Question

Research Proposal:

Please develop a proposal to conduct research in a given area. The proposal must include each of the following sections (unless the section is irrelevant to your specific area of research and/or if the section is “optional”) while also making sure you closely adhere to the proposal layout and instructions below:

Instructions:

Word document format, Times New Roman, 11-12 point font. All citations must follow the American Medical Association (AMA) referencing style.

Elements of Proposal Layout:

Title Page

Specific aims (1 page)

Background and significance (no more than 2 pages, must include a summary and analysis of the peer-reviewed literature and current state of knowledge in the particular topic + a discussion of gaps in knowledge that reveals important areas for future research)

Innovation (1/2 to 1 page)

Approach

4.a Conceptual/theoretical framework & diagram (about 1 page)

4.b Preliminary data (if applicable, not more than 1/2 page)

4.c Research design (about 6 pages, must address all proposal aims)

4.c.1. Study design overview (1-2 par),

4.c.2. Study population and eligibility criteria (1-2 par),

4.c.3. Sampling/recruitment procedure (if applicable),

4.c.4. Data sources, collection, and management (1 page),

4.c.5. Definition of primary and secondary outcomes, and

4.c.6. Data management and analysis plan for each specific aim

(i.e., statistical analysis/modeling or qualitative analysis)

Limitations & threats to the validity of the proposed research + how they will be managed (mention any alternate design considerations, 1 page)

Protection of Human Subjects (if applicable, no page limit)

References

Appendices (may include data collection instruments, tables/charts & figures, other relevant information or supplementary data)

Answer/Solution

1.0 Introduction

Currently, the implications of environmental forces manipulation for hostile purposes have been a major attention issue by numerous researchers. One of such environmental manipulation practice is the instigation of oil wells fires that had been majorly practiced in Kuwait through an integration of a scorched earth tactic previously devised by Saddam Hussein. According to ⁽¹⁾, at the period of Persian Gulf war evidenced in late 1990 and early 1991, Iran had engulfed on a strategic bombardment of the Kuwait’s oil industry. As a result, approximately 789 Kuwait oil wells were set on fire by the Iraqi forces leading to increasing in chemical residues deposits⁽²⁾. This background forms the basis of this research proposal to evaluate on the Environmental Consequences of the Persian Gulf War and Oil Fires on Kuwait Population. In particular, the dispersion of the chemical residues to different parts of the country to cause population respiratory diseases shall be evaluated in-depth.

2.0 Specific aims of Research

According to ⁽³⁾, the aims of a research forms the statements of intent, clearly and concisely defined which indicates on the milestones intended to be achieved in a research project. The principal aim of this research will be to evaluate the implications of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in the period of Persian Gulf War. This shall be achieved through focusing on the Environmental Consequences on the Kuwait Population, focusing on how the chemicals affected the population health. As such, it will be of much value to this study in identifying the specific chemical residues that are still in the sand and examining whether these chemicals are being carried by dust ⁽²⁾. This will equally involve identification of whether they are being dispersed across the country in both the urban and residential areas. This will be in tandem with analysis of the impacts of the chemicals dispersion in the whole country to the contemporary health statuses of the populations.

The rationale for this aim can be attributed to the fact that the overall balances between the costs and benefits of war can be accessed in distinct dimensions. In light of this ⁽⁴⁾, pointed out that the war impacts must be evaluated in terms of human health, the human rights, environment, economy and the long term political balances in the affected countries.

The results to be presented in this research after achieving the set key aim will determine the validity of the existing assumptions on the impacts of the chemical residues such as benzene and radioactive materials on the respiratory diseases in the population. In addition, this research will equally focus on establishing on the consistency of the already published data and their relativity in the context of Kuwait chemical residues dispersion. In particular, the published studies to be prioritized are the ones that have focused on establishing the average concentrations of chemical residues as an approach for environmental impact assessment study and the quality standards. Through this, it shall be possible to identify whether the Iraq burning of Kuwait oil wells had violated the air quality standards and whether they affected the environmental best standards of ideal chemical residues compositions.

3.0 Background and Significance

The amount of oil that was released deliberately by the Iraqi forces amounted to approximately three million barrels which were the highest amount of oil to be spilled. The US army also used heavy bombs which were used against the Iraqis at the Kuwaiti borders. In addition, according to ⁽⁵⁾ the Persian Gulf where the oil spillage occurred has a shallow body of water characterized with a rich flora and fauna, and as such any external contaminant would have elicited extensive damage to a human being. As aforementioned, the consequences of the oil spillage and fires by Iraqi forces are a multifaceted concept characterized with numerous research reviews. In addition, there are studies gaps in existence and conducting this research will seek to bridge the existing gaps.

3.1 Literature Review

The environmental implications of the Gulf War Crisis were promptly felt in the initial stages of the Iraqi invasion. To affirm this, ⁽²⁾ demonstrated that apart from the atrocities that the populations were subjected to, the oil fires elicited significant negative implications to the atmosphere. According to a study conducted by Center for Disease Control and Prevention among the employees in Kuwait city and the fighters in the front battle in the oil fields provided a clear hypothesis on the sources of the benzene particulates and radioactive materials. From the study, the blood samples analysis evidenced the existence of a great composition of volatile organic compounds with multiple signs of upper respiratory irritations. The study revealed that the benzene particulates originated from the burning of the unrefined petroleum. This equally led to the release of a mixture of gases and other particulate matters such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, volatile organics and the hydrogen peroxides. However, as ⁽¹⁾ pointed out, the release of the soot which was a mixture of the solid particles embedded in tar elicited the highest rate of impacts to the environment. Soot is a radioactive element produced from the full depletion of the uranium majorly from explosive bombs and other arms.

Benzene product is typically found in low concoctions in the majority of the plants and animals. In addition, according to ⁽⁶⁾, despite the natural sources of benzene being the volcanoes and forests fires, the primary emissions are from the crude oil and other emissions from the industries. In this case, owing to the volatility of benzene, their prevalence interaction with human beings is through inhalation, ingesting through contaminated food and water. In this regard, the burning of the crude oils from the Kuwait wells directly exposed the populations to benzene as this is the immediate compound of fuel combustion. In addition, the US army explosives, guns were made of the uranium metal. According to ⁽⁴⁾, when exposed to the air, uranium decomposes to produce toxic chemicals which can be trapped in a human body for many years leading to severe problems in the health of an individual. The increase in these compounds in the environment poses the risk of general weakness orchestrated by the poor health and malnutrition that was evident after the war.

3.2 Research Gap

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