The Disciplines of Emergency Management Research Paper

The Disciplines of Emergency Management - Research Paper Example Mitigation function differs from other emergency management disciplines since it focuses on the long-term solutions rather than preparedness for hazards or short-term recovery from hazard event. The National Mitigation Framework is guided by four principles that include Resilience and Sustainability, Leadership, Locally focused implementation, Engaged partnership and Inclusiveness, and Risk-conscious culture (Haddow, Bullock & Coppola, 2013). My community has been involved in Hampton Roads Virginia Area emergency mitigation project since the community is vulnerable to hazards that threaten the lives of citizens and property in the area. The hazards cannot be eliminated and thus several actions were implemented to protect lives, property and built environment (Bumgarner, 2008). The first step was identification of threats and hazards in order to determine associated vulnerabilities and risks to the community. Some of the hazards that are present include floods, hurricanes, tropical storms, land subsidence, sea level rise. Repeated floods are common on Hampton Road Virginia area and this strains the existing federal resources and local authority resources in dealing with the disaster. Accordingly, Hampton road is used to transport hazardous materials and there has been more than 40 accidents involving transport of hazardous materials since 2000. In this case, appropriate measures should be put in place in order to reduce the possibility of spillage of hazardous materials after an accident (Jerolleman & Kiefer, 2012). Accordingly, an appropriate scientific methodology was used to determine the possibility of risk occurrence. The possibility of occurrence is high and the cost implications are high since floods and associated disasters destroy the existing road infrastructure and other related social amenities such as power lines. The

Different examples of power Essay Example for Free

Different examples of power Essay What is power? What are different examples of power? How can people gain and maintain power? Power is being able to make something happen or prevent something from happening. You know if someone has power if they are leaders or if they are respected. If you’re a good influence you can also gain power because people begin to follow in your footsteps. Examples of power are political, economic, and social. Political power is an authority held by a group within society that allows for the administration of public resources and implement policies for society. The President has political power and the governor has political power. Social power is the degree of influence that an individual or organization has among their peers and within their society as a whole. Martin Luther King had social power and Malcolm X also had social power. Economic power is organization of the money, industry, and trade of a country, region, or society. Jay Z has economic power because he has money. My essay is going to be about stop and frisk and how often it is being used by police officers and how it affects the people in neighborhoods it is constantly happening in and the statistics on the frisking. In New York City police officers have a program called stop and frisk which is when a person is stopped by a cop and patted down to examine if the person is carrying a weapon or if the person is engaging in illegal activity. This type of limited search occurs when police confront a suspicious person in an effort to prevent a crime from taking place. A stop is different from an arrest. An arrest is a lengthy process in which the suspect is taken to the police station or booked and a frisk is only a temporary search. If the officer uncovers further evidence during the frisk, the stop may lead to an actual arrest, but if no further evidence is found, the person is let go. Unlike a full search, a frisk is only limited to a patting down of the outer clothing. If the officer feels something like a weapon, the officer may then reach inside the persons clothing. If no weapon is felt, the search may not go any further than the outer clothing. In 2011, New Yorkers were stopped by police 685,724 times by police officers and 88 percent of them were totally innocent. 34 percent were African Americans 34 percent where Latinos. 51 percent were though age 14 to 24, only 9 percent were Caucasian.. In the first nine months of 2012, New Yorkers were stopped by police 443,422 times. 89 percent were completely innocent. 55 percent were  black and 32 percent were Latinos, 10 percent were white. Stop and frisk causes people to be afraid of the police because when they are around they have to worry about being frisked by them. â€Å"Stop-and-Frisk abuses corrode trust between the police and communities, which makes everyone less safe. I know people that get very scared when the police come around because he had been frisked a lot of times. Police officers also sometimes use physical force when frisking people. For example, if you are getting frisked and you try to resist, the police will sometimes use physical force on you because they may feel like you’re disobeying them. Stop and frisk is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment says â€Å"people have the right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.† Mayor Bloomberg and police say stop and frisk has helped New York reach a low crime rate. New York has the lowest crime rate among the nation’s biggest cities, said by the FBI. People call the stop and frisk practice racial discrimination. Aggressive stop-and-frisk practices are having a profound effect on individuals, groups and communities across the city. Residents of some New York City neighborhoods describe a police presence so pervasive and hostile that they feel like they are living in a state of siege. w deeply this practice impacts individuals and they document widespread civil and human rights abuses, including illegal profiling, improper arrests, inappropriate touching, sexual harassment, humiliation and violence at the hands of police officers.

Meddling Media :: essays research papers fc

I used to watch a really nice TV program every weekend. It is a youth-oriented show if my memory serves me right. Athough I cannot remember the whole story any more, something we may call â€Å"a mere make believe† left an indelible mark in my memory. This is how it goes. Two of the many characters in the show were best of friends. They shared their secrets to one another, fought for each other, and cared for one another. Well of course that’s within the idea of the scriptwriter and the instructions of the director. Some people would think that those two artists are really best friends in real life because they portrayed their roles effectively. It so happened that I was able to watch a showbiz news the following day, and what I heard somehow caught my attention; those two artists that I mentioned earlier were actually enemies in real life! . At this point in time it is really hard to distinguish fallacy from reality. This is due to the very creative minds of the ones that created the media. Technology is now at its peak and it steadily and rapidly advances that most of the times, although only a few notices, authenticity is gradually being covered up by clouds of erroneous beliefs. â€Å"We are bombarded today by such a quantity of images that we can no longer distinguish direct experience from what we have seen for a few seconds on television. The memory is littered with bits and pieces of images, like a rubbish dump.† This was said by Italo Calvino, a Cuban-born Italian novelist and short-story writer. Though he died almost 20 years ago, what he said is slowly but surely taking its place in this world. Definitely, these media effects are now changing the mindset of our present generation; furthermore these also alter their lifestyle. And these will certainly continue shifting lives in the near future. Media may come in different forms: broadcasting, communication, journalism, multimedia, newspapers, periodicals and telecommunication. All of these play major roles in sometimes improving, but also destroying societies. But the one that has the most enormous upshot in our society is broadcasting, which includes in itself televisions and radios. Statistics shows estimation that almost 1.8 billion of radios and 800 million televisions are in use world wide. Just imagine how many people it could reach in every single tick of a clock.

Student Evaluation of Educators Essay -- Teacher Evaluation Education

Different opinions arise when it comes to whom is supposed to evaluate teachers’ performances as they educate students. Although teachers have had the proper education necessary to execute education in a classroom, some lack skills to present material which students can fully comprehend. In an effort to help students grasp learning material, the idea of students evaluating and grading their teacher’s performance has been suggested. This idea would be helpful to teachers who need views on how to reach slower students and whom welcome helpful criticism. However, the entire evaluation should not be based solely on students opinions. Teacher evaluations should not be done solely by students. However, if students filled out 10% of a teacher evaluation, which stated the student’s opinion about the teacher’s performance, this could be constructive for both teachers and students. Louisa Coburn stated, â€Å"Students are the main source of information about the learning environment, including teachers' ability to motivate students for continued learning, rapport or degree of communication among instructors and students.† Another suggestive idea about evaluating teachers are letter grades for their performance. This would be given by students. This could potentially be beneficial as well. In both cases, this would allow the teachers to understand how the students feel about teacher‘s instructional learning material. Teachers do not always meet the needs of individual students. Providing a way for students to give opinions about their teacher’s performance helps teachers to develop the flaws in their teaching habits. However, the controversy about grading, rating and evaluating is that students do not have enough knowledge on how to properly ... ...inking of students’ education for the future should be a number one priority to educators. Works Cited Barrett, Joan. The Evaluation of Teachers. ERIC Digest 12. ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education , 1986. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-925/evaluation.htm. Coburn, Louisa. Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance. ERIC Clearinghouse on Tests Measurement and Eval, 1984. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. . Doyle, Terry. Evaluation Teacher Effectiveness--Research Summary. Centering for Teaching and Learning, 30 Oct. 2002. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. http://www.ferris.edu/fctl/Teaching_and_Learning_Tips/Research%20on%20Students'%20Evalution%20of%20Faculty%20Teaching/EvalTeachEffec.htm. Huerner, Michael. Student Evaluations: A Critical Review. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. http://home.sprynet.com/~owl1/sef.htm.

Waiting Line Essay

The growing economic importance of service activities, however, has broadened the scope of MM function (in fact, the course will Ochs more on service facilities). Large scale globalization, short product life cycle and more informed customers means that successful management of operations, careful design and efficient utilization of resources is an absolute must not only to add to the bottom line of a firm, but even for its mere survival. MM is a highly dynamic and expanding field of management. In this course, we will study both manufacturing and service operations, emphasizing their differences as well as similarities.We will examine the role of operations management in the organization by exploring a number of concepts and techniques. The interaction of operations with other business areas and environmental factors, and how operations management can contribute to the achievement of organizational goals, also will be discussed. ; Course Learning Outcomes The objective of the course is to develop your understanding of the major concepts and trade-offs involved in making MM decisions. At the end of this course, you will: 1 . Recognize the important role of operations in an organization's success 2.Develop a comprehensive understanding of operational issues and decisions and how they relate to each other, and to other areas of the organization and its environment 3. Understand related operational and economical concepts and techniques 4. Apply these techniques At the end of the course, you will be able to: 1. Identify the fundamental managerial trade-off in an operations decision environment 2. Develop a decision model and formulate an appropriate objective 3. Evaluate alternative solutions and analyze the objective to optimize the decision 4.The textbooks are not required, out are recommended. I en problems at ten Ana AT every chanter In ten textbooks are useful in preparing for the midterm and final exams. The textbooks are also reserved for your use in the Bu siness Library. ; Lecture Notes: A required course package will be sold through the Management Undergraduate Society. The course package contains the following: Allurement (1998) article, one case study, and player manual for Simulation Game. The course slides, sample midterm and final questions, end-officiate practice questions will be posted on Web.Important Note: We may skip some of the course notes during classroom discussions and we will be covering quantitative material not covered in these notes. Most of this material is also available online/on Web for download. I will also post additional materials on WEB. Please check WEB at least once before and after each lecture for posted announcements, and materials.There will be two problem set assignments during the course. These assignments will be quantitative ones, each worth 7. 5% of the total marks. Each assignment will be due in approximately a week (the exact dates will be announced later on).You can complete and submit your assignments as a group. The maximum number of students that can be in an assignment group is 4. The assignments turned in by groups of 5 or more students will not be accepted. On the other hand, you are alcove to submit an assignment that you have prepared alone. The solutions will be made available after the due-date. It is important to include your all pages together. Late submissions will not be accepted. If you miss a class, your mailed assignment, postmarked no later than the due date, will be accepted as on-time.There will be one midterm and one final exam to test your understanding of the material covered in the course. Both the midterm and the final exams are compulsory, closed book and closed notes. Students are not allowed to bring any additional material and information related to the exams. A formula sheet will be provided together with the exam. The formula sheets for the midterm and for the final can be downloaded from WEB. Note that missing an exam is an issue that yo u will have to settle first with the B. Com office. The course policy is not to offer make-up exams.GRADES The grades for the midterm and the assignments will be posted on WEB. Please check the course page whenever a new grade is available and immediately inform the instructor if there is a discrepancy. In accord with McGill University Charter of Students' Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded. There will be 1 case study assignment in the course, and it should be done in group of 6. The case study is: Delays at Logan Airport. This case is included in the course package.A number of questions will be provided during the course for the case, which should serve as a basis for group discussion and case report. These questions will be of two types. One type of questions will have a calculator figure ( ) indicating the involvement of a quantitative analysis. The other type of questions are to initiate broader discussion of the case study based on the managerial insights that can be developed from quantitative questions, case discussion among the group members and use of strategic operations management and related concepts.The full case study report should not exceed 5-pages typewritten, one-and-half-spaced, using default margins and 12-point type. Your report should start with an executive summary (maximum 0. 5 pages), which summarizes your findings. The main body of the report should present a detailed discussion based on the provided questions and your analysis of the quantitative questions. Prepare an action-oriented advisory report, which presents concisely your analysis and recommendations for solution of the primary management problems.Make sure you demonstrate that you have thought through your recommendations and the effects on other related activities. Also demonstrate that you understand the concepts and tools from the class that apply. Clearly state your assumptions. Be select ive. Do not restate case facts. Summary tables in the text are encouraged for quantitative information. In addition to the report, you may supply any number of figures (visual representations of information contained in the text), and at most four exhibits. Make sure these are referenced in the text.Do not use the exhibits to violate the page limit. The report should stand alone, and the exhibits should provide only the documentation or details of a technical analysis. The exhibits must be easily understood and all variables defined properly and all assumptions stated clearly. Discuss limitations of your analysis or recommendations. These might include assumptions you made but do not feel comfortable with, or impediments to success that may prove more difficult than you expect. Discuss potential disadvantages of your recommendations.

Charlottes Web and Lincoln a Photobiography

Charlottes Web and Lincoln a Photobiography E.B White’s book, Charlotte’s Web, tells the story of a piglet rescued from death from its owner by the owner’s daughter, Fern. Fern appeals to her father’s sense of justice, pleading with him that, to kill the piglet just because it is a rant would be most unfair. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Charlotte’s Web and Lincoln: a Photobiography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Wilbur, the piglet, thus survives and lives an adventurous life, later being sold to the Zuckermans, on whose firm he develops a friendship with a spider named Charlotte, who saves the life of Wilbur again when the owner tries to slaughter him over the Christmas season. Russell Freedman’s picture book Lincoln: a Photobiography tells the story of the life and times of America’s 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. Using pictures to augment the writings, the book traces the life of Lincoln from childhood to his eventual rise to the pinnacle of US politics – the US presidency. Pictures give a story an extra angle of believability and are an important addition to the words of the text. While Charlotte’s Web is a fictional account, Lincoln: a Photobiography is a factual account of the life of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the US. Charlotte’s Web, in telling the story of Wilbur, the pig, illustrates the theme of discrimination, as depicted in the life and activities of Wilbur. From the very day of his birth, Fern’s father declares Wilbur unfit to live due to his small stature and sickliness. The picture, on the other hand, portrays Abraham Lincoln as a person who endures a lot of hardships and discrimination, battling discrimination against himself, and discrimination against those whom the constitution gave him power to lead – for instance African Americans suffering under slavery. In Charlotte’s Web, as stated earlier, the them e of discrimination manifests itself in the life of Wilbur. At birth, Mr. Arable marks Wilber for death due to his perceived illness; Wilbur was not supposed to live since he would not bring any returns (profit) to the owner. As Fern questions why her father heads for the pigsty with an ax, her mother explains, â€Å"One of the pigs is a runt. It is very small and weak. It will never amount to anything. So your father has decided to do away with it† (p 1). Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This statement leaves Fern mortified and highly disturbed, and she rushes after her father to protest at what she felt to be a serious case of injustice. Fern begs for the life of the pig, promising to look after him, and his father backs down and lets Fern keep the pig as her pet. Wilbur grows to become an active and healthy pig, defying the prognosis that Fern’s f ather and mother had defined for him at birth. This clearly is a statement by the author against discrimination based on appearance. The author encourages the reader to develop a culture of giving persons the benefit of doubt, instead of condemning them quickly without getting to know them. In Lincoln: A Photobiography, Russell Freedman portrays a Lincoln who encounters much derision and mocking due to his looks. Lincoln grows to a very tall stature, and thus his gangly frame attracted much negative discussion (p 1). He grows in a society the places premium value on looks. Lincoln, however, overcomes this primitive judgment of one’s character based on looks and successfully pursues his educates to become a lawyer. Abraham Lincoln came from a very poor background, a factor that weighed heavily on his life as he rose up the societal ladder as a lawyer and a congressional representative. He rarely talked about his background (p 8). Lincoln was of the view that one’s ba ckground should not be a factor for success as long as a person was determined to rise to the highest levels of the society. An element explored by both authors is the futility of discrimination based on age, race, gender, looks, and even class. A common thread in both stories is the fact that the individuals discriminated never chose to be of the specific age, race, gender or other such social constructs. When Fern is pleading with her father for Wilbur’s life, and her father states that he wants to kill the pig due to the fact that it was runt, Fern states that â€Å"The pig couldn’t help being small† (6). This statement pricks the conscience of her father who decides to let his daughter have it her way. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Charlotte’s Web and Lincoln: a Photobiography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Similarly, Lincoln did not choose to have his looks; therefore, any refe rence to his looks was invalid. Additionally, Lincoln did not choose his poor background, and Russell Freedman portrayal of Lincoln overcoming the circumstances of his poor background to scale the heights of American politics invalidates discrimination against a person based on the background, which the person had no control over. Furthermore, in both texts the authors depict the golden rule of treating another person in the same fashion that one would like others to treat him/her. Fern asks her father whether he would have killed her for being small at birth the very reason that Mr. Arable uses as justification for his intent of killing the piglet: â€Å"If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?† (3). She appeals to her father’s sense of justice, urging him to treat the piglet as if it were his own. Fern, even in her young mind, knew that if her father would realize that his actions on the piglet could very well reflect his actions on a human bein g, he would not proceed and kill the innocent piglet. Her father later appreciates the fact that his daughter had a keen sense of justice, something he tells to his wife and son. The America’s Civil War, which characterized Lincoln’s presidency, intended to reconcile the divergent views on slavery. The North was of the idea that slavery should become to an end, while the South wanted slavery maintained, at the very least in the southern states. Slavery is one of the highest forms of discrimination, and in the US, the slaves were of African descent, and were enslaved because they belonged to a different, supposedly ‘inferior’ race. As president, Lincoln was highly critical of the unfairness and highly discriminative nature of slavery, where slaves labored from dusk until dawn, in deplorable conditions and at no pay. In the book Lincoln: A Photobiography, a prologue containing Lincoln views on slavery, presented in his own handwriting states that â€Å"As I would not be a slave, I would not be a master†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Freedman ix), Lincoln, through this piece of writing, not only opposes to the institution of slavery that had become highly entrenched in the American economic, social and political fabric, but also urges Americans to view slavery in a different manner. This prologue by Russell Freedman sees Lincoln urging Americans (and readers of the book at large) to put themselves in the position of the person(s) they are discriminating. In this way, he urges them determine if they would be comfortable in such situations. Therefore, just like in Charlotte’s Web, the author urges the readers to eliminate discrimination by putting themselves in the situation of the people they discriminate.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Additionally, Wilbur, the pig, overcomes discrimination and isolation at a personal level and in a similar manner, Lincoln experiences hatred and much abuse from his contemporaries due to his political stands on slavery. In Charlotte’s Web, fellow animals at the Zuckerman farm spurn Wilbur simply because these animals are envious of Wilbur’s cheerful nature. When he seeks to engage with the lamb, the lamb retorts, â€Å"†¦ Go play by yourself! I don’t play with pigs† (p 28). The Goose and Templeton the rat also reject his advances. However, Wilbur does not despair, and he eventually finds a fitting friend in Charlotte, the spider. Many of the farm animals feign a sense of urgency or lie that they are busy to avoid the company of Wilbur, an innocent victim of discrimination. Through Wilbur’s refusal to be put down by these unrequited advances, E.B White communicates the message that the reader should always stand by their unique and genuine characteristics even in the face of discrimination, and such a stand is usually vindicated in the future. For instance, in Wilbur’s case, Charlotte’s friendship turns out to be most enriching, and Charlotte even saves his life. In Russell Freedman’s Lincoln: A photobiography Abraham Lincoln comes under a lot of vitriolic attack from all manner of persons for his opposition to slavery. Freedman posits, â€Å"During the Civil War he was the most unpopular president the nation had ever known† (5). When Lincoln warns his fellow Congress representatives that the American nation could not survive with one half supporting slavery and the other half opposed to it, they accused him of predicting disintegration of the nation, and earned even more enemies, simply because of his position. However, President Lincoln did not waver in his commitment to abolish slavery. In the face of huge odds, Lincoln perseveres and abolishes slavery by the end of the four-year Civil War (Dirck 23). Freedman communicates to the reader the virtues of being firm in one’s conviction, that in the end the virtuous person will become validated, as Lincoln has been, occupying Folk hero status among the Americans today for his virtuous and firm leadership during the Civil War. In contrast, however, both authors deal with the ultimate gain of fighting against discrimination differently. E.B White mainly tackles discrimination at the personal level. Beginning with Fern, White portrays her as the hero who stands up for the right to life of a pig deemed as worthless by its owner (45). Similarly, Wilbur’s ability to remain true to his character (despite rejection from friends at the farm) tackles discrimination at a personal level. Russell Freedman, on the other hand, tackles discrimination at a professional and political level. Abraham Lincoln as a president comes under heavy criticism for his political stand on issues like slavery. In conclusion, both E.B White and Russell Freedman tackle the issue of discrimination and racism. As discussed in the essay, White tackles discrimination at personal level while Russell tackles discrimination at professional level. Noteworthy however is the interconnection between the two – that having convictions at a personal level informs the reaction of a person at professional level. For instance, Abraham Lincoln was able to stand against slavery at a political level because he was against it even at a personal level. Therefore, through their different works, the authors have spoken against all forms of discrimination and its ills. Dirck, Brian. Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief. Perspectives on Political Science 39.1 (2010): 20-27. Freedman, Russell. Lincoln: A Photobiography. New York: Clarion Books, 1987. Print White, Brooks. Charlotte’s Web. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1952. Print

A Quickstart Guide to Writing a Political Science Research Paper

A Quickstart Guide to Writing a Political Science Research Paper Writing a political science research paper is inevitable for anyone who takes a course dealing with domestic or international politics, global justice, human rights, and more. Regardless of whether a student is a political science major or only has the discipline for a single term, he/she will be assigned multiple research papers throughout the course. Although news headings may make one think that politics is cryptic and sinuous if not shady, in reality, it is not as unbearable as it seems. If approached with a proper amount of diligence and enthusiasm, political science can be as engaging as watching The House of Cards. It is a good idea to keep in mind that if everyone paid enough attention to it when in college, some of the current leaders would have never been elected. In other words, no one should treat seemingly dull papers as a necessary evil. Writing them is a first step to make a difference. What Is a Political Science Research Paper? One popular misconception is that ‘research’ in research papers means that one is required to gather as much information on the topic as possible and merely throw it together in a more or less coherent way. As a result, students are often tempted to turn their paper into data dumps, where dates/event descriptions/other people’s ideas follow one another without adequate explanations not to mention analysis. It is unlikely that professors doubt their students’ ability to google. What they do want to know is whether one is capable of analyzing the search results critically. Descriptive reporting (the data dump thing) is necessary, but it must only take a part of the research paper, not its entirety. In reality, a political science research paper is an analytical report with the stress on ‘analytical.’ Facts do not show readers the writer’s proficiency and critical thinking skills. Students have to demonstrate that they are not only familiar with the course materials but also took their time to develop their own ideas. Everyone knows that Syria’s civil war started with the resentment toward Bashar al-Assad’s government. What one has to do is to dig deeper. Why did not the war start until 2011? How does it fit into the general patterns of the Arab Spring? What is the connection between the Syrian war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Why is the international community so unhelpful? How to Choose a Topic for a Political Science Research Paper: Our Writers Share Their Know-How’s Contrary to popular belief, it is a way easier to compose a political science research paper writing when there is a specific topic/research question assigned. Knowing what to write about allows one to avoid spending time and efforts on searching for an adequate, not over-researched, not under-researched topic. However, more often than not, professors suggest their students choose a research question of their own that would deal with the course readings. In such cases, the broader the course is, the more difficult the task gets. For instance, if one takes ‘Introduction to Political Theory’ or ‘Advanced Comparative Politics’, it normally means that appropriate topic options are almost unlimited. There are several characteristics of a decent topic for a political science research paper. First of all, it must be not too broad. Ambition is good; however, taking into account that the common length of a research paper has to be about 6-8 pages, it is unlikely that one can write an in-depth analytical paper on global democracy. The focus should be narrowed. Choosing a specific country to analyze the challenges it faces while struggling for democracy will be more manageable. If the course deals with global politics, comparing two different countries is also a good option. At the same time, an overly narrow topic is also a no-go way. Barack Obama’s protection of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan’s seats in the United States Supreme Court was certainly a notable step towards achieving diversity in American politics. Still, it would not be reasonable to choose this specific accomplishment to write a research paper. What is there to write eight pages about? However, putting Obama’s decision in context to analyze the alarming gender and ethnic uniformity among American politicians is a challenging yet doable research problem. Any topic can be adjusted to take the right place on the scale from ‘too broad’ to ‘too specific.’ Finally, if paper requirements do not say the opposite, one should not limit his/her choice of a topic to the domestic politics alone. Certainly, if the course is called American Federalism, the professor most likely expects students to stick to the United States in the research paper. Otherwise, comparing American political history or current tendencies to those of a different country is more interesting than discussing the United States in a vacuum. Still, there must be a specific issue to compare, for instance, health-care policies. Most importantly, the topic should be interesting and important for the writer. When a student is personally affected by a certain problem, he/she is invested and more likely to compose a high-quality research paper. Grab the Reasonable Examples of Good Topics: Neoliberalism and Health Care: Cuts in Medicare in the United States and Canada over the Last Two Decades; The Current Problems of Corporate Philanthropy in the United States; Fighting Environmental Racism in Chicago, Illinois; The Impact of the Idle No More movement on American Politics; Presidential vs. Parliamentary Systems in Africa: Tanzania vs. Ethiopia; Radical Democracy as a Way out of Neoliberal Collapse in the United States. Examples of Not-So-Good Topics Social Movements in the United States. It is too broad Resolving the Problems of Globalization. This one is too vague and broad. It is better to specify what problems and in what counties are implied. Colombian Presidential Elections in 2006. It is rather a matter of political history. If there is a specific issue to analyze within the events of 2006 elections, it should be specified. However, it is better to find a way to establish a link between 2006 and 2018 elections or another topical problem in Colombia. The Government in the United States and Morocco. It is a barely manageable task to compare a federal republic to an absolute monarchy. There are a few similarities. Where to Find Relevant Academic Sources? Probably, using high-quality scholarly sources is the most valuable component of a well-written research paper. They are the necessary foundation for the writer’s analysis. Backing up one’s ideas proves expertise. Even though every politics-related course always has an extensive list of reading materials, they are not enough to compose a paper regardless of whether there was a specific topic assigned or not. Students are normally expected to use class readings as a starting point for further independent research. Once the topic is chosen, one should start searching for books and journal articles to broaden his/her knowledge and develop a deep understanding of the problem. If the topic deals with the current issues, using news articles is also inevitable. However, considering the amount of fake news and filter bubbles one faces these days, students should approach every news website with caution. Well-known and credible ones like BBC News, HuffingtonPost, CNN, and the New York Times are safe options. It is also reasonable to check several news platforms for a specific event report to compare and contrast different opinions. Political writing is doomed to be biased. It is the spot between the two opposite biases where one finds relatively true information. However, college students cannot manage a political science research paper without consulting relevant books and journal articles written by the authors well-accepted within the academic community. For those, one should choose research databases over Google. University libraries are a perfect place to start. However, online ones are more accessible and easier to operate. Besides, offline libraries are rarely able to fit as many sources as online ones. These are several most credible and extensive academic databases: JSTOR, Academic Search Premier (EBSCO), Web of Science, Project Muse, ProQuest. The majority of articles are not available in full there; however, abstracts give a clear idea of their content. If one understands that a certain article could be helpful, he/she can access it through the college student ID or go to the university library. Besides, students should take their time to check various political science journals separately. It is impossible to list all of them, but it is certainly helpful to keep in mind: American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, Foreign Affairs (It is rather a magazine than a journal; nevertheless, it is a solid platform to consult), Perspectives on Politics, American Politics Research, Political Science Quarterly, International Political Science Review, Politics Society, Journal of Political Science and Public Affairs, International Affairs. Finally, there are several websites where students can find useful political science books. Popular Political Science Books section on GoodReads is hardly an appropriate selection; some of the items there belong rather to the popular science genre and will not look good in one’s research paper bibliography. Instead, students should consider such websites as Yale University Press and Oxford University Press. How to Cite Sources? The process of referencing may appear minuscule as compared to writing a research paper. However, most professors’ grading rubrics show that proper citing is worth many points. The Online Writing Web at Purdue University is the best website to revise one’s referencing skills. There are guides and sample entries for each of the common format styles including MLA, APA, and Chicago. Also, many databases have a citation generator next to every book/article; it allows students to copy and paste a properly composed bibliography entry for every item they chose to reference. Why Is an Outline a Must? Regardless of one’s experience, it is not an easy task to keep focused on the topic while writing. Students frequently get carried away, and the paper ends up being written about something that has nothing to do with the chosen subject. To avoid such an outcome, everyone should begin by composing an outline. No need to make it overly detailed or fancy. Unless the professor requires submitting a proposal with a well-developed full-sentence outline, it is primarily Ariadne’s thread for a student to stay on topic. Once a drafted thesis statement is done, one should make sure that each of the paragraphs supports it. To include one to two rebuttal ones is alright but they should not distract the reader from the paper’s perspective. All paragraphs should have the same structure: a claim (topic sentence) expressing a clear argument evidence (followed by a proper reference to the source) analysis evidence #2 analysis #2 concluding sentence/transition to the next paragraph. The second evidence and analysis are optional and depend on whether the writer prefers longer or shorter paragraphs. The Structure of the Political Science Research Paper A common research paper includes the following: Abstract Not every professor expects his/her students to present an abstract before the research paper. In any case, it is not a difficult task to come up with one. To put it simply, an abstract is a 150-word summary of the entire paper. Introduction The introductory paragraph should let the reader understand what is going to be discussed in the paper without summarizing it. The last sentence is a thesis statement that reflects the paper’s central idea clearly. Body The body of a research paper consists of multiple paragraphs. Their number depends on the length of the paper. Again, each of them has to be related to the thesis statement. Conclusion The conclusion consists of restating the thesis statement, a brief conclusion of all body paragraphs (one sentence per point/paragraph is enough), and one last thought-provoking sentence to invite the reader to think about the problem discussed in the paper. /References Every research paper must have a separate page with a list of the sources cited in the text. Post-Writing Tips One thing nobody should neglect is proofreading. Once the paper is completed, every student’s duty is to reread it several times and use a grammar checker if possible. Sloppy writing makes the text annoying and difficult to follow. Political science research papers could potentially solve global poverty or find a way to fight corruption. With that in mind, it would be a pity if the lack of proofreading prevented the professor (or other potential audience) from giving the paper justice. The final political science research paper writing tip is that it is always useful to ask someone to read the paper before submitting it. Since the writer has spent hours if not days composing the research paper, he/she tends to overlook some minor typos or sentences with broken causality. All in all, treating a political science research paper as an actual proposal for the hypothetical government to implement makes the writing process livelier.