What is extreme poverty To what degree would you describe meeting Goal Essay

What is extreme poverty To what degree would you describe meeting Goal 1 Target 1 of the Millennium Development Goal as a success - Essay Example With it there has been a considerable drop in incomes which resulted in additional 50 million people being left in extreme poverty in 2009. Based on the projections the global poverty which is measured at $ 1.25 a day will fall to 15 percent by 2015 and it will leave 918 million people below the poverty line. Though over the past three decades poverty has declined rapidly, but human society still faces complex and urgent challenges. Worldwide more than 1 billion people live in a state of destitution. With rise in social exclusion and inequality the problem of extreme poverty is rising. This report will take a look at the extreme poverty and the various goals regarding it. In 2013 the Board of Governors of World Bank has endorsed two new goals. First is that the World Bank Group will commit its energy into bringing an effective end to the extreme poverty by 2030. This means that that they have to reduce it to no more than 3 percent the fraction of the population of the world who are living on less than $ 1.25 percent per day. The second goal is to ensure that the benefits of prosperity will be shared by promoting income growth of the bottom 40 percent of the people. The World Bank group aim at achieving both the goal in a sustainable manner and hence help secure the long term future of the planet and its resources (Và ¶rà ¶smarty, and et.al. 2010, p. 173). The World Bank originally defined extreme poverty as individuals who are living on the equivalent of less than $ 1 per day. In 2008 it was then updated to $ 1.25 per day. In 1990 the number of people living in extreme poverty was estimated at 1.2 billion. According to World Bank the percentage of people living in extreme poverty globally will fall to no more than 3 percent by 2030 (United Nations, 2010, p. 351). In 1980s it was common for the nations to use their general economic surveys and national income accounting for identifying a poverty line (Rogers, Jalal

Nandos Management and Leadership Structure

Nandos Management and Leadership Structure Nandos started in 1987 in Rossetthenville, South Africa when two friends, Robert Brozen and his friend, Fernando Duarte went into a restaurant and ordered the offer that was on the menu. The friends had the flame grilled chicken with peri peri and they enjoyed the meal so much that they decided to buy the whole restaurant, Chickenland and changed the brands name to Nandos. Nandos has moved to the UK five years later and since become a world re-known brand name associated with flame grilled chicken. Nandos first restaurant in the UK was based at Ealing, from which they created a unique vision encapsulating many aspects of the South Africa Portuguese experience which played an important part of the ethos of how they developed their restaurants. Robby wanted all restaurants to individually reflect the location and retain the character. He recruited engaging and inspiring people to manage the business, maintained quality of the product by flame grilling the product to be consumed by customers not far from where they seated, over time, the brand was born. Grant, R M (2002) From this time onwards, a remarkable and unique major multi-million dollar business serving in many parts of the world. Today, it employs around 7000 workers in the UK with about 228 restaurants and is growing at a rate of 15 to 20 more restaurants on year by year growth rate. On the international scene, it has developed a strategy by which it expands using Franchising model that allows it to stay close to the core business. It maintains its core values, culture and location attributes making it stay focussed on the nature of the business in its franchise relationships. Culture and leadership According to (Johnson and Scholes 2006): Nandos allows flexibility for the culture of the countries they operate in to be incorporated. The companys leadership has achieved a great deal in the short time that they have been around. The major achievement recently was recorded when in March 2010, the company was awarded first place in the Sunday times top 25 best companies to work for in the UK. The classification is based on being able to employ at least 5000 or more workers. White, C (2004) Grant, R M (2002) Nandos achieved a maximum of three stars in the Best Companies Accreditation Award in 2009. Nandos is the only worldwide company to receive three stars in the United Kingdom. The award measures eight significant areas that include well-being, personal growth and leadership. And in 2010 the company entered the Sunday Times Best Companies to work for and came out first, beating other companies such as Goldman Sachs and Price Waterhouse Coopers. The company again received the full three stars, showing not only quality but sustained commitment to the leadership and management development across the organization. Grant, R M (2002) Training and development The National Training Awards (NTAs) have been running for quarter of a century, the awards recognise and celebrate Investors in People accredited organisations that have delivered outstanding organisational benefits by directly linking the training needs of their people to the business needs of their organisation. Nandos, over the years have achieved awards for five of their in-house training schemes. These are: buddy systems (buddies are much experienced staff who help train new staff); new restaurants opening training; working in management teams (team building); Nandos inductions; and coaching programmes. In addition, Nandos was first recognized as an Investor in People in 1998. They are now celebrating ten years of recognition. White, C (2004) So, what is behind the outstanding set of achievements? According to Nandos human resources director Julia Claydon, Its not just one thing; its a whole mix of different things. At the heart of the business is a unique culture and a set of fundamental values and ways of doing things. Pride, passion, courage, integrity, and family are the five values that drive behaviours and decision making in the company. Fun, friendly, and different, is the way one employee described the feeling of working at Nandos and the sense of belonging that is found within the company or family as it is described. I wanted to be part of a success story and be with a family of like-minded people. They even use different words, tone of voice, and language in everyday life at Nandos. The board of directors are referred to as the Full Monty, restaurant managers are called Patrao (head of the family in Portuguese), Nandoca is a waiter, Grillers are the chefs, and the head office in Putney is referred to as Central Support. All throughout the restaurant interior, on the menus, the walls, internal documentation, company website, and marketing material, you will see the same fun, funky, and different style of language. Barcelos is the Cockerel, was chosen as the symbol of Nandos because Robert and Fernando like the explorers of yesteryear believed in faith, justice and good luck. They refer to CSR (corporate social responsibility) at Nandos as Do the right thing. The spirit of Nandos is alive in each of their restaurants through the hand-selected, diverse mix of global music usually South African, and unique features to ensure you enjoy the Nandos experience. They have the largest collection of art by South African artists in the UK and the support and investment in this industry has changed many lives for the better in deprived areas of South Africa. On the green energy front, a new Nandos restaurant which is located on the Junction 27 on the M62 in West Yorkshire is an eco-restaurant, where h eat energy from the grills are recycled to warm up the water and heat up the central-heating system. Also, the frying fat is recycled for fuel. This approach will be gradually introduced to all the Nandos group of restaurants. The members of staff are encouraged to participate in community projects in their locations of their own sites, and schools and colleges partnerships and the funding of community improvements, as well as the donation of staff time and effort is strongly supported and is also seen as a staff development opportunity. Grant, R M (2002) Pride, passion courage, integrity, and family, the five business values drive the everyday ethical and honest behaviour, and this engaging culture results in an impressive level of 45 per cent of appointments that are filled through career progression within the businesses. The management ethos is to allow as much leadership responsibility and authority for decision making to be at the local restaurant level as possible, once the restaurant has been approved and signed off personally by Robert Enthoven himself. In essence, the leadership and management style is one that can be associated with a hands-on action-orientated, situational, and contingency approach. There is a fairly tight framework, as you would expect, to ensure consistency around the product and brand, that is centrally controlled by the support functions of procurement, marketing, and distribution. Yet almost all else is down to the local leadership of the Patrao (manager/family leader). That is, the recruitment/select ion, resourcing, motivation, training of staff, and the customer service and profitability of the restaurant. Training and facilitation in the Nandos way as well as developing the business profitability and the personal growth of the Patraos themselves, and spotting future talent, are promoted up to the next level up of management, the MDs (managing directors). Even below the conventional management level, all Nandocas are encouraged to challenge substandard quality and service in line with the company values. White, C (2004) There is a widespread development process to support career paths at Nandos. There are some specific and technical courses that member of staff must undergo, such as food hygiene, licensed house, health and safety regulations, etc. Then also many other sessions; coaching, people management, finance, and leadership development, etc. Staff can select as many sessions as appropriate that have been identified in the success management process. In terms of speed of career progression, it usually takes approximately 12 to 18 months to get to first assistant position and a further similar period to get to be Patrao. As can be seen, Nandos investment in training is given high priority as this is considered a key enabler for business success. In fact, the training of staff members costs amount to approximately 75 per cent of the human resources budget. Nandos human resource department is faced with improving the training and development evaluation systems and looking for continuous improvement methods that will really measure worth and added value of this level of training and development. Whilst there is a strong intuitive sense and informal evidence that this investment in training is linked to the success of the business, Nandos would ideally like stronger, more specific assessments. Evans, N Campbell, D and Stonehouse, G (2003). Diversity is also a major factor which differentiates Nandos from any other restaurant groups. It has always employed staff from a wide diverse culture, regardless of their level of English. They are trained in ways that work best for that individual and provided with development opportunities. These members of staff are given opportunities to develop within Nandos and to be the best they can and there are numerous stories and examples of employees from abroad who have fitted in well with the Nandos family culture and gone on to develop successful careers within Nandos. Recruitment and selection are carried out by each restaurants manger itself and the team members are also heavily involved. Normally, a trial shift is set in order to see if a new recruit has the right skills and capabilities, if they have the right attitude, and if they get involved in the fun and delivery of good service within the restaurant. Participation and a high level of involvement by all staff are significant to Nandos. It is a regular occurrence for conferences and formal get-togethers, where staff are consulted and included in introducing new working practices and processes. But its not all work; they also like to enjoy themselves, and one thing about the people at Nandos: they have great annual Nandoscars, which are parties thrown by the company and awards are given to the best members of staff. White, C (2004) Leadership in the organisation In 1987 two major reports Handy et al., and Constable and McCormick, acknowledged that the UK had the lowest number of qualified and degree-educated managers when paralleled to chief competitors of the time and that there seemed to be an association between productivity or organizational success and educational achievement of managers and leaders (Constable and McCormick, 1987), the development of leaders and managers has grown in importance. Handy et al. (1987) found that most managers had little higher education and when a manager got a new managerial role they generally learned about the new job through gaining experience at work. These reports led to the professionalization of managers in the UK and to the realization that leaders were not just heroic characters who appeared in an organizations hour of need, but that there was a diversity in leadership and that individuals could be assisted to develop leadership and management skills. Debates about the connections between leaders and managers similarities and differences are one of the key sections. White, C (2004) Variety plays a vital role in the restaurant since the need for developing and educating leaders and managers was recognized, an increasing range of methods with different interventions were developed, mostly focusing on within the company. Leadership and management development has matured, often in seclusion, from the remainder of personnel and human resources manager, and sometimes even as a separate function from employee training and development. Whilst there may have been worthy reasons for such separation, however, it is important that clear links are made within the major human resource management and development areas-and that these, in turn, are able to contribute to and be part of business strategic planning to secure an organizations future senior managers and leaders. The importance of horizontal and vertical integration of business strategy, organizational development, and the management and development of human resources has never been more obvious as organizations, fro m all sectors struggle for survival in an increasingly difficult national and international environment. Grant, R M (2002) The growing importance of continued improvement of those who are future leaders and managers can be acknowledged by reviewing changes in the external environments in which organizations operate. Within the UK, there are major changes and debates about the nature of work and the working population, with increasing diversity, changing opportunities, and increased external political, economic, environmental, and social influences. Globally, changes and influences are very easy to identify through new developing economies and cultures. Recent crises help to demonstrate that all nations and economies are critically linked and that survival of each is reliant on all. Managers and leaders therefore have to learn how to work in such organizational and international environments, taking account of diversities within. For organizations, there are more opportunities due to greater employee mobility, but with technological development there are requirements to manage increasingly distant and div erse employee groups through technological networks. Evans, N Campbell, D and Stonehouse, G (2003) Theories of motivation Many theories have been proposed by many authors on the subject of motivation in organisations. Among some of the notable contributors to this debate was an industrialist named Frederick Winslow Taylor, who put forward the concept that workers are motivated by rewards in pay. In his Theory of Scientific Management, he argued that workers do not necessarily enjoy to work and therefore need to be controlled and closely supervised. In order to achieve this, managers need to breakdown the production into a number of small related tasks and given training to improve their skills sets which should result in efficiency over a period of time for the tasks they are assigned to do. The second major observation was that workers should be paid according to the production levels they attain over a given period of time, this he called piece rate pay, which as a result would encourage workers to produce more achieving the maximisation of productivity. These methods later were adopted by the business world as they saw the benefits that they offered through increased production levels resulting in lower unit cost of production. Henry Ford was the first to use the methods on a large scale when he introduced the production line to make ford cars. This was the beginning of the mass production systems as we now know them to be. Within Nandos there is a resemblance of the Taylorism which is applied by the workers having division of labour. There are those who simply welcome the dinners and those that serve them on the till. Yet still some ensure that the flame grills are going on smoothly so that the patronage is served on time. There is a good case for a classical production system within Nandos restaurant. Taylors methodology has close relations with the concept of an autocratic management style, where managers decide on all the decisions and simply give orders to staff members that are below them, and Macgregors Theory X methodology to workers in which workers are viewed as lazy and wish to avoid responsibility. Further down the line, the workers soon came to dislike Taylors methodology as they were only given boring, on challenging, repetitive tasks to carry out and were being treated little better than human machines. Businesses could also afford to lay off workers as productivity levels increased which in turn led to an increase in strikes and other forms of industrial action by dis-satisfied workers. Elton Mayo understood that workers are not just concerned with money but could be better encouraged by having their social needs met whilst at work (a factor that Taylor ignored). He presented the Human Relation School of Thought, which concentrated on managers taking more of an interest in the workers, treating them as people who have worthwhile opinions and realising that workers enjoy interacting together. Mayo carried out a series of experiments at the Hawthorne factory of the Western Electric Company in Chicago where He secluded two groups of women workers and studied the effect on their productivity levels of altering factors such as lighting and working conditions. He anticipated to see production levels decline as lighting or other conditions became progressively worse but what he actually discovered astonished him: whatever the change in lighting or working conditions, the productivity levels of the workers improved or remained the same. From this series of experiments Mayo came to the conclusion that workers are best motivated by three major factors: Improved communication between managers and workers (Hawthorne workers were consulted over the experiments and also had the opportunity to give feedback) White, C (2004).Greater manager involvement in employees working lives (Hawthorne workers responded to the increased level of attention they were receiving) Working in groups or teams. (Hawthorne workers did not previously regularly work in teams) In practice therefore businesses should re-organise production line in order to encourage greater use of team work and introduce personnel departments to encourage greater manager involvement in looking after employees interests. His theory most closely fits in with a paternalistic style of management. Abraham Maslow along with Frederick Herzberg introduced the Neo-Human Relations School in the 1950s; the main focus of the school was the psychological needs of employees. Maslows theory states that there are five levels of human needs in which are essential for employees to have in order to be fulfilled at work. All of the needs are structured into a hierarchy (see below) and only once a lower level of need has been fully met, would a worker be motivated by the opportunity of having the next need up in the hierarchy satisfied. For example a person who is dying of hunger will be motivated to achieve a basic minimum wage in order to buy food before worrying about having the respect of others. Grant, R M (2002) A company should therefore offer different enticements to workers in order to help them fulfil each of the needs in turn and advance up the hierarchy (see below). Managers should also be aware that not all workers are motivated in the same way and do not all move up the hierarchy at the same pace. They may therefore have to offer a slightly different set of incentives from worker to worker. Frederick Herzberg had a close relationship with Maslow and believed in a two-factor theory of motivation. He argued that there were certain factors that a business could introduce that would directly motivate employees to work harder, the motivators. He also believed that there were also factors that would de-motivate an employee if not present but would not in themselves actually motivate employees to work harder, the Hygiene factors. Evans, N Campbell, D and Stonehouse, G (2003) Motivators are more concerned with the actual job itself, for example how thought-provoking the work is and how much opportunity it gives for extra accountability, credit and advancement. Hygiene factors are factors which surround the job rather than the job itself. For example a worker will only turn up to work if the company has provided a reasonable amount of pay and safe working environment but these factors will not make him work harder at his job once he is there. Importantly Herzberg viewed pay as a hygiene factor which is in direct contrast to Taylor who viewed pay and piece-rate in particular. Herzberg understood that businesses should motivate employees by accepting a democratic approach to management and by improving the nature and content of the actual job through positive methods. Some of the methods managers could use to motivate employees are: Job enlargement, in which workers are given a greater assortment of tasks to perform (these tasks are not necessarily more challenging) which should make the work more stimulating. Job enrichment which involves workers being given a wider range of more difficult, exciting and challenging tasks surrounding a complete unit of work. This should give a greater sense of achievement. Empowerment means allotting more decision making power to employees to make their own choices over areas of their working life. Managing diversity Multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviours that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or society. White, C (2004) There are the four pairs of action phrases that give substance to the Definition of multiculturism: beliefs and behaviours, recognizes and respects, acknowledges and values, encourages and enables, and a fifth one, empowers. Multiculturalism is a system, a set of interrelated parts-in this case, beliefs and behaviours-which make up the whole of how humans experience and view todays world. It includes what people believe about others, their basic paradigms, and how this impact, and are impacted by, behavior. The outcomes of this framework of beliefs/behaviors are seven important actions. The first is acknowledgement of the rich variety in a given society or organization. For the longest time racial/ethnic minorities, the physically disabled, and women have not been given the same acknowledgement as others. The one-sided approach to history and education has been a testimony to that fact. Grant, R M (2002) With acknowledgement should also emanate respect. Respect and acknowledgement are not the same, since be acquainted with the existence of a group does not necessarily produce respect for the group. In a slave economy, for example, the presence of slaves was recognized but their humanity was not respected. For example, in the United States of America, the presence of   American Indians in the Western expansion of the continent was constantly recognized by whites, but their environmentally conscious cultures were never respected. Thecontribution of women has usually been relegated to a footnote status.   Multiculturalism also entails recognizing the validity of the cultural expressions and contributions of the various groups. This is not to imply that all cultural contributions are of equal value and social worth, or that all should be tolerated. Some cultural practices are better than others for the overall betterment of society. Evans, N Campbell, D and Stonehouse, G (2003) These cultural expressions and contributions that differ from those of the dominant group in society are usually only acknowledged when there is an economic market for them, such as music for African Americans, native Indian dances for tourism or cuisine from India. When the business sector wants money, the advertising industry pictures people of colour in a positive light. But in most other cases the entertainment media simply misrepresentate minority stereotypes, such as women usually in supportive background roles. Multiculturalism means valuing what people have to offer, and not rejecting or belittling it si mply because it differs from what the majority, or those in power, regard as important and of value. Multiculturalism will also encourage and enable the contribution of the various groups to society or an organization. Grant, R M (2002) Women and persons of colour, for example, often experience dissuasion because what they bring to the table for discussion is often regarded as of little value or worth. Not everything can be utilized, however, nor is of the same worth Many different organisations in society, such as colleges, churches, businesses, corporations, as well as communities have also achieved diversity well, but again, for purposes of segregation. Audre Lorde 2010 explains, we have no patterns for relating across our human differences as equals. Without such patterns or models, the prevalent attitude and behavior toward persons of colour and others with biological, physical and sociocultural differences, or those with operating out of different thinking systems, has been one of exclusion and control. Today, to reach potential as organizations and society,that attitude has to shift to one of inclusion. White, C (2004) states that managing diversity is an non-stop process that unleashes the various skills and abilities which a varied population bring to an organization, community or society, so as to create a wholesome, inclusive environment, that is safe for differences, allows people to reject rejection, delights in diversity, and maximizes the full potential of all, in a cultural context where everyone profits. Multiculturalism, as the art of managing diversity, is an inclusive process where no one is left out. Diversity, in its core, then is a safeguard against idolatry the making of one group as the norm for all groups. Therefore, one of the dangers that must be avoided in grasping a proper understanding of multiculturalism is bashism. Bashism is the tendency to verbally and/or physically attack another person or group based solely on the negative meaning given to group membership-due to natural, cultural, political or socioeconomic differences (such as sex, age, race/culture, political party, class, education, values, religious affiliation environmental destruction), one of the principal problems confronting world society today is the problem of racial/ethnic hostility and cultural insensitivity-the new wine of racial/ethnic ferment in conflict with the old wineskins of intolerance. Cultural diversity What is Cultural Diversity? Cultural Diversity means a variety of different cultures or peoples with different ancestries, religions and traditions all living and intermingling together. Britain has profited from its vast cultural diversity throughout its history and is currently one, if not the most culturally diverse countries in the world. The diet we eat, the music we listen to, and the clothes we wear have all been influenced by different cultures coming into Britain. Foreign food, for example, is part of an average British diet, the most common example would be the Indian curry that has been served in Britain from 1773. Nandos restaurant recognises its origins as South Africa, with Portuguese influence and therefore has a policy that encourages inclusion in the work force. Hence appointments at all levels tend to reflect the nature of diversity within the organisation. Conclusion Nandos is relatively young company has the right type of leadership to drive it into the future. Their policies are well inclined to be inclusive taking into account the nature of diverse societies where it operates in. According to Adalfer, workers are motivated to produce efficiently and effectively if they are managed adequately through a good payroll system. Adalfer called these as the Hygiene factors. This position is supported by Maslow who suggested that the basic needs tend to be fulfilled first after which higher needs are sought after until such a time when the individual attains self actualisation.

DVD Vs. VCR :: essays research papers

INTRODUCTIONThis report will strive to clearly discern the differences between the average home Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) and the recently developed Digital Video Disc (DVD) system. These two home entertainment components have very clear differences. It is important for consumers to carefully consider each of these concerns before deciding on the home entertainment component that is right for them.When considering the purchase of a home VCR or DVD system, consumers should carefully examine the varying costs of the two components. If cost is a concern, consumers should pay special attention to the purchase price of both systems, as well as the cost of movies and maintenance. A second consideration of consumers when choosing between VCR and DVD should be the video and audio quality. Various technical factors can alter the quality of both picture and sound in both of these systems, making picture and audio quality a major consideration when shopping for home entertainment components .A final consideration that consumers should give special attention is the accessibility of the systems. In today’s growing entertainment market, the difficulty in accessing video and DVD movies can play a large part in the decision of which component is right for the consumer.METHODSThe beginning of any research project is in the decision of a topic to research. I chose to research the differences between the VCR and DVD home entertainment systems because the intricacies of the systems and the ways in which they work greatly interest me. I began my work using ordinary encyclopedias, found in the Rosewood High School branch of the Wayne County Public Library. Due to the technical nature of my topics, there was very little information in the encyclopedias dealing with these topics. While I did receive some information on the background of home entertainment systems, especially the VCR, most of my research had to be found from other sources.I continued my research into the diff erences between these two systems, using the Microsoft Encarta Multimedia Encyclopedia. Through this source, I discovered a great deal of information on how the VCR works. However, little information was to be found on the DVD home entertainment system. For this information, I was forced to search the Internet, where a wealth of information exists. After a general search for DVD, I found several web sights discussing the pros and cons of DVD, as well as the intricacies of how it operates.After making notes of all of the information I had gathered, I proceeded to sort the notes into separate groups dealing with the VCR and DVD.

Loa Loa Essay

Loa Loa â€Å"African Eye worm† [pic] [pic] Loa Loa By Amanda Green Microbiology 210 Loa Loa is a parasite known more commonly as the â€Å"African Eye Worm†. This may be one of the most feared of the parasites. They are classified as filarial worms, meaning they thrive in human tissues. Before the 1920’s , Loa Loa infections occurred more frequently in the United States now it is more commonly found in West Africa and equatorial Sudan. It prefers areas with hot, wet climates, like swamps and rainforests. They are cylindrical and have a cuticle with three main outer layers. This protects the nematodes (larvae) so they can invade the digestive tracts of animals. The outer layers are non cellular. The adult Loa Loa is a thin small worms ranging in length from 20 – 70 mm long and 350 – 430 mm wide. Males are smaller than the females. Loa Loa was first described in 1770 by a French surgeon, Mongin. He was the first surgeon to try to remove a worm from the eye of a woman in Santa Domingo. He was unsuccessful. Another observation came form a French ships surgeon, who observed an eye worm in slaves being taken to the West Indies from Africa in 1778. The first person to identify the microfilaria of Loa Loa in 1890 was Dr. Patrick Mason when he was invited to examine blood smears with Dr. Stephen Mackenzie. This person was thought to have â€Å"sleeping sickness of the Congo. † To reproduce the female produces a pheromone to attract males. After mating the female produces large numbers of active embryos called microfilaria. These microfilaria find their way to the blood stream where they can be transmitted through a bite to the next host. Loa Loa is an obligate endoparasite that feeds on fluids in the tissues of humans. The parasite contains pharyngeal glands and intestinal epithelium that produce digestive enzymes that enable them to feed on the hosts’ body fluids. Extracellular digestion begins within the lumen and is finished intracellularly. The adult parasite has been known to live up to 15 years. A human infected by Loa loa is termed Loiasis. People become infected by the transmission by deerflies. Once the deerfly lands on the host and bites, the larvae then drops into the opening of the skin and burrows into the subcutaneous tissues. The larvae then migrate through the body, commonly to the eye. They congregate in the lungs at night. Damage can be done to the eyes as it crawls through the cornea and conjunctive tissues. It can easily be seen and felt in the eye up to an hour. When they are deeper into the body they can cause encephalitis, if they reach the brain, which can lead to death. Joint pain can occur from swelling if the parasite stays near a joint for a period of time. The larva can remain unnoticed for months or years before becoming an adult, mating, and producing offspring. They continuously travel through deep and connective tissues, often even without the person feeling any sensation other than occasional itching. A person may feel the greatest discomfort when the worm slows or reaches a sensitive spot. It is then that the immune reaction starts, with localized redness and swelling called Calabar. This type of reaction is thought to be caused by a type of allergic reaction to dead worms and their byproducts. Skin eruptions and muscle pain may be evident. Once the worm dies the surrounding tissues may abscess. An accumulation of serous fluid in a sacculated cavity called hydrocele is a less common symptom. Colonic lesions, fibroblastic endocarditis, membranous glomerulonephritis, retinopathy, arthritis, and peripheral neuropathy can occur but are less common in people native to endemic areas. To diagnose Loasis, physicians look for Calabar swelling and the presence of worms in the conjunctiva. Those are the main tests used to diagnose an infestation. Some laboratory tests can help with the diagnosing including, C – reactive protein, elevated eosinophils (called eosinophilia), and IgE quantification. Identification of microfilariae by microscopic examination is the most practical diagnostic test. The collection of the blood specimen is extremely important with the known periodicity of the microfilariae. The smear is stained with Giemsa or hematoxylin and eosin. Concentration techniques can be used for increased sensitivity, including centrifugation of the blood sample hemolyzed in 2% formalin. Checking for microfilaria in the blood on a newly suspected case is not recommended because it can take may years for them appear. Loa Loa is endemic only to parts of West Africa. A study done by S. Wanji at the University of Boea in Cameroon found that in 16 rural villages in southern Cameroon 2. 2% to 19. 23% of people were infected. It also showed that males are almost twice as likely to become infested as females. The level of infection increases from the ages of 15 to 65 years old and then drops. The treatment’s side effects for Loa Loa are more life-threatening than the actual infestation. Two of the most common treatments are diethylcarbamazine and ivermectin. Both of thes e treatments can cause encephalitis, coma, or death in people with high microfilaria loads. These drugs kill the microfilaria but not the adult worms. Other treatments include chemotherapy and surgical removal.

Elc1013 Unit 1

ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Unit 1 Achieving an Academic Writing Style Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit, you should be able to: †¢ †¢ use appropriate language to demonstrate academic style in writing express ideas and views in tentative rather than assertive language where appropriate Introduction This unit is divided into three sections providing reference and practice material on various aspects of academic writing style. Section 1 Features of academic writing style Section 2 Improving the style of your writing Section 3 Hedging in academic writingReferencing note: This unit uses IEEE referencing style for all in-text referencing. Pre-Unit 1 IndiWork Activities Go to eLearn (http://elearn. elc. polyu. edu. hk/) and complete the Pre-Unit 1 IndiWork Activities. IndiWork 1 Academic Style Go to eLearn and complete the What is Academic Style? Activity. Section 1 The features of academic writing style What do you think are the differences between the essays that you wrote at secondary school and the essays that you will need to write at university? Make sure you think about style* when considering these differences. Style often refers to level of formality. For example when writing to a friend you would use an informal style.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 1 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 1 Reading How do the language choices in this first essay draft below create a non-academic / inappropriate style? Read the passage and identify (highlight / circle) the style problems. Note down your ideas at the end of the passage. Be prepared to share your observations with the rest of the class.How often do PolyU students use English outside the classroom? Because many people think PolyU students don’t use English much outside of class, I wanted to find out the answer to this question so I decided to do a survey. I worked out a questionnaire and then handed it out to lots of students from eight 5 departments. The students filled in the questionnaire and then gave it back to me. I did the survey in April 2011. A total of 707 students took part in the survey, which is a really huge sample. In fact, this is the biggest survey of its kind ever done in Hong Kong which is terrific!And when I got the questionnaires back, I looked closely at the data and put it into a number of figures. Grandparents Parents Domestic helper Social functions Brothers / sisters Situations Private tutors Restaurants / bars PolyU friends Part-time jobs Relatives Non- PolyU friends Overseas holidays 0 0. 5 1 1. 05 1. 32 1. 69 1. 95 1. 95 1. 99 2. 11 2. 12 2. 4 2. 45 2. 55 2. 72 1. 5 Mean 2 2. 5 3 Figure 1: Speaking in English outside university 10 The first area I’d like to look at is speaking in English. Basically, what I wanted to know was how ofte n students speak English outside the classroom.The questionnaire asked the students to say how often they use English when they talk to friends, parents etc. When they filled in the questionnaire, the students had to circle a number from 1 (never) to 6 (very often). If they circled 15 the numbers 1-3, it means that they don’t use English very much. If they circled the numbers 4-6, it means that they use English fairly often. As you can see, I’ve put all the data about speaking in English in Figure 1. Let’s now talk about the data in Figure 1. First and foremost, it’s crystal clear that students don’t have many opportunities to speak English outside the 20 classroom.You can tell this because all the means are under 3. 00. Clearly, PolyU students don’t have any need to speak to parents etc. in English. This is undoubtedly because their family members are Cantonese speakers.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 2 E LC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Obviously, there’s no point in speaking English when everyone can speak C a n t o n e s e . A s yo u c a n s e e , Po l y U s t u d e n t s n e v e r s p e a k t o t h e i r 25 grandparents in English.This is not surprising because, as we all know, old people in Hong Kong can’t speak English. That’s because the education system wasn’t very good in the past. But, you can see that there are a few situations (overseas holidays and so on) where students do get a golden opportunity to use their English, even though this is not really very often. In a 30 nutshell, then, the data in Figure 1 prove that PolyU students don’t speak English much outside the classroom. Note down the style problems you found in the box below. For each problem you identify, write an appropriate solution.Problem (inappropriate language) Solution (appropriate language) 1. 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 3 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Section 2 Improving the style of your writing In this section you will learn how to improve the style of your academic writing. Read through the following twelve subheadings and complete Activities 2 to 7. 1. Avoid informal verbs Use formal (i. e. ingle-word verbs) such as examine rather than phrasal / multi-word verbs such as look at. This report looks at ? [examines] ? the problem of juvenile delinquency. Hong Kong has got over ? [recovered from] ? the latest recession. University-linked companies have not taken off ? [been successful]? in recent years. Activity 2a Formal verbs Fill in the blanks with five of the following formal verbs. Make sure that you put the verbs into the correct form / tense. discover conduct fluctuate establish devi se increase investigate assist reduce discuss ) The team (came up with) _____________________ an imaginative solution to the problem. b) In this essay, I will (talk about) _____________________ the issue of genetic engineering. c) The study was (carried out) _____________________ between May and July 2012. d) A research associate was appointed to (help out) __________________ with the analysis of the data. e) Researchers (found out) __________________that the chiller was the source of the problem. Activity 2b Formal verbs With a partner, write five sentences using the unused formal verbs from Activity 2a. )†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ b)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ c)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ d)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ e)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 4 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) 2. Avoid Colloquial expressions Avoid informal or colloquial expressions such as a lot of in your written assignments. ? a lot of research ? a great deal of / a considerable amount of lots of studies ? numerous / a large number of / myriad / a plethora of a really interesting study ? very / extremely / particularly a bit disappointing ? somewhat / rather / fairly it is a must ? essential / necessary / crucial / vital 3. Avoid Cliches Cliches are expressions that have become overused. The expressions below are dull and unoriginal. In addition, the meaning of some cliches, such as ‘in a nut shell’, may not be clear to a global audience as the words and meaning may not be closely related.Avoid using them in your written work. ? ? ? hot topic heated debate last but not least every coin has two sides all in all as we all know first and foremost crystal clear golden opportunity In a nutshell†¦ financial tsunami a double-edged sword 4. Avoid vague, everyday language Avoid common, informal everyday words. Use more precise words instead. Adjectives Pollution has been a big ? [major] ? problem in Hong Kong in the past thirty years. The facilities in the lecture theatre are bad ? [inadequate]?. The students felt she was a good ? [organised / enthusiastic] ? instructor. Verbs Bonny got ? [obtained] ? er degree from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Chan [1] says ? [comments] ? that the English standard of students is improving. Others This issue has raised the attention of everyone ? [the public]. ? There are many things ? [elements] ? to a successful presentation. 5. Be objective As well as being impersonal, academic writing should be as objective as possible. Subjective and strongly emotional language should be avoided. Do not use words such as: fantastic, wonderful, lovely, absolutely, totally, terrific, excellent! Objectivity can also be boosted through hedging techniques (see section 3). English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 5 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 3 Academic style Change the underlined words in the following sentences to improve the style. a) The student did a presentation last week. c) The results of the survey were shockingly bad! e) Freedom of the Internet is a double edged sword. 6. Avoid Repetition Repeating the same words and phrases in your written assessments may make your work appear boring and unsophisticated to the reader.To make your writing more interesting, use appropriate synonyms. For example: findings inquiry ? ? results investigation appear argue ? ? seem contend b) It is a good essay. d) It was a poor presentation. f) The analysts obtained a lot of data. Tip: When using Microsoft Word, if you right click on a word it will give you a list of synonyms that you could use. Note that not all the words will be suitable to use in a particular sentence, so you should ensure that the alternative language choices convey the meaning you intend to express. Academic writing should be easy to follow. 7.Avoid contractions Avoid using contractions such as it’s and they’re in academic writing. won’t ? will not don’t ? do not I’ve ? I have It’s ? [It is] ? widely acknowledged that English plays an important role in Hong Kong’s business sector. 8. Avoid personal references Avoid directly referring to yourself as ‘I’ or ‘we’, or to the reader as ‘you’. Academic writers generally avoid using the personal pronoun ‘I’ because it makes their work seem too subjective. You can see the findings in Table 1. ? I have presented the findings in Table 1. ? As you can see, the findings are in Table 1. We can see the findings in Table 1. ? The findings are presented in Table 1. ? The passive voice is useful for this and achieves a more impersonal, action-focused style appropriate for academic writing.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 6 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) 9. Avoid informal sentence starters Starting sentences with And, Because, or But is considered poor style in academic writing. Use a more formal alternative instead. For example: And ? In addition, Apart from But ?However, Because ? Due to, This is because 10. Avoid rhetorical questions Avoid using rhetorical questions as they can make your writing appear unsophisticated. In my report, I will answer the following question: What are the causes of stress? ? This report examines the causes of stress. ? Whether exams cause stress is examined in this report. ? The above analysis concludes the first part of my essay regarding the problems of teenage drug abuse. Now, how about the solutions? ? The next part of my essay examines some solutions to teenage drug abuse. ? Activity 4 Academic styleImprove the style of the following sentences. a) Has China been af fected by the financial tsunami? She’d appear to be managing quite nicely. b) And it’s high time we started to think about the wealth gap. c) Some business leaders make some bad business decisions. 11. Avoid ‘Run-on’ expressions Limit the use of ‘run-on’ expressions such as etc. and and so on in academic writing. Use the term such as to inform the reader that not all possible examples are given. Professionals often need to write reports, memos etc. at work. ? Professionals often need to write documents such as reports and memos at work. ? 12.Use positive forms Avoid informal negative forms such as not much and not many. Use the positive (without ‘not’) forms little and few. Not much ? [Little] ? research has been conducted into job stress in universities. Not many ? [Few] ? studies have investigated Hong Kong society in the 19th century.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 7 ELC1013 English for Unive rsity Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 5 Academic style There are style errors in the sentence below. Identify the error and change the language to improve the style of the sentences.Then match the error to the style issues in the box below. Most sentences have more than one problem. emotional / subjective colloquial expressions vague/everyday cliche contraction / negativity personal reference sentence starter a) The problem of air pollution has become more and more serious in recent years. b) In the past decade, a lot of research has been done into indoor air quality. c) The results let everyone see that the quality of service in Hong Kong restaurants is bad. d) Hong Kong companies value employees who have good communication skills. ) And language policy in secondary schools has been a hot topic for many years. f) We all know that students learn better when they are taught in their mother tongue. g) The students didn’t e ncounter many problems finding good data for their project. h) Ensuring a big sample of subjects for a questionnaire survey is a must. i) j) Researchers got their data by doing telephone interviews. Tong’s [2] interpretation of the data is totally wrong.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 8 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 6 ReadingThe following essay is a more appropriately written academic essay than the draft analysed in Activity 1. Discuss with a partner the ways in which this passage is more academically appropriate than the earlier Activity 1 version. Students’ use of English outside university (A) This essay investigates the perceived problem of Hong Kong students’ lack of English use outside university. The data reported below were derived from a questionnaire survey of a substantial sample of first-year undergraduates from eight departme nts at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. (B) The survey was conducted between 12 and 23 April 2011.The subjects completed the questionnaire during their English for University Studies classes under the supervision of a research assistant. A total of 1,283 questionnaires were distributed and 707 correctly completed copies were returned and subsequently analysed. The questionnaire required the respondents to indicate the frequency with which they speak, listen, read and write in English outside the formal setting of the English-medium classroom. (C) The first section of the questionnaire asked the subjects to indicate on a six-point scale how often they speak in English in a range of nonacademic situations.On the evidence of the findings presented in Figure 1, it would appear that tertiary students in Hong Kong generally have little need to speak in English outside the classroom. (D) The evidence suggests that undergraduates rarely communicate with their parents or grandparents in English. This finding is perhaps not surprising as census data indicate that the overwhelming majority of people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese [1]. In the intimate family domain, young people understandably have little need or desire to speak English, apart from special circumstances such as preparing for English language examinations. E) The results indicate that the situation in which tertiary students use English least is in interactions with their grandparents. When interpreting this finding, it is worth noting that recent surveys have revealed that English is less widely known among Hong Kong people in their sixties and seventies than among those in the 4060 and 20-40 age groups [2]. This largely stems from the fact that the provision of Englishmedium secondary education was limited in the 1940s and 1950s [3]. The majority of citizens in the 60-70 age group are likely to have received only a Chinese-medium primary education [4]. F) While the data in Figure 1 suggest that tertia ry students tend not to speak English very frequently outside class, there are apparently several situations where spoken English has some degree of importance in the subjects’ lives. As might be expected, the situation where the subjects need to speak the language most is on overseas holidays. As Cantonese is not widely spoken outside China, it is perhaps understandable that students need to communicate in English on trips to Europe, North America and other parts of Asia. (G) As noted above, students rarely talk to their immediate family members in English.However, it is interesting that some of the subjects apparently have some need to communicate with their relatives in English. One possible factor behind the use of English in this situation is that their relatives live in an Englishspeaking country. In the case of younger relatives (e. g. cousins), it is possible that they have no knowledge of Cantonese, while older relatives (e. g. uncles, aunts) may feel more comfortabl e using their adopted language.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 9 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 7Improving academic style Use the academic writing advice above to complete the following exercises. 1. Skim through the Activity 6 essay and find formal verbs with similar meanings to the following informal phrasal verbs. The paragraph is given in brackets to help you. filled in (B) handed out (B) ____________________ ____________________ looks into (A) ____________________ found out (E) ____________________ 2. Find words in the Activity 6 passage which have similar meanings to the following vague, everyday words: done (B) ____________________ later (B) ____________________ big (A) ____________________ got (A) ____________________ . To avoid repeating the words students and findings, the writer uses a number of synonyms. List the synonyms used. students: findings: _ __________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 4. How does the writer avoid using informal negative forms? Underline one example in the passage in Paragraph D. 5. The draft that you read in Activity 1 included the following inappropriate sentences: This is not surprising because, as we all know, old people in Hong Kong can’t speak English.That’s because the education system wasn’t very good in the past. How does the writer revise this part of the report? ‘Li Wei falls to Hong Kong’ reproduced with kind permission of Li Wei  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 10 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 8 Writing This activity gives you the chance to apply the features of academic writing style covered so far. By being able to write in an appropriate academi c style, you will be more able to successfully complete assignments at university.Situation For a course that you have been doing at university, you have been researching whether the consumption of organic produce can affect the health of a population. You are also interested in whether a subject’s positive opinion of their well being* has an effect on their general level of health. The area that you are investigating for an assignment is whether Hong Kong subjects also feel better about themselves after consuming organic produce. In Table 1 below, the results of two surveys are presented.First, a large scale survey was conducted by Wallace and Welbeck [1] among 4619 students in the UK about consumption of organic produce and self health ratings. The questions were adapted by your group to survey 89 students in the Polytechnic University. In the survey, subjects were asked to say whether they felt the following illnesses would increase or decrease on a scale from 0 (increase a great deal) to 3 (no effect) to 6 (decrease a great deal) after the consumption of organic produce. XuanXuan 13’ reproduced with kind permission of Li Wei *Note: â€Å"well being† describes the state of feeling healthy and happyIn pairs, discuss the data in Table 1. How would you explain the findings? When you have completed your discussion, write a short text of 3 or 4 paragraphs in which you describe and discuss the data. Table 1: Reduction and increase of illnesses after consumption of organic produce Features Headaches Colds Coughs Aches and pains Skin complaints UK students 4. 9 3. 1 2. 2 4. 5 3. 4 Polytechnic University students 5. 5 4. 1 5. 4 3. 2 4. 5 Source: Figures for UK students from Wallace and Welbeck [1]  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 11 ELC1013 English for University StudiesUnit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Section 3 Hedging in academic writing One of the main problems in the Act ivity 1 text is the writer’s use of assertive (overly strong or sure) language when discussing the data. Examples of assertive language are highlighted below. Let’s now talk about the data in Figure 1. First and foremost, it’s crystal clear that students don’t have many opportunities to speak English outside the classroom. You can tell this because all the means are under 3. 00. Clearly, PolyU students don’t have any need to speak to parents, etc. n English. This is undoubtedly because their family members are Cantonese speakers. Obviously, there’s no point in speaking English when everyone can speak Cantonese. As you can see, PolyU students never speak to their grandparents in English. This is not surprising because, as we all know, old people in Hong Kong can’t speak English. That’s because the education system wasn’t very good in the past. You can see, though, that there are a few situations (overseas holidays and so on) where students do get a golden opportunity to use their English, even though this is not really very often.In a nutshell, then, the data in Figure 1 prove that PolyU students don’t speak English much outside the classroom. Expressing opinions or making claims in overly strong language leaves you open to attack by critical readers. Such statements will often be doubted by readers thereby reducing your power and authority as a writer. A reader who does not believe a writer will rarely read on. To avoid such a situation, when stating ideas or discussing data you should use tentative rather than assertive language. You should avoid expressions such as: clearly ndoubtedly obviously definitely without a doubt there is no doubt that certainly absolutely Be very careful about using words like always (very common in Chinese), never, every and all because these suggest absolute certainty, which is inappropriate, and often incorrect, in many situations. Compare the following sentenc es: 1. The Hong Kong economy will grow next year. (Too strong! The writer is open to criticism if the Hong Kong economy does not grow next year) 2. The Hong Kong economy might grow next year. (Ok. The writer is hedging by using the modal verb ‘might’) 3.Some economists believe the Hong Kong economy will grow next year. (Ok. The doubt is transferred to a third party (economists). This means that the readers' confidence in you is not reduced) Techniques used in the sentences two and three above are known as hedging.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 12 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Hedging Techniques Activity 6 illustrated a number of hedging techniques. These are summarised below: 1.Use hedging verbs The following ‘hedging’ verbs are often used in academic writing: suggest indicate estimate imply The results indicate that the situation in which te rtiary students use English least is in interactions with their grandparents. The verbs appear and seem are used to ‘distance’ the writer from the findings (and therefore avoid making a strong claim and be subject to criticism from readers). On the evidence of the findings presented in Figure 1, it would appear that tertiary students in Hong Kong generally have little need to speak in English outside the classroom.Note that the writer also ‘protects’ himself / herself by using the phrase on the evidence of. The following expressions are used in a similar way: according to, on the basis of, based on. 2. Use modal verbs Another way of appearing ‘confidently uncertain’ is to use modal verbs such as may, might and could. In the case of younger relatives, it is possible that they have no knowledge of Cantonese, while older relatives may feel more comfortable using their adopted language. 3. Use adverbs The following adverbs are often used when a wri ter wishes to express caution. robably apparently possibly seemingly perhaps presumably arguably conceivably This finding is perhaps not surprising as census data indicate that the overwhelming majority of people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese [1]. 4. Use adjectives Another technique is to use an adjective. probable possible arguable unlikely likely One possible factor behind the use of English in this situation is that their relatives live in an English-speaking country.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 13 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) 5.Use nouns The following nouns are often used to hedge:: probability possibility evidence likelihood indication The evidence suggests that undergraduates rarely communicate with their parents or grandparents in English. 6. Softening generalisations There are several ways in which you can soften and hedge a generalisation. (i) Use the verb tend or the noun (have / be a) tendency (to). While the data in Figure 1 suggest that tertiary students tend not to speak English very frequently outside class, there are apparently several situations where spoken English has some degree of importance in the subjects’ lives. ii) Use an adverb such as: generally predominantly largely mainly primarily usually for the most part to a great extent This largely stems from the fact that the provision of English-medium secondary education was limited in the 1940s and 1950s [3]. (iii) Use a hedging expression such as most or the majority of. The majority of citizens in the 60-70 age group are likely to have received only a Chinesemedium primary education [4]. (iv) Identify exceptions by using expressions such as except for or with the exception of.In the intimate family domain, young people understandably have little need or desire to speak English, except for special circumstances such as preparing for English language examinations. 7. Avoid negative words You should also avoid direct, negative words such as lies, cheat, false, rubbish, cheap, useless and worst. Try to use cautious, indirect language when expressing negative ideas. Without a doubt, the worst aspect of Dr Wong’s teaching is the lack of feedback. ? Giving feedback is perhaps the least successful aspect of Dr Wong’s teaching.?The president told lies to the media during his rubbish handling of the crisis. ? The president may have misled the media during the less than satisfactory handling of the crisis. ?  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 14 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 9 Hedging Choose the most appropriate option below. a) Everybody knows / It is generally accepted that all / the majority of English people always / often fail to learn any language other than their own. ) Perhaps / clearly the world will / is like ly to face major / total environmental destruction in the next fifty years. c) Without a doubt / It is widely believed that assertive writing is never / unlikely to be positively regarded by most / all readers. Activities 10a and 10b gives you an opportunity to practise the hedging techniques outlined in Section 3. By being able to use hedging techniques while writing in an appropriate academic style, you will more be able to successfully complete assignments at university. Activity 10a WritingIn 2011, the English Language Centre of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University surveyed 978 Form 7 school leavers about their preferences when studying in higher education. A summary of the results is presented below. Table 1: First Choice of University Hong Kong University The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong Polytechnic University City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Baptist University The Open University of Hong Kong Lingnan Univer sity Hong Kong Shue Yan University 21% 17% 15% 14% 11% 11% 8% 7% 4% A pause for humanity 3’ reproduced with kind permission of Li Wei Read what the writer said about the reason why Hong Kong University and Chinese University were the most favoured. Note the underlined language. The survey results indicate that the preferred universities were Hong Kong University and Chinese University. A probable reason for this is their long history, and the preference of employers for employees who graduate from these institutions. Write two or three paragraphs giving possible reasons for the ranking of the other universities. Use the hedging techniques from Section 3. English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 15 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 10b Writing The school leavers were asked a similar question regarding their first choice of course when applying for University. Examine Table 2 below giving the results, and write two more paragraphs providing some possible explanations. Table 2: First choice of course when applying for University Engineering Law Nursing and Health Sciences Design Business Computing Textiles Construction Logistics Others 15% 4% 8% 12% 20% 15% 4% 7% 16% 5%Further Learning Materials Besides IndiWork, you are also strongly encouraged to complete the Further Learning Materials found at the end of each unit. By doing so, so will be able to perform better in this subject’s assessments. Go to eLearn (http://elearn. elc. polyu. edu. hk/) to complete the following activities. 1. Unit 1 Review of learning 2. Unit 1 Further Learning Materials  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 16