I attached the requirements/instructions for the paper, so please read them before replying. The topic needs to social-political-economic-effects
BIOL& 260 Spring 202 1 COVID -19 research project 1 COVID -19 Infectious Disease Research Project (100 point project) I. Introduction. a. Infectious diseases are important in all of our lives. The COVID -19 pandemic, an infectious disease caused by the SARS -CoV -2 virus is (hopefully) a once -in-a-lifetime event. In this research project you will focus attention on COVID -19, with the goal of en hancing your knowledge about one particular aspect of the disease . In researching for this project , the general microbiological concepts discussed throughout the course and encountered as you proceed through your careers should gain more relevance. II. Rati onale. a. Upon completion of this project, the successful student will demonstrate: i. A detailed understanding of one aspect (“ Subject Category ”) of COVID -19. ii. An ability to effectively communicate complex scientific information. iii. The ability to accurately follow detailed instructions. iv. Effective personal time management, organization, and study skills. b. The specific learning objectives involve mastery of concepts presented during the course. They include demonstration of comprehension about one of the following: i. The history of COVID -19 , and other pathogenic and non -pathogenic coronaviruses. ii. The causative agent of COVID -19 . iii. The epidemiology of COVID -19. iv. The pat hology of COVID -19 . v. The human immune response elicited by SARS -CoV -2. Also, d rug treatments and other medical interventions used to combat SARS -CoV -2, and how to prevent infection . vi. Sociological, economical, and political factors related to the COVID -19 pandemic . vii. The “misinformation pandemic” surrounding COVID -19 . III. Subject Category Selection . a. Choose one Subject Categor y from the seven listed below. b. You will perform a search of the literature (books, magazines, news media, scientific journals, internet , social media, etc ) to learn about your specific COVID -19 topic . IV. Written Paper . You will submit a written paper focused on your chosen subject category. a. Paper submission . Submit as a MS Word (.doc or .docx) file. Please do n’t use other formats (e.g. PDF, Pages, submission via Google Docs, etc). Submission will be via a Canvas assignment page. b. Length. The paper must be : i. Single -spaced, with 1 -inch margins and 12 -point font on Letter -sized pages . ii. 2000 – 3000 words of type d text (reports outside of these guidelines will have a minimum of 5 points subtracted – see the Grading R ubric below for details ). 1. NOTE: The 2000 – 3000 words refers to text only . It does NOT include: a. Bibliography – this can be as long as required. b. Figures and/or Tables – included AFTER the text, but before the Bibliography . c. Figure and/or Table titles and legends c. Paper structure . Your paper must include the following items , in the following order : i. COVER SHEET. Must have a title that is related to your subject category, your name, the date, and the course name (B IOL& 260, Microbiology). ii. TEXT . Must be structured as follows (with explicit headings ): 1. An Introduction 2. The main Body , split up with Subheadings . 3. A Conclusion iii. FIGURES AND/OR TABLES : 1. A minimum of one Figure OR one Table is required : BIOL& 260 Spring 202 1 COVID -19 research project 2 a. Can be created or taken from a source (if the latter, must be cited). b. Must b e numbered (Figure 1, Table 1, etc) c. Must c ontain a legend or title explaining what they show . The se need to be in your own words (that is, if taken from a source, don’t just cut and paste the legend or title) . iv. BIBLIOGRAPHY (see below for details on requirements, citation style, etc ) 1. Use APA citation format. This Class Guide from the library has the required information:https://clark.libguides.com/biol260 -anitori d. Information s ources . i. So urces you cite in your paper should be scientifically appropriate and reputable. This applies to ALL of the Subject Categories. However, note that in some cases you may ALSO need to cite some non -reputable/suspicious sources as part of your topic (e.g. “Mi sinformation”, and some of the other topics). This is acceptable as long as it is relevant to your topic. ii. Bibliography – this is where you list all of the sources you have cited within the text of your paper (including for Figures and Tables). Note: 1. This is where the full citation s for the sources you cite within the text of your paper are found . 2. You must use APA citation style for both the in-text citations found within the body of your paper and for the literature citation page at the end of your paper. 3. You will require a minimum of 10 sources referenced in your report , at least 4 of which need to be research articles published in “peer -reviewed” or “pre -print” scientific journals. 4. You must have a range of sources – that is, you should not simply rely on one or two sources (e.g. the CDC) for all of your information . 5. Examples of sources (not a comprehensive list): a. Government inform ation from the USDA, FDA, CDC, WHO, State and local Health departments, etc. b. Scientific Journals: i. Peer reviewed – e.g. Nature, Science, Lancet, Medical journals etc ii. Preprint servers (not peer -reviewed) – e.g. BioRxiv and medArxiv, where many COVID -19 research papers are being posted. c. Popular magazines that are known to be reliable: Scientific American, National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, etc. d. Books and textbooks on biology, microbiology, etc. e. Newspapers. f. A variety of scien tifically reputable television shows from the History Channel, PBS, etc. g. Social Media – but be skeptical of anything you read. Also see “Information Sources” (IV)(d)(i) above . 6. Sources to be suspicious of can include the following (not a comprehensive list) : a. Religiously, politically, and privately funded publications and websites. b. Personal websites. c. College and university pages that contain student work. d. Social Media - also see ( IV)(d)(i) above in “Sources.” e. Wikipedia – you may look here to get ideas of where to find primary sources of reputable information, but Wikipedia should not be used as a cited primary source unless it’s appropriate to your research topic . Always check the information on Wikipedia before using it . Also see “Information Sources” (IV)(d)(i) above 7. The following websites will help: a. http://clark.libguides.com/how -to-read -peer -reviewed b. http://clark.libguides.com/fake -news c. https://clark.libguides.com/evaluating -information d. https://callingbullshit.org/index.html BIOL& 260 Spring 202 1 COVID -19 research project 3 e. PLAG IARISM i. The text should be written in your own words . Use direct quotes only when absolutely necessary (which means rarely ). The use of too many direct quotes will lead to a loss of points. Any information that is either directly quoted or paraphrased or taken from a source (so, anything that is NOT common knowledge) must be credited to the proper source within the body of the text immediately (not at the end of the paragraph). See the follow ing for more info on “Common Knowledge”: https://owl.excelsior.edu/plagiarism/plagiarism -how -to-avoid -it/plagiarism -common -knowledge/ ii. You must writ e your report on your own, and NOT TOGETHER WITH FELLOW STUDENTS or anyone else. iii. Reports with be screened with commercial plagiarism review software. iv. ANY level of plagiarism will result in a score of zero on the paper. PRO TIP for avoiding “silly point losses” – PROOFREAD YOUR PAPER BEFORE SUBMITTING IT! See https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/proofreading V. SUBJECT CATEGORIES The prompts found WITHIN each of the following categories are guides for your project , intended to provide you with help on the areas you should be focusing your research on . You are encouraged to include additional information that fits within your subject category. Doing the bare minimum will NOT get you an A grade ; the more effort you put forth, the better the grade… 1. MISINFORMATION ** NOTE #1 – compared to the other categories, this subject is more amenable to you expressing your opinion. However, note that the majority of your paper should still focus on citable, factual information. In other words, it should not just be an “opinion piece.” ** ** NOTE #2 - your paper should not simply be a list of examples of misinformation . While it should use examples, it should mostly focus on the prompts listed below (and any other areas you consider worth covering). ** Prompts (also include oth er subtopics if they are relevant): a. The misinformation pandemic (the “infodemic” - “We're not just fighting an epidemic; we're fighting an infodemic ,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director -General of the World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/munich -security -conference ). b. Examples of blatant misinformation (and not just from unreliable sources, but government and othe r officials)? Examples of more subtle misinformation? c. What effect is misinformation having on a country’s ability to control the pandemic? On our society? d. Effect o f misinformation o n public trust in science? e. How can the spread of misinformation be controll ed? What strategies can be employed to counter misinformation? 1. This site may be worth looking at – https://callingbullshit.org/index.html . A class at UW run by Profs Bergstrom and West. 2. CAUSATIVE AGENT (including genetics/ virus structure/mutation etc) Prompts (also include other subtopics if they are relevant): a. What is the viral causative agent of the disease? b. What are the characteristics of the virus? (DNA virus, positive -strand RNA virus, negative -strand RNA virus, or retrovirus? Enveloped or naked? How large is it? Provirus formation? Are there any unique characteristics of its multiplication cycle? Viral structure? Anything else that is relevant). c. Survivability of virus on surf aces. BIOL& 260 Spring 202 1 COVID -19 research project 4 d. The genetics of the virus (e.g. what genes does it contain and what do they code for ? Are there different strains? is it mutating and getting more or less virulent? etc ) 3. HISTORY of COVID -19 and related coronavirus diseases (SARS, MERS ) and also harmless coronaviruses Prompts (also include other subtopics if they are relevant): VI. Origin of the viruses VII. History of any diseases caused by these viruses VIII. How long have we known about these diseases? Historically, how were these diseases treated? What is the history of vaccine development? IX. Describe the changes in our knowledge and attitudes toward these diseases throughout history. 4. EPIDEMIOLOGY : reservoir, transmission, statistics (infection rates, geographic distribution, morbidity and mortality rates, R0 number, etc) Prompts (also include other subtopics if they are relevant ): a. Describe the prevalence of this disease. b. What is (are) the reserv oir(s) of the pathogen? c. What is (are) the mode(s) of transmission of the pathogen ? d. Where (in the world) is the disease prevalent? How many people are currently infected? What is the rate of new infections? What are the rates of morbidity and mortality? e. Survivability of virus on surfaces etc f. Predisposing factors for infection. g. Does Covid -19 thrive in different areas of the world based on environmental factors? h. Is Covid -19 seasonal? i. Impact of COVID on different groups (age, location, etc.) j. What infection control measures are required? 5. PATHOLOGY (how the virus causes damage to cells, organs etc) Prompts (also include other subtopics if they are relevant ): a. What are the signs and symptoms? b. What tissues , organs and cells does the pathogen affect? c. What damage does the pathogen inflict on cells, tissues, and organ systems ? How is this damage inflicted? (for example, i s there direct mechanical damage or cell death ? Is a toxin produced? Does the immune response to the pathogen itself cause damage? etc etc ) d. What is the time sequence of the disease (length of incubation, prodrome, illness, decline, and convalescence)? e. Prognosis/Progression of the disease 6. IMMUNE RESPONSE TO THE VIRUS + TREATMENT + PREVENTION Prompts (also include other subtopics if they are relevant ): a. Describe the activity of our immune system against the virus . b. Does infection with the virus provide protective immunity (that is, are you protected against reinfection?) c. What form does any immunity against the virus take – Innate immunity? Acquired immunity? Humoral immunity? Cell -mediated immunity? A combination of these? To help you understand some basics about the immune system, try this link:
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000821.htm BIOL& 260 Spring 202 1 COVID -19 research project 5 d. What types of medical treatments exist or are in development? Describe how these treatments affect the progression of the disease. Could already existing treatments or drugs be used to help alleviate symptoms or treat COVID -19? e. At what stages of infection are you infectious (that is, able to pass on the virus to others)? f. How is the disease diagnosed? g. Describe prophylactic (preventative) measures that can be taken to limit the risk of being infect ed (infection control measures) 7. SOCIAL -POLITICAL -ECONOMIC EFFECTS ** NOTE – compared to the other categories, this subject is more amenable to you expressing your opinion. However, note that the majority of your paper should still focus on citable, factual information. In other words, it should not just be an “opinion piece.” ** Prompts (also include other subtopics if they are relevant): a. Effect on health care systems b. Effect on society – e.g. health workers? other workers? Everyday life? c. Effect on the economy – jobs? families? etc etc d. Effect on politics – different approaches in different countries? Helping or hurting our elected institutions ? etc etc e. Effec t on the environment – pollution? climate change? etc etc f. Psychological impacts of COVID (e.g. on adults, parents, children) g. Describe how any of the above can help or hinder us in limiting the spread of the disease. h. Suggest policies and practices that can be employed to help with limiting the spread of the disease. For each policy and practice, describe what will be needed (what we have to sacrifice) in order to properly implement the proposal. A copy of the instructor grading rubric is found on the next page. Please take the time to look at this so you are aware of how the project points will be distributed. BIOL& 260 Spring 202 1 COVID -19 research project 6 Microbiology Research Project — Instructor Grading Rubric STUDENT NAME: SUBJECT CATEGORY CHOSEN: • CAUSATIVE AGENT _____ • HISTORY ___ __ • EPIDEMIOLOGY _____ • PATHOLOGY _____ • IMMUNE RESPONSE /T REATMENT /P REVENTION _____ • SOCIAL -POLITICAL -ECONOMIC EFFECTS _____ • MISINFORMATION _____ Quality of information: The t ext focusing on your chosen Subject Category (including – correct prompts followed, and majority of prompts covered) : (A = 65, B = 58.5, C = 52, D = 45.5, F 39 or less) ________ / 65 Quality of writing: ________ / 1 0 Grammar, spelling, punctuation, flow, readability, etc. In-text citations (APA style) : ________ / 10 Correctly citing information that is not common knowledge . Note that the only possible scores are 0, 5 or 10. Figures and/or Tables Minimum of one included, are numbered and have a legend . ________ / 5 Bibliography page: ________ / 1 0 (APA style) Full references for in -text citations; must match in -text citations. At least 10 sources, with minimum four being scientific research papers . Initial Total : _______ / 100 SUBTRACTIONS (see below): _______ FINAL SCORE : _______ / 100 NOTES – MISCELLANEOUS SUBTRACTIONS : 1. Paper must conform to the required 2 000 – 3000 word length. For r eports that are more or less than the required 2000 – 3000 word length : 5 point subtraction for +/ - 250 words; 10 points for +/ - 251 -500 words; 15 points for +/ - 501 -1000 words; 50 points for +/ - 1001 -1500 words; 75 points for +/ - > 1501 words. 2. Late reports - 20 points per day 3. Cover sheet missing - 2 points 4. Excessive use of direct quotes – minimum of 5 points
