2015-09-06
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Salaries rise in line with fees
Students are borrowing more money to finance college education compared with 10 years ago but, when they graduate, their loan payments are taking up a smaller percentage of their salaries.
One-half of all graduates borrow some money, according to figures from the US Department of Education, up from 34 per cent in 1977. The average debt for recent graduates is $4,800, up from $2,000 in 1977.
The government has been deliberately shifting the emphasis from grants to loans, and more students have been forced to take out loans because of rising fees.
‘College students are borrowing more than they did 10 years ago to pay for rising college tuitions,’ said Acting Secretary of Education Ted Sanders. ‘But when you take earning into account, debt should not be a hardship for most graduates.’
(a) Students are borrowing more money to finance college education compared with 10 years ago but, when they graduate, their loan payments are taking up a smaller percentage of their salaries.
½ of all graduates borrow some money, according to figures from the US Dept. of Education, up from 34% in 1977.
The government has been deliberately shifting the emphasis from grants to loans, and more students have been forced to take out loans because of rising fees.
(b) Students are borrowing more money to finance college education than 10 years ago but, after graduating, their loan payments are taking up a smaller percentage of their salaries.
50% of all graduates borrow some money, according to US Dept. of Education figures, compared with 34% in 1977.
The government has deliberately been shifting emphasis from grants to loans. More students have been forced to take out loans because of increasing fees.
(c) More money is being borrowed by students to finance college education. Half borrow some money, compared with 34% in 1977, according to US Dept. of Education figures.
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(d) More students (50%) are taking out loans to finance college education than in the past (34% in 1977) due to rising fees, the move away from grants being in line with US Government policy. However, the proportion of earnings needed to repay the money is smaller.
(The Times Higher Educational Suppliment, 15.3.91.)
Of the four summaries, (a) is clearly unacceptable as a summary and, if not acknowledged as a quotation, it would be plagiarism. Summary (b) is also unacceptable, even if it changes some of the wording in the original. It has very probably been written by copying from the original. The words have perhaps been changed because the student feels obliged to use his or her own words. This kind of copying or ‘modified plagiarism’ may disguise students’ lack of understanding of a subject or lack of ability to express ideas in their own words. By largely following the vocabulary and sentence patterns of the original, (b) fails as a summary, even if it deletes some less important information.
The author of summary (c) attempts to move away more from the vocabulary and sentence pattern used in the original but too many phrases are ‘lifted’. This still suggests that the student might not understand the original fully or has trouble putting the content into her or his own words. Only (d) is satisfactory as a summary, for the folloing reasons:
• It succeeds in conveying the essential information in fewer words, expressing the content of the six original sentences in two.
• It delets less important information.
• It departs more freely from the vocabulary and sentence patterns of the original.
• it successfully ‘combines across’ the paragraphing of the original.
Unlike (a), (b) and (c), the successful summary in (d) has very probably been written from notes on the original text rather than from the original itself.
NOTE-TAKING AND SUMMARISING SKILLS: TASKS
TASK 1
Look at the passage below. Underline/highlight the main points and then reproduce them in note form, using any system you prefer.
Romantic Landscape Photography
Romanticism is one of the most widely popular styles of landscape photography. Within the romantic style there have been many different individual styles which have been more or less fashionable at any one time.
Early pastoral approaches, such as that of George Davies, followed painterly influences and are still popular with some photographers. A certain amount of softness is often deliberately introduced by a number of means. Soft-focused and diffused lenses are an obvious method. Others include shallow focus, soft-printing and the use of fast film for graininess. The subject malter tends to be comfortable, familiar and rural rather than wild and unusual.
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Drama and grandeur are other versions of the romantic theme, and are generally more acceptable to modern tastes because they appear to be less contrived and dominated by technique than the pastoral photographs. Yet the apparent impression of spontaneity is often false. Ansel Adams, for instance, visualises his photographs as closely as possible before taking them. This is evident in both the timing and the precision of his composition, which tends to exploit the dramatic potential of views to the full. A more extreme presentation of drama in subjects (such as mountains and deserts), lighting (low sun, dusk and dawn), and design (extreme focal length and high sky-to-land ratios) is common in modern magazine photography.
(M. Freeman, The Entyclopaetlia of Practiral Photography, London: Quatto Books 1994.)
TASK 2
Read the text on magnesium and then complete the note-taking tasks that follow it.
Out of the oceans and on to faster bicycles
Molecule of the month: magnesium: John Emsley examines new benefits of the metal that helps to make our planet green
In a recent edition of The Lancet Dr Mike Campbell of Southampton University suggested magnesium as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME or myalgic encephalomyelitis. In a test lasting six weeks, 15 patients were given injections of a gram of magnesium sulphate while 17 others were given onty distilled water. Twelve of the 15 on magnesium responded positively, compared with only three of the 17 on water. Patients on magnesium therapy reported having more energy, feeling betler and coping more easily with pain.
The research is being followed up to see if those trealed continue to improve. Liz Morris, Dr Campbell's research student, has been checking the original patients, and those given the placebo injections. Most of the latter opted for a course of magnesium when the original trials were over.
Magnesium is an essential element for all living things. It is at the heart of the chlorophyll molecule that plants need to trap the sun's energy to make sugar and starch molecules. Our planet is green because magnesium-chlorophyll abstracts the blue and red of sunlight and reflects the green. Plants take their magnesium from the soil, and we take our magnesium directly from plants or indirectly by eating animals that feed on them.
Our daily intake is between a third and half a gram (about one-fiftieth of an ounce). Adults have 25 grams (nearly an ounce) spread throughout their body, with most in their bones which act as a store for magnesium. The metal has three functions: it regulates movement through membranes; it is part of the enzymes that release energy from our food; and it is needed for building proteins. We rarely need to worry about getting enough magnesium, but a deficiency manifests itself as lethargy, irritation, depression and even personality changes.
A normal diet provides enough magnesium, although spirits, soft drinks, sugar and fats contain virlually nőne. Magnesium is not easily absorbed by our bodies and too much acts as a mild laxative, as we discover when we take Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) or Milk of Magnesia (magnesium hydroxide). Rhubarb and spinach prevent magnesium being absorbed because the oxalic acid they contain forms a compound with it which we cannot absorb. Cooking does not affect magnesium, although if you throw away the water in which greens are boiled you discard more than half their magnesium.
The rising popularity of certain Yorkshire bitters will also boost the magnesium intake of those who drink it. Dr Tom Coultate, of the South Bank Polytechnic in London, comments in his book Food that Webster's Yorkshire Bitter may owe some of its unique taste to the high levels of magnesium sulphate in the water used to brew it. Magnesium salts taste bitter.
Magnesium is the fourth most abundant metal on earth, and there are vast deposits of ores such as dolomite (magnesium calcium carbonate) and carnallite (magnesium calcium chloride). Magnesium salts are leached from the land by rivers and carried to the sea where they remain soluble. This explains why there is 0.12 per cent magnesium in seawater; the oceans hold a trillion trillion tons of it. Production now exeeeds 300,000 tons, about half coming from the sea.
The Norwegian company Norsk Hydro extracts magnesium from seawater. According to Charles Duff, the company's UK corporate development manager, most magnesium is used in steel refining to remove sulphur, and to strengthen aluminium, but there is an expanding market for magnesium metal itself. Although it is remembered for its historical role in incendiary bombs and flash bulbs, it does not burn as a bulk metal and magnesium tubes and rods can be welded.
Cyclists are among the first to benefit from this new trend. Last year Phil Anderson, the leader of the Dutch cycle team, rode bicycles with pure magnesium frames in the Tour de France and other racex. Frank Kirk, the frame's designer, believes that magnesium gives a better combination of strength and lightness than other metals. A steel frame is nearly five times heavier than a magnesium one, and even aluminium is one and a half times as heavy.
Mr Kirk has shown that if the complete frame is cast as a single component from molten magnesium this avoids welded joints while maximising lightness and strength. His firm, Kirk Precision of Chelmsford, has the world's largest pressure die-casting machine for magnesium components, capable of producing 250,000 cycle frames a year. These are being made for Japanese Muddy Fox mountain bikes and the UK the cycle maker Dawes.
Magnesium is already used for luggage frames, disc drives and camera parts, where lightness is important. By the end of the century, production of this versatile metal is expected to exceed 500,000 tons a year as car makers discover the environmental benefits of magnesium for lighter and longer-lasting vehicles. Mercedes already uses it for seat frames and Porsche for wheels. Reducing the weight of a car not only cuts the amount of fuel it consumes, it alsa rcduces its power to kill in road accidents. And at the end of the vehicle's life, the magnesium can be recycled at little cost.
John Emsley is science writer in residence at the Chemistry Department of Imperial College London and author of 'The Elements'.
(The Independent, 29.4.91.)
Note taking tasks
1. Complete the following notes on the text.
| MAGNESIUM | |||||
| Sources | |||||
| For human body | In industry | ||||
| Vast deposits of ores (e.g. (2)) 0.12% Mg in seawater … trillions of tons in oceans (leached from (3) by rivers | ||||
| Properties | |||||
| An essential (4) for all living things At heart of chlorophyll mol. needed (5) to trap sun's energy and make sugar & starch mols Daily (6) ⅓ - ½ g Most Mg stored in bones – 25 g throughout (7) 3 …: (8) (i) regulates movements through membranes (ii) part of enzymes that release energy from food (iii) (9) Deficiency rare but signs are lethargy, irritation, depression | The most abundant metal on earth (i) does not burn in bulk (ii) tubes and rods (10) (iii) (11) (iv) can be cheaply recycled Prodn. > 300,000 t (about ½ from sea) > (12) per a. by end of C Expanding mkt | ||||
| Uses | |||||
| Medical | Industrial | ||||
| Has been successful in treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome, according to recent research | in steel refining to remove (13) & strengthen aluminium Cycle, luggage, car seat (14), disc drives, camera & vehicle parts |
2. Now try representing the information more concisely by completing the 'mind map' started below. Remember to write down key words rather than phrases.
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| SOURCES | PROPERTIES | USES |
| MAGNESIUM |
SUMMARISING
There are various types of summary you may need to make during your course. Three main types can be distinguished:
1. It may be satisfactory for your needs to summarise a text in only one or two sentences. A short summary like this may be needed, for example, for the abstract of a short essay or article you have written.
2. A more detailed summary may be necessary. For example, you may need to summarise the entire content of an article you are reading. This is called global summarising.
3. You may need to summarise only some of the information in a text. Such a selective summary may involve the extraction of relevant material from a large body of prose.
DISCUSSION
If you have an article or chapter of a book in your subject area and need to incorporate many of the ideas into an essay you are writing, which of the following strategies are you most likely to adopt? Discuss them with your teacher.
(a) Translate the text into your own language. You can then make sure you understand it and translate relevant parts back into English (without having to look at the original) when you wnte your essay.
(b) Having made sure you understand the English, write an acknowledgement of the source of the text at the beginning of your essay. This will allow you to copy freely from the text in your writing and save time and effort in having to put everything into your own words.
(c) Having acknowledged the source of the text, quote all the parts that are relevant to your needs in your writing. It is better to quote than to risk making mistakes by paraphrasmg or summarising.
(d) Read through the text, copying sentences or phrases that are relevant to your work but making sure tó change some of the wording as far as possible.
(e) Take notes on the text in your own words in English, having made sure you understand it. You can then use your notes in writing your essay without having to consult the original text. The notes can also be used as a basis for a summary of the text if this is needed.
TASK 3
Read the text. Complete the notes that have been started on it and then transfer the information to complete the partial short summary that follows.
When it comes to urban transportation and haulage, it may be a case of 'Back-to-the-Future' for Asian cities. Nonmotorised vehicles (NMVs in the jargon of economists and city planners) account for 25 to 80 per cent of all vehicular transport in many Asian cities. In Shanghai, for example, nearly half the population rides a bicycle, and rickshaws and hand-pushed carts are a widespread sight in most cities in Asia today.
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Although the number of cars is incrfeasing at great speed, the number of NMVs also continues to rise. This may be good news for city planners and environmentalists who are trying to cope with pollution and other costs associated with motorised traffic in developing cities. NMVs offer affordable, quick and convenient transportation for trips of short to intermediate distances. They are also ecologically sound, significantly reducing air and noise pollution, petroleum consumption, global warming, and traffic congestion.
Yet, the future of NMVs is at risk unless their use is supported by government policy. As Asian cities continue to grow – most of the world's largest cities are in this region – and as the number of motor vehicles increases, street space for safe NMV, use is frequently lost. In addition, credit finacing and transport planning often favor motorised vehicles. In Jakarta, for example, bans, fines, and taxes that severely restrict or eliminate rickshaws have been in effect over the past five years.
Nevertheless, support for one transportation mode need not exclude the other. Adopting regulations that support NMV use, while allowing for motor vehicles and pedestrian traffic, is an attainable, realistic goal, as many Asian cities have discovered. This can be achieved by maintaining extensive cycle paths and NMV parking at rail and bus terminals to provide easy access to as many destinations as possible to both drivers and cyclists. Employee commuter subsidies offered to those bicycling to work, and accelerated domestic NMV production are other effective incentives for NMV use.
(Finance and Development, vol.29, no.3, September, 1992)
| Notes | ||
| 25-80% of all veh. In (1) | Bicycles, (2), rickshaws | |
| (3) | ||
| No. ↑ rapidly (4) also ↑ | Adv. (5) good for environ. | |
| Not incompatible to support both BUT govmt policy must (6) NMVs, e.g. extensive cycle paths, subs. for (7) |
Summary
Nonmotorised vehicles constitute between 25 and 80 per cent of all vehicles in many Asian cities in, the form of (1). Their number is increasing, though cars are also on the rise. Supporting the two types of transport need not be mutually exclusive NMVs have the advantage of being good for the (2) and cheap. However, their use must be actively encouraged by (3). For example, (4) should be supported while people who cycle to work can (5).
TASK 4
Read the texts below, then summarise the content of each in one or two sentences.
(A) Japan is prone to earthquakes and typhoons. But sound construction, education and communications mean that the people are less vulnerable than citizens of poorer nations. Japan suffered 43 disasters from 1960 to 1981 with an average 63 deaths per disaster; Bangladesh had 63 catastrophes over the same period with an average death toll of over 10,000.
The difference in the killing power of disasters between rich and poor areas is dramatic. A 1972 earthquake in Managua, Nicaragua, killed 5,000 people; whereas the prevfous year a stronger quake in a similarly densely populated area around San Fernando, California, killed a total of just 65.
As the poor populations of the Third World increase, and as social, political and economic systems force these growing numbers to live on vulnerable ground, they fall foul of catastrophes in increasing numbers. Annual earthquake victims increased by 500 per cent from the 1960s to the 1970s; hurricane victims increased by 12 per cent.
Poverty increases the effect of disasters hundreds-fold, and Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest nations. Over 100 million people live in the delta of two of the world's great rivers; about 15 million of them less than 10 ft above sea-level.
(L. Timberlake, ‘The greatest threat on earth’. The Independent, 12.9.88)
(B) Owing tt the accident of recent geological history the fauna and flora of Britain itself is in many ways impoverished and still recovering from the last Ice Age; contrast the handful of native tree species here with the thousands in a tropical rain forest, or even the hundreds in the temperate forests of western China. It is the same with many animal groups. For every plant species in its own environment it is estimated that there may be 20 to 30 insects and other animals associated with it. This figure is much higher in a rain forest; the numbers in undisturbed tropical habitats are astronomic. There are estimated to be over 60,000 different species of weevil alone, and scientists can still only guess at the full diversity of insects in the Amazon or Borneo.
(J. F. Milner, 'Why it is absolutely necessary to go on naming names', The Indeptndtnt, 1.8.89.)
TASK 5
Look at the global summaries following the article. Which do you think are satisfactory? Then discuss the characteristics of effective summaries and important steps in writing them.
Fire stones support catastrophe theory
Millions of small fire-blackened stones in Ireland and Scotland are giving support to the theory that northern parts of the British Isles were depopulated by a nuclear winter-style disaster almost 3,200 years ago.
Archaeologists believe the disaster was caused by a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland in 1159 BC. An examination by John Barber, of the Scottish Historic Buildings and Monuments Directorate, and other archaeologists, of these piles of burnt stones has led to the conclusion that hunting, as a major part of the pre-historic economy, declined rapidly after the mid twelflh century BC.
The stones were used in the cooking of meat and other food. Now normally referred to as "pot-boilers", they were the main method of boiling water when metal cauldrons were rare and pottery not strong enough to withstand great heat.
Modern tests have shown that normally it would have taken around three such stones, deposited into the pit of water over a 15-minute period, to bring the water to the boil. Many stones were retrieved, reheated and reused.
However, it is the distribution and dating of these fire-blackened mounds of stones which lends support to claims that an environmental catastrophe struck upland areas of the British Isles.
The earliest burnt mounds date from 2,100 BC and for most of the second millennium BC can be found in permanent settlement sites and temporary hunting camp sites. But in upland areas, as from the mid twelfth century BC, burnt mound material persists only in settlement sites.
Hunting camp sites ceased to occur and archaeologists believe this is linked to the volcanic eruption, which probably destrpyed much of upland Britain and led to the demise of many game species and, consequently, to a massive move away from hunting.
Research by Dr Michael Baillie and Dr Martin Munro, of the Palaeoecology Centre at Queens University, Belfast, paved the way for the development of the catastrophic depopulation theory. They discovered, through an examination of tree-ring data, that tree growth slowed dramatically at times of major northern hemispheric volcanic eruptions – inciuding that in Iceland.
It is thought that the eruption, which spewed at least 12 cubic km of volcanic dust into the atmosphere, and the ensuing environmental problems, reduced the population of northern Britain by as much as 90 per cent.
(The Guardian, 1988)
Summary 1
Tree-ring data research by Baillie and Munro at Queen's Universiry, Belfast, showing that tree growth slowed greatly at times of major northern hemisphere volcanic eruptions, gave rise to a catastrophic depopulation theory. According to this theory, northern parts of the British Isles were depopulated by one particularly large volcanic eruption in Iceland in 1159 BC (Keys, 1988).
There is further support for the theory in the examination by Barber and other archaeologists of mounds of small, fire-blackened stones used extensively by hunters to boil water. Their disappearance after the mid 12th century BC from everywhere but permanent settlement sites in upland areas suggests that the volcanic eruption may have killed off many game species and led to a decline in hunting (Keys, 1988).
Summary 2
The existence of piles of burnt stones has led archaeologists such as John Barber of the Scottish Historic Buildings and Monuments Directorate to conclude that a volcanic eruption in Iceland in 1159 BC led to the decline of hunting in the northern British Isles. The stones were used to boil water for cooking. After the mid 12th century BC, they were confined to permanent settlement sites and not found in temporary hunting camp sites, suggesting that the eruption had destroyed many game species. This is further evidence for the catastrophic depopulation theory put forward after research on tree-ring data by Baillie and Munro of the Palaeoecology Centre at Queens Universiry, Belfast. Their findings revealed that tree growth declined markedly following major volcanic eruptions in the northern hemisphere, such as the one in Iceland (Keys, 1988).
Summary 3
Archaeologists believe that a nuclear catastrophe 3,200 years ago led to the depopulation of northern parts of the British Isles. The disaster caused the blackening of millions of stones which have been found in temporary hunting campsites and permanent settlement sites. After the mid 12th century, hunting camp sites ceased to occur, suggesting huge depopulation (Keys, 1988).
Summary 4
The findings of archaeologists are lending support to the theory that depopulation occurred in the northern parts of the British Isles as a result of a serious catastrophc about 3,200 years ago. It is believed that a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland led to a rapid decline in hunting as an economic activity in prehistoric northern Britain.
An examination of piles of small fire-blackened stones by John Barber of the Scottish Historic Buildings and Monuments Directorate and other archaeologists has revealed that hunting probably ceased after the middle of the 12th century BC. The stones, which were the main means of boiling water and were normally used in threes, were found in permanent settlement sites and temporary hunting sites until the mid 12th century BC. From that time, they persisted only in settlement sites. Archaeologists believe that this is because volcanic eruptions led to the destruction of much of upland Britain and the demise of many game species which, in turn, caused a decline in hunting (Keys, 1988).
Summary 5
A volcanic eruption in 1159 BC in Iceland led to depopulation in northern parts of British Isles, according to the findings of scientists. Archaeologists have found that the absence of millions of small fire-blackened stones, after the middle of the 12th century BC, is evidence of a massive decline in hunting, the stones having been used to boil water by hunters in temporary camp sites (Keys, 1988).
Summary 6
The evidence of archaeologists on the distribution and dating of piles of burnt stones supports the theory that northern areas of the British Isles were depopulated by an enormous volcanic eruption almost 3,200 years ago (Keys, 1988). After the eruption, the stones, which were used to heat water for cooking food, were only found in permanent settlement sites. This suggests that hunting ceased as an activity as animals became extinct. I think this is more conclusive evidence than the previous research on tree-ring data. The research showed that tree growth slowed very markedly when there were large volcanic eruptions in the northern hemisphere. However, tree-ring research may not always be reliable.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE SUMMARY
Look at the summaries above which you considered satisfactory. Which of the following.characteristics do you think they have, in order to be effective summaries? Discuss.
(a) The same order of facts and ideas as the original
(b) Similar wording to the original with occasional phrases exactly the same
(c) Different sentence patterns from the original
(d) Additional ínformation, which the original writer omitted but which helps an understanding of the subject
(e) A personal comment on the subject
(f) Simpler vocabulary than the original
(g) Identification of key points in the original
IMPORTANT STEPS IN WRITING AN EFFECTIVE SUMMARY
A good summariser may arrive at the final point without being aware of the characteristics you have identified above. They are concerned with the final product rather than the process of reaching it. In writing a summary, which of the following steps do you think are important? Discuss.
(a) Read the whole text through once or twice before writing anything down.
(b) Copy important sentences.
(c) Ask questions about when the text was written and for what purpose in order to get a more detached perspective on it.
(d) Find the main idea(s).
(e) Take notes (or make a mind map).
(f) When writing your summary, put aside the original text and work from your notes, putting information into complete sentences in your own words.
2. Read the following extract from an academic journal article. Then decide which of the summaries of the extract which follow are satisfactory.
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY AND POLITICAL THEORY
Human nature has been at the foundation of thinking about politics since the ancient Greek philosophers developed the concept of nature as we know it in the West. As political philosophy is conventionally taught and studied today, however, human nature is no longer the subject of scientific inquiry in the precise sense. Instead of formulating hypotheses and subjecting them to empirical tests, political theory in the twentieth century has generally been viewed as a study of the ideas and history of famous thinkers who wrote about human nature and politics.
The tradition of political philosophy arose and flourished in the hands of thinkers who did not make such rigid distinctions as those now practiced in our universities and our intelleclual life. Plato’s Republic presents an educational curriculum that includes the disciplines we call mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology, as well as those we consider to be philosophic and political in character. Aristotle wrote as least as widely on matters of biology and physics as on politics or ethics. In both the Lyceum and the Academy, not to mention other ancient schools, the contemporary divisions between scholarly disciplines did not exist.
The irony of the gap between what Snow called the Two Cultures is the proliferation of scientific research that bears directly on political theory. Evolutionary biology makes possible a deeper understanding of human origins and the emergence of political institutions. Neurophysiology, neurochemistry, experimental psychology, ethology, and ecology provide empirically based information about human nature. In the last generation, the fossil record of human origins has been greatly expanded, and the mechanisms of inheritance (the structure and function of DNA) understood for the first time; and the science of social behaviour among animals has been enriched by direct observation in the field, by laboratory experiment, and by theoretical models of natural selection.
Although there is an emerging subfield in political science known as biopolitics, the study of human nature and politics from the perspective of the life sciences has not yet become an accepted approach in any of the social sciences. It seems fair to assume that this state of affairs is not likely to survive the continued advances in the natural sciences. Over the next generation, barring nuclear war and the demise of advanced civilizations, research in the life sciences will doubtless expand our knowledge and our abilily to manipulate biological phenomena. The political process must sooner or later be fundamentally affected by the power to change not only the environment but also the behaviour and genetic composition of humans themselves.
As a result of these trends, I suggest that a "naturalist" perspective is emerging, making it possible to view human politics from a perspective consistent with both the tradition of Western political philosophy and the findings of contemporary biology. Rejecting the view that social science will be totally absorbed by (or "reduced" to) biology, I presume that human behaviour is in many important respects unique in the natural world. But unlike those social scientists who have ignored biology or assumed that its introduction into the study of human behaviour is ideologically motivated, my analysis seeks to overcome the gulf between scientific research and human self-awareness.
A more scientific approach to political theory must address the age-old theoretical questions of human nature and the state. Biological research can illuminate our understanding of human nature by considering the foundations of human selfishness and altruism, of our participation in social groups, of human languages and cultures, and of politics itself. The origin of the cenlralized state can, for example, be explored by linking contemporary theories of natural selection to the study of social cooperation in political philosophy, game theory, and history. Although such an evolutionary perspective on human society has often been attacked as ideologically biased, careful analysis shows not only that evolutionary theory is consistent with a wide range of political opinions but that the denial of a natural foundation of human behaviour is itself often ideologically motivated.
(American Political Science Review, vol. 84, no. 1, March 1990)
Summary 1
Contemporary political theory is not based on a scientific study of human nature. Though human nature lay at the heart of thinking about politics in ancient times, today's divisions between disciplines ensure that the extensive findings of sciendfic research in fields such as evolutionary biology, experimental psychology and ethology have so far had little bearing on social science. Though there is a new subfield in political science known as biopolitics, most political theory involves the study of the ideas and history of famous political thinkers. Masters predicts that, in view of continual advances in the natural sciences, a 'naturalist' perspective is appearing which will embrace the findings of contemporary biology. Research in this subject can throw light on many important aspects of human nature that affect political behaviour. For example, the existence of the centralised state may be linked to human behaviour through the study of thoories of natural selection.
Summary 2
Biological research will sooner or later have a bearing on political theory and behaviour. The study of the way human beings behave and major discoveries in areas such as the mechanisms of inheritance have led to the possibillty of scientific findings being adopted in theoretical and practical politics. Though it might be thought that such findings can be ideologically adopted, analysis indicates that this is not necessarily the case. For example, evolutionary theory may be compatible with a wide diversity of political views (Masters, 1990).
Summary 3
The study of political philosophy has been based on the concepts of ancient Greek thinkers. As a result, it has failed to draw on findings in a wide range of scientific fields which study human nature. This state of affairs is unlikely to continue, as research in the life sciences makes it more possible for us to manipulate the environment and human behaviour. A 'naturálist' perspective may emerge which will view human politics from an angle based on findings in biological research as well as traditional political thinking. Such a biological basis for political theory need not be politically biased (Masters, 1990).
Summary 4
An excessively narrow focus in the field of political theory has ensured the exclusion of valuable insights from many scientific disciplines. Findings in biology might have a significant bearing on political thinking and practice. They could illuminate understanding of human nature and its relation to political systems (Masters, 1990).
Summary 5
It is important to study human nature as well as politics. The ancient Greeks studied every kind of subject and made connections between one subject and another in a way that is not possible today. As the scientific study of human nature progresses, it will be possible tb make the kinds of connections between politics and human nature which the Greeks made. The significant change will be that there will be a scientific basis to these connections as well as a theoretical one (Masters,
1990).
Summary 6
Science and politics must be studied apart but the former may have increasingly useful insights for political theory and practice as its range of knowledge expands. Subjects such as neurophysiology, neurochemistry, expefimental psychology and ecology can furnish empirically based information about human nature. The subfield in political science known as biopolitics is likely to gain increasing acceptance. Eventually, it might be possible for changes in the envirqnment and in human behaviour to be brought about through political processes. Such changes will have a firm basis, unlike the political theory that has so far been taught and studied (Masters, 1990).
Summary 7
The status of politics as a true science must be reinstated. Since ancient Greek times, it has not been considered on an equal footing with subjects such as mathematics, chemistry and biology. With the widening of scientific disciplines into increasingly specialised subjects, it is likely that a scientific study of politics will become the accepted approach. Such a study will draw on the findings of other subjects while remaining ideologically unbiased. It is through this approach that human society may eventually find a basis on which truly altruistic behaviour can be built (Masters, 1990).
TASK 6
Tasks 3, 4 and 5 have considered summaries of the complete content of texts. However, sometimes what is required is to extract and summarise information about certain ideas only. This is called a selective summary.
1. Look at the text. You need to find out about the reasons behind the high numbers of foreign scientists being recruited by Japanese research laboratories. Make notes from the text on this subject.
Japan paves way for big foreign influx
Overseas student numbers in Japan have soared by 32 per cent in just one year, the ministry of education has revealed. There are now 41,000 foreign students at higher education institutions in the country.
The new figures from the ministry (Monbusho) indicate steady progress towards the government's target of 100,000 foreign students studying in Japan by the end of the decade.
They include students undertaking specialised courses at vocational schools as well as those attending junior colleges, universities and graduate schools. The number of foreign students enrolled for university degree and postgraduate courses now stands at 16,177 and 12,383 respectively.
The University of Tokyo, the country's highest ranked university, and Waseda University, one of the country's top private schools, are the two most popular destinations. One thousand one hundred and sixty-one foreign students are studying at the University of Tokyo and 1,061 foreign students are studying at Waseda University.
The Monbusho's survey shows that 91 per cent of Japan's foreign studenls are from the nearby Asian countries of China, South Korea and Taiwan. The contingent of 18,063 Chinese students represents the largest national group, accounting for 44 per cent of Japan's total intake of foreign students.
Only 1,180 of Japan's growing number of foreign students are from the United States, a number that the Monbusho would like to see increase. It is also keen to attract more students from the United Kingdom and other European states.
Most of Japan's foreign students are paying their own tuition fees. Only 4,961 students are receiving scholarships from the Japanese government and 1,026 students are sponsored by their own governments.
The most popular courses are related to economics, business and finance, followed by engineering and industrial design.
Record numbers of foreign scientists are also being recruited by Japanese research laboratories to compensate for the shortfall in Japanese graduates interested in taking up careers in science. The lure of higher wages and more attractive working conditions is encouraging many of Japan's best graduales to take up posts in the business sector.
University research is proving an unpopular career option. Low wages, and poor promotion prospects, have discouraged many science graduates from considering careers in academia.
Susumu Tonegawa, one of the few Japanese scientists to be awarded a Nobel Prize, has repeatedly criticised the inflexible career structures in Japanese research laboralories. In universities, he says, young scientists spend most of their time as assistant researchers running errands for their professors.
Careers in science are alsa associated with long hours in poor working conditions. "Science lacks appeal for Japan's affluent, and increasingly leisure-oriented, young people," says lecturer Noboru Oda.
In spite of efforts to popularise science in the nation's schools, many high school graduates entering higher education are rejecting places in science faculties and opting for courses in the arts and social sciences.
Now compare your notes with the following selective summaries and decide which one is the most suitable.
Summary 1
Over 28,000 foreign students are enrolled at university and postgraduate degree courses in Japanese universities, 91 per cent of them coming from nearby Asian countries. Many of these students are studying business and economics but some are on science courses. Many foreign science graduates are being employed by Japanese research laboratories due to the lack of interest in science careers on the part of Japanese graduates. The young Japanese are more interested in high salaries and leisure, neither of which are offered by a career in science research (Greenlees, 1991).
Summary 2
Japanese Nobel Prize winner Susumu Tonegawa criticised the inflexible career structures in Japanese research laboratories. Young scientists may have to do menial tasks such as running errands for their professors. Moreover, wages are low and working hours long. As a result, fewer Japanese young people are attracted to a science career (Greenlees, 1991).
Summary 3
Record numbers of foreign scientists are being recruited by Japanese research laboratories. This compensates for the shortfall in Japanese graduates interested in science careers. Higher wages and better working conditions are attracting many Japanese graduates to jobs in the business sector.
University research is an unpopular career option. There are low wages and poor promotion prospects. In addition, long hours in poor working conditions have discouraged many science graduates from considering careers in academia (Greenlees, 1991).
Summary 4
The reason why Japanese research laboratories are recruiting record numbers of foreign scientists is that science careers have become less popular for Japanese graduates. Low wages, unattractive working conditions and poor career prospects are discouraging them from entering academic research. Arts and social sciences are proving more popular options for study, and the business sector has become a more attractive career choice (Greenlees, 190.3).
2. The task on selective summarising which follows is more difficult than the one above. Read the text and then decide which of the five pieces of writing that follow it best summarises the information, relevant to the following title:
The seriousness of the deforestation problem in the tropics
‘Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval forests … No one can stand in these solitudes unmoved …’
These words from Charles Darwin take on new meaning in today’s environmentally conscious world. Forests, after all, are the most widespread terrestrial ecosystem. Covering around 30 per cent of the earth’s total land area, they play vital roles in natural systems, as well as in economic development.
Forests form an integral component of the biosphere, essential to the stabilization of global climate and the management of water and land. They are home for the countless plants and animals that are vital elements of our life-supporting systems, as well as for millions of forest dwellers. They provide goods for direct consumption (including recreational activities) and land for good production. They also represent capital when converted to shelter and infrastructure.
The two main types of forests are tropical, which are rich in biodiversity and valuable tropical hardwood, and temperate, which serve as the world’s primary source of industrial wood. The temperate forests (1.5 billion hectares) can be found mainly in developed countries, whereas the tropical forests (both moist and dry, totalling about 1.5 billion ha. each) stretch across the developing world. Two thirds of the tropical moist forests are in Latin America, with the remainder split between Africa and Asia; three quarters of the tropical dry forests are in Africa.
But in recent years, there has been an alarming increase in destructive deforestation and land degradation in developing countries, reflecting the earlier development experiences of industrial countries, when large areas of the world’s temperate forests were cleared for agriculture, timber and fuelwood. Recent studies show that deforestation, especially in the tropics, has risen to an estimated 17-20 million ha. annually – almost equivalent in area to the United Kingdom or Uganda – from around 11.4 million ha. in 1980. Those hardest hit include Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Honduras, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Thailand, and the Philippines. In the temperate region, old-growth forests are also at risk. Furthermore, forest degradation, largely from recent acid precipitation, is harming large ares of temperate forests, especially in Eastern Europe.
Already, the misuse of forests has brought with it significant social, economic, and environmental costs. Many developing countries, especially in Africa and South Asia, face acute shortages of fuelwood, fodder, timber, and other forest products, not to mention the displacement of their forest dwellers. There has also been a loss of biological diversity, possible global climate change, degradation of watersheds, and desertification. The loss of tropical moist forests is especially worrying, as they provide habitats for more than 50 per cent of the world’s plants and animal species, generate genetic materials for food and medicine, and influence the climate, both at the regional and global level.
In recent years, with an increased understanding of – and concern about – the environmental consequences of destructive deforestation, people all over the world have expressed a desire for the sustainable use of forests. But there are strong differences of opinion among people, as well as among nations, about how best to balance conservation and development goals. Further complicating matters is the fact that in industrial countries, there is increasing concern for environmental and preservation considerations and the aesthetic qualities of forets, whereas in developing countries, where people are striving to achieve economic development, forests are frequently seen as a source of food, raw material and capital. The world community must find a way of reconciling these diverse interests in order to create incentives and values that will foster the wise use of forests. The challenge is twofold: to stabilize existing forests by arresting destructive deforestation and to increase forest resources by planting trees.
Summary 1
Tropical forests are rich in biological diversity and hardwood, covering a total of about 3 billion hectares in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their destruction has reached an alarming rate of around 17-20 million ha a year, leading to loss of resources, plants and animal species, as well as pushing out forest inhabitants. In addition, deforestation has an effect on climate and the environment.
Summary 2
The loss of the tropical rain forests, which can be classified into moist and dry, is undoubtedly serious cause for concern. It is all the more alarming when one considers that these forests are to be found in the developing world. The develpped countries went through a period of deforestation on the path to industrialisation but their populations were much smaller than that of the developing world today. Moreover, the rate of loss (estimated at 17-20 million ha a year) is very high today. The repercussions on shortages of resources as well as unwarranted climatic and environmental changes may be more far-reaching than we are willmg to imagine.
Summary 3
Tropical rain forests are the habitat of numerous animal species and plants. They are also the source of products such as timber and fuelwood. It is therefore alarming to witness their disappearance at a rate of 17-20 million ha a year. Not only is such a loss the cause of depletion of valuable biological richness and resources, but it may alsa contribute to climatic and environmental changes.
Summary 4
Tropical forests can be divided into two types: dry forests cover around 1.5 billion hectares, mostly in Africa, while moist forests, covering a similar area size, extend over Africa, Asia and principally Latin America.
Deforestation in tropical areas has in recent years proceeded at an alarmingly high rate. An annual rate of loss of as many as 17-20 million hectares represents an area almost as large as the UK.
The costs are high in economic, social and environmental terms. Some parts of the world, notably countries in Africa and southern Asia, can expect to experience serious shortages in products that come from the forest, such as fuelwood, timber and fodder. Tropical moist forests are the homes of over 50 per cent of the world's animal species and plants, also producing genetic materials for medicine and food. In addition, tropical deforestation may have effects on climate, just as acid rain is harmful to temperate forests.
Summary 5
Deforestation increased substantially, from around I 1.4 million ha a year in 1980 to around 17-20 million ha by 1992 and was particularly serious in the tropics. It led to severe shortages of forest products such as timber and fuelwood as well as displacing the inhabitants of forests. In addition, it threatens plant and animal species, especially in tropical moist forests where 50 per cent of them are found. Destruction of tropical moist forests also causes loss of genetic material for food and medicine and changes to climate.
TASK 7
Read the passage below and do the activities that follow.
The Importance of Women in Development
In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition of the contribution of women to economic development around the world. On the one hand, it is evident that calculations of national productivity fail to include the existing contribution of women to a country's welfare. On the other, there is a growing awareness that improved conditions for women are fundamental to improvement in overall living standards.
The unregistered contribution to economies of work performed by women is enormous. All over the world, women may provide as many unpaid health services as the formal health sectors in their countries. In Africa, they are largely responsible for food growing (accounting for at least 70 per cent of staple food production in the Sub-Saharan part of the continent), as well as participating in other activities in the agricultural sector (such as raising livestock, marketing and food processing). As pointed out in a UN report (1985), women represent half the world's population, work two-thirds of the world's working hours but earn only one tenth of what men earn. Furthermore, they own as little as one hundredth of the property owned by men.
Education is the key to improving conditions for women. It leads to wider employment opportunities and better information on how to improve the welfare of families. Both developments contribute to a reduction in fertility. The cost of caring for children is inclined to rise, which tends to encourage smaller families with healthier children rather than large ones. Greater awareness of the need for family planning and for better infant nutrition also tends to reduce fertility. Statistics suggest strohgly that increases in the literacy of women have led to declining fertility rates in almost every country in the world. In the period 1965-85, the only area in the world which did not witness a falling birth rate while experiencing impraved literacy for its female population was Sub-Saharan Africa, where there was an increase of 1.5 per cent in the fertility rate.
Many governments have aceepted the importance of investing in improved education for women in order to bring about changes in health, population growth and economic performance. However, even in those places where equal opportunity is actively pursued, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Women continue to be unpaid or underpaid for the work they do, to be constrained in the kind of work they can do and to reach lower levels of attainment educationally than men. In countries where women constitute a large part of the agricultural labour force and are involved in managing production, they may have less access to information, technology and credit than men. These problems are largely due to the persistence of traditional constraints. The result is that resources are inefficiently used, production is sub-optimal and the overall welfare of a society continues to be depressed.
(Source of stanstics: 'State of the world's women', 1985; compiled for the UN by New Internationalist Publications, Oxford, UK)
(a) Give a brief oral summary of what you consider to be the most important information.
(b) Take notes on the important information.
(c) Use your notes to write a summary of the text.
TASK 8
Read the passage below and then do the following:
(a) Produce a set of notes on:
(i) Criticisms levelled at the TFAP
(ii) Possible responses to the criticisms
(b) Reconstitute your notes in the form of two short paragraphs. Remember to use your own words. Do not refer to the original text but only your notes when writing the paragraphs.
The billion dollar question marks
The much-maligned Tropical Forestry Action Plan (TFAP) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation meets in Rome next week to discuss the findings of an independent review. How it responds to the criticisms levelled at it could determine the future of the tropical forests.
Launched earlier this vear, the review – commissioned at the request of the FAO – has been assessing the performance of the TFAP over the past five years and considering criticism from a wide variety of sources.
The team of three external consultants will present a number of possible options ranging from scrapping the TFAP altogether, to doing nothing. Any changes made will be crucial because the TFAP is now facing a barrage of opposition, not only from green groups but from major funding sources.
Linda Chalker, British Minister for Overseas Development Aid, has recently stated that the Plan 'needs reform', and
that she would 'not let up on the pressure to change it'.
The TFAP was dreamed up in 1984 when a group of top foresters realised that the past decade of forestry aid had done little to tackle deforestation in the Tropics, and that drastic action was required. A year later the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Resources Institute and the FAO joined forces to set it up. The TFAP, they decided, would be a multi billion dollar 'global tropical forest conservation and development programme to stimulate financial commitment from developing and industrialised countries, development assistance agencies and the private sector'.
The idea was that it would not be a rigid plan so much as a strategy, an attempt to identify priorities and create a framework for action. Initially, government would request assistance from the FAO, following which a national forestry plan would be drawn up for that country. Bilateral aid agencies, like Britain's Overseas Develoment Administration, and multilateral agencies like the Asian Development Bank, would then select specific projects from within these national plans to fund.
In one sense, the TFAP has been very successful; since its launch 76 countries – whose territories include most of the remaining tropical forests – have signed up or are showing interest. In the past five years, 40 major national and international aid agencies have channelled funding through the TFAP, and helped boost forestry aid to more than $1 billion a year – double its figure in 1985.
Yet those opposed to the TFAP point out that this increased TFAP related activity may actually be causing accelerated deforestation in the tropics. Critics from the 'forestry camp' include John Blower, who has spent 20 years managing various FAO forest conservation projects. He concludes that 'while TFAP documents may have environmental conservation lip-service written in, the general thrust is commercial, aimed at the immediate improvement of the recipient country's economy'.
The most outspoken critics of the TFAP are now the World Rainforest Movement and Friends of the Earth, who stated in a report published earlier this year that 'deforestation seems likely to increase under the TFAP... with logging substantially increased in primary forest areas'. Looking more closely at individual national plans they pointed out that 'the Peruvian plan will dramatically accelerate the rate of deforestation... the Guyanese will accelerate forest degradation through a massive increase in logging and the Cameroon plan will cause major deforestation'.
However, after this series of apparently disastrous national plans, two have now emerged (Papua New Guinea and Tanzania) which have so far received guarded approval. The Papua New Guinea plan has been hailed by Linda Chalker as prroof that 'the TFAP can be efffective'. For the past decade in Papua New Guinea, Japanese logging companies have been decimating the forests, but the TFAP has now called for a moratorium on all new logging licences and a review of present logging activities. The government is now appealing to the international community for compensation for lost timber revenues, and funding for a national system of pro-tected forest areas.
It remains to be seen if these more radical plans will receive adequate funding. Meanwhile, most of the nine national plans now completed are still meeting severe criticism. Simon Counsell of Friends of the Earth argues that 'all UK and international funding should be halted, until a thorough and independent review of the TFAP has taken piace', and adds that 'it is time the Food and Agriculture Organisation went back to the drawing board'.
The key question is whether next week's review will address the major problems. If the TFAP is to survive, the Rome meeting will have to come up with the solutions that its many critics are looking for. This will involve improving the conservation element of the plan, respecting the needs of indigenous communities, promoting plantations of native tree species in degraded forests as opposed to logging fresh areas, developing sustainable non-wood forest products (such as nuts, fruits and oils), and increasing the involvemont of the environmental and indigenous groups in the whole process.
One of the review team's most promising proposals is that the TFAP should be brought under a new world environmental forestry body, to be known as the 'Global Forestry Organisation', which would be a conservation and environmental group-driven agency for the TFAP. If this option were adopted, then it might draw organisations like Friends of the Earth and other green groups into the TFAP.
With only 0.2 per cent of tropical timber production coming from sustainable sources, and tropical deforestation now running at almost double the rate of 1979, an effective solution to the destruction has never been more needed than at present. As the only Organisation of its kind, the TFAP possesses enormous potential, both for the destruction of the tropical forest biome, or its future conservation. It now stands at a crossroads where it may either choose to adopt the deeper shade of green that our new age seems to be calling for, or entrench itself in past mistakes and failures.
(The Guardian, 8.6.90)
TASK 9
(a) Divide into groups. Each group will be given one section of a text. Discuss the content of your section, then summarise in one or two sentences.
(b) Form new groups, each containing one member from each of the original groups. Your new group should now have summaries of all the separate sections necessary to make a complete text. This is called a jigsaw summary. Arrange the information you have into a logical order.
(c) Make any changes necessary to produce a coherent summary. You will need to consider such things as grammar, reference and cohesion.
