Paper Evaluation

How to Read a Scientific Paper BIOC/MCB 568 — Fall 2010 John W. Little and Roy Parker–University of Arizona Back to 568 home page Translation into Belorussian The main purpose of a scientific paper is to report new results, usually experimental, and to relate these results to previous knowledge in the field. Papers are one of the most important ways that we communicate with one another. In understanding how to read a paper, we need to start at the beginning with a few preliminaries. We then address the main questions that will enable you to understand and evaluate the paper. . How are papers organized? 2. How do I prepare to read a paper, particularly in an area not so familiar to me? 3. What difficulties can I expect? 4. How do I understand and evaluate  the contents of the paper? 1. Organization of a paper In most scientific journals, scientific papers follow a standard format. They are divided into several sections, and each section serves a specific purpose in the paper. We first describe the standard format, then some variations on that format. A paper begins with a short  Summary  or  Abstract. Generally, it gives a brief background to the topic; describes concisely the major findings of the paper; and relates these findings to the field of study. As will be seen, this logical order is also that of the paper as a whole. The next section of the paper is the  Introduction. In many journals this section is not given a title. As its name implies, this section presents the background knowledge necessary for the reader to understand why the findings of the paper are an advance on the knowledge in the field. Typically, the Introduction describes first the accepted state of knowledge in a specialized field; then it focuses more specifically on a particular aspect, usually describing a finding or set of findings that led directly to the work described in the paper. If the authors are testing a hypothesis, the source of that hypothesis is spelled out, findings are given with which it is consistent, and one or more predictions are given. In many papers, one or several major conclusions of the paper are presented at the end of this section, so that the reader knows the major answers to the questions just posed. Papers more descriptive or comparative in nature may begin with an introduction to an area which interests the authors, or the need for a broader database. The next section of most papers is the  Materials and Methods. In some journals this section is the last one. Its purpose is to describe the materials used in the experiments and the methods by which the experiments were carried out. In principle, this description should be detailed enough to allow other researchers to replicate the work. In practice, these descriptions are often highly compressed, and they often refer back to previous papers by the authors. The third section is usually  Results. This section describes the experiments and the reasons they were done. Generally, the logic of the Results section follows directly from that of the Introduction. That is, the Introduction poses the questions addressed in the early part of Results. Beyond this point, the organization of Results differs from one paper to another. In some papers, the results are presented without extensive discussion, which is reserved for the following section. This is appropriate when the data in the early parts do not need to be interpreted extensively to understand why the later experiments were done. In other papers, results are given, and then they are interpreted, perhaps taken together with other findings not in the paper, so as to give the logical basis for later experiments. The fourth section is the  Discussion. This section serves several purposes. First, the data in the paper are interpreted; that is, they are analyzed to show what the authors believe the data show. Any limitations to the interpretations should be acknowledged, and fact should clearly be separated from speculation. Second, the findings of the paper are related to other findings in the field. This serves to show how the findings contribute to knowledge, or correct the errors of previous work. As stated, some of these logical arguments are often found in the Results when it is necessary to clarify why later experiments were carried out. Although you might argue that in this case the discussion material should be presented in the Introduction, more often you cannot grasp its significance until the first part of Results is given. Finally, papers usually have a short  Acknowledgements  section, in which various contributions of other workers are recognized, followed by a  Reference  list giving references to papers and other works cited in the text. Papers also contain several  Figures  and  Tables. These contain data described in the paper. The figures and tables also have legends, whose purpose is to give details of the particular experiment or experiments shown there. Typically, if a procedure is used only once in a paper, these details are described in Materials and Methods, and the Figure or Table legend refers back to that description. If a procedure is used repeatedly, however, a general description is given in Materials and Methods, and the details for a particular experiment are given in the Table or Figure legend. Variations on the organization of a paper In most scientific journals, the above format is followed. Occasionally, the Results and Discussion are combined, in cases in which the data need extensive discussion to allow the reader to follow the train of logic developed in the course of the research. As stated, in some journals, Materials and Methods follows the Discussion. In certain older papers, the Summary was given at the end of the paper. The formats for two widely-read journals,  Science  and  Nature, differ markedly from the above outline. These journals reach a wide audience, and many authors wish to publish in them; accordingly, the space limitations on the papers are severe, and the prose is usually highly compressed. In both journals, there are no discrete sections, except for a short abstract and a reference list. In  Science, the abstract is self-contained; in  Nature, the abstract also serves as a brief introduction to the paper. Experimental details are usually given either in endnotes (for  Science) or Figure and Table legends and a short Methods section (in  Nature). Authors often try to circumvent length limitations by putting as much material as possible in these places. In addition, an increasingly common practice is to put a substantial fraction of the less-important material, and much of the methodology, into Supplemental Data that can be accessed online. Many other journals also have length limitations, which similarly lead to a need for conciseness. For example, the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  (PNAS) has a six-page limit;  Cell  severely edits many papers to shorten them, and has a short word limit in the abstract; and so on. In response to the pressure to edit and make the paper concise, many authors choose to condense or, more typically, omit the logical connections that would make the flow of the paper easy. In addition, much of the background that would make the paper accessible to a wider audience is condensed or omitted, so that the less-informed reader has to consult a review article or previous papers to make sense of what the issues are and why they are important. Finally, again, authors often circumvent page limitations by putting crucial details into the Figure and Table legends, especially when (as in  PNAS) these are set in smaller type. Fortunately, the recent widespread practice of putting less-critical material into online supplemental material has lessened the pressure to compress content so drastically, but it is still a problem for older papers. Back to outline 2. Reading a scientific paper Although it is tempting to read the paper straight through as you would do with most text, it is more efficient to organize the way you read. Generally, you first read the Abstract in order to understand the major points of the work. The extent of background assumed by different authors, and allowed by the journal, also varies as just discussed. One extremely useful habit in reading a paper is to read the Title and the Abstract and, before going on, review in your mind what you know about the topic. This serves several purposes. First, it clarifies whether you in fact know enough background to appreciate the paper. If not, you might choose to read the background in a review or textbook, as appropriate. Second, it refreshes your memory about the topic. Third, and perhaps most importantly, it helps ou as the reader integrate the new information into your previous knowledge about the topic. That is, it is used as a part of the self-education process that any professional must continue throughout his/her career. If you are very familiar with the field, the Introduction can be skimmed or even skipped. As stated above, the logical flow of most papers goes straight from the Introduction to Results; accordingly, the pape r should be read in that way as well, skipping Materials and Methods and referring back to this section as needed to clarify what was actually done. A reader familiar with the field who is interested in a particular point given in the Abstract often skips directly to the relevant section of the Results, and from there to the Discussion for interpretation of the findings. This is only easy to do if the paper is organized properly. Codewords Many papers contain shorthand phrases that we might term ‘codewords', since they have connotations that are generally not explicit. In many papers, not all the experimental data are shown, but referred to by â€Å"(data not shown)†. This is often for reasons of space; the practice is accepted when the authors have documented their competence to do the experiments properly (usually in previous papers). Two other codewords are â€Å"unpublished data† and â€Å"preliminary data†. The former can either mean that the data are not of publishable quality or that the work is part of a larger story that will one day be published. The latter means different things to different people, but one connotation is that the experiment was done only once. Back to outline 3. Difficulties in reading a paper Several difficulties confront the reader, particularly one who is not familiar with the field. As discussed above, it may be necessary to bring yourself up to speed before beginning a paper, no matter how well written it is. Be aware, however, that although some problems may lie in the reader, many are the fault of the writer. One major problem is that many papers are poorly written. Some scientists are poor writers. Many others do not enjoy writing, and do not take the time or effort to ensure that the prose is clear and logical. Also, the author is typically so familiar with the material that it is difficult to step back and see it from the point of view of a reader not familiar with the topic and for whom the paper is just another of a large stack of papers that need to be read. Bad writing has several consequences for the reader. First, the logical connections are often left out. Instead of saying why an experiment was done, or what ideas were being tested, the experiment is simply described. Second, papers are often cluttered with a great deal of jargon. Third, the authors often do not provide a clear road-map through the paper; side issues and fine points are given equal air time with the main logical thread, and the reader loses this thread. In better writing, these side issues are relegated to Figure legends, Materials and Methods, or online Supplemental Material, or else clearly identified as side issues, so as not to distract the reader. Another major difficulty arises when the reader seeks to understand just what the experiment was. All too often, authors refer back to previous papers; these refer in turn to previous papers in a long chain. Often that chain ends in a paper that describes several methods, and it is unclear which was used. Or the chain ends in a journal with severe space limitations, and the description is so compressed as to be unclear. More often, the descriptions are simply not well-written, so that it is ambiguous what was done. Other difficulties arise when the authors are uncritical about their experiments; if they firmly believe a particular model, they may not be open-minded about other possibilities. These may not be tested experimentally, and may even go unmentioned in the Discussion. Still another, related problem is that many authors do not clearly distinguish between fact and speculation, especially in the Discussion. This makes it difficult for the reader to know how well-established are the â€Å"facts† under discussion. One final problem arises from the sociology of science. Many authors are ambitious and wish to publish in trendy journals. As a consequence, they overstate the importance of their findings, or put a speculation into the title in a way that makes it sound like a well-established finding. Another example of this approach is the â€Å"Assertive Sentence Title†, which presents a major conclusion of the paper as a declarative sentence (such as â€Å"LexA is a repressor of the  recA  and  lexA  genes†). This trend is becoming prevalent; look at recent issues of  Cell  for examples. It's not so bad when the assertive sentence is well-documented (as it was in the example given), but all too often the assertive sentence is nothing more than a speculation, and the hasty reader may well conclude that the issue is settled when it isn't. These last factors represent the public relations side of a competitive field. This behavior is understandable, if not praiseworthy. But when the authors mislead the reader as to what is firmly established and what is speculation, it is hard, especially for the novice, to know what is settled and what is not. A careful evaluation is necessary, as we now discuss. Back to outline 4. Evaluating a paper A thorough understanding and evaluation of a paper involves answering several questions: a. What  questions  does the paper address? b. What are the main  conclusions  of the paper? . What  evidence  supports those conclusions? d. Do the data actually  support  the conclusions? e. What is the  quality  of the evidence? f. Why are the conclusions  important? a. What questions does the paper address? Before addressing this question, we need to be aware that research in biochemistry and molecular biology can be of several different types: |Type of research |Question ask ed: | |Descriptive |What is there? What do we see? | |Comparative |How does it compare to other organisms? Are our findings | | |general? | |Analytical |How does it work? What is the mechanism? | Descriptive  research often takes place in the early stages of our understanding of a system. We can't formulate hypotheses about how a system works, or what its interconnections are, until we know what is there. Typical descriptive approaches in molecular biology are DNA sequencing and DNA microarray approaches. In biochemistry, one could regard x-ray crystallography as a descriptive endeavor. Comparative  research often takes place when we are asking how general a finding is. Is it specific to my particular organism, or is it broadly applicable? A typical comparative approach would be comparing the sequence of a gene from one organism with that from the other organisms in which that gene is found. One example of this is the observation that the actin genes from humans and budding yeast are 89% identical and 96% similar. Analytical  research generally takes place when we know enough to begin formulating hypotheses about how a system works, about how the parts are interconnected, and what the causal connections are. A typical analytical approach would be to devise two (or more) alternative hypotheses about how a system operates. These hypotheses would all be consistent with current knowledge about the system. Ideally, the approach would devise a set of experiments todistinguish among these hypotheses. A classic example is the Meselson-Stahl experiment. Of course, many papers are a combination of these approaches. For instance, researchers might sequence a gene from their model organism; compare its sequence to homologous genes from other organisms; use this comparison to devise a hypothesis for the function of the gene product; and test this hypothesis by making a site-directed change in the gene and asking how that affects the phenotype of the organism and/or the biochemical function of the gene product. Being aware that not all papers have the same approach can orient you towards recognizing the major questions that a paper addresses. What are these questions? In a well-written paper, as described above, the Introduction generally goes from the general to the specific, eventually framing a question or set of questions. This is a good starting place. In addition, the results of experiments usually raise additional questions, which the authors may attempt to answer. These questions usually become evident only in the Results section. Back to Evaluating a paper b. What are the main conclusions of the paper? This question can often be answered in a preliminary way by studying the abstract of the paper. Here the authors highlight what they think are the key points. This is not enough, because abstracts often have severe space constraints, but it can serve as a starting point. Still, you need to read the paper with this question in mind. Back to Evaluating a paper c. What evidence supports those conclusions? Generally, you can get a pretty good idea about this from the Results section. The description of the findings points to the relevant tables and figures. This is easiest when there is one primary experiment to support a point. However, it is often the case that several different experiments or approaches combine to support a particular conclusion. For example, the first experiment might have several possible interpretations, and the later ones are designed to distinguish among these. In the ideal case, the Discussion begins with a section of the form â€Å"Three lines of evidence provide support for the conclusion that†¦ First, †¦ Second,†¦ etc. † However, difficulties can arise when the paper is poorly written (see above). The authors often do not present a concise summary of this type, leaving you to make it yourself. A skeptic might argue that in such cases the logical structure of the argument is weak and is omitted on purpose! In any case, you need to be sure that you understand the relationship between the data and the conclusions. Back to Evaluating a paper d. Do the data actually support the conclusions? One major advantage of doing this is that it helps you to evaluate whether the conclusion is sound. If we assume for the moment that the data are believable (see next section), it still might be the case that the data do not actually support the conclusion the authors wish to reach. There are at least two different ways this can happen: i. The logical connection between the data and the interpretation is not sound ii. There might be other interpretations that might be consistent with the data. One important aspect to look for is whether the authors take multiple approaches to answering a question. Do they have multiple lines of evidence, from different directions, supporting their conclusions? If there is only one line of evidence, it is more likely that it could be interpreted in a different way; multiple approaches make the argument more persuasive. Another thing to look for is implicit or hidden assumptions used by the authors in interpreting their data. This can be hard to do, unless you understand the field thoroughly. Back to Evaluating a paper e. What is the quality of that evidence? This is the hardest question to answer, for novices and experts alike. At the same time, it is one of the most important skills to learn as a young scientist. It involves a major reorientation from being a relatively passive consumer of information and ideas to an active producer and critical evaluator of them. This is not easy and takes years to master. Beginning scientists often wonder, â€Å"Who am I to question these authorities? After all the paper was published in a top journal, so the authors must have a high standing, and the work must have received a critical review by experts. † Unfortunately, that's not always the case. In any case, developing your ability to evaluate evidence is one of the hardest and most important aspects of learning to be a critical scientist and reader. How can you evaluate the evidence? First, you need to understand thoroughly the methods used in the experiments. Often these are described poorly or not at all (see  above). The details are often missing, but more importantly the authors usually assume that the reader has a general knowledge of common methods in the field (such as immunoblotting, cloning, genetic methods, or DNase I footprinting). If you lack this knowledge, as discussed  above  you have to make the extra effort to inform yourself about the basic methodology before you can evaluate the data. Sometimes you have to trace back the details of the methods if they are important. The increasing availability of journals on the Web has made this easier by obviating the need to find a hard-copy issue,  e. . in the library. A  comprehensive listing of journals  relevant to this course, developed by the Science Library, allows access to most of the listed volumes from any computer at the University; a  second list  at the Arizona Health Sciences Library includes some other journals, again from University computers. Second,  you need to know the  limitations  of the methodology. E very method has limitations, and if the experiments are not done correctly they can't be interpreted. For instance, an immunoblot is not a very quantitative method. Moreover, in a certain range of protein the signal increases (that is, the signal is at least roughly â€Å"linear†), but above a certain amount of protein the signal no longer increases. Therefore, to use this method correctly one needs a standard curve that shows that the experimental lanes are in a linear range. Often, the authors will not show this standard curve, but they should state that such curves were done. If you don't see such an assertion, it could of course result from bad writing, but it might also not have been done. If it wasn't done, a dark band might mean â€Å"there is this much protein or an indefinite amount more†. Third, importantly, you need to distinguish between what the data show and what the authors  say  they show. The latter is really an interpretation on the authors' part, though it is generally not stated to be an interpretation. Papers usually state something like â€Å"the data in Fig. x show that †¦ â€Å". This is the authors' interpretation of the data. Do you interpret it the same way? You need to look carefully at the data to ensure that they really do show what the authors say they do. You can only do this effectively if you understand the methods and their limitations. Fourth, it is often helpful to look at the original journal, or its electronic counterpart, instead of a photocopy. Particularly for half-tone figures such as photos of gels or autoradiograms, the contrast is distorted, usually increased, by photocopying, so that the data are misrepresented. Fifth, you should ask if the proper controls are present. Controls tell us that nature is behaving the way we expect it to under the conditions of the experiment (seehere  for more details). If the controls are missing, it is harder to be confident that the results really show what is happening in the experiment. You should try to develop the habit of asking â€Å"where are the controls? † and looking for them. Back to Evaluating a paper f. Why are the conclusions important? Do the conclusions make a significant advance in our knowledge? Do they lead to new insights, or even new research directions? Again, answering these questions requires that you understand the field relatively well. Back to Evaluating a paper Back to outline Back to 568 home page [pic] BIOC/MCB 568 — University of Arizona http://www. biochem. arizona. edu/classes/bioc568/bioc568. htm Last modified August 18, 2010 All contents copyright  © 2010. All rights reserved. How to review a scientific paper? |Contents | |  [hide] | |1  Why me? | |2  Am I a suitable reviewer? | |3  How does the review process work? | |4  How do I start? | |5  What to look for? | |6  How to put it in words? | |7  What to recommend? | |8  How to approach a revision? | |9  I’ve done all this work†¦ what do I get out of it? | |10  Further reading | [edit]Why me? You may be surprised that you may be asked as a peer-reviewer for an authorative journal when you yourself are still a PhD-student and with a limited number of published articles. This does not make you an inappropriate reviewer. You may have been ‘found’ in several ways: 1. When submitting a paper, you will often be asked to fill out contact details and area’s of expertise and/or keywords. Journal editors can screen the journal database for potential reviewers with research expertise matching that of the paper. 2. You could have been requested as a reviewer by the submitting authors 3. You could have been suggested as a reviewer by another reviewer (when declining an invitation to review a paper, one is usually asked to suggest an alternative reviewer) or an editor may know you personally. 4. You could have been found based on previous articles you’ve published that were referenced in the submitted manuscript, or simply found on pubmed. [edit]Am I a suitable reviewer? If you seriously question your ability to review the manuscript, you should decline the review invitation. This may be because you are not familiar with the subject, because you are biased towards the submitted work (e. g. ecause of personal relations with the authors, or because the paper is highly competitive with your own work), or just because you feel too inexperienced. However, in the latter case, you may consider accepting the review and asking a more experienced colleague to assist you with the review. Also, it is an excellent way to learn how to peer-review an article by first assistin g colleague in their reviews. Please always keep confidentiality in mind. Contact the editor if you have any questions. [edit]How does the review process work? 1. The editor and ultimately editorial board decide on the fate of the manuscript. . After a manuscript is assigned to an editor, it is read by the editor and he or she decides if the paper is sent out for peer-review. Occasionally, a triage review is commissioned, where an external reviewer is asked for an opinion if the paper should be sent out for full review. 3. Reviewers are invited and receive an abstract of the manuscript. Usually, 2 or more reviewers are sought. 4. After acceptance of the invitation for review, reviewers receive the full manuscript. If a reviewer then discovers that he or she is not suitable after all, the invitation for review can still be declined. 5. The reviewers write their reviews. Usually, this consists of a) filling out a form with scores (for novelty, technical excellence, appropriateness of manuscript preparation, etcetera), b) comments to the authors, and c) comments to the editor. Typically, an advice regarding overall priority for publication and/or acceptance is asked for, which is blinded to the authors. 6. After the editor has received the reviewer comments, he may decide to commission another reviewer, particularly if reviewer opinions are contradictory or if there is a need for specific expertise, e. g. additional review by a statistical expert. . After all reviews have been completed, the editor and editorial board decide to either a. accept the manuscript, b. accept the manuscript after (minor) revision, c. reject the article, but invite to revise the manuscript, or d. reject the manuscript. 8. Note that an editor will generally reserve the right to edit your reviewer comments to the author. Over-enthusiastic com pliments may be removed if the editor eventually decides to reject the paper. Also, you may see that your comments the editor are also passed on to the authors if the editor feels this is appropriate. 9. If a manuscript is resubmitted after revision, it is usually resent to the original reviewers. [edit]How do I start? Before reading the manuscript, make sure you know the aims and scope of the journal. Read the manuscript and supplementary files for a first time, without spending too much time on details. Consider reading additional literature, such as relating articles by the same authors. Then re-read the manuscript in detail and try to follow the line of thought of the authors. Identify the hypothesis, key findings and assess if the (discussion of) the results adequately reflects back on the original hypothesis. Critically assess the methods and representation of data in the text, tables and figures. Draft a review. Re-read the manuscript and re-read you review. [edit]What to look for? Visit the journal’s website, where criteria for reviewers are commonly supplied. Also, see if there is a score-sheet as this will also tell you what the editors would like you to look for. As a general check-list, consider the following points (taken from the BMJ website): †¢ Is the paper important? †¢ Is the work original? Does the work add enough to what is already in the literature? †¢ Is there a clear message? Does the paper read well and make sense? †¢ Is this journal the right place for this paper? Scientific reliability: †¢ Abstract/summary — does it reflect accurately what the paper says? †¢ Research question — is it clearly defined and appropriately answered? †¢ Overall design of study — is it adequate? †¢ Participants studied   are they dequately described and their conditions defined? †¢ Methods — are they adequately described? For randomised trials: CONSORT Ethical? †¢ Results — does it answer the research question? Credible? Well presented? †¢ Usefulness of tables and figures? Is the quality good enough? Can some eliminated? Is the data correct in the tables? †¢ Interpretation and conclusions — are they warranted by and sufficiently derived from/focused on the data? Message clear? †¢ References — are they up to date and relevant? Any glaring omissions? [edit]How to put it in words? As a reviewer, it is your task to objectively assess the strengths and weaknesses in a manuscript, provide constructive criticism and list suggestions for improvement. It may help to organize your reviewer comments to the author as follows: – a brief summary of the findings in the article. This helps organize your own grasp on the data in the article. Also, it helps the associate editor and editorial board to understand the content of the manuscript. Finally, it shows the author that you have read and understood the manuscript. – consider giving a general comment on the article on e. g. novelty and overall impression of the data and manuscript preparation. -list major comments. Number them for clarity. Major comments are comments, questions and/or suggestions that are in your view essential points that need to be appropriately addressed for the manuscript to become acceptable for publication. list minor comments such as typographic errors or suggestions for additional non-essential data to be included. Also keep in mind: Be kind. Even a ‘bad’ paper has generally required substantial investment of time and effort by the authors. Do not be tempted by the reviewer anonymousity to make unkind remarks. Be fair. Try to be objectively critical. Do not hesi tate to identify flaws in the manuscript, but keep eye for balancing criticism with potential strengths of the manuscript, technical limitations and the nature of the journal. If you give criticism, also give a motivation, including literature references if applicable. Be concise. Be ‘action-able’. Providing practical suggestions for textual changes or additional experiments helps convey what you think would improve the manuscript better than simple criticism. [edit]What to recommend? You give advice to the editor regarding the manuscript and this advice generally includes an advice on how the paper should be handled. It is a misconception that reviewers decide if a paper is accepted: the editor and editorial board ultimately decide. This also means that it is essential to refrain from including an advice on acceptance or rejection of a paper in the review comments that are provided. Editors may edit your comments if you imply acceptance or rejection. Consider recommending a major revision if you feel the paper would become acceptable for publication if your suggestions are adequately addressed. If you feel that the manuscript would be insufficient for publication even after revision, e. g. based on limited novelty, rejection would be more appropriate. [edit]How to approach a revision? If a manuscript is returned to the authors with the invitation to resubmit after revision, you will commonly be asked to review the revised manuscript and author correspondence with replies to your comments. However, this is at the editor’s discretion. If you receive a revised manuscript, focus on the response to your own review and in principle limit yourself to the points you previously raised. See if the authors have satisfactorily addressed your comments. Check with your original comments to see if the authors have included all the points you raised. It is not good practice if you come up with new criticisms regarding points that you could have identified during your first assessment of the manuscript. Also, try to finish your re-evaluation with some priority as this is customary with resubmissions and will prevent excessive delay of anuscript publication. If you had numbered your major comments and had provided action-able suggestions, you will now appreciate the importance of doing so. [edit]I’ve done all this work†¦ what do I get out of it? Writing a good review takes costly time. However, there are several reasons why every researcher should write peer-reviews. First, for you as a researcher, you will find that participating in the reviewing process will increase the quality of your own work and likelihood of getting your articles accepted. You’re given an insider’s view of the reviewing process. Also, going through the process of peer-reviewing a manuscript and reading other reviewer’s comments, will help you critically assess your own manuscript more effectively. Second, for you as a researcher, building a track record of journals that request your services as a reviewer may be a component of your curriculum vitae. Also, a track record of good reviews will enhance your reputations with the editors. Third, as a reviewer, you’re given an early peak at novel unpublished data. This brings a major responsibility and breaching confidentiality to scoop a submitting author would be a serious offence. However, it may give an incentive to (re)direct your experiments so that you have a ‘head-start’ after eventual publication of the manuscript you’re reviewing. Fourth, writing a review means you are participating in the social culture of research. You are helping the editor that invited you. You are making peer-review possible for the submitting author and ultimately, you are enabling the continuing process of keeping a high quality level of science. Finally, invited editorial comments are often commissioned to reviewers that provided a good track record of peer reviews and showed profound insight in he reviewed manuscript. [edit]Further reading http://www. people. vcu. edu/~aslee/referee. htm http://www. medscape. com/viewarticle/409692_3 Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. JAMA. 1997 Mar 19;277(11):927-34 Downloadable from e. g. [here] Home  Ã‚  Ã‚  About  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cont act  Ã‚  Ã‚  Contribute  Ã‚  Ã‚  Feedback †¢ Log in / create account ? Research Topics ? Learning Resources ? Dutch Investigators ? Dutch Publications ? Clinical Trials ? Practical PhD guide ? Useful links pic] ? Online forum [pic] ? Agenda ? PLAN/Courses ? Newsletters ? Spotlights ? Photo Gallery ? Jobs/Trainees Top of Form [pic][pic]  Ã‚  [pic] Bottom of Form Supported by: [pic] [pic] [pic] | | | | ? About NIER ? Disclaimers ? Views: 5,040 ? Modified: 13:53, 26 January 2009. ? Hosted by Xentax Foundation |Reviewing a Manuscript | |for Publication | |Allen S. Lee | |Professor, Department of Information Systems   | |Eminent Scholar, Information Systems Research Institute | |School of Business   | |Virginia Commonwealth University | |http://www. eople. vcu. edu/~aslee/ | |Published as an invited note in | |Journal of Operations Management   | |Volume 13, Number 1 (July 1995), pp. 7-92. | |If you copy, download, or circulate this paper, please simply inform the author (at  [email  protected] mit. edu) | |that you are doing so. | |This paper is based on remarks that the author prepared for presentation at the New Faculty Workshop held at | |the 23rdAnnual Meeting of the Decision Sciences Institute in Miami Beach, Florida, November 22, 1991. |  Ã‚   | |[pic] | |Abstract | |This paper offers suggestions about how to review a manuscript submitted for publication in the fields of | |management information systems, organizational studies, operations management, and management in general. |Rationales for the suggestions and ill ustrative sample comments are provided. | |  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |[pic] | |Contents | |Abstract | |Action 1:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Start out with your own summary of the manuscript. | |Action 2:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Let the editor and author know what your expertise does, and does not, cover. |Action 3:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Give â€Å"action-able† advice. | |Action 4:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Convince the authors by arguing from their own assumptions and framework. | |Action 5:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Provide both (1) your general, overall reaction and (2) a list of specific, numbered | |point-by-point comments. | |Action 6:  Ã‚  Ã‚   List the manuscript’s strengths. | |Action 7:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Quote, give the page number, or otherwise explicitly locate the parts of the manuscript to which | |you are referring. | |Action 8:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Offer comments on tables, figures, and diagrams. |Action 9:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Be kind. | |Action 10:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Be frank, in a tactful way, about your own emotional reaction. | |Action 11:  Ã‚  Ã ‚   Do some of your own library research. | |Action 12:  Ã‚  Ã‚   If rejecting the manuscript, suggest what future research efforts might examine. | |Action 13:  Ã‚  Ã‚   If recommending a revision, spell out alternative scenarios for how the revision could be done. | |Action 14:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Provide citations or a bibliography. | |Action 15:  Ã‚  Ã‚   Date your review. | |Why Review? |Conclusion | |  Ã‚   | |[pic] | | | |As management researchers, we regard the behavior of managers, systems professionals, and other organizational | |participants to be a manifestation of the values that they hold as members of their organization and their | |profession. In the same way, we may regard our own behaviors, as reviewers of manuscripts in the â€Å"double blind†| |reviewing process, to be a manifestation of the values that we hold as members of the community of scholars. As| |an author and editor, I have seen our community manifest the best and the worst of human values in the | |anonymous reviews offered on manuscripts submitted for publication. Some reviewers rise to the occasion and | |give extensive help, even though the anonymous reviewing process promises them nothing in return for their | |efforts. Other reviewers hide behind the anonymity of the reviewing process, offering negative remarks that | |they would not have the courage to voice in public. My immediate purpose is to offer suggestions, based on the | |reviews I have seen as an author and editor, about how to provide useful, kind, constructive, and responsible | |reviews of manuscripts submitted for publication. I offer these suggestions to my colleagues who review | |manuscripts submitted for publication in research journals in management information systems, organizational | studies, operations management, and other fields of management. | |1. Suggestions for Reviewing a Manuscript | |For many of the suggestions below, I offer sample comments to illustrate my points. I have based these comments| |on actual reviews. | |1. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚   Start out with Your Own Summary of the Manuscript | | | |As a reviewer for a manuscript, I was surprised, upon subsequently receiving the associate editor’s own review,| |to see that he began with a summary of the manuscript. After all, an author knows what his or her own | |manuscript is about, so why summarize it? | |Apparently, at least in this case, the summary was provided for the benefit of the senior editor, not | |necessarily the author. The associate editor’s review was, I realized, as much a recommendation to the senior | |editor as it was an explanation to the authors. Because a reviewer’s review is, in the same way, a | |recommendation to an editor, I have come to believe that a summary of the manuscript being considered is no | |less useful in the reviewer’s review. | |I now believe that an opening summary may also be useful to the manuscript’s author and to the reviewer himself| |or herself. For the author, how effectively the reviewer’s summary does or does not capture the gist of the | |manuscript may serve as one measure of how effectively the manuscript communicates its message. For the | |reviewer, the very exercise of composing a summary encourages and virtually assures a thorough reading of the | |manuscript. | |Opening summaries are also useful to the editor when the manuscript is controversial. Occasionally, as an | |editor, I have wondered if the different reviewers assigned to a controversial manuscript have actually been | |sent the same manuscript. An opening summary of the manuscript, presented from the reviewer’s own perspective, | |would be a big help to the editor when he or she is trying to reach a decision on a manuscript that evokes | |controversial reactions. |Some illustrative sample comments are: | |This paper represents a major effort to test two competing theories about user satisfaction with electronic | |mail†¦ The methodolo gy of the paper consists of†¦ The data were gathered from two field sites†¦ The major | |finding was that†¦ The contributions to theory and practice would appear to be†¦ | |  Ã‚   | |This manuscript pursues two somewhat conflicting goals. It attempts to†¦, while it also tries to†¦. The authors | |do a good job of the first one, but their treatment of the second one raises more questions than it answers. | | | |1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Let the Editor and Author Know What Your Expertise Does, and Does Not, Cover | | | |By stating where you have expertise and, no less important, where you lack expertise, you will be helping the | |editor and author in their job of interpreting and weighing your comments. Reviewers, in voluntarily | |identifying where their expertise may be lacking with regard to the manuscript being reviewed, might even gain | |additional credibility for their claims about where they do have expertise. | |I read the paper from two perspectiv es: 1) someone who has employed the same methodology that the authors are | |using and 2) someone who is not familiar at all with the substantive area that the authors are investigating. | |My criticisms and suggestions are offered entirely from the first perspective. |For the reader, such as myself, who is unfamiliar with concepts X, Y, and Z, the authors present no helpful | |explanation of these concepts or justification for their inclusion in the study in the first place†¦Ã‚  Ã‚   | |  Ã‚   | |Another problem I had is that, probably like most of the people who read this journal, I am not deeply read in | |all three of the research fields that the authors draw upon. I cannot judge how well this paper builds on past | |research. | |   | |1. 3  Ã‚  Ã‚   Give â€Å"Action-able† Advice | |Advice stated in the form of do-able tasks is mutually advantageous to the author and the reviewer in the event| |that the editor asks for a revision. For the author, the advised actions point to a â€Å"fixed target† where he or | |she may aim the revision. For the reviewer, the advised actions (as further interpreted by the editor) may | |serve as the criteria on which to judge the revision. In contrast, a reviewer who offers vague generalities, | |and no action-able advice, in his or her first review would have no real â€Å"handle† with which to approve or | |disapprove the revision; such a reviewer might very well find a revision returning to â€Å"haunt† him or her. | |If my concerns can be addressed successfully in a revision, then I believe the paper should be published. I | |have four major concerns. They are†¦ | |  Ã‚   | |Therefore, I recommend rejection, but would be willing to review a revised version if (1) †¦Ã‚   and (2) †¦Ã‚   | |  Ã‚   | |The following suggestions are provided to improve the weaknesses pointed out above: | |Clearly state the objectives, contributions, and limitations of the study. | |Provide a definition of what you mean by Organizational Support System and use it consistently throughout the | |paper. | |Using this definition, narrow down the literature review. | |1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Convince the Authors by Arguing from  Their Own Assumptions and Framework | |  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |A reviewer can always take issue with a manuscript’s assumptions and framework. However, disagreeing with the | |assumptions is not always an effective reviewing strategy because, strictly speaking, all assumptions are | |incorrect for what they assume away. An alternative strategy is to accept the manuscript’s assumptions (if only| |for the sake of argument) and then to point out any shortcomings in the manuscript by examining the | |consequences that follow from these assumptions. (Indeed, if the assumptions lead to no objectionable | |consequences, then the assumptions might not be bad assumptions in the first place.    By casting the review in | |terms of the authors’ own framework, the reviewer might then be more likely to convince the authors by courting| |and affirming the authors, rather than by disputing the authors. | |On the first page, the paper says that it will do the following†¦ The rest of the paper, however, does not | |follow through adequately on what it promised to do. In particular, according to the standards of the research | |framework that the authors themselves have chosen, the following things still need to be done or need to be | |done better†¦ Still, there is much potential value in what the paper initially proposed and I encourage the | |authors to flesh out the paper’s ide as more thoroughly. Along these lines, my suggestions are†¦ | |If the reviewer wishes to suggest a different framework and set of assumptions to the authors, this suggestion | |would be more convincing after the reviewer has demonstrated that he or she has given due consideration to the | |authors’ original framework, rather than dismissing it outright. | |1. 5  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Provide Both (1) Your General, Overall Reaction and (2) a List of Specific, Numbered Point-by-Point | |Comments | |  Ã‚   | |As an author, I have received some reviews consisting entirely of numbered, point-by-point comments that give | |the impression that the reviewer was simply typing up his or her review as he or she was reading my manuscript | |linearly, sentence-by-sentence, turning it page-by-page. Whereas such a review might be detailed and even | |exhaustive, I have found that such reviews sometimes negatively criticize me on matters that I actually address| |satisfactorily later in the manuscript. These reviewers do a good job of analyzing the words in my manuscript, | |but they appear to put no effort into discerning what I meant by these words. My impression has been that these| |reviewers considered the reviewing job to be a burden and just wanted to get it over. I have found that if | |there is no statement of an overall reaction from the reviewer, I am sometimes left wondering about what the | |reviewer really means. In fact, in this situation, I sometimes wonder if the reviewer himself knows what he | |means. For these reasons, I believe that a general, overall reaction or overview from the reviewer is needed as| |much as his or her specific, point-by-point comments. | |  However, there is at least one occasion in which a linear, sentence-by-sentence, and page-by-page reading | |might be useful. When I am a reviewer, I will occasionally amend my review by paging through the manuscript | |once more and enumerating, point-by-point, any comments which I had planned to make when I first read the | |manuscript, but which somehow did not make their way into the main body of my review. | |Numbering the major points in a review is helpful to the editor and author. For instance, an editor could then | |conveniently say to the author, â€Å"Pay particular attention to points 2, 3, and 5 by Reviewer 1. † | |1. 6  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  List the Manuscript’s Strengths | |  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |Perhaps the most disheartening review I have ever seen is one that began with the single-sentence paragraph, | |â€Å"There are several problems with this paper,† and followed with a numbered, blow-by-blow listing of all the | |alleged problems in the manuscript. An accompanying listing of the manuscript’s strengths would have made the | |review more palatable (and hence convincing) to the author. |   | |A listing of the manuscript’s strengths takes on added importance when the reviewer’s recommendation is that | |the manuscript should be rejected. Is there really nothing in the manuscript that would make it worthy of a | |revision? Making up a list of the manuscript’s strengths would help make sure that no stone is left u nturned. | |The major asset of this manuscript is that it presents a new approach to†¦This, in turn, raises interesting | |general issues such as: (1)†¦(2)†¦(3)†¦Ã‚   | |  Ã‚   | |Major strengths. |The objective of this paper is of high interest and use to IS managers. | |The authors are exceptionally clear about how this study builds on past studies. | |The methodology, while new to IS, is clearly explained. | |1. 7  Ã‚  Ã‚   Quote, Give the Page Number, or Otherwise Explicitly Locate the Parts of the Manuscript to Which You | |Are Referring | |This will pinpoint what you find difficult to understand, what you disagree with, or exactly what you believe | |needs to be changed. Moreover, if the author should disagree with your assessment, then the author may respond | |precisely to your objection. |In the third paragraph on page 9, it is not clear to me that the authors understand the concept of construct | |validity. | |  Ã‚   | |On page 3, in the literat ure review section, the paper says, â€Å"†¦only 12 percent of the past studies examined the| |same factors we will be examining in this study†¦. † Exactly which studies were these? I do not doubt your | |statement, but I would like to be able to evaluate it for myself. | |  Ã‚   | |On page 2, why does the prior research necessarily suggest that we need to study this topic, as you claim? | |1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Offer Comments on Tables, Figures, and Diagrams | |  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |Because tables, figures, and diagrams often appear at the end of the manuscript, they often do not receive the | |attention they deserve. However, I believe that reviewing an illustration can be equivalent to reviewing a | |thousand words. Because illustrations are often overlooked in reviews, a detailed comment about an illustration| |might favorably impress the author and editor, suggesting to them that the reviewer is especially | |conscientious. Also, suggesting a new table, figure, or d iagram may encourage the author to sharpen his or her | |argument. | |Table 6 makes no sense to me. The labels along the vertical axis are mentioned nowhere in the text. | |I don’t understand the reason for including Figure 4. What is the relevance of the number of X broken down | |into three categories? | |1. 9  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Be Kind | |  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |There are tactful ways to express negative criticisms. For example, if you are unsure what the contribution of | |the manuscript is, say  Ã¢â‚¬Å"What’s new? †Ã‚  instead of â€Å"So what? †I believe that if the criticism cannot be stated in a| |kind and constructive way, then the criticism might not be worth stating at all. Also, unkind remarks in a | |review that is otherwise valid may create difficulties for the editor who would like to persuade the author | |that the review does have merit. | |1. 10  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Be Frank, in a Tactful Way, about Your Own Emotional Reaction | |  Ã‚   | |Some reviews tend to be dry. As an author and editor, I find that any hint or explicit statement about the | |reviewer’s feelings will help me to interpret what he or she means. | |I had a hard time making a recommendation on this manuscript . . . The paper is nicely written and competent, | |but dull. It is hard to get excited about the findings. | |I am very excited about this paper. At a recent conference a colleague and I were on a panel where we debated | |similar points†¦ | |1. 11  Ã‚  Ã‚   Do Some of Your Own Library Research | |  Ã‚   | |In my experience as an author and editor, I tend to give an extra measure of credibility to reviewers who have | |done some library or other research for their review. This effort makes the review appear sincere and | |convincing. A quotation from a book or article that the reviewer has looked up can be impressive. |On page 14, I was intrigued by the paper’s quotation of Carlson, so I decided to look up Carlson’s article. My | |interpretation of Carlson’s article is. . . | |1. 12  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If Rejecting the Manuscript, Suggest What Future Research Efforts Might Examine | |  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |Our own behavior as reviewers in the â€Å"double blind† review process reveals our individual values, which may | |include adversarial values and collegial values. Rejecting a manuscript and offer ing only the reasons for | |rejection reveals a person who has no contribution to make to the overall community of scholars. Rejecting a | |manuscript, but also offering suggestions about what the author could pursue instead or pursue differently in | |future research, reveals a person who is integrated into the community of scholars and seeks to foster its | |growth. | |1. 13  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If Recommending a Revision, Spell Out Alternative Scenarios for How the Revision Could be Done | |  Ã‚   | |Simply saying â€Å"this paper needs a good re-write† is not, by itself, helpful, especially if it is true. Often, | |there is more than one way to revise a manuscript. Suggest two or more scenarios, mention what you believe to | |be the advantages or disadvantages of each one, and leave the choice up to the author. | |1. 4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Provide Citations or a Bibliography | |  Ã‚   | |A citation that the author finds helpful can be as valuable as a thousand or more words in the rest of the | |review. | |1. 15  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Date Your Review | |  Ã‚   | |As an author and editor, I do not apprecia te late reviews. Once, I noticed that a colleague of min e | |prominently displayed the current date at the top of a review that he was about to send in. He said that the | |date would let the authors of the manuscript know that, if the overall cycle time on their manuscript was | |excessive, he was not the cause. I also suspect that a date on a review can function as an incentive for | |subsequent participants in the review process to act on the manuscript promptly. | |2. Why Review? | |   | |I see four benefits to engaging in the effort of reviewing a manuscript submitted for publication. | |Benefits to the Reviewer in the Short Run  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Typically, a reviewer will receive the reviews by the other | |reviewers and the editor. Doing a review therefore confers an insider’s view of the reviewing process. The | |reactions of the other reviewers and the editor all contain potential lessons for one’s own manuscripts to be | |submitted for publication. In reviewing manuscripts, one also gains access to invaluable bibliographies. | |Access to these bibliographies is sufficient justification, in itself, to find the time to participate in the | |reviewing process. | |Benefits to the Reviewer in the Long Run  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Good reviewers are hard to find. A track record of good reviews | |will enhance one’s reputation with editors, who may then serve (if need be) as job contacts or outside | |reviewers in one’s tenure, promotion, and re-appointment process. In this regard, one’s performance in his or | |her review of a manuscript can be compared to one’s performance in a job interview. Good reviews can benefit | |one’s career. | |Benefits to Others  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Numerous people have helped me launch my career as an university teacher and researcher. | |When they ask me to review a manuscript for which they are the editor or track chair, I regard their request as| |an opportunity for me to return some of the help they have given me. In our research culture, doing a review | |of a manuscript is a socially significant gesture. | |Benefits to One’s Own School of Thought  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As an author, I often have the experience in which reviewers, | |hostile to and ignorant of the research traditions that I embrace, misreview my submission. Therefore, | |whenever I find that I am a reviewer for a submission that falls in my own school of thought, I expend extra | |efforts to give it a careful, constructive review. Realizing that the refereeing process is political, I will | |do my best to be supportive and affirmingly critical, drawing attention to any major significant points in the | |submission and delineating in explicit, constructive, and â€Å"action-able† ways how the author’s research can be | |improved. As a result, the editor would, if necessary, have some â€Å"ammunition† with which to neutralize any | |hostile and ignorant reviews and thereby to justify a positive editorial decision on this submission. | |3. Conclusion | |No review of a manuscript must incorporate all the features I have described above. I am also confident that | |there are additional useful features I have not yet encountered. I have identified these features based on my | |own experience as a member of the management research community. I encourage my colleagues to do the same. | |Do actual instances of good reviews follow from rules for how to review a manuscript for publication, or do | |rules for ho

High school student drop out Essay

The increasingly high rate of school dropout is worrying all the stakeholders in the education sector including parents, teachers and the government. This is because these people are aware of the challenges that will face students who drop out of school. Although leaders have called on communities, families and schools to make efforts to ensure that students remain at school, the rate at which the students drop out of school is still high. It is therefore important that we analyze the problem with a view of understanding it better, so that we may know how to resolve it once and for all. see more:research paper about tardiness The number of students who complete school in the US has been steadily declining over the years. In fact, over the last decades, this figure has only increased in seven states. In ten states, the percentage of students who did not complete school was 8% or higher, which reflects a disturbing trend. US is currently ranked tenth among the countries in the world which have the highest school completion rates. When a country that is considered to be the superpower is ranked tenth on school completion rates, this shows that there is a major underlying problem. Factors that contribute to the high school student drop out rate. Family cohesion and background. This is one of the major reasons why students drop out of school. Students who come from families where there is violence, abusive homes or poor parental relations have higher chances of dropping out of school, compared to those who come from stable homes. This is due to the fact that such children are more likely to have stress and depression because of the problems that they have. They are also likely to start abusing drugs at an early age, which may contribute to their dropping out of school. Statistics also show that children who come from single parent families are also more likely to drop out of school than those who have both parents. This situation is linked to low self esteem as well as problems that children who come from single parent families face. Early pregnancy. Early pregnancy is a major challenge for young girls, and is a contributor to their dropping out of school. This situation is compounded by situations where the young girls’ families are not financially stable, or cases where the boy responsible for the pregnancy is either unwilling or unable to support the girl. Many young girls who face this situation usually take breaks to give birth, but fail to return to school due to various reasons. The girls who are not financially well off are forced to drop out of school to take care of their children, while others fear going back to school due to stigmatization. School violence. This is a factor that is increasingly contributing to the dropping out of school by students. School violence has increased in the recent past, and takes various forms. It might take the form of serious security breaches that involve use of deadly weapons, like was witnessed in the 1999 Columbine high school massacre (Rosenberg 2008). It may also take the form of bullying and harassment of students by fellow classmates. Both these forms of violence have the potential to create fear to actual victims, and may discourage them from attending school. In these cases, there is genuine fear for their lives and they may drop out of school. Employment. Poverty or general unemployment of members of the family may make students drop out of school. This is because the students may be forced to work in order to support their family. In these cases, the students may not have adequate time to study due to the responsibilities that they have. Employment opportunities may not only be available to the students who are not well off financially. Some students come from financially stable families but look for employment opportunities so that they might save money. These students are also likely to drop out of school since it is difficult to work and study at the same time. Psychological or personal characteristics. There are certain characteristics that students may possess, which may make them drop out of school at an early age. These may be either physical or psychological characteristics. Psychological characteristics may include low self esteem, mental illnesses, depression and stress, among other problems. In case students have these problems and they are either not addressed early enough, or these students lack learning facilities that accommodate their unique needs, they are highly likely to drop out of school. According to Kenneth (35-39), students may also face physical disabilities that hinder the learning process. Such include blindness, deafness or other physical disabilities. If such students also lack facilities that can handle their needs, they are also likely to drop out of school. Substance abuse. According to David and Wayne (4-8), students who engage in substance abuse have very high chances of dropping out of school. Students who abuse alcohol or other hard drugs such as cannabis, heroin, cocaine or other drugs are likely to drop out of school. This is due to the disciplinary problems that they are likely to face in school as well as the fact that such drugs hinder the learning capabilities. Such students are unlikely to perform well in school, and this has the effect of demotivating them. They are also more likely to face stress and depression, and all these factors work to increase their chances of dropping out of school. Perceived loss of value of school diplomas. The modern business environment has become very competitive, and this is attributed to globalization. Success in the modern world is increasingly based on merit and job performance. Employers are nowadays looking for very high academic qualification when recruiting employees. In this regards, high school diplomas are generally perceived to have lost value, and students need to pursue further education so that they might get employment opportunities in this competitive business environment. Some students therefore opt to drop out of school and pursue other interests due to this perception. Such interests include drama, movies, modeling or the music industry. However, what most students are not aware of is that one has to have basic education in order to be successful in these fields. High school education acts as a platform for pursuing further education and building a career. Limited number of counselors. Statistics point to the fact that the average number of students who are served by a single counselor is 500. In high school, the average number of students served by a single counselor is 285. These counsellors have many tasks to accomplish and have very little time to interact with students. According to Jill (311-317), students who are about to drop out of school may therefore not find someone to talk to and get advice regarding the situation. This is also compounded by the fact that most of these students have poor relations with their parents, since teenagers and parents usually have communication problems. Students therefore opt to drop out of school due to lack of advice on the consequences of making this decision. Solutions to these problems. Counseling. Most students may reverse their decision to drop out of school if they are advised on the consequences of making this decision by someone that they trust. In most of these cases, counselors are the best people to advice the students since there are young counsellors who understand the problems that these students go through. The government should ensure that there are enough counselors to serve all students. Sometimes students may be depressed and they only need someone to share their problems with. When they are unable to find someone, they take drastic steps like dropping out of schools. Counselors will advise students that education is very important for success in life. Safety. The government and all education stakeholders should also ensure that the school environment is safe for all people. There should be adequate controls that prevent and deal with security breaches, either involving deadly weapons or bullying. Some problems like bullying may appear to be petty and they are ignored in most academic institutions. However they are serious problems that should not be ignored, since they have high psychological impacts on the victims. When students can feel safe in the school environment, they will look forward to going to school to learn. After all, these students spend most of their time in schools, and once they feel that they are unsafe, they are likely to drop out of school. Family problems. According to Gail (211-216), it is evident that family problems is a major factor that contributes to dropping out of school. It is a very sensitive issue considering that there is a limitation to which strangers may involve themselves in family matters. It is however imperative that problems such as violence and abuse are reported to the authorities, and these will be addressed through the relevant laws. These problems cannot be condoned, since once students are not comfortable in their own homes, it will be difficult for them to concentrate in class and learn. Other family issues such as parental and child conflict should be addressed through dialog, either between the school administration and the individual families, or through counseling by qualified professionals. This dialog will enable the underlying problems to be identified and solved, so that the children may stay in school. Early pregnancy. This problem is best solved by preventing the issue, rather than addressing it after it has occurred. The young people should be told about the consequences of early sex, especially unsafe sex. These students should be made to understand that in addition to the risk of pregnancy, there is also a risk of contracting STIs such as HIV/AIDS. However, one a girl becomes pregnant, she should be allowed to stay in school until the time to give birth, after which she is given a break. She should resume school after giving birth, as this is very important. Counselors and parents should play a crucial role in guiding girls who are undergoing this experience. The government should also set up funds to help girls who are pregnant and do not have the resources to take care of the baby, and go back to school. Facilities for the handicapped. The government has a crucial role of ensuring that there are learning facilities that will take care of the needs of students who face either physical or mental disabilities. There should also be enough teachers who have been trained on how to take care of the needs of these students. This will ensure that these students learn just like their peers, and that they have equal opportunities in life. Value of diplomas. The stakeholders in the educational sector have a crucial role to play in publicizing the value of the high school diplomas. There should be regular talks between these stakeholders and the students regarding the issue. Students should be made to understand that although the modern world has become very competitive, it is imperative that they obtain at least the high school diploma. The reason is that the diploma acts as a platform in acquiring further employment opportunities and joining a profession. Employment. The government should enforce the laws that bar the employment of young people who are below the legal age. It should also hold regular forums with employers regarding employment of young people with a view of regulating the hours that they work. The employers should also be made to insist that young employees pursue education, since this will be the platform for promotions and advancement in the careers. This will enable that the young people who work have enough time to study. Conclusion and recommendation. The stakeholders in the education sector should join hands in ensuring the the drop out rate drastically reduces, and that each child knows the value of education. The solutions to the problems that have been discussed above should be implemented, so that this objective may be achieved. Above all, students should be made to understand that the high school diploma is a platform for opportunities in life.

Abortion Should Not Be Permitted

Many women in this entire world do abortion. There are many reasons why they prefer abortion such as having a fear of raising the child, rape, or not having enough money to support their life and the baby. Some important reasons of why abortion should not be permitted have to do with human morality, religious and values of conscience. First of all, why abortion should not be permitted is because of basic human morality. It is not the unborn babies fault and they have the right to live normally just like any other humans. Where is our humanitarian if we abort the unborn babies? Just because of our own mistakes and our selfishness we took away another one life that is so innocent and vulnerable. Furthermore, the baby doesn’t even know why and how he is here. You don’t need to kill one life in order to live, instead there are many solutions to resolve this problem but an abortion is not the answer. Secondly, why abort should not be permitted is based on religious values. In almost all religions, a women is not allows to do an abortion. My thoughts as a Muslim, we Muslim regard abortion as wrong and forbidden. But, abortion can only be permitted if continuing the pregnancy would put the mother’s life of real danger in Muslim law. Nevertheless, in what religion you are, women should not do an abortion as the baby have the right to live in this world. Finally, reason of why women should not do an abortion related to her conscience. When women do an abortion, she will never forget what happened and the thoughts of killing a one innocent life will always be with her. The future that could have happened with her baby which will always reminds her that she killed it. Her conscience reminds her of what she has done is terribly wrong. Conclusion is, there are many way rather that choosing an abortion. Killing an innocent unborn baby is like a woman with no heart and lack of human morality. The truth is women need to think the consequences before having a sexual relation. I feel sad for the unborn baby because they deserve to have a normal life just like other kids, to see their mum face and the opportunity to see the world. Women in this world love their baby and I know a mother who had to do an abortion is not really willingly to abort it, in fact they are sad and scared but in order to live their life without bringing the ashamed in their life, they have no choice but to abort it. Abortion Should Not Be Permitted Many women in this entire world do abortion. There are many reasons why they prefer abortion such as having a fear of raising the child, rape, or not having enough money to support their life and the baby. Some important reasons of why abortion should not be permitted have to do with human morality, religious and values of conscience. First of all, why abortion should not be permitted is because of basic human morality. It is not the unborn babies fault and they have the right to live normally just like any other humans. Where is our humanitarian if we abort the unborn babies? Just because of our own mistakes and our selfishness we took away another one life that is so innocent and vulnerable. Furthermore, the baby doesn’t even know why and how he is here. You don’t need to kill one life in order to live, instead there are many solutions to resolve this problem but an abortion is not the answer. Secondly, why abort should not be permitted is based on religious values. In almost all religions, a women is not allows to do an abortion. My thoughts as a Muslim, we Muslim regard abortion as wrong and forbidden. But, abortion can only be permitted if continuing the pregnancy would put the mother’s life of real danger in Muslim law. Nevertheless, in what religion you are, women should not do an abortion as the baby have the right to live in this world. Finally, reason of why women should not do an abortion related to her conscience. When women do an abortion, she will never forget what happened and the thoughts of killing a one innocent life will always be with her. The future that could have happened with her baby which will always reminds her that she killed it. Her conscience reminds her of what she has done is terribly wrong. Conclusion is, there are many way rather that choosing an abortion. Killing an innocent unborn baby is like a woman with no heart and lack of human morality. The truth is women need to think the consequences before having a sexual relation. I feel sad for the unborn baby because they deserve to have a normal life just like other kids, to see their mum face and the opportunity to see the world. Women in this world love their baby and I know a mother who had to do an abortion is not really willingly to abort it, in fact they are sad and scared but in order to live their life without bringing the ashamed in their life, they have no choice but to abort it.

Extra Credit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Extra Credit - Essay Example At the beginning of the 21st century, the amount of money in the entire world’s savings—including retirement funds, insurance funds, central bank savings, and other funds—went from $36 trillion to $70 trillion. That $36 trillion was the result of hundreds of years of growth, and then suddenly there was this unheard of expansion of funds, because countries like India and Saudi Arabia were making a lot more money and adding to that pool of savings. Before 2000, investors would do everything they could to protect their investments, and would put their money into safe investments such as municipal bonds. Then, when the funds nearly doubled, the investors ran out of places to invest their money, because although the money looking for investment opportunity doubled, the available good investments did not double. So when the demand for investments couldn’t be met, someone had to create a product that would provide more investment opportunities and meet that deman d. What happened next was what Malcolm Gladwell calls a â€Å"tipping point,† or a sudden rise of an idea or behavior that spreads epidemically, because â€Å"ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do† (Gladwell 7). The solution that the financial industry came up with was to identify a new source of consumer by making mortgage loans available to people with bad credit and low income. That way, investments could be made based on the interest that would be earned on these mortgages: roughly 5-9%, instead of the meager 1% available elsewhere. With such a huge demand, mortgage agents had to go find new people to mortgages, until finally in 2003, basically everyone who was qualified to get a mortgage already had one. Then another level of standards had to be introduced, and this involved NINA (no income no assets), stated income verified asset loans, and stated income, stated assets loans. People no longer even had to prove their income, they could simply say that

In the news 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

In the news 2 - Assignment Example ed people have been united with their families and the news that the leader of the group had was to be re-united with her grandson elicited emotions in Argentina. Forces that were allied to the government kidnapped babies between 1976 and 1983 in the course of military autocracy which was one of the murkiest eras in a time that was entitled the Dirty war. Carlotto’s daughter was part of a guerilla group when she was arrested and imprisoned in 1977at a time when she was almost three months pregnant. She had to give birth to her so at a military hospital and she was returned to her cell without her baby and later executed. The dictatorship took away Carlotto’s daughter and she had no idea what had happened to her grandson even though she kept her hope. The grandson who was reunited with his grandmother is a 36 years old who is named Ignacio Hurban and works as a music director in a school in Olavarria but initially had doubts concerning the story of his life which led him to contact the grandmothers with the story of his life where he submitted DNA. After the DNA was tested, it was found to be a 99.99 percent match even though the first time the grandson had doubts are not clear. The president of Argentina was among the people who called the grandmother after the news of finding her grandson had been revealed to

Health Care Incident Reported in the News Essay

Health Care Incident Reported in the News - Essay Example Courtois is a diabetic patient who was treated in Redding Hospital in 2010 did not consent to the decision of the hospital’s chief executive and medical officer in disclosing her treatment information. This followed allegations that the hospital was involved in overbilling Medicare. The officials of the hospital also failed to report the violations of the patient’s privacy as postulated by the HIPAA. Courtois daughter said that â€Å"we are appalled by the number of people they shared the information with" (Terhune, 2012). Among the journalists into whom the patient information was disclosed were those from the Times. It is reported within the news article that Prime Healthcare Inc. is to face up to $ 250 000 fines for these violations (Terhune, 2012). This essay is based on this story and aims at examining and evaluating how governance, organizational structure, culture and lack of social responsibility led to the violation of the patient’s privacy by the hospi tal. The essay also presents recommendations on resources and changes that would help to preventing future violations of patient privacy in relation to the ethics of patient care. The health care situation that is described within the Los Angeles Times is a case where the rights of patients for confidentiality and privacy of treatment information are violated by a health care system. ... It is in this regard that it is apparent that the hospital is obliged to take responsibility for its legal and ethical misconduct. Nonetheless it is important to note that the violation of HIPAA provisions for patient privacy is legally wrong regardless of the number of people with who patient information is disclosed (Moore, et al, 2009). Darlene Courtois’ case however received the attention of the media and the legal system because many health care providers and journalists got access to the patient’s treatment records without consent. The organizational structure at the Redding Hospital’s hospital is topped by the chief executive. This official is followed by the medical officer. Below these officials are the medical health records officers and other workers. The fact that private patient information was disclosed to the journalists by the chief executive and medical officer reflects that they had direct influence on the medical health officers from whom this information was obtained. This reveals an organizational culture where the top executives exercise roles beyond their lines of duty. Moreover, the health records officers were coerced to provide the patient information to the senior executives. This demonstrates that the health records officers failed to adhere to the ethical and legal requirements for confidentiality and privacy of all patient data. This case also reveals an organizational culture where workers fail to take legal responsibility by reporting medical misconduct in relation to patient data. This is revealed that the health care workers who were emailed the patient data failed to report the violation HIPAA provisions. This case came into light of the legal system because it was featured in

Freemium bsiness model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Freemium bsiness model - Essay Example A number of companies that have applied the use of freemium business model in their operations have experienced high profits. It is axiomatic to argue that when a free service is launched in the market, it will be easy to get many customers. The marginal cost which is incurred is usually very low when this model is used, besides, one user can invite other users who might be interested. In marketing, it is very important to apply network effects, because the moment one person appreciates a product, it will be very easy to attract others. For example, a phone can only be useful when you can use it to call another person. Companies therefore introduce free basic products to attract many users to it (Schlie, 2011). Web Notes is one of the companies that applied the freemium business model. It is a start up that has created technology to make researchers and professionals work much easier. This company has ridden the freemium to a financial success with almost double in their revenue from the little initial investment of $35,000. They advanced a PDF annotation capabilities that has got an amount tagged to it. They offer two paid options to users’ i.e. pro subscription and multi-colour annotation that entails coaching and sharing notes through RSS feeds. The premium version, which is charged at $300 annually, supports administration and monitoring, and Web Notes is swimming in the oceans of success because of its freemium business model (Wrox, 2011). Despite the successes of Web Notes, this model brought with it some challenges, one of which is getting lots of users, who must be returning users, because they must stick around to love the product. The model also takes a long time to be profitable because users can take longer to appreciate it and convert value of the product. For Web Notes, it took almost two years to start realizing profit when they introduced paid

Homeostasis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homeostasis - Assignment Example This homeostatic regulation is made up of three parts that are an effector, a control center, and a receptor. The main role of the receptor is receiving information about the required as the control center processes the information while the effector executes these commands from the control center by making changes in response (Chiras 2013, 4). In maintaining homeostasis, all the body organ systems work together harmoniously in maintain homeostasis within the body. Most systems in the body maintain homeostasis by either use of a negative or positive feedback mechanism. When the hypothalamus receives messages from the body in regards to an internal change in a system, it works to restore the system to its required normal state. The negative feedback mechanisms found when the body regulates temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate. Discussion on how the body is involved in regulating the above is discussed below (Neligan & Baranov 2013, 33). On the other hand, the positive feedback mechanism is a rare mechanism that works by causing even greater changes in the body system instead of restoring the body systems in their normal states. An example is in the release of oxytocin that intensifies contractions during birth. As the birth process takes places, the body signifies more release of the hormone intensifying contractions thus pushing the baby out. The body constantly maintains a set of temperature for its internal environment. The muscles and liver are responsible for the generation of heat within the body. When the body’s temperature is greater than that of the surrounding, the skin loses heat to its surrounding. The standard average homeostatic body temperature is approximately 98.6 F. After or during exercise the body temperature is bound to rise. However, the body will employ some mechanisms to cool itself. The process happens through

Although we need regulation on internet for many reasons, the U.S Essay

Although we need regulation on internet for many reasons, the U.S government should not regulate internet because it could endanger e-business - Essay Example Internet was invented to facilitate the information collection system and communication of the USA military force. However, with the increased use of computer over time and sharp fall in computer prices, Internet made its entry into the households in the 80s and more effectively during 90s. Soon Internet became popular in almost all the developed countries and made its way into the developing countries as well. The 90s witnessed a sharp decrease in computer prices owing to the continuous research and development in the field of Information Technology and efficient, smaller and cheaper computers had been invented during this period. At the same time Internet became more and more available due to spread of optical fiber at a mass level and its price fell due to the emergence of competing organizations in the field of Internet service providers. The situation was perfect for the Internet to spread at the onset of the new millennium and it made an optimum use of that situation to spread even at a much faster rate than before and made a much deeper drive than it had ever made since its inception. The U.S government should not regulate Internet because it could endanger e-business. Firstly, Internet is readily available to anyone and even that at a cheap rate. The ready availability is due to the spread of optical fiber beneath the seawater, which has made possible the continental connectivity and the cheaper price is due to the competitive nature of the Internet service providers’ market. If one service provider asks a little higher price he would surely lose customers, as the customer will get the same service at a cheaper rate. Secondly, Internet is brilliant for getting any information, from weather condition to railway availability. All these can be known by a click of the mouse and comparing to its information providing capability, the

The Effect of Excessive Alcohol Consumption Research Paper

The Effect of Excessive Alcohol Consumption - Research Paper Example The researcher states that excessive alcoholism verses performance among college and university students literature contains results of many research projects that were contacted over a period of time. It is evident that the total number of such publications is quite overwhelming, although this does not mean that all the pertinent publication were reviewed, though none of those that were applicable and useful to this work were excluded intentionally. Difficulties that were encountered in review of literature are an attempt to develop the relationship between the two parameters. Initially there has been an attempt to quantify the existing relationship between the heavy alcohol consumption and life frustrations, as well as cigarette smoking and alcoholism by a wide range of researchers. According to AKsir & Charles; Boston Coalition; Baer; Core Institute, showed that based on the DSM-IV-TR, the addiction to alcohol is characterized by various behavioral, psychological and physiological elements. The commonality of these studies is that alcohol is characterized by incidences of recurrent alcohol intake, which is accompanied by the failure to fulfil roles and responsibilities, such as domestic and job responsibilities. Secondly, this study showed that addiction is characterized by increased use of alcohol in the situations that are considered to be physically hazardous, for instance, driving under the influence of alcohol. In other independent studies Babo, Borsari and Carey found that alcohol abuse is also characterized by the increased encounters with legal problems. This study, as well showed that alcohol abuse is also characterized by the continued alcohol abuse, even when victims are aware of the inherent problems such as domestic squabbles that they cause. In yet another study, Bailey, Fiore, and Cohen carried out a research on co morbidity and noted that alcohol abuse is associated with adverse health risks and social consequences relating to the alcohol int oxication, dependency characteristics, as well as its toxicity. Reporting on the treatment of Alcohol abuse, among college students, APA.

Policing in the United States Essay Example for Free

Policing in the United States Essay Does homeland security issues influence the way police enforce the law? Please give an example. I agree with the statement that homeland security issues do influence the way the police enforce the law. My reasons for doing so will make most people agree with me. If a country is very strict about its homeland security issues example the United States after the 9/11 attacks, the police will have a more autocratic role to play. In contrast to this, a country which is seemingly lax about its security issues such as India (where policemen are not equipped with weapons but with sticks to deal with any anomaly in the law and order situation) or even the United States before the September 11 attacks, will see the police play more of a peace keeping role than a reformatory and punishing one. If the country is at high risks from terrorists, policemen will be influenced such that they will be more stringent in their duty performance, will check every suspicious person or suspicious looking immigrant etc. similarly, if the country is at risk from bomb threats or hijacking threats, the policemen will be more then strict in the performance of their duties. So the circumstances of a country do affect police enforcement of the law. An apt example over here (if an example of a country other then the US can be given) can be given of Pakistan and the emergency it imposed in November 2007. The police were given sweeping powers such that they could arrest people without proper investigation all in the name of maintaining proper law and order in the country (Thomas , 2006). Does Policing in the United States presents a dilemma between the rights of the individual and the need to maintain public order? Please explain and give an example. To this question, my answer would also be yes. I would say this is mainly because of the September 11 attacks and the big affect it has had on our country’s security. On one hand, the United States condones the rights of individuals and declares human beings’ sanctity to be above that of the Higher Being. But on the other hand, its law enforcement methods, particularly in regards to immigrants, especially Muslims, leave a lot to be desired. If the Human Rights act gives everyone permission to freely practice their religions, then this country has no right to subject certain people to greater suspicion only on the basis of their religion (Anthony, 2001). Similarly, the rights of an individual grant him the freedom to live his life as he seems fit. At the same time, police often interrupt bar room brawls and arrest drunkards. So this is not following the human rights act to its letter. An example of this conflict between the rights of individuals and the need to maintain public law and order is of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp on the shore of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Rights of individuals are abused there such as keeping them in indefinite detention, torture, beatings, locking in confined cells and sleep deprivation. But the United States government under George Bush argued that such measures were necessary if the American Public was to sleep safe at night as the men were all dangerous terrorists and criminals. Now President Obama has ordered the detention camp to be closed but it is still an apt example when discussing the above statement. Q3: How does the era of Homeland security affect community policing? Please explain and give an example. Community policing involves expansion of police functions and no longer a stress on traditional police duties. It proposes big changes in the way things have always been done including organizational change, liaison with external sources to solve problems and a more proactive approach to solving problems. It deals in many different areas such as school safety where it recommends assigning police officers to schools and educating teenagers on the danger of possessing firearms to police integrity which targeted trust between the community and the police. It was a relatively adequate policy until the disastrous September 11, 2001 attacks where the police were forced to rethink their strategy. They started concentrating more on pressing security concerns and terror attacks and suddenly this Community Policing system was termed inadequate (Wesley , 2003). I disagree with this current policy because in my opinion, Community Policing was a very balanced approach, where service provision, crime control and order maintenance were given equal weight age. It is followed now to a lesser extent because policemen are now too busy addressing security concerns to concern themselves with building a healthy relationship with the community. But seeing the benefits of this method, the country has started adopting it in its spirit again such as the number of people being employed by the US Police Department is steadily increasing over the years. References Book Thomas, F. A. (2006). Police Field Operations. Prentice Hall. Anthony, M. (2001). Public Order and Law . Boydell Press. Wesley, G. S. (2003). Community Policing. Wadsworth Publishing.

Aspects of contract and business law Essay Example for Free

Aspects of contract and business law Essay Identify the legal criteria for offer and acceptance in a valid contract A contract is defined as a legally binding agreement and are very important in business. This is because: * it is risky to enter into a business arrangement without some form of contract * this is because, in the event of something not going as planned, a business contract is your safety net * without a business contract that stipulates the procedures, policies and expectations of the concerned parties, it is also likely that a dispute will arise in the course of the transactions * a broken contract can result in a law suit or an out of court settlement and the payment of damages caused by the breech of contract There are many different types of contracts. The main elements needed for a standard contract are: Offer Acceptance Capacity Consideration Offer And Acceptance Offer An offer is a definite promise made by an offeror to an offeree about the agreement made. They make this promise with the intention that it shall become binding or legally enforceable as soon as it accepted by the person receiving the offer (the offeree). Acceptance A valid offer must be accepted by the offeree to the contract. In normal circumstances, acceptance of the offer must be communicated to the person making the offer, (the offeror). Acceptance of an offer must be in the form specified in the offer. This can be both written or oral. An example of an offer and acceptance would be: A vending machine. The machine is offering you the items and you are choosing whether to accept the offer by putting your money into the machine to purchase the item. A person going into a shop to purchase an item, they would pick up the item and take it to the till to pay. When the customer, the offeror, hands the shop keeper the money they are making an offer, as soon as the shop keeper, the offeree, accepts the money they are showing acceptance. Sometimes the situation can just be as simple as this and no words have to be spoken. Invitation to treat There is a big difference between an offer and acceptance and an invitation to treat. An invitation to treat is an indication that a person is prepared to receive offers from another person. In this sense, treat means to trade or to do business. The person who is available to receive an invitation to treat can accept or reject the offer until the final moment of acceptance. An example of invitation to treat would be: Goods displayed, with a price ticket attached, in a shop window or supermarket; the customer can make an offer to buy the product, this can then be accepted or rejected by the seller up to the point of sale. Products advertised in catalog, brochures, Internet etc, even if the word offer is used by sellers to promote their goods. An offer must be distinguished from an invitation to treat. Carlill vs carbolic smoke ball company (1892) The carbolic smoke company placed an advertisement in newspaper to tell people of their new flu remedy. The advertisement stated that it would pay  £100 to anyone who took the remedy for 14 days but still got the flu. Mrs carlill used the remedy but unfortunately still got the flu, and made a claim against the company for the money. But the smoke ball company refused to pay the money. The company tried to claim that the advertisement was an attempt to make an offer to the whole world which meant communication of it was impossible. Normally an advertisement in the newspaper or on television etc, would be an invitation to treat, but in this case as the company had actually gone out of their way to put money into the bank they lost the argument, and it made it an offer and acceptance. The company had made an offer to the whole world and mrs carlill choose to accept their offer meaning they had to pay her as a contract had been made. Counter offers Counters offers are offers that are made and then gone back on and adjusted. As soon as a counter offer is made it voids the original contract. For example, if I want to buy a car and the offeror offers it to me for  £5000 and I choose not to accept as it is too high, but then to counter offer by offering them a lower price for it and then the original offeror chooses not to accept my offer, and I then say okay I will pay  £5000 and then they say no sorry, you can have it for  £5500. This is a counter offer, as I rejected the original offer and then by counter offering I made the original offer void, and then they can make a new offer. Task two (p2) Explain the law in relation to the formation of a contract in a given situation A contract comes in to existence when the offer that has been made by the offeror is accepted by the offeree. Contracts can be written or verbal/oral. A verbal contract is when two parties agree through the spoken word and therefore bound by a verbal agreement. This is often done between friends or business people that know each other well enough to agree to be bound legally on a spoken word or a hand shake. An example of this could be, I will wash your car for ten pounds, okay thank you very much. Written contracts are much more common in the work place. It is much easier and simpler for people to be bound by the terms of a written contract, where the details of the contract are included in a document signed by each party, (the offeree and the offeror). These can range from relatively simple agreements to much more formal contracts signed by the parties. Some examples of these could be, the sale of land, regulated credit and hi agreements and employment. Sometimes, a written contract can be much more beneficial and could be a lot safer to use, some examples why are: * A well written, clear, concise contract can avoid customer disputes and complaints. The contract should make clear both parties rights and regulations and obligations. * The subject matter can be easier to understand in a written contract. * Written contracts can specify delivery times, deadlines etc. * It is easier to put down the payments terms in a written document. * A written contract can provide alternative methods for the settlement of certain disputes. Also there is standard form contracts. Consideration Under contract law, the agreement between the parties will not in itself create a legally binding contract. There must be some degree of consideration between the parties for a valid contract to take place. Consideration is what one party to a contract will get from the other party in return for performing contract obligations. A contract is based on the exchange of promises. Each party to a contract must be both a promisor and a promisee. They must each receive a benefit and each suffer a detriment. This benefit or detriment is referred to as consideration. Consideration must be something of value in the eyes of the law. This excludes promises of love and affection, gaming and betting etc. A one sided promise which is not supported by consideration is a gift. The law does not enforce gifts unless they are made by deed. An example of this would be, An event organiser promises to pay a band  £1000 if they sing at an event. The consideration for the event organisers promise would be to pay band if they promise to play at an event. The consideration for the bands promise to play at the event is the event organiser to pay the band  £1000. Consideration can take two forms: * executed consideration an act in exchange for a promise, such as a reward case where the person making the offer promises to pay the reward upon the act of the act being completed. * executory consideration the parties exchange promises to perform acts in the future, most contracts begin this way. For example, a seller promises to deliver to a buyer as a result of the buyers promise to buy at the agreed price. Consideration from the buyer is the promise to pay the price on completion. There are 5 rules of consideration, which are, 1) consideration must not be past 2) consideration must be sufficient but need not be adequate there is no requirement that the consideration must be market value, providing some of value is given eg  £1 given in exchange for a house would be valid, the courts are not concerned with whether the parties have made a good or bad bargain 3) consideration must move from the promise if a person other than the promisee is to provide the consideration, the promisee can not enforce the agreement Tweed one v Atkinson (1861) A couple were getting married and the father of the bride entered into an agreement with the father of the groom saying that they would each pay the couple a sum of money. Unfortunately both the father of the bride and the father of the groom died without paying any money. The groom then made a claim against the executor of the will. The claim failed as the groom was not party to the agreement and the consideration did not move from him. Therefore he was not entailed to enforce the contract. 4) an existing publics duty will not amount to a valid consideration where a party has a public duty to act, this can not be used as consideration for a new promise 5) an existing contractual duty will not amount to valid consideration if a party has an existing contractual duty to do an act, this act can not be used as consideration for a new promise Capacity Capacity is the legal power to enter into a contract. Who does not have the legal capacity? * minors do have limited capacity * bankrupts * incapacitated persons do have limited capacity For example, minors. Legal rules have been developed to protect minors from contractual liability and to allow them to also enter into agreements in limited circumstances. There are two types of contract that bind minor when dealing with adults, supply of necessary goods employment Also incapacitated persons are unable to enter into a contract. People suffering from a medically diagnosed mental health condition cannot enter into a valid contact as it is believed they do not have sufficient mental capacity to understand what it is they are doing. Also if the person is intoxicated and able to prove they were at the time the contract came into place they are seen as an incapacitated person and are unable to legally enter into a contract. Privity of a contract The doctrine of private means that a contract cannot confer rights or impose obligations arising under it on any person except the parties to it. Under common law only a promisee may enforce the promise meaning that if the third party is not a promisee they are not a privy to that certain contract. It is a legal concept denying third parties the right to sue on a contract. Price v Easton (1833) This case involved a three way argument. Basically Easton agreed with X that he would pay Price for the work that X had done. They completed the work and Easton refused to pay Price the money, Price tried to sue Easton but he failed. This was due to private of a contract. The contract was made between Easton and X therefore Price was not a privy to the contract. Task Three (p3) Describe the law with respect to misrepresentation in a given situation. Misrepresentation is a false statement of fact made by one party to other party before the contract is made with a view to inducing the other to enter it. For example, one carful owner this statement is very misleading as you would expect that only one person has owner the product before and has been very careful with it, but this statement really could mean, it may have only had one careful owner but had ten bad owners. This statement is not lying it is just stating a fact and leaving out important detail therefore this is an example of misrepresentation. Once it has been established that a false statement has been made and that it induced the contract, it is necessary to determine the type of misrepresentation in order to determine the available remedy. There are different types of misrepresentation. For example, Fraudulent A person will be liable for fraud if they make a statement which they know to be false or they have no belief in its truth or they are reckless or careless whether it is true or false. For example, Lapland new forest produced a website showing fantastic winter scenes. Unfortunately, the photos on the website were not taken at the park and customers were hugely disappointed when they arrived at the resort to find it is not at all like the website, many demanded their money back. In 2009 the owners of the park appeared in court and were charged with fraudulent misrepresentation. Innocent a false statement made by a person who had reasonable grounds to believe that it was true, not only when the contract was made but also when the contact was entered into. Negligent A person can be liable when they make a false statement and have no reasonable ground for believing the statement to be true. In the situation given I believe that it is negligent misrepresentation as Esso had no reason to believe that the statement given by their experienced representative was true at the time or the time the contract was entered into. I think the representative gave a false statement to get Martin to enter into the contract. I think Esso were inducing Martin into entering the contact, although, Martin would have expected the statement to be correct as it was an experienced representative for Esso who gave the statement he would have thought that they would be a reliable source so he probably did not do any checks on the land and just thought their word for it. Task Four (m1) Analyse the impact of the requirements for a valid contract in a given situation. 1) Mr Baron You have not entered into a valid contract as Mrs Anderson did not accept your offer. She informed you that she intends to sell her car at a certain price and you said you would like to buy it. There is o evidence that offer and acceptance has taken place here therefore no contact was made. 2) Mr Cunningham Although the seller offered you the product at  £900 as soon as you offered him  £800 the contract was broken. This is because of counter offer taking place. Even though you were prepared to pay the full price in the end, you had broken the contract by counter offering him therefore it is his choice whether to sell the product or not and whether to enter into another contract with you. 10) Mrs Lawrence (I wasnt sure if the garage checks/services the car before they sell it on so I did two explanations) This is a case of fraudulent misrepresentation. Before the car was sold to you, the car sales showroom should have checked the car to make sure everything they were stating about the car was correct. Therefore they should have known that the mileage was significantly higher when you purchased it. This is a case of innocent misrepresentation. At the time when the car sales showroom sold the car to you they did not know that the mileage was significantly higher therefore it can not be seen as their fault as they were lead to believe that the statement they were giving was true.