brainstorm Assignment

Once your teammates and topic have been assigned, you will spend some time discussing the project with your new teammates. During lab, your team should brainstorm potential project ideas and ways to approach the project. After the lab, write up at least two paragraphs based on your discussion as a team. This paper should be turned in on Canvas before the start of the next lab period. Only one person from the team needs to submit the paper. This will be your lab assignment for this week.

 

Term Paper / Script

Each group will work to complete a term research paper that details the data and research in a standard written form. This paper represents a significant portion of the project, as it serves as the main source of information for the documentary presentation.  It will function like a script for the Prezi. Once the papers have been turned in, the student teams will receive feedback on their paper from their GSI, which can be incorporated into their presentations.

 

Paper Layout and Expectations

Each team's term paper should utilize the following structure. Total paper length will be on the order of 10 pages (Arial, 12pt font, 1.5 space; including figures). This paper will form the basis of your Prezi mini-documentary.  An informal tone is appropriate, but the content must be authoritative.

 

Paper Section	Description
Title + Authors	A title page with Authors
Summary	A paragraph that summarizes the key points from the paper, much like an abstract. 1-2 paragraphs.
Introduction	The history and significance of how your topic relates to global challenges, sustainability and/or resilience. 1 page.
Today's Status	The current opinions, policies, and politics of your topic. 1 page
Research	The current source data and materials that forms the basis of your analysis and predictions, including data tables, figures, and/or links. This should rely on real world data that your team collects throughout your research. 1-2 pages.
Analysis	Your team's analysis of the research and how it impacts global change and the sustainability challenge. Beyond your analysis of the topic, one of the deliverable in this section must be one or more graphs of data. 2 - 3 pages.
Implications and Action Plan	The future of the topic and your team's action plan to address the challenges your topic represents. 1 page.
Sources	Information for your paper and presentation should come from reputable sources, many of them peer-reviewed, and the sources must be properly cited at the end of both your paper and presentation. At minimum 5 significant sources.

 

Presentation/Mini-Documentary

Tomorrow’s job opportunities and leadership activities increasingly demand an ability to offer compelling oral and posted presentations.  Given today’s college admissions structure, students are generally well-positioned to create structured essays and reports on a range of topics.  However, presentation skills and analytical abilities are much less developed.  Beyond developing topical research and data analysis skills, the Resilience Documentary project aims to develop presentation skills using an alternative presentation environment, called Prezis (http://prezi.com/).

 

Presentation Expectations

Using the feedback on their research paper, teams transform the written work into a standalone presentation, complete with voice narration. Prezi allows great freedom and creativity for each team to shape a 10-minute ‘mini-documentary’ presentation.

 

The goal of these steps is three-fold.  First by spreading the work for the term project throughout the semester in manageable parts, teams will not be overly burdened during the busiest parts of the semester. The ‘mini-documentary’ format eliminates many of the downsides of traditional academic presentations; we want to avoid dull presentations crammed with bullet points, nervous note-card reading, and time overruns. Instead we’re looking for precise, informative stories that showcase the content of your research. Lastly, as a bonus, each team member get experience with Prezi and have a finished project as a portfolio piece to showcase their skills.

 

Prezi Structure

Teams should strive for unique Prezi's that showcase their own ideas, creativity, and style.

Sign up for free (online) Prezi: https://prezi.com/signup/basic/

Look at this intro: https://prezi.com/

Here is a (oldish) manual: https://docs.google.com/document/edit?hgd=1&id=1KEC8IaMPRpj_7PVnKchh3SNrfU11wbYOcIQSwsTzdPY

 

There is a lot of room for creativity with the presentation aspect of this project; however, a good Prezi would meet the following:

General

•       Logical order of presentation

•      Appropriate amount of information (enough to understand, not confuse)

•      Fit well into allotted time

Use of Prezi format

•      Creative use of the Prezi format (subjective so this is completely up to your group)

•      Informative and clear narration

Content of Prezi

•      Clear, appropriate detail

•      Summarized main points and research results concisely

•      Analysis and action plan
•      Sources referred to appropriately

 

Instructor Review

The instructor review is performed by your GSI. Each team will receive feedback and a score for the project based on the combined scores from the midterm paper and final presentation. Grading of the written document will rely heavily on content depth, with the purpose of giving teams as much feedback as possible to help prepare the final Prezi documentary from this midterm paper/script.  The Prezi documentary scores will represent a mix of content and presentation style, with the latter aimed at engaging the audience, while maintaining a focus on data and critical analysis.