Business Risks in the Pharmaceutical Industry Essay

Business Risks in the Pharmaceutical Industry - Essay Example Manufacturers of generic pharmaceutical products in countries like Asia and Latin America are challenging the company's patents and trademark protection. 2. Exchange rate fluctuations are a major concern for a company with headquarters in the U.K., operations in 45 countries, 64,200 employees of whom 60% are based in Europe (AstraZeneca, 2005, p. 16), 49% of sales from the U.S. and Canada, and 30 manufacturing sites in 20 countries buying and selling raw materials from different sources using a variety of currencies (AstraZeneca, 2005, p. 14), although they are minimizing this to avoid currency fluctuation effects. The company reports in U.S. dollars, so a stronger dollar will have a negative effect on its bottom line due to lower dollar revenues on sales in foreign currencies. Although AstraZeneca mitigates currency risk, it does not "seek to remove all such risks (AstraZeneca, 2005, p. 155)." The company, with a $1.1b fixed interest rate debt, is exposed to interest rate risk due to fluctuations in market interest rates. By converting fixed interest debt to floating rate (AstraZeneca, 2005, p. 91), every one hundred basis point (on e percent) rise in interest rates means the company pays $11m more. 3. Uncertainties of developing new products from the Research and Development (R&D) pipeline affects not only AstraZeneca but the whole pharmaceutical industry, which spends an estimated $1 billion over at least ten years to launch a new drug (KPMG, 2005, p.6), which includes losses incurred in developing drugs that do not even reach the market. Companies need to launch new drugs to replace those with expiring patents, marketing exclusivity or trademarks (Bate, 1997, p. 230-231). 4. AstraZeneca is the 9th largest pharmaceutical company in the world (Fortune, 2005) and competes with bigger companies with more resources for R&D and marketing. It also competes with biotechnology companies developing similar products. Increasing regulations in Europe, the Americas, and Asia (Clifford and Flochel, 2005) that put caps on drug prices directly or indirectly lead to low revenues and margins. 5. The company is at risk of paying higher taxes if existing U.K.-recognized double tax treaties are revoked for any reason. Fortunately, these treaties are holding but the risk of being taxed more than once for the same revenue is real. 6. AstraZeneca had a product liability scare in 2004 with Crestor, an anti-cholesterol drug. As the recent experience of Merck with Vioxx has shown, adverse publicity depresses the stock price and wipes out a portion of potential revenues (Bate, 1997, p. 287-288). 7. AstraZeneca's reliance on other companies for raw materials and services expose it to supply chain risks. If these third parties do not deliver, the company suffers stoppages in production, late deliveries, and lost revenues as the market switches to similar drugs. 8. The pharmaceutical i

Barclays Retail Banking in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Barclays Retail Banking in India - Essay Example Analysis of Environment 5 1.1. PEST Analysis 5 8 1.2. Industry Life Cycle 8 2.0. Competitive stance of Barclays in India 9 2.1. Porter’s Five Forces 9 Section 2 13 2.1. Scale and Scope 13 2.2. Analysis of Strategy 14 2.3. Evaluation of Sustainability 15 References 17 Bibliography 21 Introduction After realising the potential of the emerging markets, many internationally operating business institutions have shifted their focus from developed economies to developing economies, such as China, Russia, and India (Raman, 2009). Following the trend, Barclays Bank Plc, which is by its origin an England-based financial institution, decided to expand its business in India in the year 2006. Conversely, the organisation had already entered the market almost 30 years before the commencement of retail banking in the economy (Barclays, 2011). The paper focuses on the business environment of Barclays Bank Plc in India and services rendered by the company in the economy. With this concern, the paper discusses the macro-economic factors existing in the Indian Banking Sector through PEST analysis. It also intends to identify the strategic alliances adopted by the company with the assistance of Porter’s Six Forces analysis and evaluate its appropriateness in overcoming the challenges existing in the economy. With the objective to analyse appropriateness of the strategies adopted by the company, the discussion of the paper presents a comprehensive outlook of the current status of the industry in the economic region. It also represents the various facts regarding the strategic behaviour of the company. Section 1 1.0. Analysis of Environment 1.1. PEST Analysis Political Factors The Indian political system has a great influence on the commercial sector of the economy. The current scenario of the political environment in India possesses few advantages and disadvantages which in turn can affect the banking sector to a large extent. For instance, the economy possesses a wel l-structured regulatory framework to control commercial banking and on the contrary a high inflationary rate which is most likely to have an effect on the growth of the banking industry (The Times of India, 2010). Moreover, in the current fiscal year the government of India have subscribed to recapitalise the public sector banks in order to assist them in achieving a target of 15% in terms of outstanding loans (Scribd, 2011). One major reason which can be identified in this context is the growing concern of the political leaders in the economy to improve the financial market trends with an objective of stimulated economic growth. This reformation will certainly make the competition fiercer in the market and thus affect the operations of Barclays in India. Economical Factors The GDP rate of the economy is recorded to continuously increase and currently figures around 5.75% (as was recorded in March 17th 2011). According to the economists, the economic growth rate shall persist to inc rease in the next few years (Ganesh, 2011). The interest rate of the economy is forecasted to continue on a high percentage (i.e. 5.75%). However, the inflationary rates of the economy are also recorded at an increase with 9.30%. Interest Rates of the economy currently figures to 5.75% and thus reflects a challenging business environment (Ganesh, 2011; Trading Economics, 2011). The economic situation of

Culture of the Penan Tribe

Culture of the Penan Tribe The review that I would like to made among the 5 tribes that acted by the Bruce Parry is the Penan tribe. First of all, I would like to introduce briefly about the character of Bruce Parry. Bruce Parry is an activist that venture into the most remote area of Sarawak state in Malaysian Borneo. He believes that the only ways to knows more about the culture anthropology and knowledge for a tribe is to have a participant observation in his fieldwork. Participant observations mean that living within a given culture for an extended period of time, and take part in its cultural daily life in all its richness and diversity. The Penan is a nomadic aborigine that roved on the land of Sarawak Borneo and some other parts on Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan. Nowadays, the number of Penan had officially stated approximate to 10,000 people and around 350-500 of them are nomadic that scattered over Ulu Baram, Limbang, Tutoh and Lawas of Sarawak. (Figures retrieved from: http://www.survival-international.org) The present Penans are consisted with settled, semi-nomadic and total nomadic communities that fully depend on the forest products. In Penan society, the natives are highly developed in an egalitarian society and little gender division. It means that the social stratification among the man and women are almost equal. For instance, the man and women shared most of the chores among them. Such as, gathering the forest product and extracted sago from the sago palms, but they are still some part of chores that dominated by male, for example, hunting in the forest. Penan is a group of native that practiced the ritual of Molong which means that never take more than necessary. The majority of the Penan natives are work as nomadic hunter-gatherers. The nomadic Penan usually moves in group that consisted approximately 40 people included children and old people. They do not stayed for a long time in a particular place. The period of time that they stay is depend on the resources at the place that they stayed and when the resources became fewer, they will choose other suitable places and moved again. The nomadic Penan native that lived in the forest was very much depending on their traditional diet-Sago that starch from the Sago palm. Once, the Sago palms are matured and fully grown, the sago palm trees will be cut down. The leader of the collecting sago palm will make sure an amount of sago starched is enough for each family and kept adequately for their supply. After that no more sago palm will be chop down until they are ran out of food. Besides that, the Penan native also preys on wild animals like wild boars, mouse deer and monkeys. The hunters hunt by using a blowpipe, made with the Belian wood and carved out with a bone drill. The poison darts that they used are made from the sago palms tree bark and on its tip; the Penan dipped it with kind of powerful poisonous latex that extracted from a tree from the forest. However, the Penan natives also cultivate the planting of paddy and domestic animal breeding for their own foods not for sales. Furthermore, I would like to discuss briefly about the Penan culture. Culture can be defined as a learned behavior in any particular society includes those ideas, techniques and habits which are passed on by one generation to another in a sense, a social heritage and which are virtually a set of solutions to problems that, in the course of time, others have met and solved before. (Tony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Philp Jones, Michelle Stanworth, Ken Sheard, and Andrew Webster, 1987, page 11) The nomadic Penan move in groups and they have their own clan territories, the groups are consisted of a family of five or six members and some family even consisted of 30 people. The nomadic Penan will leave their old selap (huts) and move to another domain of forest when their sago supplies are exhausted. The majority of the roofs are tarpaulins and there are seldom roof made by giant palm leaves. In the aspect of material cultures, only Penan elders dress in traditional dress, which called chawats means that the loin cloths, and wearing large holes in their earlobes. Nowadays, the Penan natives are making the tattoos by themselves which is almost like prison tattoos. Only few Penan now go in barefoot, most of them are wearing cheap plastic boots with rounded studs to protect their foots. In addition, I would like to discuss about the Penan traditional weapons that are used for hunting. For example the Penans blowpipes which is used for hunting wild animals. The another name for blowpipe is called keleput, are approximately 6 feet long and made from one solid piece of iron wood. Secondly, the process of making the Penan poison darts is cutting off the bark of the tajem tree to extract milky latex that is warmed over a fire to produce the poison. The poison darts can cause lethal arrhythmias to the animals. Blowpipe darts are made from palm fronds with light weight. Darts with metal tips which cut from tin cans are used for bigger size wild animals like deer and bearded pig. The last weapon used by Penan hunters is knives. The Penan hunters are carrying two knives. The first knife is called a poeh, is large and machete-like. The second knife is called darhad which is much smaller than peoh and is used for cutting meat, whittling blowpipe darts and fine work. Both knive s are carried close together with the Penan hunters. Besides that, in the aspect of religion believe for Penan native, the Penan have been converting their animism belief to Christianity since in the 1930s. According to the functionalist Emile Durkheim, religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden beliefs and practice which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them. (Robert Van Krieken, Daphne Habibis, Philip Smith, Brett Hutchins, Michael Haralambos, Martin Holborn, 2006, page 390) However, some of the Penan native still having a strong believe in myths and spirits. The Penan leaders still practice the ritual of blood pacts with neighboring tribe when doing the political agreement. The ritual of blood pacts was believed that anyone who breach of this pact will cause to vomiting of blood and a violent death. Moreover, in the aspect of economic for Penan native, most of the Penan are work as a hunter gatherer in forest and selling the main resource of the forest which is sago. The economy can be defined as a system of production, distribution, and consumption of resources, including the cultural belief that supports economic processes. During the colonial times, the British government will arrange trading missions called tamu close to the forests of the Penan to offered forest products like damar (now used in eco-paints), rattan mats and baskets, rhino horn, gaharu wood (or eagle-wood), wild rubber, monkey gallstones (for Chinese medicine), bills of hornbills, and deer antlers. These items were traded for manufacturing goods like knives, cooking pots and shotguns. None of these forest products are now abundant, but many Penans will sell surplus meat to logging camps. The Penan native also sold the high quality gaharu from gaharu tree but that can take years to accumulate. Gaharu is used a s incense, for medicinal and religious purposes, and as a perfume in the Middle East countries. For the division of labor for Penan, the man will always go for hunting and the woman will generally gather the sago from the sago palm tree and do the house chores. The pattern of economic subsistence for Penan native is foraging and horticulture. For instance, they are foraging in groups for wild plants and hunting for wild animals like wild boar and mouse deer. However, some Penan hunter still practicing the pedestrian foraging which means that the hunters are diversified hunting and gathering on foot. For the horticulture, they also rear some chickens, pigs, and monkey outside their house. The Penan native also having symbolic interactionism when they are hunting inside the forest. According to the principal ontological claim of symbolic interactionist is that reality is not immutable or fixed but is constantly being recreated or achieved through the meaningful interaction of individuals. (Tony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Philp Jones, Michelle Stanworth, Ken Sheard, and Andrew Webster, 1987, page 521) Symbolic interactionism means that the interaction among people, how people use symbols in communication and interaction to establish meaning, develop their view of the world, and communicate with one another. The Penan natives have their own forest sign language. For example, a bent twig stuck in the trail may simply delivering the direction of the hunter is going. The complex arrangements of cut twigs, sticks and folded leaves means that delivering the message to the Penan native about anything from the state of the hunting locally to the others hunter whether they are in go od mood or not. Furthermore, the Penan native also facing social changes in the Penan society. In general terms social change refers to the changes in the nature, social institution, social behavior or social relations of a society, or other social structures. According to Barbara Marliene S. Mary Ann A. Schwartz (2006) social change was defined as the time when external events happened, such as war and conquest and culture contact and diffusion, or environmental factors or internal events, such as innovations, invention and population shifts. For instance, in Penan society, the Penan native was influenced by the cultural diffusion from western, such as wearing t-shirt and jeans, cooking pot and cups made from western and lastly some of the hunter are using shotgun for hunting instead of using the blowpipes. The collective action also occur among the Penan natives toward the government when the logging company keep on cutting of the tree in Penan forest without paying any compensate and development to the Penan area. For example, many blockades were set up in attempt to stop logging operations on their land. Unfortunately, the efforts were hard to carry on and the situation turns bad with vast scale of clashes between the indigenous community and the state supported logging company. The Penan native also facing social changes because of the the geography and climate. It is because, the Penan natives is dealing with the survival problems inside the forest. Their food becomes hard to attain and the inhabited environment was contaminated because of the serious logging happened in Penan forest. These kinds of situation makes their natives life in the jungle becomes tough and unease. So, the member in the group is keep decreasing due to migration. Migration refers to the movement of people into or out of a geographical area (Barbara S Mary A, 2006). So, in future, many youngsters who grew up in the nomadic group will choose to move out from the community and headed to the life style in the city. It is because the young people rather choose a spouse from the city than they own people that stayed in the group. In the aspect of development in Penan society, the Penan native did not want any development from the government to them and they just want their own traditional life remains. According to Hunt, E. F. Colander, human being appears to be basically conservative and the human mind and personality are so constituted that once people beliefs, attitudes, and patterns of behavior, they have difficulty in changing them. (Hunt, E. F. Colander, D.C. 2005, page 90) The statement above have shown that why the Penan natives reject the development from government. However, the logging company which could bring development and economic rises to the country have also cause a lot of negative impact to the Penan natives. For instance, the poorly planned logging trails had caused the issues of earth erosion, landslides and the silting of watercourses happened. The situation had affected the functional relation among the Penan and the forest. The big trees which were removed had cause the Penan native hard to gather and hunting for their foods. Lastly half of the habitat of Penan native was being demolished. In the aspect of family in Penan society, the Penan natives are having closure group of marriage, it means that the Penan native will only married each other which is in their own tribe. According to Murdock, family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults. (James Fulcher, John Scott, 2007, page 447) Most of the family in Penan society is nuclear family and extended family. Nuclear family refers to a domestic unit composed of a man and woman in a stable marital relationship, with their dependent children, and the extended families refer to where more than one generation of husbands and wives cohabit with their offspring. (Tony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Philp Jones, Michelle Stanworth, Ken Sheard, and Andrew Webster, 1987, page 253) Most of the family member in Penan was built in extended family where the Penan natives live and work together inside their huts. In the aspect of gender in Penan society, gender can be defined as a term that has psychological or cultural rather than biological connotations. If the proper terms for sex are male and female, the corresponding terms for gender are masculine and feminine; these latter might be quite independent of biological sex. (Robert Van Krieken, Daphne Habibis, Philip Smith, Brett Hutchins, Michael Haralambos, Martin Holborn, 2006, page 304) The Penan natives are having their gender identity through the gender socialization. According to Ann Oakley, gender socialization is how socialization in modern industrial societies shapes the identity and behavior of girl and boys from an early age. (Robert Van Krieken, Daphne Habibis, Philip Smith, Brett Hutchins, Michael Haralambos, Martin Holborn, 2006, page 316) For instance, the Penans male when they are born they have to be a hunter-gatherer and do some rough work or learning the skill of doing rattans. The female who are born will have to do the h ouse chores with their mother and do the fine work like collecting sago or fruits. As a conclusion, the social changes have caused a lot of conflict among the Penan tribe and the government. Individual, groups, communities are reluctant to change and facing big struggle to adjust from the life style and conditions that they had used with, so many aspects in life have to be considered. At the same time the society have to differ themselves to maintain existing conditions. The Penan resists change because of their romanticized notion of traditional values and the good old days. (Barbara S, Mary A, 2006) For example, the Penan people valued their forest habitat and their traditional rituals very much and fear of losing each of them caused them hesitated to receive changes. So, the phenomenon of the Penan resistance is natural and it is common if they persisted in their objection. References: James Fulcher, John Scott. 2007. Sociology: Third Edition. United States. Oxford University Press Inc. Robert Van Krieken, Daphne Habibis, Philip Smith, Brett Hutchins, Michael Haralambos, Martin Holborn. 2006. Sociology Themes and Perspectives: 3rd Edition. Australia. Pearson Longman. Tony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Philp Jones, Michelle Stanworth, Ken Sheard, and Andrew Webster. 1987. Introductory Sociology: 2nd Edition. Mackays of Chatham PLC, Kent. Barbara Marliene Scott Mary Ann A. Schwartz. 2006. SOCIOLOGY: 2nd edition, Making Sense of the Social World. Allyn and Bacon Pearson. Elgin F. Hunt David C. Colander. 2005. Social Science: An Introduction To The Study Of Society. James H. McDonald. 2002. The Applied Anthropology Reader. Allyn and Bacon Pearson. BBC Tribe of Penan from the website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/tribe/tribes/penan/index.shtml, retrieved at 1 April 2010 Figures retrieved from the website: http://www.survival-international.org, retrieved at 4 April 2010.

Media and the People :: essays research papers

Many tragedies, deaths and other popular actions take place everyday around the world, and we the people, count on media to cover these accounts in full detail. News articles and the media are two topics that go hand-in-hand with each other when discussing the perception of a world topic. Giving the media this power to describe the account also gives them the power to one-side any particular story. Often false accusations are made and wrong people are blamed, for no other reason than the media pointing fingers in wrong directions. The media also has the power to confuse, for as one media program might cover an account to be the blame of one man and another media program to be blame of another. The media has been given too much power with influencing the thoughts of people across the world. Take in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war with Iraq has sparked many different views and perspectives in the media world. Such popular topics of discussion with broadcasters and reports have been: Is Busch to blame? Is the War really necessary? Is the US sticking its nose where it shouldn’t be? And so the list goes on forever and ever. With such a popular international topic such as this, the media has the power to break it down to every little aspect as long as the viewer is interested. Who is the decision maker, who is the one that chooses who is truly at fault? How do we know the media doesn’t change views based on which country its news is broadcasting in? With America at war with Iraq, do American televisions say Iraq kills 10 U.S. soldiers, while an Iraqi one states that U.S. invades country to take over?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The heart of any media article or report is in the tone, perspective, and content. Although both of these articles are one two different specific sub-topics, they are both on the same topic; and with sharing the same topic they also both share the same tone. They both share the same perspective of a guilty Iraq. As for the content; they are mostly similar except that the second article, â€Å"Pentagon: 110 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq†, is a little more enlightened towards the U.S. taking some blame. The two pieces of media material I have reviewed share many similarities yet many differences in tone, perspective and content. Both of these pieces cover basically the same topic of the war in Iraq. Media and the People :: essays research papers Many tragedies, deaths and other popular actions take place everyday around the world, and we the people, count on media to cover these accounts in full detail. News articles and the media are two topics that go hand-in-hand with each other when discussing the perception of a world topic. Giving the media this power to describe the account also gives them the power to one-side any particular story. Often false accusations are made and wrong people are blamed, for no other reason than the media pointing fingers in wrong directions. The media also has the power to confuse, for as one media program might cover an account to be the blame of one man and another media program to be blame of another. The media has been given too much power with influencing the thoughts of people across the world. Take in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The war with Iraq has sparked many different views and perspectives in the media world. Such popular topics of discussion with broadcasters and reports have been: Is Busch to blame? Is the War really necessary? Is the US sticking its nose where it shouldn’t be? And so the list goes on forever and ever. With such a popular international topic such as this, the media has the power to break it down to every little aspect as long as the viewer is interested. Who is the decision maker, who is the one that chooses who is truly at fault? How do we know the media doesn’t change views based on which country its news is broadcasting in? With America at war with Iraq, do American televisions say Iraq kills 10 U.S. soldiers, while an Iraqi one states that U.S. invades country to take over?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The heart of any media article or report is in the tone, perspective, and content. Although both of these articles are one two different specific sub-topics, they are both on the same topic; and with sharing the same topic they also both share the same tone. They both share the same perspective of a guilty Iraq. As for the content; they are mostly similar except that the second article, â€Å"Pentagon: 110 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq†, is a little more enlightened towards the U.S. taking some blame. The two pieces of media material I have reviewed share many similarities yet many differences in tone, perspective and content. Both of these pieces cover basically the same topic of the war in Iraq.

Evolution of Community and Public Health Nursing Essay

Identify a minimum of 3 major events (or influences) in the evolution of community and public health nursing and describe how each event led to advancement of the field. For each event, describe the following: Key health issues at the time Perspectives and goals of community and public health nursing Roles and functions of community and public health nursing Community and public health partnerships at the time Event or Influence: No Child Left Behind Act signed into law (2001). Key health issues Over 50% failure rates noted throughout several states in the United States (Education Week, 2011). Perspective/goals Guaranteeing the quality of public education for all children in the United States with measures to hold schools accountable for their student’s progress by expanding the role of standardized testing (Frontline, 2013) Role/functions School nurses are affected indirectly by the heightened emphasis on accountability for achievement in public education. They actively promote and support achievement for all students in specific ways and help to provide a safe school environment (Costante, C., 2006). Health partnerships School administrators and school nurses come together to promote the well being of all children thus, promoting healthy lifestyles in order to children to perform to the best of his or her ability in school. Ensuring immunizations are up to date as well as supporting preventive screening. How did this event (or influence) advance community and public health nursing? Communication between families and the school district with the help of  school nurses increased the awareness of the importance of health goals. Communication increased with student websites. Promoted school nurse (Advanced Practiced Nurse) with the skills to provide primary health care to children of all ages in schools, thus improving the health and well being of children and adolescences (Keeton, V., Soleimanpour, S., & Brindis, C., 2012). Event or Influence: Balance Budget Act of 1997 created a new program to enable states of offer health insurance to children of low-income and uninsured families. Key health issues Children of low-income were uninsured therefore not receiving proper medical care for health screenings and immunizations as well as treatment for diseases such as pediatric diabetes (Balance Budget Act, 1997). Perspective/goals Projected to achieve gross federal Medicaid savings of $17 billion over those next five years and $61.4 billion over the next ten years from signing (Schneider, A., 1997). Role/functions Public health nurses were seen as having a vital role to achieve improvements in the health and social conditions of the most vulnerable populations (Kulobok, P.A., Thatcher, E., Meszaros, P.S., 2012). Health partnerships Coordination with other public and private programs providing coverage for low-income children. Assistance in helping families enrolling children in such programs. How did this event (or influence) advance community and public health nursing? Although this act helped budget finances for health care coverage for children of low income, it also advanced networks to promote primary care and preventive health care services also brought change in Medicare reimbursement practices (Allender, J., Rector, C., & Warner, K.,2014). Event or Influence: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Act was passed (1974) Key health issues Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is defined by the CDC as â€Å"the sudden  death of an infant less than one year of age that cannot be explained after a thorough investigation is conducted, including a complete autopsy, examination of death scene and review of the clinical history.† Perspective/goals To understand the underlying causes and mechanisms of the syndrome and provide prevention methods to reduce the risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Role/functions The role of the community and public health nurse would be to promote education for prevention and support for those who have had a loss due to SIDS Health partnerships National Institute of Child Health and Human Development focuses on the need for community resources. Coming together to develop educational programs to help with understanding of SIDS, preventions as well as risks. How did this event (or influence) advance community and public health nursing? The Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Act helped provide information to the community through research and help understand risk factors thus reducing the incidences.

Best Practices for Social Science Writing Essay

When social scientists write their research papers, they usually discuss the methods that they employed in gathering and analyzing their data and the results that they were able to generate using these methods. They however seldom concentrate on the writing process itself (Cuba, 1997). Writing in the field of social science requires the use of insight and research to better understand and make concrete observations and findings about the various behavioral elements. There are many methods of conducting social science studies namely through observations, interviews, surveys and case studies. However, when one starts writing the research paper that would embody these pertinent findings, the writer usually faces the challenges that many social science writers encounter. These problems include the complexities of achieving clarity, the potential for committing biases, writing in the first-person perspective, the use of quotations and in-text citations to support the analysis, and formatting styles particular to the field of social sciences. When writing one’s own research paper, it is important for a scholar in the field of social science to have a grasp of the basic writing techniques peculiar to social science in order to produce an academic paper that is relevant, informative and worth reading. The prevalence of search engines and the use of the World Wide Web have made it easier for scholars nowadays to conduct their studies and research with ease and in an expeditious manner. The libraries and other academic centers which make available to the public the latest references has also contributed to a great extent to achieving academic quality of various writings. Complexities in Achieving Clarity Like any other field of study, effective writing requires constant practice. This entails continuous process of writing, editing and rewriting ideas and use of words to convey these thoughts clearly to the intended audience (Cuba, 1997). Oftentimes, students of social science put off writing their research paper until they have completed doing all their research and compiled their bibliography. This practice however sometimes leads to insufficient time in writing the paper itself. In order to achieve clarity when writing a social science research paper, Hult (1996) enumerated the two components that must be considered: rhetorical question and organization. The components of a rhetorical situation include 1) the writer’s purpose; 2) the writer’s persona; 3) the potential readers or audience; 4) the subject matter and; 5) the appropriate language or tone (Hult, 1996). In starting the research write-up, the writer must determine the purpose of his paper and he must be able to define it clearly throughout the entire paper. The purpose need not be complex. A simple purpose will do so long as the readers can have a grasp of what the research is all about. Writers in the field of social science must also avoid writing in the first-person persona as this will affect the objectivity of their research. Identifying the intended audience will also help the writer in deciding what specific issues to discuss and what areas to avoid. For example, a person writing in the field of political science will have to consider political analysts as his potential readers. The subject matter is the most important aspect of the rhetorical situation (Hult, 1996). A writer must carefully select his thesis statement and decide from the materials gathered what facts must be included as well as those which need not be discussed. Furthermore, the research writer might also consider providing a glossary of terms when writing on a technical subject in order to make it easier for the readers to understand the language and tone of the research paper. Omitting Biases and Avoiding First Person Writing Style It is not uncommon practice in the field of social science to write using the first person persona. Writing from the first person perspective however indicates subjectivity in arriving at one’s own research findings and this in turn diminishes the objectivity of the research. In order to be more persuasive, the writer must couch his paper from a third person perspective so as to avoid the impression that he is impelled more by his own biases rather than reporting the facts gathered from relevant data. Omitting biases should be the foremost consideration of every social science writer because this field requires objectiveness and keen understanding of the facts and data. Unlike writers in the field of literature who have unbridled discretion to unleash their feelings and emotions in their papers, social science writers are bound by their duty to report the facts as they appear and not as they think it should be. The field of social science is primarily detail-oriented and must be supported by relevant, empirical, and reliable facts. In order to avoid biases, the writer must always dwell on the facts gathered and must use relevant sources to support his findings. Primary and secondary sources play an important role in the persuasiveness of one’s research work because the extent of the credibility of a research paper is to a great extent determined by the depth of research done by the researcher to support his study. The writer must also avoid labeling his chosen population or individual participants to avoid offending the readers. When dealing with a particular ethnic group or race, it is advisable to call them as they would like to be called. In order to avoid language biases, use the terminology applicable in the research itself. For example, when reporting on a study conducted on two types of participants, it is advisable to describe them according to how they were classified in the given study provided the labels are in themselves not offensive per se. Minimizing the Use of Quotations A writer’s source material must be in the form of paraphrases and summaries. However, paraphrased materials must still be properly documented either through in-text citations or footnotes or endnotes. Hult (1996) added that putting source material in your own words will improve the flow of your paper since the paraphrased style will blend with your own writing style and will thus contribute to its consistency. Minimize the use of direct quotations. The use of too many direct quotations distracts the reader and it also minimizes coherence of the writing style. It also leaves the impression that the writer knows little about his topic and is in fact relying heavily on what others have come up with (Hult, 1996). What the writer can do is paraphrase or summarize the portion of the materials used and document it properly. If using direct quotes cannot be avoided, the following principles are helpful in incorporating them smoothly in the research paper. First, when using quotations with four lines or less in length, enclose them with quotation marks and incorporate them in the text. Second, quotes should be introduced using the verb tense which is consistent with the tense of the quoted material. Third, change the capital letter to lower case and vice versa, within the quote if necessary. Fourth, enclosed in brackets the letter or words inserted inside the quoted material to separate them from the quoted material itself. Fifth, use ellipsis to signal that a material has been omitted from the quote. Sixth, punctuate the direct quote as it appears from the original. Seventh, a period or a comma which is part of the quote should be placed inside the quotation marks. Eighth, use a colon to introduce a quote which is more than one sentence or if the introductory material prior to the quoted portion is too long. Ninth, use a comma for short quotes (Hult, 1996). Using In-text Citations to Support Analysis A researcher who intends to make use on in-text citation in his write-up should keep in mind the American Psychological Association (APA) style which requires the use of past tense or present perfect tense when referring to earlier research materials. For example, it is incorrect to say â€Å"Smith (2008) states that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  when referring to Smith’s research findings. Instead, the researcher must employ the past or present perfect tense; hence, the in-text citation should appear like this: â€Å"Smith (2008) stated/has stated that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In-text citations must follow the author-date format under the APA citation style, e. g. , (Smith, 2008) and a complete documentation of the source must appear in the reference list. Electronic sources are cited in the same manner as citing a printed document, e. g. , (Purdue University Online Writing Lab, 2008). For sources with no date available, place â€Å"n. d. † (meaning â€Å"no date†) after the author’s last name, e. g. , (Smith, n. d. ). Formatting Expectations A writer must see to it that his paper is professional in appearance. This is not to say however that attention to format should be every social science writer’s foremost consideration. It is also equally important to confer with your instructor as to what should be the appropriate format style for the particular paper. When preparing the paper, it is best to be conservative when it comes to formatting style rather than be ostentatious and vulgar, thus making the paper look less serious and informal. Hence, margin must not be justified on both side of the page but only on the left side only. The American Psychological Association (APA) is the most commonly used citation style format in the field of social sciences. The guidelines provided under the APA provides a useful tool in writing research papers, using in-text citations and reference page and using footnotes or endnotes. Under the APA formatting style, page headers are required to be placed in the upper right-hand of every page. This page header must contain the first two to three words of the title followed by the page number. The title page should already show include the page header. A running head must also appear on the first line of the title page flush-left. On the upper half of the page, centered, the full title of the paper, the name of the writer and university or affiliation must be indicated (Purdue University Online Writing Lab, 2008). Research papers are normally comprised of the title page, the abstract (if appropriate), the main body, the references, and the appendixes (if appropriate). The abstract need not be written for short research papers but for published research reports, an abstract is always required regardless of the length of the paper (Hult, 1996). Appendix may be used to include raw data and other information that need not appear in the main body but is likewise important in the research paper. It is located after the reference page and is labeled sequentially in letters. The reference page must include all the sources used in the research paper. The sources must be in alphabetical order by author’s last name and need not be numbered. Conclusion Writing is a necessary aspect of social research (Cuba, 1997). A good research means that the writer gave great effort in collecting and organizing his data as well as in organizing his findings in a coherent and scholarly manner suitable to the academic community he intends to present his study to. In preparing the research paper, every writer in the field of social science must consider the pertinent style guides applicable. The writing process is an analytic strategy that can only be improved through practice. This necessarily means that every social science researcher preparing his paper must open to revisions. The first draft must not be the final paper. Every writer must be also be willing to take constructive criticism from his colleagues because all too often, a writer cannot see the errors of his own work unless others point them out. Letting others read your research paper will help you in assessing some of the loopholes in your own arguments. Writing in the field of social sciences is an important aspect of the research itself because the manner in which a given study is presented contributes to the persuasiveness of the one’s findings and output. As such, it is important to be familiar with the writing techniques, styles, and formats applicable in your field of research so as to avoid mistakes and errors in presenting your research. The APA citation format style is a helpful tool in the social sciences and every scholar in this field must familiarize himself this formatting to avoid the inconvenience of revising and rewriting the research paper. The social science paper must be formal as to its structure and form and the writer must avoid using first person persona that is usually employed in the literary field. The sentences must be well-crafted and concise and must clearly reflect in a coherent and thorough manner the findings of the researcher without the need of extravagant words or details. Social science research writing is a challenging task for every writer. It requires practice and hard work just like collecting the data itself. It is an inevitable part of every researcher’s academic life and it cannot be avoided. Hence, every researcher must be familiar with the format and style peculiar to this field in order to increase the success of one’s research paper. References Cuba, Lee (1997). Short Guide to Writing About Social Science (4th Ed. ). Addison-United States: Wesley Educational Publishers Inc. Gerring, John, Yesnowitz, Joshua & Bird, Stephen (2004). General Advice on Social Science Writing. Retrieved August 1, 2008 from http://people. bu. edu/jgerring/documents/Adviceonessaywriting. pdf Hult, Christine (1996). Researching and Writing in the Social Sciences. Boston, Allyn and Bacon. Hess, Diana (2007). From Banished to Brother Outsider, Miss Navajo to An Inconvenient Truth: Documentary Films as Perspective-Laden Narratives. Social Education 71 (4), 194-199. McDonald, Susan, MD. Social Science Writing Guide. Retrieved August 1, 2008 from http://www. emayzine. com/lectures/writing. htm Mullen, Carol (2006). Best Writing Practices for Graduate Students: Reducing the Discomfort of the Blank Screen. Retrieved August 1, 2008 from http://cnx. org/content/m14054/latest/ Przeworski, Adam and Salomon, Frank (1995). The Art of Writing Proposals: Some Candid Suggestions to Social Science Research Council Competitions. Social Science Research Council. Retrieved August 1, 2008 from http://fellowships. ssrc. org/art_of_writing_proposals/ Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) (19 June 2008). APA Formatting and Style Guide. Retrieved August 2, 2008 from http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/560/01/http://Web address for OWL resource. Watts, Michael. The Holy Grail: In Pursuit of the Dissertation Proposal. Institute of International Studies. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved August 1, 2008 from http://globetrotter. berkeley. edu/DissPropWorkshop/process/InPursuitofPhD. pdf

Incomplete Thought Writing Mistakes

Incomplete Thought Writing Mistakes Incomplete Thought Writing Mistakes Incomplete Thought Writing Mistakes By Mark Nichol Writers sometimes sabotage their efforts to express themselves by leaving key information out of a sentence, resulting in confusing statements. Each of the following examples suffers from obfuscation due to one of more missing words. Discussion after each sentence explains the problem, and a revision provides a solution. 1. It has been called one of, if not the best film Smith has directed. This type of error, frequently committed by professional and amateur writers alike, is the result of an attempt to create a parenthetical parallel, one that fails because the sentence lacks all the necessary elements. In most attempts of this type, an additional comma would follow film, to set off the parenthetical, but the sentence is syntactically invalid when the supposedly expendable parenthetical is omitted; the result is â€Å"It has been called one of Smith has directed.† The flaw here and in similar erroneous constructions is that the key phrase must be repeated, appearing in both the main clause and the parenthetical: â€Å"It has been called one of the best films, if not the best film, Smith has directed.† (Remove the parenthetical, and the main clause is syntactically sound: â€Å"It has been called one of the best films Smith has directed.†) 2. Lenders should proactively assess their ability and success in providing capital to minorities and their communities. The mistake here is the writer’s assumption that ability and success are parallel, but each word is merely the basis of corresponding phrases that must be extended and located appropriately: However, not only do they require distinct prepositions, but providing is the correct inflection of the verb only in reference to success, so the sentence must be further revised for it to make grammatical sense: â€Å"Lenders should proactively assess their ability to provide, and success in providing, capital to minorities and their communities.† (To avoid the parenthetical phrase, revise as shown here: â€Å"Lenders should proactively assess their ability to provide capital to minorities and their communities and their success in doing so.†) 3. The product’s naturally occurring electrolytes are significantly higher than other brands. Other brands are erroneously compared with electrolytes; the comparison should be between the electrolytes in one product and the electrolytes in other brands, so either electrolytes or a pronoun representing it, plus the preposition in, must be inserted into the sentence: â€Å"The product’s naturally occurring electrolytes are significantly higher than those in other brands.† 4. Financial institutions are no longer required to implement the rule and retain the option of including mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts. This sentence does not intend to express that two requirements for financial institutions have been lifted; the intention is to state that one requirement has been lifted, while an option has been retained. To indicate that these are separate points, the sentence should be structured to consist of two independent clauses separated by punctuation and a conjunction: â€Å"Financial institutions are no longer required to implement the rule, and they retain the option of including mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts.† 5. Most categories show decreased totals compared to our results from last year. The equivalents here are not totals in most categories and results from last year; they are totals in most categories this year and totals in most categories last year. That equivalence is expressed simply by inserting the pronoun those and the preposition in before the phrase describing the comparison: â€Å"Most categories show decreased totals compared to those in our results last year.† 6. Machines are so much better at analyzing large volumes of data than people. The implication is that machines perform analysis of large volumes of data better than they perform analysis of people, but the point is that machines outperform people in analyzing large volumes of data; to clarify the correspondence between machines and people, simply tack a verb onto the end of the sentence: â€Å"Machines are so much better at analyzing large volumes of data than people are.† 7. Contracting teams may also want to identify contracts just below that threshold but that would be profitable if renegotiated at higher rates. â€Å"That is† or â€Å"that are† (or that followed by another â€Å"to-be† verb form), like that itself, are sometimes optional in a sentence, but if one of two corresponding phrases is preceded by such a phrase, the other must be as well: â€Å"Contracting teams may also want to identify contracts that are just below that threshold but that would be profitable if renegotiated at higher rates.† Alternatively, the sentence may be revised to convey correspondence with other wording: â€Å"Contracting teams may also want to identify contracts just below that threshold but potentially profitable if renegotiated at higher rates.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! 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