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QUESTION
Title:
Summary of term paper
TERM PAPER OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this paper is to get you to think critically about scientific
information and the different ways in which it can be interpreted, reported and
used to support or dismiss a certain position. You will begin by selecting a thesis
statement that you believe to be true. The more precise you can be, the easier
this exercise will be in the long run for you to complete. For example, if you
believe a certain pesticide is negatively impacting the environment, your thesis
statement might be “Chemical X is capable of harming freshwater fish
populations at current use patterns”, as opposed to “Chemical X is harming the
environment.” Another example would be “Organic agricultural practices result in
better surface water quality as opposed to conventional agricultural practices”
which is a more concise statement than “Organic agricultural practices are better
for the environment”. You will give a brief background on your thesis topic and
then using five original research papers, show the data that supports your
position. The second part of the exercise is to then use those same five papers
and show data from them that refutes or calls into question your thesis
statement, or critique the papers themselves for their deficiencies in terms of the
results they have generated. The purpose of the term paper is to get you to think critically and skeptically about an environmental issue, problem, or proposed
solution based on the science at hand. By examining the data from the other
perspective, you can begin to understand what future work may need to be done, what questions may lie unanswered, and your own preconceived beliefs on a
topic.
GUIDELINES FOR TERM PAPER
Sources of Information and References
Please use the online databases available through the library to find references
for your paper. Remember to read the journal article; Xeroxing or downloading is
not the equivalent of reading. No websites may be used as a reference.
2
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling
Use the speller and the grammar checker in your word-processor. Microsoft
Word has grammar and spelling checkers but may try to stop you using passive
voice. Passive voice is acceptable in scientific writing, especially when describing
previous work.
The Paper Itself!
Layout: The paper must be word-processed and must use headings such as in
this guide. Failure to use headings for sections and failure to organize material
under those headings will result in loss of marks.
Title Page: Type the paper title, the class, your name, your ID number and the
date on the front page.
- Introduction: Not more than 750 words. In the introduction, you should
provide the necessary background on your chosen topic. Discuss the basic and
relevant background of your topic. You must conclude with the thesis statement
that you will be attempting to support/refute in the rest of the paper.
- What does the ‘science’ say that supports your thesis? In this section, you
will examine the scientific literature and use scientific knowledge and principles
that will support your thesis. In order to do this, you will need to find and discuss
five original peer-reviewed research papers published in scientific journals. You
will need to report the data that supports your thesis statement and discuss how
each of these papers supports your thesis statement (approximately 1250
words).
- What does the same ‘science’ say that refutes your thesis? In this section,
you will examine the same five scientific papers that you used to support your
thesis and discuss and interpret their findings such that they refute, disprove or
throw into doubt your original thesis statement (approximately 1250 words).
- Conclusions: Summarize your findings in 500 words or less. Restate your
original thesis statement give a final interpretation about its veracity based on
what you have written throughout the paper.
Length of the paper should be about 3,500 words, not including
references, tables and figures. You are encouraged to use figures and tables
that will assist in supporting your two arguments. Make sure they are clear, neat
and have a proper legend, attribution and caption.
- References: All facts and data must be referenced by author and date (see below). The references should be typed on a separate page(s) and include the
following: Authors. Date of article. Full title of article or book. Journal title in full, Volume number; Page numbers (Year of publication for books).
References to books should include the editors’ names (if any) as well as the chapter authors (if any), publisher, place (city, state, country) and date of publication. This should be done consistently. You should have no need for footnotes.
3
Example from the text:
Septimussen and Frathouse (1989) reported the concentration of parathion in
ditches
draining sugar cane farms ranged from 30 to 350 ìg/L, however, other workers
have stated that the range was much greater (0.5-1200 ìg/L; Djerassi, 1997;
Bonner et al., 1998).
Examples from References:
Bonner DM, Dandy C, Freely IP, Humble WF. 1998. Persistence of parathion on
peach foliage and surface waters of orchards. Journal of Agricultural Chemistry,
120:312-313.
Djerassi C. 1997. Pesticide Persistence in the Agricultural Environment. In
Environmental Fate of Chemicals. Hummer JJ, Von Hoenhein TB (Eds), Second
edition. Academic Press, London (1998). pp 156-189.
Septimussen GX, II, Frathouse FH. 1989. Levels of parathion in drainage ditches
leading from cane lands in Louisiana. Pantropical Journal of Food Science,
29:16-29.
Handing in Late
Papers may not be handed in late without appropriate medical or counselor
certification. Penalty for handing in late with no rationale is 10 marks off the total
paper grade per day.
Term Paper Marking Scheme
Neatness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Layout and organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Note that one fifth of the grade for the paper is assigned to neatness,
spelling, references, etc. With a little care you can have all 20 of the marks for
the term paper in the bag before the scientific merits and logic of the paper are
assessed.
It is the student’s responsibility to read and to comply with the policies
regarding academic misconduct at the University of Manitoba. Of particular
relevance to this course is honesty during exams, honesty in written
assignments, honesty with respect to medical excuses, and plagiarism. In
fairness to you and to other students, academic misconduct will not be tolerated
and will be dealt with firmly.
TERM PAPER SUMMARY
GUIDELINES FOR TERM PAPER SUMMARY
Sources of Information and References
Please use the online databases to find references for your paper. Remember to read the journal article, Xeroxing or downloading is not the equivalent of reading. Use the internet to find references but direct citations to internet sources are not allowed unless they are to government reports or documents on the internet as well as in paper form. Do not cite .com or.org sites.
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling
Use the speller and the grammar checker in your word-processor. Microsoft
Word may try to stop you using passive voice. Passive voice is acceptable in
scientific writing, especially when describing previous work.
SUMMARY EXPECTATIONS
1) Your summary should be no more than four pages in length, not including a
cover page that gives your name and student number, the course name, and the assignment title, and any figures, tables and references.
2) Your summary must be typed, no hand written summaries will be accepted.
3) It should be doubled spaced (approx.1000 words, not including references).
4) You will need to provide references, properly formatted, that are relevant to
your topic. They must be primary literature or books. No internet references are allowed unless those described in the term paper outline (e.g., government).
5) State your chosen thesis statement at the end of a brief introduction on your topic that provides the reader pertinent background (approximately 500 words).
6) You must list in proper reference style three papers of the five that you will use to support (and refute) your thesis statement. Provide the list of papers
immediately after the brief introduction.
7) You will briefly discuss one line of evidence from one of the studies that
supports your thesis, and from the same paper, discuss briefly one line of
evidence that refutes or does not support your thesis (approximately 500 words, not including figures and tables).
It is the student’s responsibility to read and to comply with the policies
regarding academic misconduct at the University of Manitoba. Of particular
relevance to this course is honesty during exams, honesty in written
assignments, honesty with respect to medical excuses, and plagiarism. In
fairness to you and to other students, academic misconduct will not be tolerated and will be dealt with firmly.
| Subject | Summary Writing | Pages | 11 | Style | APA |
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Answer
The world over, agricultural agrochemicals have been hailed as one of the measures to help achieve increased food sovereignty. From insecticides through fungicides and herbicides, pesticides have emerged as a primary part of current agricultural practices. This is because the chemicals are associated with enhanced food productions by reducing the vulnerability of crops to diseases. Crop destruction because of the invasion of pests represents a serious threat to food security in developing and developed nations. The implication is that the use of agrochemicals among farmers is adopted as an important tool to control pest infestation. The challenge emerges because pesticides affect the environment in one way or the other. More so, persistence application of the chemicals contributes to bioaccumulation in various areas of biodiversity including streams. Usually, agrochemicals find their way in these areas via runoff following rainfall, drift when spraying as well as leaching through the soil. Even as agrochemicals are commonly used in modern farming practices, the concentration of glyphosate in water is inconsequential given the relatively low levels detected.
Pesticides, including common herbicides such as glyphosate, may be washed by rain into streams as well as rivers. Researchers have shown increased interest in finding out the concentration levels of the chemical in streams citing its continued rise. The current research, however, shows that the levels found in streams are inconsequential because it is increasingly dependent on different factors that must be present to make it toxic. According to Peruzzo et al. (2008), the concentrations of glyphosate in waters ranges from just 0.10 through 0.70mg/L even as an increase is observed because of the rain events. The suggestion is that the results regarding glyphosate levels in streams because of precipitation as well as its related leaching. Peruzzo et al. (2008) add that the rise in the concentration of the chemical in waters is not as pronounced following rainfall, which implies that downpour, plays a significant role in transporting glyphosate in the soil toward rivers. Mahler et al. (2017) further present a study exploring glyphosate levels in small streams in the Midwestern United States. The research sought to compare glyphosate to atrazine, and found that glyphosate was detected in only 44 percent of samples and concentrations were similar to the ones in streams with significantly high agricultural land utilization in the watershed. According to Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2014), traces of glyphosate have been found in subsurface waters globally and in Montreal, the chemical levels were below the detection limit. The suggestion is that the concentration of this chemical in water is inconsequential. Also, Battaglin et al. (2009) present a study in which glyphosate in streams was measured at the highest concentration of 12 μg/l) even as the sample was collected just after rainfall in the United States. Tang et al. (2015) carried out an experiment to demonstrate the manner in which pesticides find their way into water bodies and test traces of the various chemical. The researchers found that, overall, less than 0.5 percent of glyphosate used could be recovered in the catchment indicating the inconsequential level of the chemical in water.
Scholars have also suggested that the concentration of glyphosate in water is significant. As an example, Tang et al. (2015) report that their study detected maximum concentrations of the chemical at 6.1 μg/l. The authors argue that whereas the figure may come across as relatively small and below the predicted concentration in their experiment, it is above the European drinking water average level of 0.1 μg/l. The suggestion is that considerably high levels of glyphosate chemicals find their way into water bodies and perhaps it should be a concern regarding human health. Furthermore, Battaglin et al. (2008) observe that in one of their samples from Rock Creek National Park in the United States glyphosate was measured at relatively high concentrations exceeding the freshwater aquatic life standard of 65 μg/l. In this case, the highest concentration was found at 328 μg/l all of which indicates that a claim insinuating inconsequential levels of the chemical is thrown into doubt. In particular, figures tripling the freshwater aquatic life standard for the chemical suggest the concentration is often prone to significant increment. The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2014) also claims that increased sales of glyphosates, as well as detection of the chemical, are observable in Quebec’s rivers flowing through soy and corn regions. In one instance, the chemicals were found in approximately 97.5 percent of streams that were sampled in 2014 (Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, 2014). It can be said that even as relatively small concentrations of glyphosate are detected in the water, studies always find traces of the herbicide and thus the chemical should not just be overlooked. The fact remains it always finds its way into rivers and other water bodies. Mahler et al. (2017) further observe that glyphosate is one of the most used agrochemicals in the United States and one study increasingly detected the chemical in 12 urban samples. Indeed, the presence of the chemical in urban water bodies is alarming given that these places are commonly located away from agricultural areas where one would expect increased use. As such, one can predict that the concentration of glyphosate in the water is significantly high and claims to suggest it as inconsequential are misleading. According to Peruzzo et al. (2008), glyphosate is a highly water-soluble substance implying that it is most likely to find a way into water bodies via runoff. For instance, its highly soluble nature means that when the chemical finds itself in the soil it is transported into water bodies with relative ease following rainfall as well as through repeated use.
In sum, the concentration of glyphosate in water bodies is insignificant. Different research works suggest that the concentration of this chemical is inconsequential partly because its presence in water depends on several factors including rainfall. The veracity of the position, however, is increasingly questionable given that information surrounding glyphosate traces in water has also suggested consequential levels are always present. More so, findings imply that the chemical is not only found in water bodies adjacent to agricultural land but also those in urban rivers as well as streams. Such information is increasingly important because it helps to refute the seemingly correct thesis statement. In particular, it becomes evident that virtually all waters contain traces of glyphosate. Furthermore, studies suggest the chemical is highly soluble in water and given its increased application in farmlands it is safe to say that the claim made by the thesis is misplaced. The various pathways including rainfall as well as leaching mean the chemical is commonly found in water in considerable concentrations.
References
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