SNHU Undergraduate Research Day

2022-23 SNHU Undergraduate Research Case Studies

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Case Study One: Humans and Our Environment 

This case study is appropriate for students of all levels (Freshmen - Seniors) and all backgrounds
(no specific major is best-suited for this project). 

Background Information 

Conflict between human development and the environment has been a constant throughout all of recorded history. Whether it is humankind exploring uncharted lands or seas, battling and inhabiting rugged terrain, or surviving through oppressive weather conditions, many accounts of conflict between humans and the environment can be found.  

Delivering On This Case Study 

In this case study, you should explore one or more ways in which humans are actively in, or on the verge of, conflict with the environment. The research project you deliver is up to you to determine. You might conduct a literature review, resulting in a paper which surveys the reason for the conflict and potential outcomes. Or you could draft a set of policies to mitigate the conflict or remove it altogether. Another approach could be to produce a creative work using a historical, current, or impending conflict between humans and their environment as the backdrop. This list is not exhaustive and you should feel free to pursue other directions that interest you as well. Some sample starting ideas appear in the section below. 

Some Examples/Ideas 

Your task in this case study is to build a research project that addresses conflict between humans and their environment. Some examples appear below, but you are not limited to these. 

• Research a historical event (or series of events) in which a human (or group of humans) encountered a new environment.  
  • Outline how the human or humans interacted with the new environment. What conflicts presented themselves?  
  • You might synthesize your sources and produce a historically accurate account of the event with a novel take. 
  • You might produce a creative work using the historical event(s) as a backdrop. 
• In recent years, severe-weather events have become more frequent. Some such events are acute, while others are more persistent. 
  • In 2017, hurricanes Irma and Maria (both Category 5) devastated the island of Puerto Rico. It was difficult for rescue crews to reach people who were trapped, without power, and without ways to meet their basic needs. Since then, it has been proposed that drones should be utilized in a greater capacity during disaster relief. Develop a drone deployment plan for response to a potential extreme weather event over a large area. You may choose a particular location to focus on. 
  • Throughout 2022, the Colorado River basin has been drying up. There has been significant reporting in particular on the water levels in Lake Mead, a particularly important reservoir in the West. This reservoir provides water for commercial and residential consumption, but is also very important for hydroelectric power generation in the region. As the river basin continues to dry, there is much to consider including the balance of water availability for consumption versus power generation. There is also potential for conflict in water usage agreements between up-river and down-river sites. Usage agreements are necessary to ensure that water remains available for regions further downstream. 
• You might choose to pursue a local example of an area in which humans are in conflict with the environment. 
  • For example, polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals that are used in a number of household and industrial processes. These chemicals have been found in NH water sources, sometimes at levels over the recommended exposure level. You could document this issue using local interviews, surveys, or a creative work that expresses how this exposure has affected the local community. 
• Similar to the events outlined above, you might identify another scenario in which humans are in conflict with their environment and use it as a premise for this case study. Directions you might consider taking are: 
  • What can we learn from this past event? How can we better prepare for similar events in the future? 
  • Are there opportunities for innovative uses of existing technologies, or new technologies altogether, which better enable humans to endure future conflict with our environment? 
  • Are there steps we, as a species, can take to reduce the likelihood of future environmental conflict? 

References

1. Kwasinski, A., Andrade,F., Castro-Sitiriche, M. J., and O’Neill-Carrillo, E. (2019). "Hurricane Maria effects on Puerto Rico electric power infrastructure. IEEE Power and Energy Technology Systems, 6(1),  85-94. 
2. Lin, Y., Sevillano-Rivera, M., Jiang, T., et al. (2020). Impact of Hurricane Maria on drinking water quality in Puerto Rico. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(15), 9495-9509. 
3. Brown, P.,  Vélez Vega, C. M., Murphy, C.B., et al. (2018). Hurricanes and the Environmental Justice Island: Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. Environmental Justice, 11(4), 148-153. 
4. Marlier, M. E., Resetar, S. A., Lachman, B.E., et al. (2022). Remote sensing for natural disaster recovery: Lessons learned from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. Environmental Science & Policy,132, 153-159. 
5. Wheeler, K. G., Udall, B., Wang, J., et al. (2022). What will it take to stabilize the Colorado River? Science, 377(6604), 373-375. 
6. Daly ,E. R., Chan, B. P., Talbot, E. A., et al. (2018). Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure assessment in a community exposed to contaminated drinking water, New Hampshire, 2015. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 221(3), 569-577. 
7. Panikkar, B., Lemmond, B., Allen, L. et al. (2019). Making the invisible visible: Results of a community-led health survey following PFAS contamination of drinking water in Merrimack, New Hampshire. Environmental Health, 18(79). 

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Case Study Two: Humans and Other Humans 

This case study is appropriate for students of all levels (Freshmen - Seniors) and all backgrounds
(no specific major is best-suited for this project). 

Background Information 

We live in a tumultuous time, and there is no shortage of conflict between humans. Russia is at war with Ukraine, creating an unsettled environment not just in Eastern Europe but across the entire Globe. The war in Ukraine has fanned fears of a similar conflict between China and Taiwan. Even within the United States we are deeply divided politically and experience physical and ideological conflicts between political parties. Physical conflict, however, does not represent the only friction between subsets of the human race. Social media platforms provide ample opportunity for groups to engage in information and disinformation warfare. The algorithms on these sites that serve up content have learned to recommend content that cement, and further radicalize, our beliefs. This results in greater polarization within our societies. 

Delivering On This Case Study 

In this case study, you should explore one or more ways in which humans are actively in, or on the verge of, conflict with one another. The research project you deliver is up to you to determine. Some students might conduct a literature review, resulting in a paper which surveys the reason for the conflict and potential future outcomes. Other students might work similarly, but produce a proposal for community solutions to de-escalate or lessen the conflict between affected groups. Another approach could be to produce a creative work using a current or historical conflict as the backdrop. This list is not exhaustive and you should feel free to pursue other directions that interest you as well. 

Some Examples 

• You might conduct a review of primary (journal articles) and secondary sources (media articles) that explore a human conflict of your choice (the war in Ukraine, conflict between China and Taiwan, conflict between political parties in the US). What can you identify as the causes of this conflict? What do you foresee as future outcomes? Can you propose any ideas for finding common ground? 

• You could explore how news outlets and social media play a role in escalating conflicts. This could take on several forms. You could interview or survey individuals about how they access information regarding a given topic. You could research how the algorithms that underlie social media platforms work. What role do they play in escalating the conflict? Can you propose any ideas for finding common ground? 

• You could produce a creative work that explores how people are affected by a given conflict. This could take the form of a short story, poem, video, or other work of art. 

References 

1. Umar, Z., Polat, O., Choi, S. Y., and Teplova, T., (2022). “The impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the connectedness of financial markets,” Finance Research Letters, 48, 102976. 
2. Jagtap, S., Trollman, H., Trollman, F., et al. (2022). The Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Its Implications for the Global Food Supply Chains. Foods, 11, 2098. 
3. Helmersen, S.T. (2021). China-Taiwan Threats of Force and the Paradox of the ‘Nuclear Weapons Principle’. International Community Law Review, 23(4), 403-426.  
4. Iyengar, S., Lelkes, Y., Levendusky, M., et al. (2019). The origin and consequences of affective polarization in the United States. Annual Review of Political Science,  22(1), 129-146. 
5. Zimmer, F., Scheibe, K., Stock, M., & Stock, W. G. (2019). Fake news in social media: Bad algorithms or biased users?. Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice, 7(2), 40-53.