Syllabus

Graduate Programs in Public Health

GPH 722 Introduction to Environmental Health – Summer B 2016

Credits - 3

Description

The world about us provides for our life, but also can be dangerous to our health. This dichotomy is the essence of the study of environmental health.Students completing this course will be able to apply scientific knowledge to evaluate the risks that exist in the world about them.

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to the field of environmental health in an ecosystems context. The course will emphasize the recognition, evaluation, and control of hazards including toxic chemicals, fibers and dust, ionizing radiation, and infectious agents. General principles and global processes will be linked to local issues and the regulatory environment through case studies and interviews with subject matter experts.

Materials

Assignments

Detailed assignment descriptions outline performance expectations and should be carefully reviewed prior to beginning your work.

Expectations on ALL Assignments: Everyone’s work is expected to be at a graduate school level in terms of quality. That means all written work will have no spelling or grammar errors. Your papers will be well developed, well written, and should flow easily. You should provide a critical analysis of the topic you choose to research. This means providing the background and significance of the environmental problem (issue), then responding with your thoughts about whether or not the problem was or is being handled adequately. Students should critically think about alternatives to the traditional methods of managing environmental problems, based on what you have learned in class. You should start your research on your topic early (questions 1 through 4), so that by the last couple of weeks of class, you can concentrate on answering questions 5 and 6 above.

Note on Websites and Sources of Information: You should be cautious of many web sites since they are frequently established to communicate a particular perspective rather than a scholarly appraisal and reflection of issues. The University policy on plagiarism will be strictly followed. Papers will be submitted through the Blackboard “Safe Assign” system and checked for copied material. Peer reviewed scholarly publications use an editor, an editorial board, and blind peer review process to evaluate submitted articles in order to evaluate them in terms of their methodology and the relevance of the findings in comparison with previous research. Unfortunately, the ease of the World Wide Web (WWW) has created a vehicle to access misinformation as well as facilitate access to valuable current information. The strength and the weakness of the WWW is that there is no WWW editor; in using information from the WWW you must perform that editorial function as well as interpreting the relevance of the information for your paper. The misinformation on the web may actually be important in gaining political perspectives, but you will need to be able to identify it as misinformation. In sum, there is a great deal of garbage on the WWW and to the extent that your paper relies on bad information, your paper has little merit or relevance. Your paper should use the WWW as a supplement, not as the primary source. It is actually more efficient to access scholarly journals than searching the WWW. The grade on your paper will partially reflect your use of scholarly peer reviewed articles.

Discussions

A discussion topic will be posted each week. Students will be encouraged to think about the topic and respond on the class discussion site. References are required for any citations that are not your own.

When answering the forum questions, use the information that you have learned each week from your readings, lectures, and written assignments, combined with your own knowledge and compose your answer ­ no more than one hundred words. When responding to your peer’s comments, make sure that your feedback has substance and is related to the reading and lectures.

The forum questions do not have right or wrong answers, but are here to encourage dialogue among classmates and to hear different views. This class has a wealth of expertise and you are encouraged to share that valuable resource openly with each other. Instructors read all discussion threads and expect you to do the same. Periodically, instructors will join the discussion, sometimes to ask a question that might take the discussion in a different direction or to a deeper level.

The discussions will be graded based on the quality of the posting and the responses to classmates. The post will be graded based on the quality of writing, relevance, opinions expressed, and ideas forwarded. The initial post is due Sunday by 11:59pm ET and at least one response is due Wednesday, end of the week, by 11:59pm ET. Initial posts and responses submitted after the discussion week will not be accepted.

Textbook Questions

Many of the textbook questions are found at the end of the chapter reading in the class text. They are entitled “Discussion Questions”. The grading will be based on the quality and completeness of the response to the questions.

Flint Water Crisis

In this assignment  you will review an authentic and recent environmental issue, the Flint water crisis. This week you will complete a 3-4 page written summary of three documents; choose one a recognized media report on the crisis, one research paper,  and a government report. Compare and contrast the three reports on the water crisis. Critique the articles and look for bias. In addition, touch upon the following questions: Did the media article accurately cover the topic? Did the technical report provide statistically significant findings?Were the social justice issues covered?  Please choose your articles from the provided list. 

Research Article Critique

Complete a 1-­2 page written critique of a research article on an environmental health topic. Comment on research methods, sources of bias, and statistical significance. Did you feel the authors proved their hypothesis? If not why not?

Research Paper Outline

In Week 3 you will craft a topical outline of your final research paper. The outline should be 1-­2 pages, double­ spaced with normal margins and 11 or 12 point font. You will need to touch upon the following items:

•  Include a clear and concise statement of the the research paper topic (drawn from the list below, or propose another relevant topic)
• Provide a brief one paragraph statement of the hypothesis for your research paper
• Provide two to three key points you will explore for each of the six questions outlined below.
  • What is the background of the problem and what are the public health implications?
  • What is the origin of the threat – natural, chemical, etc?
  • What are the environmental and social aspects of the problem?
  • What interventions or policies are proposed to correct the problem?
  • Do you feel they will be successful in protecting the public’s health?
  • Can you suggest a better intervention and/or policy that might have led to a more protective outcome?
• Contain an initial list of primary research sources you intend to draw upon for the paper. Resources should be cited in AMA format. Additional resources can be added to the final paper.

The purpose at this outline level is to ensure you are drawing from reputable, peer­-reviewed sources for your primary research.

The research paper can be drawn from the following topics and is the major activity for the class:

• Effect of air pollution on public health in the Northeast Air Shed.
• Indoor air quality as a causal factor in disease propagation.
• The effect of radiation in the environment on public health.
• Socioeconomic issues in the environment and its effect on health.
• The ethical consequences of genetic testing.

Other topics are invited, but would need to be identified in your outline in week 3.

Research Paper

Craft an 8-12 page research paper that answers the following questions:

1. What is the background of the problem and what are the public health implications?
2. What is the origin of the threat – natural, chemical, etc?
3. What are the environmental and social aspects of the problem?
4. What interventions or policies are proposed to correct the problem?
5. Do you feel they will be successful in protecting the public’s health?
6. Can you suggest a better intervention and/or policy that might have led to a more protective outcome?

The easiest way to do this is to use each question as a heading for your researched response. 

You must follow the AMA reference system for a traditional research paper. Citations and a list of sources consulted are required. Any information drawn from the web should be noted. The text of the paper should be approximately 8‑12 pages, double­ spaced with normal margins and 11 or 12 point fonts. Appendices can be added, which do not count as part of the page total.

Online Writing Support: If you feel you need writing support, it is best to reach out to SASC well in advance of the paper’s due date and set an appointment for an online web conference. For more information about setting up appointments with UNE’s Online Writing Support visit: https://sites.google.com/a/une.edu/learning-assistance-une-portland/get-writing-support You can also contact Henri Moser, UNE’s Online Learning Specialist: hmoser@une.edu 207.221.4352.

UNE’s library has created a number of helpful resources for public health students. Visit this website for more informtion: https://sites.google.com/a/une.edu/learning-assistance-une-portland/public-health-assistance-page

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown