Lessons of my school years

During my childhood my grandmother stressed the importance of education. She would say education can take you around the world, but only through hard work and dedication. She neglected to mention the amount of peer pressure, the cliques formed throughout school and sarcastic teachers whom we are at all times to respect, even If they are not respecting us. I started school In Chicago, IL, where I was amongst 25-30 Pre-K children. Eager my first day to show my teacher I knew my Abs's and ass's.I was taught my first lesson bout school, speak when spoken to or called upon. Nothing crushes a rear old worse than a teacher not interested in what you've so proudly learned. I felt as though my learning weren't important, as if I was Just there to take up space, I was another face amongst the crowd. I took this lesson and held on to it for the rest of my schooling until I learned otherwise. I never answered another question during group participation nor raised my hand to answer. By the time I was In 5th grade all I learned from Chicago public schools was a myth.Now In a rural community and a predominately African American school. I could not blend In with the scenery as my teacher Mrs.. Gates bombarded me one day with question after question, then math problem after math problem, until she came to the conclusion that I In fact knew my studies. I Just refused to be embarrassed by another uninterested teacher. She would then from that day, until the end of the school year, ask me first any question from all of the eight subjects we were being taught. I then understood the reality this teacher does care.She cared enough to see that somewhere along my schooling I had become a mute by default. By the time I had made it to eight grade I knew I was in for a ride. Mrs.. S Hardy, a teacher whom would seem to beat knowledge into you. Mrs.. Hardy never took I don't know for an answer or I can't. She empowered each and every one of her students with the power to learn. Explaining t hat your high school years define you as the person you'll become. Yes, there will be clubs, sports teams, and organizations you will Join, but, education Is still our key to the world.She taught me that a friend only goes as far as graduation and not to be a follower along the path but to make my own path through life. To always be an independent thinker, know what I want out of life not what others want for me. Then all my elementary school encouragement was over upon entering SST. Anne Community High in August of 1997. When people start high school they're usually so excited. They can't wait to experience everything that comes with being in high school, I mean who wouldn't? Everyone says that high school is the best four years of your life.I can't say they were my best years but I can say they were my most educational years, of course I wouldn't say that they weren't fun because they were. When I say educational, I mean Eve learned so much about myself and so much about life. I l earned what the words family, love, betrayal, law and life meant. All these events changed me, and I'm glad they happened because I wouldn't have learned all these lessons. My personality hasn't changed; I'm still a carefree girl, Just with a little more wisdom and a lot more strength.I first entered high school under the impression that this would Mrs.. Hardy, they would not leave me alone. I was amongst sophomores, Juniors, and seniors, a mere freshman, what did I know. I was not going to be able to blend in with the back ground but was an unwilling participant in the daily class activities. Mr.. Hubert, one of the most respected teachers in the school, sounded a lot like the guy from the clear eyes commercials. He explained to us that the upperclassmen were the from lack of studying or simply how he put it were chosen dummies who liked freshmen classes.

Indicators of the Effectiveness of Marketing

An important task of marketing research is the evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing activities. Management companies require marketers increasingly rigorous reporting and substantiation of expenses. Tired of the high and steadily increasing marketing costs, executives are naming the following as marketing : failed new products and failed advertising campaigns, too many phone calls and expensive campaign that are created to stimulate sales but fail to do so. Marketing research is partly able to solve the problem of accountability of marketing.Consider the basic approach to evaluating the effectiveness of marketing activities – a system of performance marketing. Performance indicators of marketing – the criteria by which companies quantify, compare, and interpret the results of its marketing activities. Brand managers are using these indicators, or metrics, program design, and top managers – in the allocation of financial resources. If the ma rketer can show how the money will give the effect of his proposed measures, which means he can no longer justify the allocation of appropriate resources to senior management.Performance indicators can be internal marketing, i. e. , refer to the company's internal environment and external, that is, relate to the external environment of the company. In turn, internal and external indicators are divided into: †¢Current – continuously varying parameters, which require continuous monitoring, and are often carried out with the help of a marketing information system. †¢Final – indicators that are used as marketing the company's goals and evaluated, as a rule, for the quarter, half, or year. Let’s consider the most popular domestic rates. Current domestic rates: †¢defect rate of products degree of knowledge of the company's goals of personnel †¢timeliness of delivery †¢errors in billing †¢inventory turnover It is advisable to keep in mind key indicators that are not directly related to marketing activities. For example, estimating the percentage of defective products and participating in the task to reduce the reject rate, the marketer, thus reducing production costs, which in turn can reduce the price of the product. A price control is one of the essential tasks of the marketer. Timeliness of delivery can improve customer loyalty and forms in their eyes the image of a reliable and punctual company.The degree of knowledge of the objectives of the company allows staff to make the right decisions in complex ambiguous situations. And, most often benefit from such solutions is primarily a consumer. The final internal indices: †¢net profit (income) †¢return on sales †¢margin per unit of output †¢return on assets These figures can be attributed to the financial. The marketer should be aware of the dynamics of their growth or decline. Financial performance could not be more eloquently and accurately desc ribed as the company's activities in general and the marketing department.Of course, to a direct relationship between the magnitude of these parameters and the degree of effectiveness of the marketing department can not, however, the negative trend indicators will clearly indicate the true chosen strategy of the company and, accordingly, a lack of effectiveness of the marketing department. The most popular external indicators include the following. 1. Current external indicators: †¢degree of customer satisfaction †¢the number of complaints †¢the total number of customers †¢loyalty, retention rates †¢intention to buy †¢awareness of the productThe presented figures are difficult to translate into a financial equivalent. How, for example, brings the company's customer loyalty? Therefore, these parameters are estimated separately, according to a specific, produced for a specific company, the system scales. Also, the absolute values are used, for example, to measure the number of complaints or the total number of customers, and the relative values of, for example, the percentage of people who have the intention to purchase goods in the near future. 2. Final external indicators: †¢market share †¢size of the market comparative sales of new products †¢revenue per customer †¢market growth rate In fact, these figures constitute a group of industry and competitive rates. Industry indicators – a measure to assess the state of the industry – its rate of growth or size of the market. It is not possible to measure these indicators. But on the basis of these figures the company can make adjustments to the marketing communications plan or competitive strategy. Competitive rates, for example market share, company can assess its position in the market relative to competitors.Market share – one of the most important indicators of the effectiveness of marketing activities, and the dynamics of its growth has a d irect impact on sales growth. To ensure the maximization of the diversity metric can be done by the special organizational processes and systems. All materials used in the company's internal and external parameters can be represented as a marketing information system. As a source of data for marketing information system companies can use two systems of market valuation, reflecting the company's results and help to learn in advance about the possible impending problems.The evaluation system of consumers includes analysis of the following indicators: †¢percentage of new buyers from the average number of customers †¢percentage of dissatisfied customers of the average number of customers †¢percentage of customers who are able to return, the total number of customers †¢percentage of customers who declare their intention to re-purchase the product †¢percentage of customers who declare their intention to recommend a product to others †¢the average perception o f roduct quality in comparison with the main competitor †¢percentage of consumers who claim that the product is the most preferable in its category The evaluation of people that have interest. Companies need to continuously monitor the mood of the various groups interested in their work, or to affect it: employees, suppliers, banks, distributors, retailers and shareholders. It should also set standards for each group and take action as soon as one or more of them show an increased level of dissatisfaction. ExampleIn each division of the company  «Hewlett-Packard » evaluation system of customers is applied, which includes from 18 to 20 indicators. Some criteria (customer satisfaction and timely delivery) the same for all, while others depend on the specifics of each department. Analysis of these estimates allows company management to assess the effectiveness of marketing strategies, sales and profits and to identify areas in which improvements can achieve greater quantitativ e indicators. 9. 2. Methods for assessing the effectiveness of marketing activitiesEvaluating the effectiveness of marketing activities is very challenging and not always given the opportunity to express the quantitative effect obtained at the expense of marketing activities. Nevertheless, there are many different approaches for addressing this problem, which allows you to select the following classification of methods for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing. Qualitative methods involve the use of marketing audit, during which the comprehensive analysis of environmental organizations, as well as all the threats and opportunities.In this case there are two areas of marketing control: control of marketing results-oriented and marketing audit, i. e. analysis of the qualitative aspects of the organization. Quantitative methods for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing requires comparing the costs of marketing with the resulting gross profit and the cost of advertising to sales , and they characterize the final financial results for the organization. Analysis of the profitability and cost analysis can also be one of the options for the quantitative method of assessing the effectiveness of marketing.In evaluating marketing activities should be the parameters that characterize the activity of a particular business units – sales volumes, the organization of the market share, margin and net profit. The volume of sales (gross sales) is a complex indicator and reflects not only and not the success of efforts to implement the product, but also chosen the right price, and most importantly, how the goods â€Å"fell† in the target group of consumers. Dynamics of sales – an indicator of an organization's position in the market, its shares and trends.It should also be noted that independent place in the analysis of cost structures and evaluating the development potential of the organization is the analysis of break-even point. Break-even volume sh ows how many goods to be sold, that the resulting contribution margin covers all fixed costs. This volume is an indicator of the organization capabilities to maneuver in the market. Sociological methods for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing aimed at using the tools of applied sociology – the development of sociological research program and in accordance with its conduct of the study.In the use of tools of applied sociology also is oriented assessment of the effectiveness of marketing communications (advertising effectiveness, sales Tenths methods for assessing the effectiveness of marketing separating its effectiveness for each activity in compliance with the eligibility criteria of the list of structures and processes of the marketing concept of setting a specific score for each criterion. Nowadays, there is an increasing number of methods to assess the effectiveness of information marketing that are most widely discussed on the Internet.The essence of these methods is that in order to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing programs used by Sales Expert 2, Success, and others, which are software for marketing information systems. In fact, the evaluation of the effectiveness of marketing activities is one of the functions of a marketing information system. All the indicators needed to assess the effectiveness of marketing activities should be incorporated in the marketing information system. Marketer, the user of the system is only necessary to define the algorithm and the method of assessing effectiveness. 9. 3.Performance indicators of marketing – the criteria by which companies quantify, compare, and interpret the results of its marketing activities. Performance indicators can be internal marketing, i. e. , refer to the company's internal environment and external, that is, relate to the external environment of the company. In turn, internal and external indicators are divided into current – which should be continuous monitored and which are often carried out with the help of a marketing information system, and final – indicators that are used as marketing the company's goals and evaluated, usually on the basis of quarter, year.The following methods of evaluating the effectiveness of marketing activities: †¢Qualitative methods involve the use of marketing audit, during which the comprehensive analysis of environmental organizations, as well as all the threats and opportunities. †¢Quantitative methods are used for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing requires comparing the costs of marketing with the resulting gross profit, and advertising costs to sales. †¢Sociological methods – for evaluating the effectiveness of marketing aimed at using the tools of applied sociology – a program of sociological research and in accordance with its conduct of the study. Tenths methods for assessing the effectiveness of marketing â€Å"isolate† its effectiveness for each activ ity in compliance with the eligibility criteria of the list of structures and processes of the marketing concept of setting a specific score for each criterion. The essence of the method of information lies in the fact that the evaluation of the effectiveness of marketing programs used by Sales Expert 2, Success, and others, which are software for marketing information systems.Four tools for monitoring the implementation of the marketing plan. 1. Analysis of the distribution suggests a partition of the total sales data into categories such as products, end users, marketing intermediaries, sales territory, and the size of the order. The purpose of the analysis – to identify strengths and weaknesses of the area, for example, products with the highest and lowest sales, buyers, who account for a large portion of the proceeds, as well as sales agents and territory, demonstrating the highest and lowest quality of work. . Analysis of market share. Sales volume and market share are t he primary functions of a number of determining factors. For consumer goods, these factors include the efficient allocation, the relative price, retain or change the perception of one or more of the essential characteristics of the product to consumers in comparison with competitors' products and product placement on store shelves. 3. Itemized analysis of earnings and expenses.Data on sales – it is certainly not the only relevant information regarding the success of marketing activities. Need to monitor values of gross margin and profit margin, and to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of all marketing expenditure items. 4. Analysis of the ratio of marketing costs and sales volumes. Analysis of the annual plan requires ongoing monitoring to achieve the goals of expenditure. The main management measure is the ratio of marketing costs and sales volumes.

Symbolism in the Chrysanthemums

Aliya Grayman Professor Gulliksen English 131 (D8) 24 October 2012 Your Inner Chrysanthemum How many people sit down and think about what symbolizes their lives? A symbol is a person place or thing that suggests something other than its literal meaning. In John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† Elisa Allen lives on a ranch with her husband Henry in Salinas Valley. Henry is off talking to men about the livestock on the ranch while Elisa is tending to her garden. A tinker comes up to their yard and begins to talk to Elisa about his work and all of his travels.He tries to get Elisa to let him work, but she does not feel that she needs any work done. The tinker notices the garden of chrysanthemums, and tells Elisa that he knows a woman that wants to grow them. Elisa develops a short lived attraction to the tinker as she is offering him the flower and giving him careful instructions on taking care of them. Steinbeck uses symbolism throughout this short story. Things such as the wire fence around the garden, the changing of Elisa’s clothing, and the chrysanthemums themselves mean something beyond their literal meaning.Everyone has an item or person that symbolizes their life. Because the title of the short story is â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† the chrysanthemum is an obvious symbol. Elisa’s beautiful garden of chrysanthemums is very important to the story. They are Important because the chrysanthemums are Elisa, meaning they represent her throughout the story. The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s life. Like her they are unimportant to the men in her life. When the tinker asks her about the flowers Elisa brightens up. When Elisa offers a flower to the tinker, she offers herself as well.When the flowers are rejected it symbolizes society’s rejection to women being anything other than mothers and housekeepers. Both the Elisa and the chrysanthemums seem to be simply decorative, and add little importance to the world. The wire fence surrounding the garden of chrysanthemums shows how Elisa lives her life. Elisa lives a very guarded life. Elisa only tends to the garden inside the fence, never venturing out into the world of work on her ranch. Henry takes care of all of the business deals on the ranch. The fence represents the sheltered life Elisa has been living.The type of fence has significance as well. The wire fence shows that Elisa can look outside of her garden with ease; a wooden fence would keep everything out and in. Steinbeck gives great detail of Elisa’s clothing. In the beginning of the story she is wearing bulky gardening clothes and a man’s hat. After her conversation with the tinker, there is an abundant amount of detail as Elisa is preparing to go out to dinner with her husband. The description of what she chooses to wear shows her masculine persona becoming feminine.The sentence â€Å"When she had dried herself she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom and looked at her body†(247), shows her new found sexuality. Everything has more than one meaning. When an object is a symbol of something else the meaning becomes much more important. Steinbeck meant for his readers to see the true beauty of a chrysanthemum, and by having them symbolize the main character in the story he did just that. Showing inner beauty and strength gives an inanimate object life. Everything has an inner chrysanthemum.

Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Banking - Essay Example Not only the internal rating, but also the governance and the quality of risk management will be a major factor in being able to use internal ratings as a basis for calculating regulatory capital requirements. National supervisors will authorise firms to use one of the internal-ratings based approaches on a case by case basis. Basel II also introduces capital requirements for operational risk, a risk category that was not explicitly addressed under the Basel I rules. To a large extent, the proposed Basel II was in response to widespread criticism of Basel I. But it also reflected additional thought and analysis of the role of bank capital regulation. In particular, Basel II added two new "pillars" - supervisory review (pillar 2) and market discipline (pillar 3) - to the single pillar of minimum capital requirement of Basel I. In response to public comments, the Committee revised its proposal twice and issued a third consultative paper (CP3) in early 2003. If approved, the proposed standards are scheduled for implementation in most countries at the beginning of 2007. In preparation, in August 2003, U.S. regulators circulated an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for the application of Basel II to U.S. banks for public comment by the end of the year, and the major features have been incorporated by the European Union in a proposed revision of its Capital Adequacy Directive (CAD) for financial institutions, for approval by the European Pa rliament and the member national parliaments before adoption A key feature of the New Accord, as noted above, is that it is structured on the basis of three pillars: (1) Pillar 1. Minimum capital requirements for market credit and operational risk (2) Pillar 2. Supervisory review process and (3) Pillar 3. Market discipline These pillars are interlocking and mutually reinforcing. For example, the use of the more sophisticated approaches to credit or operational risk will bring additional disclosure requirements under Pillar 3, and will affect the nature of the supervisory review conducted under Pillar 2.Pillar 1 - Minimum capital requirements Under Basel II, the definition of regulatory capital as well as the minimum required ratio of 8% of risk-weighted assets remains substantially unchanged from the Basel I Accord2. The treatment of position risk arising from trading activities as set out in the 1996 Amendment of Basel I Accord also remains substantially un-changed, although significant changes are proposed to the treatment of counterparty credit risk that have been discussed in a joint working group established by the Basel Committee and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). The principal modifications relate to the methodology for calculating risk-weighted assets categories, credit and operational risk. The minimum capital requirements and methods used to measure the risks faced by banks, as defined under Pillar 1 of the Basel II Ac-cord, are given in the paragraphs below. Credit Risk: Pillar 1 Three methods for calculating credit risk capital are offered. In order of increasing sophistication and risk

Commercial Rental Market in Midwestern City Research Paper

Commercial Rental Market in Midwestern City - Research Paper Example Per square foot annual rental cost = 43.12 + 7.47 * Occupancy - 3.9 * Wiring1 - 0.9 * Distance to City Center - 0.76 * Distance to Airport + 0.53 * Number of Elevator - 0.35 * Length of Lease - 0.11 * Years to last Renovations + 0.09 * Building Age. For a 3 year lease of 50,000 sqft of newly renovated and wired space that is one mile away from city center and fifteen miles away from the nearest airport, with 75% occupancy, three elevators, four years since last renovations in a ten year old building, the predicted per square foot annual cost of rent is $34, and predicted total annual cost of rent is $1,701,712. An office that is ten miles away from the airport its per square foot rent is valued on the real estate market at $33, while an office that is twenty miles away from the airport is valued at $26, with a discount value of 70% per mile. Similarly, the presence of office wiring is valued at $34.5, while no office wiring at $30.6, with a discount value of 10%. An office with 0.75 occupancy is valued at $29.8 per square foot, while an office with 0.97 occupancy is valued at $31.5. Potential savings are best made by increasing the distan

Having our say and black men and public space (education) Essay

Having our say and black men and public space (education) - Essay Example The African American life is detailed in these stories. The stories have a purpose of promoting the value of education and knowledge in life. Getting less chance to acquire education in childhood the two sisters were motivated to get highly educated in future In the story, the sisters were having hindrance in getting education because of their black race, They had to face discrimination from white people however they stood through all bad experience and went on to get highly educated and created a niche for themselves in the society . In same way, Staple is also educated and understands that he is mistaken for a criminal because white has a misconception of Africans that they are of dubious or immoral nature. Both the story tells that education change the way we contemplate issue. The authors being educated became strong about their identity and personality and were proud of their race. Staple being an educated person always remained calm and relaxed to all negative reaction from white people. Staple chose to perhaps unconsciously, to remain a shadow-timid, but a survivor ( Staple). Both the sisters and Staple think that education can be a weapon with which we can shield any attacks from discriminative people. They show us that education and hard work can overcome poverty . The education has changed the attitude of all the characters in the stories. The sisters acquired high education and they get good profession too. It was courageous during that time in history for women to be educated when there was no reason for blacks to be educated ( Delany 5) . They give a message that people need to get educate and fight for their rights. The negative remarks from people should not stop us from achieving our goals. Life is supposed to be something which needs to be constructed with education and hard work. The sisters are a role model to all young black people who face discrimination at educational institution. The sisters Bessie and Sadie think that

Parpgraising paragragh about phosphene and alkynyl legand Essay

Parpgraising paragragh about phosphene and alkynyl legand - Essay Example Large variety of phosphines are thus possible, while different widely available verities include 1,1’ (BINAP) and 2,2’-bis (diphenylphosphino). In such chiral systems, steric constraints come up, that can be resolved into diastereomers. While discussing reactivity of complexes belonging to phosphine ligands, two properties of these ligands are considered important. These properties relate to their steric bulk and their accepting ability, also called electron donating ability. (d-Metal OGANOMETALLIC CHEMISTRY) Like alkyl groups, alkynyl, alkenyl and aryl groups can bond to a metal form through a single carbon atom. For this property, these groups are described as â€Å"monohapto’. However, there is a possibility of each of these three groups accepting â€Å"pai† electron density into anti-bonding orbitals, although the same has not been observed, largely, so far. This can be ratified by an example, which shows little change in the stretching frequency of the triple bond in alkynyl complexes, as they attach to a metal; although â€Å"n-1 –alkynyl group† might be considered analogous to a CO group. As per d-metal organometallic chemistry noting, the displacement of halide with a lithium reagent at a metal center can make way for introduction of alkynyl groups into organometallic complexes. While looking at the donor-pair scheme of electron counting, alkynyl ligands are considered to be two-electron donors with a single negative charge. (alkenyl, alkynyl and aryl

Operant Conditioning Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operant Conditioning Paper - Essay Example Operant Conditioning is widely used not only in psychology but also in other different settings. A person behaves in a particular way due to the response (stimuli) he experiences in his environment. When these responses are reinforced, then the person or animal is conditioned to respond. Operant Conditioning does not use the trial and error method in determining a person’s reaction to a certain response. It is directly experienced by the individual through a certain experience in his environment. Reinforcements mean â€Å"to strengthen or make strong† but they can be both positive as well as negative. A reinforcer is called positive when the reinforcement is presented or takes place. On the other hand, a negative reinforcement is when the reinforcement is withdrawn. In order to suppress a person’s behavior, negative reinforcement is utilized, but that doesn’t mean that negative reinforcement is punishment. Negative reinforcers are often used to correct a person’s behavior by removing the positive reinforcer and replacing it with the negative one. This helps the individual to condition or respond in a different way by reducing the consequence or threat of punishment, thereby changing his behavior for the better. Operant Behavior is moulded according to the consequences an individual receives in the environment. The freedom of a person is affected in the process. (Skinner, 1971) If the individual has experienced positive reinforcing consequences usually feel a sense of freedom, but this is not the case in negative consequences. According to B.F Skinner, â€Å"The experimental analysis of operant behavior has led to a technology often called behavior modification†.  (B.F Skinner, 1971) Between the positive reinforcement and Negative reinforcement, the one that is most used in the correction of behavior is the Negative reinforcement. In such an environment, the trouble causing consequences are removed and replaced with other consequences,

Volunteering in community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Volunteering in community - Essay Example I could meet the challenges of this volunteer activitiy and learn a great deal about myself, my calling in the medical field, patient care, and how Hamad General has evolved to become the leading medical institution in Qatar. Stepping into the halls of Hamad General on that first day gripped me with a sense of awe and wonder at the state of the art facility. At par, if not far advanced, of its western counterparts, I knew that the challenging world I had chosen to become a part of was not just going to challenge me as a person, but help me to become a better version of myself. I knew that this was the place I had to be. I was in the right place, at the right time. Hamad General Hospital is one of the health care facilities that resulted from the Emiri decree issued in 1979. The 603 bed facility has certainly come a long way from its humble beginnings are a general hospital. These days, the facility has evolved into offering both general and complex medical assistance covering the areas of trauma, emergency medicine, pediatrics, critical care, specialized surgery, specialized medicine, laboratory medicine, and radiology services. The hospital is certainly expanding its services and access to the most modern health diagnostic tools in response to the ever growing population of the city. Most notable of its objectives at the moment is the development of a Diabetes Center in order to address the large diabetic population of Qatar. I spent my time as a volunteer at the hospital acclimatizing and familiarizing myself with the various trauma departments and patients. I have a certain specific interest in this field of medical science and my exposure to that area of the hospital was quite beneficial towards increasing my knowledge in trauma care. It was in this department where I learned that being a volunteer is not as simple as it sounds. With the main purpose of the trauma department being to help patients become productive members of society again, I found that

Case Analysis Assignment Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis Assignment - Case Study Example ts producing multinational company was severely criticized by the international human rights activist groups as well as the other activists in the global communities due to the large scale exploitation of the cheap labor sources in the country. The problems faced by the company were one of the most cited examples of the global sweatshop issues prevailing in the international scenarios at that time. The Foxconn workers’ suicide cases were investigated by a number of domestic and international authorities including the fair Labor Association (FLA) which identified severe malpractices in the human resource management systems implemented in the manufacturing houses of the company (Fair Labor Association, 2012). A number of core human resource management issues were identified in the company which included the exploitation of labors, the use of unfair labor practices, the provision of biased and unjust work environment, a non-caring attitude of the company towards the safety and he alth of the worker groups, low payment of wages and extremely long working hours. Along with these practices, the authoritative treatment of the managers of the company towards the labor groups also deteriorated the working condition of the labors in the Foxconn factories, thereby creating an exemplary sweatshop practice case for the company. The cultural aspect of the company further aggravated the human resource issues and malpractices in the factories of the Foxconn Technology Group. The company was accused of exploiting the labor resources in the then developing state of China after the repeated suicide cases of the workers drew high levels of media attention and were discussed on the global platforms. The fair stand taken by Apple Inc. which was the biggest client of Foxconn Technology Group was another main factor which further alleviated the criticisms made towards the company. Apple Inc. clearly stated that it would severe all types of business relations with the supplier if it does

Analysis of the Cultural Differences of Coca Cola Essay Example for Free

Analysis of the Cultural Differences of Coca Cola Essay 1 A Summary 1.1 A one-page summary which outlines, in no more than three short paragraphs (and preferably just one) what the report says 1.2 You should write this last 1.3 It should be in the third person and present tense. e.g. The report considers the arguments in favour of Quality Circles and makes recommendations about their adoption. . 2 An Introduction 2.1 This should give a brief explanation of the aims/context of the report, and should include details of any information necessary for the reader to understand it. e.g. company size; structure; main activities; your role/position; etc. 3 The Main Body of the Report 3.1 This is where you present your main account of the problem or issue you are writing about. 3.1.1 It should be based on analysis, not intuition, e.g. avoid writing I feel 3.1.2 You must backup what you write with evidence and/or argument. This means you must substantiate each assertion you make with evidence, e.g. extracts from the company annual report, staff survey, recent appraisal, interviews, etc. 31.3 You must support opinions with specific examples/evidence (e.g. from a consultant’s report) or by building a logical argument based on previously cited examples/evidence 3.1.4 You should make a clear distinction between objective facts and personal opinions. 3.2 Ideally this section should be divided into numbered paragraphs like this briefing sheet, showing which section the paragraph belongs to. 3.3 Headings for each sub-section should be underlined or in bold. 3.4 Consider presenting material in the form of diagrams, charts, etc. wherever appropriate. These are not only easier to grasp, but also reduce the word count. 4 Conclusions 4.1 This is where you sum up the general conclusions you have reached, such as The very low staff morale is a result of an autocratic management style. 4.2 Dont confuse conclusions (where you draw together the threads of the preceding discussion to make some overall points) with recommendations (where you say what should be done about the conclusions you have reached). 4.3 It is sometimes a good idea to present your conclusions in the form of a bullet list, like this: †¢ Conclusion 1 †¢ Conclusion 2 †¢ Etc. 5 Recommendations 5.1 This is where you list the actions which your conclusions lead you to believe are necessary, e.g. The team leader should attend a course in modern approaches to management 5.2 The recommendations must be based on the analysis and conclusions. 5.3 Wherever possible, you should include a clear indication of: o The priorities o The timescale / deadlines for completion o Who is to be responsible for taking and/or monitoring the recommended action o To whom any action should be reported o From who authorisation must be sought o The financial budget or source of funds o Other costs/resource implications o Etc. 6 The List of References 6.1 This is the list of sources referred to directly in your report. If you have mentioned a writer or a book (even a course book) you must give full details here of: o The writer(s) or editors o The date of publication o The title o The publisher 6 The Bibliography (if any) 6.1 The bibliography is where you list details of any books or other sources you have consulted in preparing your report which you think it would be useful for your reader to know about or be able to consult. You should give the details outlined in the section on references above.

Personal Philosophy of Classroom Management Essay Example for Free

Personal Philosophy of Classroom Management Essay Classroom Management is an essential element in implementing a successful learning environment for students. A teacher who implements a classroom management plan will control student’s misbehavior so that all students will be focused on the lessons being taught in the classroom. Below is an annotated list of points that I believe in concerning my view of classroom management. 1. How teacher should act: * Enthusiastic- A teacher should show enthusiasm when she is teaching the lessons. The teacher needs to show that she is excited about teaching the lessons so that the students will stay interested in listening and understanding the subject area content. * Respectful- The teacher should treat students with respect and also demand respect. She should never use fowl language, inappropriate behavior, share too much personal information or act in ways that are not ethical. * Role Model- A teacher should act as a role model to her students. The teacher should not do anything that would jeopardize her career as a teacher that would make her students look down upon her. She also must live a life that students look up to so they will remember that teacher forever. * Patiently- A teacher must exhibit patience in class. Every student learns at different paces and at different levels. A teacher must be willing to be patient if the students are not grasping the information. She should explain the information to the students until they finally understand the lesson 2. How students are expected to behave: * Respectful- Students are to be respectful towards the teacher and to each other. Students should show respect to the teacher by not talking when the teacher is instructing the class. The students should show respect to each other by not hitting each other, making fun of another, or taking one’s personal belongings. * On Task-Students should stay on task in class. Students should be focused on the teacher’s lessons and instructions. They should not be wandering off getting off task. If the students are off task, they will not understand the lessons or remember what happened in class. Also the teacher will have to go back and teach the lesson again which can cause the teacher to be off target teaching the curriculum and it will result in student’s receiving poor test scores. * Appropriately Well Behaved- Students should be well behaved in class. It is important for students to understand the importance of good behavior. If students are well behaved in the classroom, the teacher can spend more time instructing the students than time spent on behavioral issues. In a well behaved classroom, students are able to learn effectively. * Academically Prepared- Students are to come to school academically prepared. The students should complete their homework assignment each day in order to make sure they understand the subjects that are being taught. They should always come prepared to listen to the subject matter, offer their opinions, and ask god questions in class. 3. What the classroom might look and feel like: * Engaging- The classroom should look and feel engaging to the student. In the classroom, the teacher can arrange the classroom that promotes student interaction and group collaboration. Students should be seated in a circle or horseshoe shape that maximizes the amount of eye contact students can have with each other. * Clean and Organized Classroom- A teacher’s classroom should be clean and organized. The school supplies should be neatly organized and in a safe place where students can safely access the supplies. * Filled with student’s work- The classroom should be filled with student’s work on projects. The students will feel comfortable and engaged if what they are learning in class will be showcased in the classroom. The student can look around the room and be reminded to always do their best on their assignments. This also sends a message to students that their work and learning is important. * Student Centered The classroom should be focused on the students. In the student centered classroom, you will find workstations that promote group activities such as puzzles or brainteasers that promote student collaboration. 4. How the teacher helps students conduct themselves properly: * Demonstrating the Rules- The teacher should teach, review, and practice rules form beginning of school till the end of school. The teacher should also let students demonstrate good behaviors and bad behaviors so that students will understand how to follow the rules and to have good behavior in class. * Reinforce positive behavior with Incentives- A teacher can help students conduct themselves properly by providing incentives through positive behavior. A student who exhibits positive behavior weekly will pick a price out of the treasure chest. This will result in students with bad behavior to act better if they see students winning cool prizes. * Student and Parent Contracts- To ensure students are behaving properly, student and parent contracts are sent home for parents and students to sign. This contract outlines what is expected from the student’s behavior, academics, and the parent’s commitment in the child’s education. This will be very helpful in helping the students have good behavior in class. * Character Education Mini Lessons tied to Curriculum- Teachers can tie in the classroom rules and good behavioral skills as mini-lessons. Before teaching the lessons, the teacher can discuss how to treat others, how to walk quietly in the halls, and do not talk while others are talking. By having these mini lessons on how students should behave will remind them of how to have good behavior in class. 5. What the teacher should do about misbehavior: * Cues- Teachers uses a cue or a simple verbal reprimand to redirect a student’s focus which eliminates the inappropriate behavior. A teacher can also praise the efforts of students with good behavior which can reduce the misbehavior among the other students. * Consequences such as loss of recess- If a student keeps misbehaving, the teacher can use the consequence of loss recess. The majority of students like to go to recess. If the student knows their punishment by loss of recess due to their misbehavior, their behavior will improve. * Private conference with student- If the student still misbehaves, the teacher will need to talk with the student. The teacher will inform the student that his or her misbehavior will not be tolerated in class and his or her parents will be contacted if the misbehavior continues. * Contact parent- A teacher should contact the parents if the student keeps misbehaving in class. If the teacher lets the parents know how their child behaves in class, then the parents can also talk to the child and discipline them at home. 6. How students should be taught and what is expected of them: * Post rules in the classroom- Teachers can post rules in the classroom so that students can be reminded each day of how to properly behave in class. Also the teacher can give quizzes to students about the poster rules throughout the year. * Clear articulation and communication in the syllabus- Teachers should communicate clearly about what is expected of student’s assignments and their behavior in class. For example, informing students to always do their best on their work or their handwriting must be neat on all of their assignments should be clearly communicated. Creating a syllabus will also inform students of when their assignments are due.

Violence against Women in Afghanistan

Violence against Women in Afghanistan Afghanistans country has been ruled by militant groups of the Taliban and womens rights have been exploited for political gain. Women were allowed to do many things such as the right to vote before civil conflict and Taliban rule before the 1970s. The Taliban ruled in Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001(Dupont, 2004). Their aim was to make Afghanistan an Islamic state and under their rule woman and girls were faced with discrimination and were forced to follow their version of Islamic law. Women were violated, beaten, abused and raped. Although in 2001 they banish from power there are still some that control sections of Afghanistan. In 2009 Afghanistan adopted the elimination of violence against woman law but women are still being abused and have no equality. â€Å"Women constitute roughly 49% of Afghanistans 23.3 million people.†(Ministry of Women’s Affairs, 2008, para1). In comparison to the Afghanistan men, women are the worst off in the world and their situation is ver y poor especially in the areas of health data, human rights, protection against violence, education, public participation, and economic productivity. According to (MOVA, 2008), â€Å"the average Afghan woman have a lifespan of 44 years which is around 20 years short of the global average.† Woman in Afghanistan die at a younger age than men because of the abuse and harsh suffering that is placed on them. Women in Afghanistan face under age early marriages, forced marriages high fertility rate which contribute to high incidence of maternal mortality. Women are limited to access services and opportunities due to poverty insecurity and harmful traditional practices and abuse by their spouse (MOVA, 2008). Women face many health problems because they have to wait for approval from their spouse and because of their culture they have limits to male doctors. Not only do women have poor quality health but they also have a low literacy rate. Education is a huge concern because they lack the resources, facilities, finance, protection from abuse and girls and women are discouraged from going to school. â€Å"The adult literacy rate in Afghanistan is estimated at 36% while the woman, it is estimated at being 21%.†(MOVA, 2008, pg. 3) Boys are more likely to complete primary school and further their education than girls. Men are economically more stable than are women. Womens productive contributions are underestimated and underpaid and women have limited access to economic resources. What has already been done? In 2009 the law on elimination of violence against woman was enacted and this law covers crime of forced marriages, forced self immolation and other acts of violence against woman. Ever since the law was in place there have been incidences of 2,299 cases of violence against women (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights [OHCHR], 2011) and a record of increases in number of cases of self immolation of girls and women in southern and southeastern regions of Afghanistan. Most cases are not investigated by police and some crimes were prosecuted through penal code instead of the elimination law which left perpetrators with lighter charges and women being accused of moral crimes (OHCHR, 2011). Because many women are unaware of the law and protective factors, women are still fleeing from violence and forced marriages. Many of the women run to women shelters that offer temporary safe refuge. The violence against woman presents them from having a voice and limits their ability to do anything in the public. United nations assistance in Afghanistan and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights have called on the government to make the law known among people in rural and urban areas and also government of all levels. The United Nations collected information from 22 of Afghanistans 34 provinces during a 12 month period to see how well the law is used (OHCHR, 2011). Because of cultural restraints, social norms and religious beliefs, woman face acts of violence. Many of the women are discouraged from seeking help due to fear of their lives. They faced so much discrimination and fear that they dont want to do anymore to further complicate their lives. Due to the sufferings and abuse on womens health, there have been mobile teams available in the community to help women get care for their health. The mobile team includes midwife, vaccinators, community health supervisors and community health workers (Madhok, 2014). Whenever a case is very severe they are referred to main hospitals. UNICEF has provided and funded special care for women and their children and this helps by improving womens access to medical care. In 2012 the IASC gender marker was introduced Afghanistan and resulted in significant achievements towards mainstreaming gender. Midyear evaluations were conducted to verify implements of the IASC gender marker (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA], 2013, pg. 39). They made visits to different sites in Bamyan, Herat, Nangahar and Kabal. They faced many challenges on recruiting women to provide healthcare for women and girls because of their customary practices and fear they faced against men. Few Afghanistan non-governmental organizations (NGOs) develop strategies to slowly change gender attitudes and Kabal. Through their awareness and building trust with the men, women were allowed permission to receive family planning from male doctors. Many women are not allowed to work or be seen by men so that is why they were restricted from any services. To help address gender issues, gender frameworks were developed to engage communities to work on meeting humanitarian a nd protection needs of vulnerable groups (OCHA, 2013). Other things that were done: Governments have involved women in national institutions Woman are recognized in the constitutional Loya Jirga Government mandated the national Solidarity program to ensure womens participation as actors and beneficiaries in the program Implementation of Bonn Agreement(increases womens involvement in government) Established the Ministry of womens affairs (2001) Education awareness on rape and sex assault Provided helpline contacts Develop training packages for domestic homicide Improve commission of services Elimination of Violence against Woman Law (2009) Partnerships Used to implement awareness: UN action against sexual violence in conflict Inter agency task force for women, peace and security Inter Agency Task Force on Prevention of sexual exploitation NGO, civil society and communities to promote gender equality and empowerment of women and girls Gender Standby Capacity (GenCap) project Steering Committee Afghanistan Ministry of womens affairs (UNICEF, 2012) What needs to be done? Continuously enforcing the law (punishment for not following rules) Place perpetrators in prison Revise Afghanistans legislative framework Implement gender equality Allow more women to contribute in the country Raise awareness of the law all over so that men and women are informed Include organizations that support nonviolence against women and men Provide healthcare to women and children and make accessible in poor areas Increase protection mechanisms in schools to allow girls and women of safer environment for education Protection of womens rights Integrate gender equality programs and extend women roles /more opportunities Provide surgical help for women Provide nutritional supplies Educate men about integration of womens roles Educate children about abuse and consequences Provide rehabilitation and coping centers To measure the outcomes of the plan, the process needs to be evaluated to ensure that all ideas have been implemented. This includes: reviewing of the past abuse rates and comparing them with the new ones to determine whether the plan was beneficial; looking at the healthcare of women and children to determine if proper health care have been given to improve their health; looking at the education rates of women and the level of education accomplished; determining what has been made available to women and what roles they currently hold; looking at attitudes and behaviors of men towards women to determine if there were any significant changes in the household; ensuring prosecution of the perpetrators and an improvement in the judicial system. References Dupont, S.(2004) Women in Afghanistan: The back story. Retrieved from  www.amnesty.org.uk/womens-rights-afghanistan-history#.U1i-WOawL9d Ministry of Women’s Affairs (2008) National Action Plan for Women of Afghanistan. Retrieved  From mova.gov.af/en/page/6686 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). (2013) Afghanistan Common  Humanitarian Action Plan. Retrieved from http://unocha.org/cap/ Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) (2011) A Long  way to Go: Implementation of the Elimination of Violence Law. Kabul, Afghanistan Retrieved from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/AF/UNAMA_Nov2011.pdf UNICEF (2012) Gender Equality in Humanitarian Action Retrieved from www.unicef.org

Community Service Essay -- Volunteering Volunteerism Essays

Community Service I have always been involved in groups that perform community service projects. In fact, I was recently elected to as VP of Public Relations of the Student MOVE group. We are a group of 12 individuals that are the advisory committee for all of the community service organizations on campus, but we organize many alternative activities and events. I even did a service learning project for my Spanish class last semester with Cynthia Wells. I attended the Spanish mass every Sunday, and I was a greeter. I learned their culture and rituals while still attending the usual Catholic Mass. Upon learning that I had to do a service learning project for Ethics class, I immediately began brainstorming ideas. I decided I was going to work on a website for the Esprit De Corp group since they could not find anyone to do it. However, I ended up getting paid for so that did not work out. So I had two back-up plans. My first idea is that I was going on an AWOL trip for Spring Break. AWOL stands for Alternative Weekend of Offsite Learning. We spent a week in Denver doing various community service projects. Now, that was a week of community service, but it wasn’t done in Iowa. So I took the initiative of doing some service in Storm Lake. One day after mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Fr. Klein approached me. He asked me if I wanted to help out by leading a confirmation retreat for 90 Storm Lake juniors that would be confirmed in a couple of weeks. I figured it would be a perfect opportunity to help out the community and maybe even help myself spiritual ly. AWOL Trip to Denver I was one of twelve kind-hearted individuals that went on an AWOL trip to Denver, Colorado. We worked at various places includ... ...Denver. It’s a priceless moment that money cannot buy. Working at the confirmation retreat at St. Mary’s taught me how to help carry on my faith as a Catholic. The church is a non-profit group just like any other non-profit group here in Storm Lake. I must say that helping people my own age is much different than helping children. I did not get the smiles like I did working with the children. However, I received a ton of self-satisfaction giving the speech on confirmation. I also understood more about motivation. I am pretty intrinsically motivated. I do not need money, bribes, or incentives to do work. I get can motivate myself to help others with self-satisfaction. I really enjoyed the service learning projects I participated in. I wish more professors made their students extend their learning beyond the classroom and move it out to the community.

Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The difference in the way humans perceive things is apart of mankind. Golding believes evil is an inborn characteristic. Are people born evil or is it just human nature to do â€Å"wrong† or â€Å"bad† things simply to survive? Golding’s pessimism about human nature would suggest people are all naturally evil in one way or another. When innocent boys are set on an island without any adult supervision, are they going to do the â€Å"good† or the â€Å"bad† things? There actions simply are neither good nor evil; their actions are for survival in an unknown place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Humans are always, by natural instinct, going to do what they think is best for them. Ralph attacked his own kind for survival. People will do anything to survive, even if it’s the bad things. The boys on the island later began to resemble the behavior of animals. The boys mistake Simon for their beast and result in brutally killing him. The boys had the instinct of killing anything in sight that looked or seemed like the beast.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Instincts are not about being good or bad because the issue of being good or bad is undefined. Whether an action is either good nor bad, it all depends on the person and how the person is acting. If you think you’re doing something that you’re used to doing and thinking it’s right, but on the other hand a person who doesn’t know you may say that you’re ding something evil. The opinions on which people think things are good or evil depends on both sides. In Lord of the Flies, there is a situation with Piggy’s glasses, which is the key item for building the fire. His glasses were stolen in the night, which leads to a brawl within the kids because their Piggy’s only seeing ability.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Society sets a mold for the â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad† conditions that humans are learning from day to day. The role of society in being good or evil is that it acts as the guideline for that long-lived dream of acceptance. It’s where evil is what will make you repulsive. Jack manipulates the boys into joining his tribe and sets up his territory on the island. He threatens people to join his tribe, and hunts those who refuse. A society could not exist where people are brought u to know what they define as right or wrong. On the island, the civilized rules of having water, shelter, and food are not followed.

NIKEs Labour Troubles Essay -- Nike Sweatshops Outsourcing Labor Essa

NIKE's Labour Troubles Nike publicizes itself as one of the leading industries in corporate responsibility. However, they do not comply with several human rights obligations overseas in countries like Thailand, Pakistan, China, Vietnam and Indonesia. In these countries, production facilities called sweatshops have been running for almost 35 years employing workers as young as 13 years of age. The conditions of these factories are adverse to say the least and deprive workers of the moral human rights they should be entitled to. Sweatshops are unethical, immoral and demonstrate Nike’s ignorance towards their social responsibilities abroad. Within these facilities, workers endure stressfully long days under undesirable conditions, often with no breaks and very little pay. While this is going on overseas, sponsored athletes are being paid million dollar salaries here in North America. Although Nike’s reputation has been foiled through the tabloids regarding this issue, they have been making a sub stantial effort to â€Å"clean up† production messes in the East. Nike, as many other companies do, facilitates production in other countries to help grow sales in those particular regions. The main difference between Nike and some of the other companies is that other companies do not support the exploitation of labourers or human rights. Not to suggest that Nike promotes labour exploitation, but they are less strict about these rules than other companies in foreign markets. Impacts on health and safety are a major factor for employees in sweatshops. However, physical and sexual abuse is another serious concern of many of the sweatshop workers. Most of the sweatshops run by Nike contractors are factories located in relatively small spaces to save on real estate costs. They are often soiled with dirt and kept unheated to save on expenses. Broken glass and dangerous equipment is left on the floors causing potential dangers to any people scattered within the factory. Employees are subject to harassment and violent punishments if work is not being comp leted as thoroughly and efficiently as the contractors would like. Workers slave under unfavourable conditions for up to 14-hour days often with no breaks. These employees are paid less than $100 US and work on average over 250 hours per month. "Substandard wages keep factory workers in poverty and force them to work excessi... ... strongly suggest that awareness of sweatshop abuses is turning consumers away from Nike.† (International Nike Mobilization - www.haleokala.com). Nike has been under a great deal of pressure to correct the misdoings that have been done regarding production facilities in the East. As Nike is responsible for these plants, their reputation has been tainted with increasing public debate about ethical matters. While Nike still promotes itself as one of the industry leaders in corporate social responsibility, workers in Asia are still forced to work excessively long hours in substandard environments and are not paid enough to meet the basic needs for themselves or their families. They are faced to a life of poverty and are unfortunate subjects to harassment and violent threats if they make any attempt to form unions or tell journalists about labour abuses in their factories. Phil Knight’s speech regarding Nike’s steps to improving human rights in Asian countries was a step in the right direction for Nike, but it would have been much more effective had Nike fully followed through with these initiatives. Works Cited Campaign For Labour Rights â€Å"International Nike Mobilization†.

Factors Affecting Selection of Brand Ambassador Essay

Factors to be considered while choosing right brand ambassador In collaboration with Claudia de Pretto, e-Luxury Specialist at IC-Agency Global companies have long understood the power and impact of associating popular personalities with their brand name and products. Most will agree that a successful brand ambassador can make or break a new product launch, or even catapult a company into a new era of exponential revenues after a long drought of fading brand clout. But these days choosing a brand ambassador isn’t what it used to be. Now, with the rapid diffusion of information made possible through the Internet, companies are seeing the dangers of making hasty decisions to link their products to public figures. In the past, reputations were not etched in stone, but were relatively stable and slow to change. Conversely, these days what goes around still comes around, only now this happens at the speed of light and travels to the ends of the world. More than just a pretty face In the watch industry, brand ambassadors have proven themselves a weighty yet worthy investment. Whether on the playing field, in the arts or simply in the world of beautiful people, brand ambassadors have measurable positive impact on a company’s bottom line. But their influence can be short-lived, and being in the public eye makes them the perfect target for increased scrutiny and attacks on their reputation. Traditional popularity life cycles have been distorted by the global reach of the Internet. What’s more, country variances in consumer opinion, rumours and scandals can be exposed and spread at a phenomenal rate. Too many variables, too little time So, given the investment, vulnerability and revenue-generating potential riding on the decision, how do watchmakers choose? Surprisingly, most brands admit to a selection process that combines a mix of networking, personal contacts and traditional market research, with a dab of ‘CEO’ feeling to finalize the decision. While this approach has produced some highly recognized success stories, companies have little information to address some tough issues: how long will this sports star’s winning streak last? What specific consumer groups emulate this model? What are this actor’s political affiliations? What stereotypes surround this individual? Selection, validation and reporting – minimizing risk and maximizing return By gathering insights on proposed ambassadors in key markets in the online arena, some visionary companies are now making more informed and successful choices. Upstream, using online strategic insights in the initial selection process generates higher quality short-lists, minimizes risk, and makes the selection process and media planning more efficient and successful. Further downstream popularity, reach, brand recall and campaign timing are confirmed through country-specific monitoring of an ambassador’s impact and reputation. Moreover, having access to a measure of a potential ambassador’s reach and clout in key markets can serve as an excellent negotiating tool. And making the right choice from the start will protect a company from the costly legal fees involved in prematurely ending a contract. Proactively influencing the conversion process The primary role of the brand ambassador is to personify the values intrinsic to the brand and evoke the dreams associated with owning the product. As such, he or she must demonstrate a trend of increasing popularity and notoriety in the markets where the advertising and promotion will be visible in order to reach the projected target groups effectively. In the pre-Internet era, the notoriety of the ambassador would be the magnet to attract a qualified target group to appropriate the brand. The conversion process would start with a prospect’s desire to purchase a certain type of product. The consumer’s ultimate choice of brand and model would then be influenced to some degree by identification with the brand ambassador. Now, the advent of online technologies has added another dimension to the equation. Whereas in the past the brand ambassador’s impact was more to confirm a specific brand or model, now it can serve to evoke awareness of the existence of a product, stimulate desire to purchase, then convert. Online, a well-chosen brand ambassador can awaken desire for a product in previously ‘uninterested’ consumers through generic searches on the ambassador’s name or associated activities. In this way, not only direct keyword searches on the brand or product lead to conversions, but non-product-related searches as well. Online, it is the ambassador’s ‘aura’ that acts as the magnet to attract a target group to desire and appropriate the product. The Internet creates propitious ‘product placement’ opportunities to build on the emotion and psychological impulse associated with emulation of the brand ambassador. By means of an innocent forum search, an overzealous fan can be diverted onto the company website and transformed into a passionate consumer with just a few clicks of the mouse. The right choice and the right management Adopting a brand ambassador in the watch industry has become more than an accepted practice. Now with mounting competition and global distribution, it’s time for proactive watchmakers to move beyond name-dropping and capitalize on their investments. By integrating online insights into the selection and validation process, marketers can advance to the next level of campaign optimization, seizing every opportunity to promote the ambassador-product association for maximum return. And with the current trend of asking the Internet public for marketing and innovative product ideas, we can expect the next generation of brand ambassadors to be chosen and promoted by online communities themselves. New game, new rules†¦ How one visionary watchmaker stays on target – Raymond Weil and Charlize Theron In collaboration with IC-Agency, a Geneva-based Internet specialist, independent watchmaker Raymond Weil is monitoring the impact of its ambassador campaigns in key markets. The agency’s proprietary technologies, IC-DemandTracker and IC-Insights, are allowing its clients to evaluate and optimize campaign effectiveness: has the product been successfully linked to the ambassador? How have popularity ratings evolved since the onset of the collaboration? Which countries are best responding to the campaign and when? For IC-Agency, this proactive management is the wave of the future for companies to fully exploit endorsement opportunities and get the best return on investment. (P. M. ) Exploiting the popularity life cycle online Online communities could help companies promote new products through a type of ‘viral marketing’. By capitalizing on interest-led online searches, entire online consumer communities can be moved to federate around an ambassador-associated product. In turn, these communities propagate the dream via their own online ‘hype’ and spread their influence via privileged personal networks. Targeting audiences already devoted to their chosen ambassador means that companies can maximize their return on investment and more quickly amortize media production costs and ambassador fees. Depending on the demographics of the target audience, marketers can use online channels such as ethnic, music, or sports communities to get their message to the most influential consumers at the most opportune time.

Vote For Snowball: The Kosher Porker

Tulip Serbin Plansinis Vote For Snowball: The Kosher Porker At a time when food and spirits were low, a certain candidate stepped up to the hay mound to lift up such grief and depression. In his actions and improvements to better the farm, he made the harvest more productive, and led victory through a tough battle. No one would be a greater leader than Snowball. He supported animals’ rights, a continued revolution, and productivity. Shortly after the rebellion of Mr. Jones, to signify this exciting new change to the society of human kind, Manor Farm was quickly changed to Animal Farm.By Snowball changing the name of the farm, it now indicated that this farm was run and operated by animals. Not only did this show farmers the strength of the animals, but also the effecting power they could have. Snowball’s dream was to have every farm run and operated by animals. Snowball was very persuasive. Snowball persuaded the animals with the simple sentence, which said, â€Å"Sure ly, comrades, surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back† (Orwell 52)?To put his plan of a continued revolution in action, he then sent pigeons to all the neighboring farms to spread the word of the rebellion, hoping to get other animals thinking of the same idea. Also, the Beats of England song was being highly recognized and sung by animals and humans alike. Snowball was definitely a highly determined pig, and knew how to popularize his farm and its effecting power. Nothing could be more superior in a leader, than being â€Å"for the people†.Snowball was for the Animals’ Rights, and showed it prominent ways. During Old major’s speech, he came up with the idea of Animalism, where animals are highly acknowledged, and humans are shunned from the animal world. Snowball was the first pig to take any action in improving upon Animalism. Old Major had a long list of rules and regulations for the animals if a rebellion was to take place. Sn owball elaborated the long set into The 7 Commandments. The commandments were then written on the barn so that all the animals could see them.By doing this, all the animals knew what they could and couldn’t do. Every person (or animal) likes to patriotic to their cause or country, and snowball helped them raise their patriotism by making a flag. An organization or town or anything that has a leader†¦ could not be a professional name until a flag is made. By making this flag, it published and popularized again the power the farm had. Snowball also came up with very good ideas. The most important idea was the idea for the building of the windmill.In the story he said, â€Å"I do not deny that to build this would be a difficult business, but you would decrease your working time, and it would provide luxury to all animals† (Orwell 65). Snowball also liked to get involved. One example is he fought himself in the Battle of the Cowshed. By using Julius Caesar’s ta ctics he led his farm to victory. He knew how to lead animals very well. In the text he said, â€Å"War is War. The only good human being is a dead one† (Orwell 59). Snowball showed immense courage and definitely earned the animals’ respect for it.Snowball knew how to listen and treat the animals to their own wants and needs. Snowball knew how to get the â€Å"hay† rolling. Snowball was very productive. In order for the animals to have some say in the matter, he made up the idea of The Committees, which included The Egg Production Committee for the chickens, The Clean Tail Committee for the cows, and Whiter Wool Committee for the Sheep, plus many more. Although, the committees didn’t go very far, showing the animals that he (a pig) was letting the animals in the â€Å"in crowd† , showing something no other pig was able to do.Also, Snowball made the harvest successful. In the story he said, â€Å"Now, Comrades, let us make it a point of honor to ge t in the harvest more quickly than Jones and his men did† (Orwell 43)! Snowball was determined to make it a point that the animals could accomplish far more than Jones could do. By saying that quote, he got the animals excited to participate in the â€Å"challenge† of â€Å"Beat Jones in the Harvest†. Snowball also taught the animals education.Although some animals couldn’t get passed the 4th letter in the alphabet, every animal on the farm was literate. Indeed, they did beat Jones in the harvest thanks to Snowball’s supervision and Boxer’s hard work. Snowball supported animals’ rights, a continued revolution, and productivity. He also was involved in getting work done, such as fighting in the Battle of the Cowshed. He also knew how to get the work accomplished, but in a way that benefited everyone. Snowball in the end knew how to win the â€Å"popular vote† by â€Å"being for the animals†.

By Using the Structural Functionalist Approach Essay

Rule by the people is what a democracy is made of, this might be achieved by having the party in power elected into office into office by the majority, the term democracy and the practice itself is diverse in each country but it has similar features which characterize all forms. This essay explains the impact or contributions of political parties in a Liberal Democracy using the Structural functionalist Approach. It will also converse the important roles that these political parties play in every political structure, specifically in Zambia. To start with, it will explain what the terms Liberal, Liberal Democracy and Political Parties are; it will also explain the Structural functionalist Approach. Thereafter, the works and critiques of having Political parties will later be discussed. According to Emerson (1920), Liberal is that mind or attitude which wills to understand and respect other people`s behavior, opinions it implies vigorous convictions, tolerance for the opinions of others and a persistent desire for sound progress, Democracy is Rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly, as in Ancient Greece, or through elected representatives as in many modern societies (representative democracy). Franà §ois (1998). Therefore Liberal Democracy refers to a broad array of related ideas and theories of government that consider individual liberty to be the most important political goal. Partridge, 1866). A political party According to Schlesinger (1992) is a group organized to gain control of government in the name of the group by winning election to public office. The Structural functionalist Approach is an approach that studies, analyses and views structures and systems in any social setting with regards to the role or functions they play in the development of any society. A political party being a structure in a political system has a vital role or function it plays in society. A liberal democracy may take various constitutional forms: it†¦

Cultural Diversity Presentation Essay

This presentation that I will be displaying is to demonstrate the schools, parents and teachers the importance of English language learners and to encourage all parents to get involved and be part of the school culture activities. The involvement is important in assisting students in the schools. Also these courses and affiliations to include families, parents are to value the support and raise the level of their participation, whereas students progress their accomplishment, way of thinking, and manners. Seeing as parent taking part is so significant, the presentation symbolizes a way to aid parents and to become more effective member in their children’s schooling, as well as maintaining their educational accomplishment, and support them to take the most thorough educational programs offered by their schools they go to. The three activities in which I will be displaying is based on the belief that actual parental participation schooling must present families useful guidance to brace their kid’s learning. Throughout these presentations, families will discover the choices and openings obtainable to students from all social factors and cultural groups and realistic approaches to persuade and encourage their kids as they take on the challenging school classes in elementary, middle or public high school. Goals: The major aims of the parent’s participation and training are to: 1. Improve teachers’ understanding of ideas to better intersect cultural interaction with families; 2. Improve family’s understanding on the advantages of parental participation in their kid’s education. 3. Present family with data about cultural diversity and the vital importance of their kid’s involvement in such program as this; 4. Make available to families certain ideas to assist their kids to sign up in cultural programs. Diversity and Cultural Contact Communication: Discovering and understanding more about each other and our students as associates of an exclusive cultural and verbal population is an essential idea of raising the value of interaction among educators, classmates, parents, and schools. Families who are not customary with the United States instructive academic procedure are confronted with extra disputes in their specific school participation. For example, families who were raised in different nations might act in a way steady with the means they were proposed to conduct in the lands where they were raised. In various nations/ethnicity, families are not likely to participate in the school learning activities other than assist with research and go to irregular celebrations. The American school method believes that families will take some accountability for their kid’s achievement in proper learning by fitting energetically drawn in with the school and assisting their kids. The probability is that families will be occupied not only with the obligation of homework but also with particular assignments and other linked interest. In several nations the task of the families and the task of the school are harshly outline and separated. Close relative have an important obligation to implant manner and correct conduct in their kids. It is the school’s task to implant educational understanding. Teachers may be alleged as possessing not only the accountability but also including the right to make all instructive choices about their learners. In adding together, numerous linguistically and settler families are not alert of their human rights and the dissimilar function that they can have in their own school structures. Once the parents of migrant youths have no comprehension of the learning procedure, they might sense that they are leaving behind their kids to the big, unfamiliar planet that their kids now fit in to, other than families do not. They might turn out to be puzzled, alarmed, and irritated. These arguments can generate a meaning of anguish and stress. Schools can assist parents in the course of shifting into the United States typical ethnicity by making them sense that they are wanted and worthy. While parents comprehend how they can maintain their kid’s schooling and once schools discover the means to lecture to and integrate these parents’ cultural offerings, every person gains. Activity 1 The participations of families Aim Activity one: Recommend families with information about the encouraging influence of parental participation. Estimated time involves: One hour and a half Supplies: Indicator Marker and White board Topic Number one: When families get concerned in their kid’s schooling. Your best course of action: Warm-up Activity number one (15 minutes): Previous to opening the activity make clear the specific grounds of this gathering. Then have every single close relative present him or herself and speak for a moment about his or her point of views of the value of teaching in their kids’ lives. Carry a Full Group Activity: Give a (15 minute). For a little time explaining the vital stages of family participation and the way in which they can encouragingly influence their kid’s schooling. Group Activity number one (30 minutes): Include close relatives to play a role in the next task. Split the close relatives into little groups of four. Request the families to consider the way in which they can help their children to perform better in school. Persuade them to give examples of ideas they presently use to help their kids. Include the group to take a public official and a host. Include every single group to list their own individual ideas on the white board. Make certain that the families believe and feel happy with these functions. But if required, you or a school spokesperson may need to assist them to proofread and offer their strategies. Group Activity number two (30 minutes): To track the action, asking families to go in return to their previous role and place their ideas in conditions of their usefulness. â€Å"Which of these ideas has been generally most victorious? † Include the group to rephrase the ideas in class society. When this activity is finished, include dissimilar groups to split their ideas. It is essential to allow the families to present their own individual grades. There are no right or incorrect answers. If families talk in dissimilar languages, attempt to have families who converse the identical language in the matching group to permit them to talk in their natural language if they desire. Also adding on, it is vital to have translators to assist affiliates of the group converse with one another if various affiliates of the group are not English skilled. Activity 2 Make a Change in your Kid’s Life! Aim Activity two: To give emphasis on the strength that parental might have in their kid’s educational lives when they get included. Estimated time involves: One hour and a half Supplies: Indicator Marker and White board Your best course of action: Carry a Full Group Activity: Give a (15 minute). To recite it out loud or you might have one of the close relatives read it to the group. Group Activity number one (30 minutes): Make it possible to facilitate a conversation between families. Offer and help to facilitate conversation on the inquiry: â€Å"like having you encountered similar related circumstances? What would you do or say? What was the response of your act? † Write down family’s answers on the white board. Group Activity number two (30 minutes): Split the group into little bunches. Request every single group to talk about the following inquiry: (A) what type of input or means of the school should you require to turn into a good supporter for your kid? Have the group write down their strategies on a single sheet of paper. Then share those thoughts with the whole group. Evaluating the answers to the inquiries – (15 minutes) Closing the comments – (15 minutes) The instructor will momentarily outline the ideas and the data presented to him or her from the groups and persuade the families to use the offerings and ideas to make certain that their assistance to their kids will be successful. Activity 3 Encouraging Your Kid’s School Accomplishment Aim Activity three: The aim of Activity three is to offer families truthful aims and actions that will allow them to support their kids to start setting up for university at a young age. Estimated time involves: One hour Supplies: Indicator Marker and White board Your best course of action: Carry a Full Group Activity: Give a (30 minute). To explain the importance and demands of a university and the difficult activities they may encounter. How to gain college credits in the period time there are in high school. What type of classes will assist them to be successful at a university and finish a degree? What guidance counselor they should speak to about workshops, financial aid document for students. Educators need to also explain to the parents about the amount time and work that their kids have to do and how they are being graded. Introductory Activity: Give a (30 minute). Welcoming an ex-former successful student to a meeting classroom to share his or her progress experiences in the university with present students which are also helpful. Expending families’ supportive and assistance is also very vital to students’ accomplishment. Together the parents and students ought to study about the significance of get ready for a university while in high school and the necessity of a college learning to accomplish a profitable career. Conclusion: Educators need to present families with necessary educational material on hand to support functioning school meetings and high educational prospects. We need to increase parent participation and expectations that way they can really and openly influence the progress of a stressed student. These classes are offered to parents as an important offering tool which is at their access. Educators need to supply the information, instruction guidelines and at home tactics. Families also need to work with their kids at home at a suitable time. If mutually families and educators play their task in this affiliation, they can develop a beneficial relationship where the child obtains the gains. This activity, which provides a cultural diverse program which can be utilized as a method of interaction between families and educator. The presentation provided as well the information and methods to families to allow them to become more concerned in their kid’s schooling. The presentation will determine the changes in families handling and insight of the activity establish on study and discussion. Reference: Syrja,R. C. (2011). How to reach and teach English Language Learners: Practical Strategies to ensure success. San Francisco,CA: Jossey-Bass. Increasing Student Achievement by Increasing parent Involvement By Dr. Cynthia fusilier Director of Curriculum New Brighton area School District http://www. slideshare. net/NBASD/parent-involvement-presentation Graves, S. L. (2007). Influences on preservice teachers’ beliefs about family involvement and cultural diversity: An exploration of mentoring relationships. (Order No. 3393768, The Pennsylvania State University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 233-n/a. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/304840371? accountid=32521. (304840371). Sturz, D. L. , & Kleiner, B. H. (2005). Effective management of cultural diversity in a classroom setting. Equal Opportunities International, 24(5), 57-64. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/199537956? accountid=32521

Effects of Social Networking Sites Essay

As the world moves into the second decade of the 21 st century, one of the major markers of this era is the rise and use of online communities. In particular, a paradigm called Web 2.0 describes recent technologies that focus on networking mass numbers of individuals into distinct communities over the Internet (O’Reilly, 2007). Social networking sites (SNS) are online communities designed to connect individuals to wider networks of relationships, and are one major example of Web 2.0 applications. Sites such as Facebook have exploded in membership. In a short period of 2007 – 2010, Facebook estimates that its membership has grown from 50 million to over 400 million users (Facebook, n.d.). Online social networks are now an integrated part of daily life and compel questions of how these media platforms affect human development, relationships, and interaction. Teenagers are among the most avid users of technology in general and social network sites in particular (Lenhart, Madden, Macgill, & Smith, 2007b). Recent reports find that youth spend nearly 10 hours per day using some form of technology, with socially networked media playing a large role in their daily lives (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). New technologies are deeply intertwined with adult perceptions about teenage life. Mimi Ito and colleagues observe that, â€Å"Although today’s questions about ‘kids these days’ have a familiar ring to them, the contemporary version is somewhat unusual in how strongly it equates generational identity with technology identity† The clear finding is that today’s youth are increasingly connected to the world through socially networked media. While teenagers are engaged with technology, they are ever more disengaged from another major component of their lives – school. Read more:  The Effects of Social Media on College Students National analyses find that nearly 30% of high school students do not obtain their diploma on time (Cataldi, Laird, KewalRamani, 2009). High school completion rates are difficult to measure, but various independent studies also suggest that nearly one-third of students ultimately drop out of school (Barton, 2005). When one compares these competing aspects of teenage life – technology versus education – a simple strategy clearly emerges. Perhaps if educators begin to integrate social technologies into learning, they will increase student engagement and achievement in school. Heeding the call of scholars (i.e. Jenkins, 2006; Ito et al. n.d.) recent policy and research efforts are now racing to develop new social media platforms and technologies for learning. For example, the  Federal Department of Education and organizations such as the MacArthur Foundation have invested millions of dollars to build social media platforms, video games, and other digital tools for learni ng (Whitehouse, n.d.). Despite the optimism that social media tools might improve student engagement and learning, the stark reality is that these new technologies often conflict with the practices of K-12 schools. Surveys find that the vast majority of school district leaders believe social technology can improve student learning. However, these same district administrators typically block student access to online resources like social network sites (Lemke & Coughlin, 2009). The decision to ban students from accessing social network sites underscores a major conundrum for educators. Online social networks widen a students’ access to resources and social support and may have beneficial effects on their development. Conversely, as student access to the world widens they are inevitably exposed to potentially negative material and interactions. The simplest strategy to limit liability and safeguard school districts is to ban access to these new digital tools. However, such policies neglect the potentially large benefits of using social media in the classroom. To alleviate this dilemma, educators and policymakers need a deeper understanding of social media and youth. Several questions are critical in the area of youth learning with social technologies, including: †¢ Which youth are using particular social technologies? †¢ How do they use these technologies to communicate, develop relationships, socialize, and learn? †¢ What are the effects of these technologies on youth development? †¢ What are the effects of these technologies when applied in educational contexts such as the classroom? In this dissertation, I explore these questions by examining a particular technology: the social network site. Communities such as Facebook and MySpace mediate teenage life, affecting how youth communicate and learn from one another. In addition, social networks are intertwined into just about every major online community today (Livingstone, 2008). These factors make SNS a particularly salient focus for evaluation. Throughout the following chapters I examine different questions surrounding the phenomena of social network sites and teenage youth. In Chapter 2, I review the extant research literature that examines SNS. I consider several controversies around SNS and youth: (a) What kinds of youth are using social networking sites? (b)  Does student participation in these online communities affect their privacy and social relationships? (c) Do student activities in SNS influence their personal development in terms of self-esteem and psychological well-being? (d) Does SNS use affect student grades and learning? The review highlights how research in this field is only just emerging. The few stud ies that examine social network sites are mainly exploratory. However, media researchers have a rich history of scholarship from which to draw new insights. I integrate previous thought on Digital Divides, Psychological Well-being, Social Capital Theory, and Cognitive and Social Learning theories to guide SNS researchers in future studies. In Chapter 3, I present an empirical analysis using a national dataset of teenagers from the Pew Internet & American Life Project (Lenhart et al., 2007b; Pew Internet & American Life Project, n.d.). In this study, I ask whether demographic variables such as education, socioeconomic status, and access to the Internet are significantly related to whether teenagers participate in social network sites. This line of analysis is typical of digital divide studies that examine whether particular populations have less access to new technologies. If new technologies do have positive benefits for individuals, but under- represented populations do not have access to such tools, there are tremendous issues of equity and access yet to be addressed (Jenkins, 2006). Most studies of digital divide and SNS examine adult and college-age populations. I present an analysis of teenage populations to examine their usage patterns. The results of this paper highlight how the association between demographic indicators and social media use are weaker in 2007 than seen in earlier studies. Teenage youth of all backgrounds increasingly find ways to connect with others using social network sites. In Chapter 4, I consider a question of particular importance to teachers and education leaders. Through a large-scale experiment, I examine whether using social network sites in urban classrooms has any causal effect on students’ social capital, engagement with school, or academic achievement. I build an experimental social network site that approximates the functionality seen in sites such as Facebook and MySpace. The key difference in this experimental condition is that the site is private to two urban, school districts and explicitly for use to exchange educational information. Working with 50 classrooms and nearly 1,400 students, I utilize a cluster-randomized trial,  where class periods are randomly assigned to use the experimental site. Employing this randomized trial design, I find that an academic social network site does not necessarily improve student engagement with their peers, their classes, or increase student achievement. However, I find exploratory evidence that existing social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace improve students’ feelings of connection with their school community. The study offers evidence for one compelling idea: Perhaps schools should attempt to leverage students existing social networks, rather than block access to them or impose their own. In Chapter 5, I outline what is needed in future research about social network sites, and new technologies in general, to better inform the policies and practices of schools, educators, parents, and those interested in youth development. In particular, previous scholarly thought has focused on either a technologically deterministic or social agency perspective. Technological determinism suggests that a media tool itself affects social outcomes such as learning, but a long history of research underscores the fallacy of this philosophy. Scholars who focus instead on social agency, explore how individuals use new technologies in cultural and social contexts. However, this stream of research neglects rigorous evaluation of how new media affect youth. Both perspectives in isolation offer incomplete analyses o f how new media, such as SNS, impact youth. I argue that future researchers must develop and test finer hypotheses that simultaneously consider the technological affordances of social network sites, the social and cultural institutions within which SNS are used, and the actual interactions between individuals that occur in these online communities. The chapters in this dissertation examine the phenomena of social network sites and youth through different but complementary lenses: theoretical, descriptive, and experimental. The summative contribution of these analyses is a deeper picture of how teenage youth use SNS and its effects on their academic and social development. The studies show that youth of all backgrounds are increasingly connected via online social networks. The empirical analyses also show that social network sites are no silver bullet for improving learning in high school classrooms. The technology itself does not improve learning, but social media might help students become more connected and engaged with their school communities. The implications for educators and  schools are numerous. Problems such as student disengagement with education are profoundly significant issues, and additional research is needed to better understand how online networks influence youth development and learning. The current tools of teenage communication go by a peculiar set of names. Wall Posts, Status Updates, Activity Feeds, Thumbs Ups, Facebook Quizzes, and Profiles are some of the ways that youth today communicate with one another. These tools are features of social network sites (SNS), such as Facebook and Myspace. SNS are part of a suite of recent web applications, also called social media, which utilize Web 2.0 principles. The term Web 2.0 defines websites that are designed to: (a) rely on the participation of mass groups of users rather than centrally controlled content providers, (b) aggregate and remix content from multiple sources, and (c) more intensely network users and content together (O’Reilly, 2007). People use these web applications to interact in hyper-aware ways and the scale of this mass communication phenomena is significant. As of May 2009, Facebook ranked as the 4 th most trafficked website in the world and Myspace ranked 11 th highest (Alexa, n.d.). That high school youth are connected to these global online communities is both a frightening prospect for parents and educators and an intriguing area for social science research. Educators and parents in the United States face difficult quandaries concerning students and SNS. No one denies that youth use these technologies to communicate with the world, and they do so with high frequency and intensity (Lenhart et al., 2007b). Many scholars suggest that students learn in new ways using social media and that educators should embrace these new platforms (Ito et al., n.d.; Jenkins, 2006). In a recent national survey, the vast majority of school district leaders report that they view social media as a positive development for education (Lemke & Coughlin, 2009). Nevertheless, 70% of districts also report that they banned all access to SNS in their schools. Despite the clear understanding that social media can be vital to student learning and digital literacy, educators currently struggle with how to comply with regulations like the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), as well as overcome general fears about student interactions in social network sites. To inform both the policy concerns of district leaders and  the local practices of teachers and parents, research is needed to understand how youth use SNS and what effects it has on their social and academic development. In this chapter, I consider several key controversies around youth usage of SNS, and review relevant research that begins to inform these debates. I first define the media effects framework and outline how this research tradition attempts to understand the effects of new technologies on social outcomes. Second, I define social network sites and describe studies that capture how youth use these technologies to develop relationships, hang out with friends, and learn new skills. Third, the chapter reviews relevant research that informs several controversies concerning SNS and adolescents. I also connect these contemporary debates with previous scholarly thought about students’ out-of-school time (OST) and traditional concerns about the effect of technology on learning. The specific controversies reviewed are: †¢ What kinds of youth are using social networking sites? †¢ Does student participation in these online communities affect their privacy and social relationships? †¢ Do student activities in SNS influence their personal development in terms of self-esteem and psychological well-being? †¢ Does SNS use affect student grades and learning? Finally, I outline the overall condition of research on SNS and youth. The current state of the literature is suggestive of the effects on adolescent social and academic development, and primarily consists of ethnographic and cross-sectional data. I outline the future questions that will be critical for the field and suggest relevant methodological directions to move this emergent research stream forward. What Can We Learn from a Media Effects Framework? Many of the controversial questions concerning social network sites ask what kinds of effects these technologies have on youth development. Given this focus, I work primarily from a media effects tradition of research. Media effects scholars examine the outcomes that arise when people use new technologies. Talking about effects engenders important theoretical discussions that must be laid clear when examining studies. Most significantly, the term implies a focus on causality. Studies in this framework imply that a media form, or the features of the technology, causally influences some outcome (Eveland, 2003). The structure of questions from this perspective is usually in the form of: Does media affect learning? Does television influence student achievement? Or do social  net work sites affect the psychological well-being of adolescents? Media effects scholars in a variety of fields have quickly come to realize that the answers to these questions are more complex. Very rarely, if ever, is there a direct causal relationship between a technology and a social outcome such as learning (Clark, 1983; Clark, 1991; Schmidt & Vandewater, 2008). Early media questions often used a technological framework or object-centered approach (Fulk & DeSanctis, 1999; Nass & Mason, 1990). Such a perspective assumes and tests whether a technology itself causally affects a social outcome. For example, in Education a major question of technology research is whether media affects learning. Education researchers now firmly conclude that media does not affect student learning (Clark, Yates, Early, & Moulton, In Press). Numerous studies show that the media tool neither improves nor negatively impacts learning when compared to the same teaching strategy in the classroom (Bernard, Abrami, Lou, Borokhovski, Wade, Wozney et al., 2004; Clark, 1983; Clark, 1991). What matters is not the computer, but the learning behaviors that occur within the software or educational program. T he findings of non-significant media effects on student learning do not mean that technology has no influence. For example, Richard Mayer (2001) shows through a series of experiments that the design of a multimedia presentation affects student learning of a topic. Putting words and pictures closer together on the screen, when they are relevant to each other, helps students retain more knowledge than when the elements are placed further apart on the screen. These results do not validate a technological orientation, where one expects that the computers themselves improve learning. Rather, the pedagogical strategy of placing relevant words and images together in a presentation affects cognition. Media researchers understand that the features of a technology afford certain possibilities for activity. A multimedia video on the computer allows one to design words and images on the screen, while a computer simulation might guide a learner using models of real-world cases. A media tool allows for different possible learning behaviors (Kozma, 1991). This subtle difference in theoretical orientation is what scholars call an emergent perspective (Fulk & DeSanctis, 1999) or a variable-based approach (Nass & Mason, 1990). Scholars using an emergent or variable-based approach view technology as a structuring factor. Features of  a technology, not the technology itself, enable and constrain how one uses that tool. Conversely, social forces such as cultural norms and behavioral practices influence how one ultimately uses a technology. William Eveland (2003) offers five characteristics of media effects research that help define how studies take into account both technological and social variables. Media effects studies have: (1) A focus on an audience, (2) Some expectation of influence, (3) A belief that the influence is due to the form or content of the media or technology, (4) An understanding of the variables that may explain the causality, and (5) The creation of empirically testable hypotheses. A focus on audience compels researchers to understand the characteristics of the youth who use SNS. Knowing who uses, or does not use, social network sites is an important sociological question for scholars of digital divide. In addition, Hornik (1981) notes the possible differential effects for disparate populations, â€Å"If communication researchers have learned anything during the previous three decades, it is that communication effects vary with members of the audience† (p. 197). Current media studies also focus on the form or content of a technology, and move away from making black-box comparisons between technologies. Questions that ask whether Facebook is related to lower grades, or if MySpace is unsafe for children, are broad and uninformative directions for future media effects studies. Instead, the pivotal questions explore how the features of SNS enable or constrain behavior. Future media studies about SNS and youth should not frame questions using a technologicall y deterministic perspective where one expects the technology to cause an outcome. Instead, media scholars identify how youth interaction, communication, and information sharing are the critical variables in understanding SNS effects on social and academic outcomes. This understanding of media effects research helps define finer-grained hypotheses of why a tool like SNS might affect student development, under what uses, for whom, and when. What are Social Network Sites and How Do Youth Use Them? When a teenager joins a site like Facebook they first create a personal profile. These profiles display information such as your name, relationship status, occupation, photos, videos, religion, ethnicity, and personal interests. What differentiates SNS from previous media like a personal homepage is the display of one’s friends (boyd & Ellison, 2007). In addition to exhibiting your network of  friends, other users can then click on their profiles and traverse ever widening social networks. These three features – profiles, friends, traversing friend lists – represent the core, defining characteristics of social networking sites. One will notice that SNS also include other media tools such as video and photo uploading and many websites now employ social networking features. For example, YouTube is primarily a video sharing service, but users can add others as their friends or subscribe to a member’s collection of videos. Using boyd & Ellison’s (2007) definition, YouTube can be included as a type of social network site. As resear chers examine the effects of SNS on social behaviors, they will undoubtedly come across these blurring of technologies. Sonia Livingstone (2008) notes that SNS invite â€Å"convergence among the hitherto separate activities of email, messaging, website creation, diaries, photo albums and music or video uploading and downloading† (p. 394). This convergence of technologies may complicate what one means by the term social network site. Amidst the sea of what websites can be termed SNS, the technical definition of social network sites still provides a shared conceptual foundation. Comparing across common features – i.e. profiles and friend networks – researchers can begin to understand how various communities co-opt these characteristics to create entirely new cultural and social uses of the technology. Patricia Lange’s (2007) ethnographic study of YouTube shows that users deal with issues concerning public and private sharing of video. Some YouTube users post videos intended for wide audiences, but share very little about their own identities. Their motivations might be to achieve Internet fame and gather viewers. Other members upload videos intended for a small network of friends and may restrict the privacy settings to only allow access to those individuals. The concepts of friend and social networ k for these users are entirely distinct. Dodgeball, an early and now defunct mobile-SNS, is another social network site that has been studied. In Dodgeball, a user broadcasts their location via cell-phone to their network of friends: