Development of human resources in small business Research Paper

Development of human resources in small business - Research Paper Example the paper, it is going to have the following structure: introduction, theoretical concepts of human resource management, analysis of recruitment process, background information about small business, analysis of the situation with human resource management in small business, conclusions, and recommendations. HRM is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring,  performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training. (â€Å"HRM Definition†). However, it is the whole concept that consists of various different processes. For example, one can mention looking for potential employees, education of students, continuous training, and education of own employees, etc. It has been already much said about the importance of this process. That is why any company should build an effective strategy of human resource management. Among the most important process of human resource management the following ones may be pointed out: recruitment, education, performance management, promotion, etc. Recruitment is probably one of the most important processes. Recruitment process consists of internal and external recruitments. Simply speaking, internal recruitment is the process of evaluation and hiring own employees of a company to occupy new positions in a company. Usually, this process is associated with promotion of employees. Simply speaking, external recruitment is the process of hiring people who are not the current employees of a company. Usually, these processes are toughly related and used together in the process of recruitment by a company. It should also be mentioned about recruitment methods and strategies. There are many recruitments strategies, methods, and instruments. A company uses those ones that are the most appropriate foot it in a given circumstances. Some of them are more expensive, some of them are less. Some of them require

Play Therapy Essay Example for Free

Play Therapy Essay Sometimes children go through difficult passages in their lives. It therefore becomes prudent to provide them with effective ways of helping them ease through these passages. Infact, children are good teachers and they know what they want and what is right for them (Kottman, 1993). All they need is just space to do it. Play therefore becomes very important in releasing these pent-up emotions, feelings of anxiety, fear disappointment, aggression and insecurity (Chethik, Morton. 2000). This brings us to the issue of play therapy. What is play therapy? Play therapy refers to a method of psychotherapy with children in which a child’s fantasies and symbolic meanings of his/her play are used as a medium for understanding and communication with him/her (Landreth, 2002). Through this method, the child is helped to control his/her emotions, thoughts, wishes and needs using games, toys and mediums such as clay, drawings and paint. By doing so, the child is helped to understand the muddled feelings and upsetting events that he/she has not had a chance or skill to sort out properly. Thus through this symbolic representation, the child gains a sense of control over events that in reality, seem uncontrollable. Unlike in adult therapy where one has to explain what is troubling him, children use play to communicate at their own level and pace without any feeling of interrogation or threat using toys as their words and play as their language (Landreth, 2002). Rationale for play therapy In play therapy, the symbolic of function play is vital in providing children with a means of expressing their inner world. This use of play therapy is rooted on a development understanding of children. According to Piaget (1962), children at the pre-operational stage (2-7 yrs) are acquiring language in which symbols represent mental objects. A child’s play in this stage becomes increasingly imaginary and fantasy-driven. The child is internally improving his/her understanding and knowledge but lacks the external ability to communicate this enhanced way of processing within the world. Play thus becomes the medium through which the child communicates this internal awareness of self to others. Piaget further asserts that during the concrete operational state (8-11 yrs) the child grows in his/her personal ability to reason logically and organize thoughts coherently. He/she is unable to express certain complicated emotions such as resentment or guilt due to the need for abstract thought to understand them. Play then helps the child bridge the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought. Landreth (2002) identifies basic principles necessary in play therapy. These include that children’s natural language is play, that they have an inherent tendency towards growth and maturity and lastly, and are themselves capable of positive self-direction since they posses the capacity to act responsibly. Play is a natural language from which children express themselves (Landreth, 2002). And as stated earlier, developmentally, it bridges the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought. Children gain a sense of control through play and also learn coping skills (Chethik, Morton. 2000). At times, children also receive other types of treatment. Children for instance that are unable to control their attention impulses, have a tendency to react violently, or experience severe anxiety would be included in play therapy. The therapy addresses the child’s psychological symptoms (Chethik, Morton. 2000). The child will also receive play therapy to alleviate low self-esteem feelings, excessive worry, incompetence and helplessness (Chethik, Morton. 000). In play therapy, toys are viewed as the child’s words and play as the child’s language – a language of activity. Play is then to children what psychotherapy is to adults. The use of toys enables the child to transfer his anxieties, fears, fantasies from his own feelings and guilt to objects rather then people. Through this process, the safety of children from their own feelings is guaranteed because it enables them to distance themselves from those traumatic experiences. By acting out a frightening experience symbolically through play, or reversing the outcome in play activity, the child moves towards an inner resolution and then he/she is able to cope with or adjust to problems (Axline, 1989). Through the play processes, the child is allowed to consider new possibilities not possible in reality thus greatly expanding the expression of self (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Also, within the safety of the play therapy experience, the child explores the unfamiliar and develops a knowing that is both experiential – feelings and cognitive. In a nutshell, the unfamiliar becomes familiar and the child expresses outwardly what takes place inwardly. Therefore, a major function of play in play therapy is the changing of what may be unmanageable in real life to a manageable situation via symbolic representation, through which the child is provided with opportunities for learning to cope (Axline, 1989). The process of play therapy The initial focus of therapy is in building a relationship between a child and the therapist. This relationship is what provides dynamic growth and healing for the child. It is therefore a very important tool because a child will readily express himself every time he/she feels respected and accepted. According to Landreth (1991), there are principles that should provide guidelines for establishment of a therapeutic relationship. Some of the guidelines include that the therapist is genuinely interested in the child. Also, the therapist experiences unqualified acceptance of the child and does not wish that the child were different in some way. He further creates a feeling of safety and permissiveness in the relationship so the child feels free to explore and express himself/herself totally. Landreth further asserts that the therapist should always be sensitive to the child’s feelings and gently reflect those feelings in a manner that encourages the child to develop self-understanding (Landreth, 2002). Additionally, the therapist should deeply believe in the child’s capacity to act responsibly and respect the child’s ability to solve personal problems and give him the opportunity to do so. He should also trust the child’s inner direction and to lead in all areas of relationship and avoid directing the child’s play. This therapist should appreciate the gradual nature of the therapeutic process in a slow manner, and finally he should establish only the therapeutic limits that help the child accept personal and appropriate responsibility. The primary objective of the process is not only to solve the problem but to help in the growth of the child. The therapist primarily meets with the child alone and arranges time to meet with parents separately or with the child depending with the situation. The structure of the sessions should be consistently maintained to provide a feeling of stability and safety for the child. In the session, the therapist uses specific techniques to assess how a child experiences his/her world and how he/she communicates and reacts to events and people in his/her own world. The child is led to become aware of what he/she is feeling and opportunities are given to express these feelings. Awareness is thus a very important aspect in play therapy because without it, change is not possible (Chethik, Morton. 2000). Throughout the therapy, the child is empowered and supported to learn more about who he/she thinks she/he is, to talk about things that are frightening or painful, to be self supportive as well as to experiment new behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Since the child’s world is a world of action and activity, the therapy provides the therapist with an opportunity to enter the child’s world. The child lives out the past experience and related moments at the moment of play. Without the presence of play materials, the therapist could only talk with the child about aggressive behavior exhibited in the recent past. In play therapy however, whatever reason for referral, the therapist has the opportunity to experience and actively deal with that problem immediately. By so doing, the child plays out feelings by banging them to the surface, getting them out in the open, facing them and either abandoning them or learning to control them. Toys and materials Since toys and materials are part of this communicative process for children, careful attention must be given to their appropriate selection. The rule here is selection rather than accumulation. Please note that random assortment of acquired toys and materials often appear like junk rooms and they therefore doom the therapy process to failure. They should then be carefully selected for the contribution they make to accomplish the play objective and the extent to which they are consistent with the play therapy rationale. Some general guidelines to consider are that the tools should be durable and should communicate a message of â€Å"be yourself in playing† rather than â€Å"be careful. † They should provide children with a variety in choice of medium of expression. (Eliana, G. 1994). However, they need not be elaborate and above all they should not be complex. Remember that the first toys to be used were sticks. The tools should be age appropriately manageable so that the child will not be frustrated in his efforts to express himself/herself. No toy should require the child to seek the therapist’s help to manipulate. Landreth (1991) asserts that the toys and materials should facilitate establishment of a positive relationship with the child, testing of limits, exploration of real-life experiences, development of positive image, self-undertaking, expression of a wide range of feelings and opportunity to redirect behaviors unacceptable to others. These toys can be grouped into three basic classes viz; real-life toys such as a doll, a small cardboard box with rooms indicated by tape strips or felt pen markers, doll house furniture, pacifier and a small car. Secondly, there are those acting out or aggressive release toys such as handcuffs, toy guns, dart gun and toy soldiers, aggressive puppets, rubber knife and punching bags. Finally, there are toys for creative expression and emotional release such as crayons, newsprints, blue scissors, hand puppets, plain mask, and also sand trays. Setting limits in Play Therapy This is a very crucial part of this process. The structure of the therapeutic limits is what helps to make the experience a real life relationship (Eliana, G. 994). Limits in play therapy have advantages both practically and therapeutically since they preserve the therapeutic relationship; facilitate the child’s opportunities to learn self responsibility and self control. Provide the child with emotional security and physical safety and thus enabling the child to explore and express his/her inner emotional dimensions that perhaps have remained hidden in his/her other relationships (Axline, 1989). Boundaries are necessary here to provide predictability and thus the children are not allowed to do anything they want to do. The play therapy relationship has minimum limits (Eliana, G. 1994). Exploration is encouraged, messiness accepted and persistence is the guiding principle. Play therapy is a learning experience and thus limits are not set until they are needed. The limits are worded in such a way that the child is allowed to bring himself under control. Research and Results Play therapy is an approach based on well thought out, philosophically conceived, developmentally based and research supported approach to assisting children cope with and overcome the problems they experience in life (Bratton. Et al. 2005). It has therefore been demonstrated to be effective in a variety of children’s problems including, but not limited to, abuse and neglect, aggression and acting out, autism, fear and anxiety, grief, hospitalization, learning disabilities, chronic illnesses, withdrawn children and burn victims. In the case studies reported by Landreth, the views that play therapy requires a long-term commitment is totally unfounded. Conclusion Play therapy can thus help a child to become aware of his feelings and how those feelings manifest into his/ her behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). He/she learns to become better at regulating emotions and expressing them in constructive ways. This combination of skills may help a child to become more assertive, self confident and to have self respect and respect for others. He/she then get this assurance that he/she will be understood and accepted.

Saddam Hussein :: Iraq Rulers War Society Saddam Hussein Essays

  Throughout the last thirty years, many of the people of Iraq have been tortured, forced to relocate their families numerous times, arrested and murdered. Those who stood against Saddam Hussein were punished, in most cases by death. All of this happened under the control of Suddam and we have neither found, nor has he offered a sound explanation for his actions. By the early 80’s, hundreds of thousands of citizens were deported to Iran. And even now people are still being repressed, persecuted and denied their human rights. He does not deserve to live so luxuriously, while his people are dying from malnutrition and lack of medical attention. He does not deserve the political power that he has aquired by having people killed and forcing others to resign their authority to him. What he does deserve is a fair trial for the many war crimes he has committed and for being responsible for an unknown, yet large number of assacinations of innocent people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As a result of the Gulf War in 1991, the United Nations has enforced sanctions on Iraq to limit their ability to make more weapons of mass destruction (WMD). These sanctions are based on an oil-for-food system. Iraq can export limited amounts of oil to buy food and medical supplies only. Hussein is using less than the prescribed amount of money available for humanitarian purposes for buying the much needed medical supplies. Instead, he has used it to buy extremely expensive medical equipment that is rarely used. And as if he is not wealthy enough, every month he smuggles oil out of Iraq that is worth millions of dollars, which goes straight toward his personal spending pleasures. He has built monuments and palaces for himself instead of meeting the necessary health and sanitary needs of his people. It is bad enough that he has terrorized his own people, but he goes crawling to the press saying that the U.N. needs to lift its sanctions because his people are in suc h a desperate need of help. He acts (for the cameras) as if he actually is doing everything in his power to help the people that he so deeply cares about. Fortunately, the little games that he has played with the media have not fooled too many people. The truth about his past and current crimes is available to any person who that has access to the internet.

Me Talk Pretty One Day Essay

Me Talk Pretty One Day. The title already starts questions and as you get through the essay, it makes perfect sense and creates a meaning to the title. Sedaris is the narrator throughout the essay and nearly at the beginning of the story you finds his tone throughout the essay is kind of a depressed tone, it sounds like he is depressed and put down by the instructor of his french course. Sedaris is passionate in leaning French. He moves to France and starts school there, so that he would learn the language better than he could in America. On his first day Sedaris watches his fellow students catch up with each other, discussing their summer vacations and the latest news about mutual friends. He has a number of first impressions: they appear much younger (he is now forty-one years old), they are definitely much more attractive, and they all appear to speak French flawlessly. Sedaris soon feels a little out of his element, until his French teacher arrives and makes him feel like a complete imbecile. However, Sedaris is not alone in being belittled by his instructor for she did not just pick on him but the rest of the class. However, he still went home every night and studied everything so that he could go to class the next day and know just a little more so the teacher wouldn’t pick on him as much. You find the depressed tone again during class, that everyone wanted to be there but at the same time didn’t want to be there. The teacher rode on a high horse because she didn’t speak only fluent French but 4 other languages too, including English, which she shows to Sedaris by saying in English â€Å"I hate you, I really hate you. (Found on page 3, last paragraph) Now why in her right mind does the teacher feel the need to put everyone down, and to say something of this nature stating that she hates him. Why is that, is it because she herself has troubles in her life and she feels in her time of power of being the professor of a French course and the only one that can speak it fluently, that she can emasculate everyone in the class. But through all of that all of the students including Sedaris, go home every night and study their French for hours on end, an example of it is stated on page 14, 1st paragraph. â€Å"I took to spending 4 hours a night on my homework, putting in even more time when we were assigned an essay. † Because of that the tone suddenly switches from a depressed tone to an upbeat tone right towards the end of the essay when Sedaris states, â€Å"Understanding doesn’t mean that you can suddenly speak the language. Far from it. It’s a small step, nothing more, yet it’s rewards are intoxicating and deceptive. The teacher continued her diatribe and I settled back, bathing in the subtle beauty of each new curse and insult. † From that moment, the professor goes on to belittle Sedaris but this time he isn’t hurt or insulted by it. He takes from it and with confidence replies to her insults with, â€Å"I know the thing that you speak exact now. Talk me more, you, plus, please, plus. Leaving you with a feeling of happiness and joy knowing that Sedaris gained his confidence back. From the tone of the essay, it makes everything feel a lot better in the end. The use of the â€Å"French† in the essay, gives meaning to the times where you dont understand what the counterpart is saying applying the use of words that doesn’t exist creates a confusion but also an understantment of how Sedaris feels when the teacher is talking to him. Here you can see the words meimslsxp; lgpdmurct; apzkiubjxow; palicmkrexis; fiuscrzsa; ticiwelmun; kfdtinvfm; vkkdyo; kdeynfulh. Understanding and speaking do not automatically go hand in hand, but it is better to understand rather than to speak. Which is the point the author is trying to make through the entire selection.. David Sedaris takes a stroll down memory lane in his anecdote about his experience learning to speak French in Paris, under the rule of a cruel dictator-like teacher. He describes certain moments of intense cruelty of the teacher, such as when one girl in his class doesn’t know the correct irregular past tense of the verb to defeat. The girl was poked in the eye with a freshly sharpened pencil, and the teacher, although remorseful, did not spend much time apologizing. The students in the class are not fluent in French, and their halting sentences, when translated, sound like â€Å"sometime me cry alone at night†¦that be common for I, also, but be more strong, you. † This is the exact way that a student of a foreign language would speak, and it illuminates the difference between speaking a language so that others could possibly understand you, and understanding the language.

Grand Canyon Essay Essay

Although not a more prominent theme, the theme of things happening for a reason and changing your life was also shown in the movie Grand Canyon. Through my own life experiences and the through the experiences of others I too have learned that things do happen with reason and that things may not seem good right at the moment, but things will turn out right in the end. To me, the movie showed this theme, but more subliminally then up front. When times do look bad, have faith and know that things will turn out for the better and that there’s a reason for why things are the way they are. In the beginning of the movie we see that Mack gets into car trouble in the wrong side of town. As Mack is beginning to be harassed by a couple of gangsters, Simon comes to the rescue. Simon, the tow-truck driver tells the gangsters to back off, thus saving Mack’s life. Mack is therefore grateful of what Simon has done. Despite the fact that Mack could’ve gotten himself killed, Mack wised up and made a new friend. In another part in the movie Simon’s sister’s house was shot at (they live in the wrong part of town). At first, his sister decides to just stay there, but later moves into an apartment that Mack suggested they get. Then there was the part where Simon and Jane, a girl Mack set up with Simon hit it off right away after their first date. If you think real hard about it, all those things that happened never would’ve happened if that night Simon and Mack had not met. Even though it was a bad way to meet, things did turn out right. Everyone involved learned more about each other and themselves and everything did turn out for the better. As did the case with Mack’s wife, Claire. One day on one of Claire’s daily jogs she literally finds a baby behind some bushes. Claire takes the baby into her care and later plans to adopt the child. The child seems to be what Claire was missing all this time. The baby seemed to fill an emptiness she had. As these situations in the movie shows, there is reason for why things are the way they are and that in turn changes our lives completely. In my own life experiences, I’ve come to terms with my faith in God and the belief that things happen with reason and that God would not abandon you. My mom has also taught me and instilled that belief in me. In the past couple of years things have been on the rough for my family and I. Four years ago  my dad lost his stable job of about 10 years. During and throughout that period of about a year, money was somewhat a problem and with each new day my dad became more and more depressed as each job interview passed with no reply. During that time my mom, told us to believe and kept telling us that bad things do happen, but they only happen when something better is to come. About 2 years ago, Bell Canada employed my dad. His office was even closer than the old one and his new office was larger and my dad loved his new job. My mom was right. But that’s not where it all ends. A year and a half ago, my dad was transferred to a Mississauga branch. My dad hated the commute each morning and you could tell he wasn’t liking it there. They were understaffed there so he always worked overtime, and that meant leaving later from his already far workplace. He was stressed a whole lot. Once again, my mom told us that this is just a period of time that tests us and that things would turn out for the best. About a year ago today, my dad was transferred to one of Bell Canada’s downtown branches. My dad now works right in the Eaton Centre and my dad is so happy. Through just that whole ordeal I’ve learned first, how powerful prayer really is and second, that things do happen for a reason. When my dad first moved to Mississauga he was thinking of quitting and looking for a new job, if he had done that he wouldn’t have ended up where he was today. Through many other experiences I have learned that something very little can change your life forever and that God only gives you things He knows you can handle. It may seem like through my experiences I’ve learned two different things, but to me they go together. God communicates to us through many different ways, so does fate. The littlest things like going to the mall or going home can change our lives forever. More recently, was the terrorist attack in the U.S. In the news and from various other sources you hear stories about people who missed their train or slept in that morning and therefore missing out on the Trade Centre collapsing. Just missing out by a few seconds how just by being late could change your life forever. It also shows the power of fate, it wasn’t your time to pass on. As little as something may seem, it can alter your life in more ways than one. When your life seems out of place or when you’re going through rough times,  you’ve got to just remember that things always turn out for the better. If something good has passed you by now, something better for you is bound to be coming soon. Though you may not be optimistic something better is coming, you’ve got to believe so. That something better may not come big, but it will change your life forever.

How to Get Feedback After a Bad Interview

How to Get Feedback After a Bad Interview So you failed your interview. It was a bad interview. Terrible. You know it; your interviewer knows it. You couldn’t run out of that room fast enough. Now, however, rather than hanging your head in shame, wouldn’t it be good to get some honest feedback to see just where it all went wrong- so you can prepare to interview better in the future? And work out the bugs in the system before trying again? The first thing you want to do is reassure whomever you’re asking for feedback that you won’t argue with the interviewer, the recruiter, or HR about it. Convey the fact that you’re simply hoping to learn from your errors and be able to present yourself better to the next place you interview. Some companies will not share this information with you- either because they’re worried about becoming embroiled in a petty argument, or worse, a law suit- but some will give you the feedback you are asking for. And you’ll never know until you ask.Hereâ⠂¬â„¢s what to do.Step One: Know you must move onExplicitly and sincerely make it clear that you are not trying to weasel your way into a second chance. Assert your awareness that, at least as far as you’re concerned, the process is closed. In other words: you know you’re not getting this job. End of story.Step Two: Be polite and honestSay something like, â€Å"Just so I can do better moving forward in my job search, I wanted to see if you might be willing to share one or two things I might have done differently that would have helped me be more successful in the interview?† You may never hear back, but it’s always worth a try.Step Three: Be humbleNo matter what they tell you, if they respond at all, make sure to be gracious and grateful. You’ll know more than you did before you got this feedback. And it can only be of use to you in prepping for your next interview. This interviewer did you a huge favor by responding in the first place, and for giv ing you some insight that, when made proper use of, might prove to make all the difference in your future job searching.Say thank you. Leave them alone. Then analyze the feedback you were given and find the places where you can and should improve.

Memorable Quotes From Lord of the Flies

Memorable Quotes From 'Lord of the Flies' The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, was first published in 1954 and became instantly controversial. The twisted coming-of-age story tells the tale of a group of schoolboys stranded on a desert island after a plane crash. Its by far Goldings best-known work. As the boys struggle to survive, they devolve into violence. This book is a commentary on human nature that shows mankinds darkest undertones. The novel is now sometimes considered something of a companion piece to J.D. Salingers coming-of-age story The Catcher in the Rye. The two works can be viewed as flip sides of the same coin. Both books have themes of isolation, with peer pressure and loss featuring heavily in their plots. The Lord of the Flies is one of the most-read and most popular books for high school and college students studying youth culture and its influences. Piggys Role Concerned with order and doing things in a civilized way, Piggy is doomed early on in the story. He tries to help keep order and grows distressed when the boys cant even manage the basic task of building a fire.   Chapter 1 They used to call me Piggy! Before this statement, Piggy tells Ralph  I dont care what they call me...so long as they dont call me what they used to call me in school. The reader might not realize it yet, but this does not bode well for poor Piggy. His weakness has been identified and when Jack breaks his glasses soon after, readers have  already started to suspect that Piggys life is in danger. Ralph and Jack Battle for Control Chapter 2 Weve got to have rules and obey them. After all, were not savages. Were English, and the English are best at everything. This is a central point of The Lord of the Flies, and is Goldings strongest commentary about both the necessity and the futility of trying to impose a structure on a world inhabited by people with base instincts. Jack, who later becomes the leader of the savage group of boys, cant conceive of a world without British dominance.   Chapter 4 He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. This description of Jack in chapter 4 shows the beginning of the tendency toward savagery. Its a truly disturbing scene and sets the stage for the brutality thats coming next.   Chapter 5 All this I meant to say. Now Ive said it. You voted me for chief. Now you do what I say. Ralph still has some semblance of control as the groups leader at this point, with the rules still somewhat intact. But the foreboding here is clear, and its obvious to the reader that the fabric of their little society is about to tear.   And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You cant hunt, you cant sing... Im chief. I was chosen. Why should choosing make any difference? Just giving orders that dont make any sense... This exchange between Ralph and Jack shows the larger dilemma of earned power and authority versus power that is bestowed. It can be read as a debate between the nature of a monarchy versus elected rulers.   The Beast Within? Chapter 5 Maybe there is a beast...maybe its only us. As the doomed Simon and Piggy try to make sense of whats really happening on the island, Golding gives us yet another larger moral theme to consider. With the world in The Lord of the Flies at war, and Goldings status as a war veteran, this statement seems to question whether humans are their own worst enemy. The authors answer is an emphatic yes.

Manejar en EEUU auto con placas de México

Manejar en EEUU auto con placas de Mà ©xico Es obvio que en la zona fronteriza los turistas mexicanos pueden ingresar a Estados Unidos manejando sus autos con placas mexicanas. Adems,  nada impide que el viaje se extienda mucho ms all de la frontera y alcance cualquiera de los 48 estados continentales contiguos del paà ­s. Es decir, se excluye Alaska y Hawaii. Para manejar sin problemas en Estados Unidos con un auto con placas de Mà ©xico este artà ­culo explica cules son los requisitos que se deben cumplir, con informacià ³n detallada sobre el seguro del auto. Adems, se  detalla quà © acciones se deben evitar y, finalmente, informacià ³n general pero relevante sobre cruce de frontera y procedimientos migratorios y de aduanas que deben ser tenidos en cuenta. Requerimientos para manejar un auto con placas mexicanas en EE.UU. Todos los dà ­as miles de autos mexicanos cruzan la frontera por los puentes internacionales. Generalmente, limitan sus viajes a unas pocas millas dentro del territorio estadounidense y se regresan inmediatamente pero nada impide estancias ms largas y alejadas de la zona fronteriza. Para no tener problemas, hay que tener en cuenta los siguientes puntos: En primer lugar, el chà ³fer mexicano debe tener una licencia de manejar de su paà ­s vlida. Adems, si va a adentrarse a estados no fronterizos serà ­a conveniente que antes de salir de Mà ©xico adquiriese una licencia internacional de manejar, que es una traduccià ³n a varios idiomas, incluido el inglà ©s, de su licencia. En segundo lugar, el automà ³vil debe tener placas y registracià ³n vlidas.   En tercer lugar, tener en cuenta que en las aduanas y fronteras de los Estados Unidos, los  autos viejos  pueden ser rechazados para ingresar  por incumplir con los requerimientos medioambientales. Por lo tanto, verificar que se est al dà ­a en el cumplimiento de estos requisitos, principalmente cuando se trata de un auto viejo. En cuarto lugar, un auto mexicano puede estar en manos de un turista hasta un mximo de un aà ±o. Pero,  si se va a estar ms de 30 dà ­as en el mismo estado, comprobar con el Department of Motor Vehicles del estado en el que se encuentre sobre si hay algà ºn requerimiento adicional que cumplir. Destacar que aunque el auto puede estar legalmente en EE.UU., en teorà ­a, hasta un aà ±o, eso no quiere decir que el turista que lo maneja o todos los que viajan en su interior puedan estar legalmente en Estados Unidos por todo ese tiempo. Hay que mirar las condiciones de la visa americana con la que se ingresa al paà ­s. Si se tiene una lser, el tiempo que se puede permanecer en Estados Unidos y los lugares a los que se puede viajar son ms restringidos que si se ingresa con una visa de turista. Si se tiene una de estas visas, verificar en el I-94 cunto tiempo es posible permanecer legalmente en EE.UU. Generalmente la estancia se permite por 180 dà ­as, pero puede ser por menos tiempo. Adems, si se quiere prolongar la estancia es posible solicitar una extensià ³n de la visa de turista. Seguro de auto mexicano en carreteras de EE.UU. Quiz el requisito fundamental es contar con una pà ³liza de seguro de auto que dà © cobertura, como mà ­nimo, para lesiones de ocupantes y daà ±os a terceros en sus personas y/o bienes. Y hay que obtener una certificacià ³n de esa pà ³liza en inglà ©s. En muchas ocasiones, este seguro mexicano no cubre eventualidades que puedan ocurrir manejando el auto en Estados Unidos. En este caso, hay que contratar uno que sà ­ brinde esta cobertura. Adems, es importante incluir en esa pà ³liza a todos los posible conductores que vayan a manejar el auto en Estados Unidos, si es que va a hacerlo ms de un ocupante del automà ³vil. Estos seguros se pueden contratar por un sà ³lo dà ­a, por meses o hasta un aà ±o. Es muy importante tener en cuenta que si se planea viajar por varios estados, la cobertura mà ­nima puede variar. Asegurarse de cumplir con las leyes estatales que se pueden consultar en el Departamento de Vehà ­culos a Motor de cada estado (liability, en inglà ©s). Varias aseguradoras mexicanas ofrecen este tipo de pà ³liza. Tambià ©n es posible contratarla cerca de la frontera, del lado mexicano.  Si la policà ­a para al auto, sin duda van a pedir que se enseà ±e esta certificacià ³n. Si se tiene alguna inquietud,  marcar al telà ©fono de la CIAM. Se puede llamar desde Estados Unidos y tambià ©n desde Mà ©xico.  Resuelven dudas de diverso tipo, incluidas las que afectan a seguros de auto  y son muy competentes en sus respuestas. Cà ³mo evitar problemas manejando en EE.UU. un auto con placas mexicanas El asunto del manejo en Estados Unidos de automà ³viles con placas extranjeras est regulado por ley federal y por las leyes estatales. La federal es el tratado de 1949 conocido como Inter-American Convenction Road Traffic. Si la policà ­a para el automà ³vil y uno de los ocupantes resulta ser un inmigrante indocumentado, es posible que el auto acabe embargado por la Policà ­a de Fronteras (ICE, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) y que acabe siendo subastado. Es decir, que el dueà ±o se quede sin su auto. En los casos de multas por una infraccià ³n de trnsito, es conveniente pagarla. En la actualidad, las computadoras en los controles migratorios de Estados Unidos estn conectados a una base de datos que se llama TECS que contiene, entre otras, informacià ³n que proveen los Departamentos de Vehà ­culos de los diferentes estados y estn notificando multas de trfico, aunque no es asà ­ en todos los casos. Finalmente, los  ciudadanos americanos y los residentes permanentes legales con licencias de manejar de los Estados Unidos (que es la que tienen que tener) no pueden manejar en el paà ­s un automà ³vil con placas mexicanas. Est prohibido, del mismo modo que los mexicanos residentes en Mà ©xico  no pueden por ley manejar en su paà ­s un auto con placas de los Estados Unidos. Tips à ºtiles para turistas mexicanos en Estados Unidos   Para evitar problemas muy serios como quedarse en situacià ³n de ilegalidad, cancelacià ³n o revocacià ³n de visas o que en el control migratorio simplemente impidan el ingreso al paà ­s, es necesario tener en cuenta asunto como con  Ã‚  cunta frecuencia se puede ingresar como turista a Estados Unidos  y tener muy claro quà ©Ã‚  pasa si se queda en Estados Unidos ms tiempo del permitido. Tambià ©n es interesante  saber  cunto dinero se puede  ingresar legalmente a Estados Unidos  y, si trae mascota, asegurarse de que goce de buen estado de salud y de que tenga todos los documentos en regla. Lo que se pide va a depender del lugar de procedencia y  del tipo de mascota.   A la hora de cruzar la frontera terrestre entre Mà ©xico y Estados Unidos es posible acelerar el paso por el control migratorio si se forma parte del programa  SENTRI. En los dems casos, conviene evitar los dà ­as y horas de mucho trfico, cuando los retrasos pueden ser enormes en los puentes internacionales.   Finalmente, se recomienda tomar este  test o quiz  sobre la visa de turista  para asegurarte de que tienes los conocimientos que debes saber para sacarla y conservarla.   Este artà ­culo no es asesorà ­a legal para ningà ºn caso especà ­fico. Es sà ³lo informacià ³n de carcter general.

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 20

Strategic management - Essay Example Instead, it has to adapt or speed up or change based on the constantly and rapidly changing business environment. There will be factors at â€Å"play† both in the external and internal environments of the organisations, and it is up to the organisation to play or function according to those factors. Although organisations may function or change based on those factors, it is of vital importance that how rapid and also how discontinuous those changes are. This is where the happening concept of rapid, volatile, discontinuous change comes into the picture. If an organisation initiates change management which is rapid and discontinuous, it can garner number of benefits for it, particularly strategic competitiveness in line with the strategic management process. It is imperative on the part of the organisational leaders or management or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to initiate as well as manage this rapid, discontinuous change. So, the report starts by outlining the concepts of rap id, volatile, discontinuous change as part of literature review. Then, it will discuss where and how this concept fits within the strategic management process. Following that, the focus will be on the R.A.P.I.D, which can be used to assess the role, impacts and implications of rapid, discontinuous change for an organisation. The final section will focus on the role of CEOs during this change, particularly the ways they respond to the change as well as why they could not respond appropriately to the change during certain occassions. Organisations of contemporary times are operating in a dynamic business environment, and so they are bombarded by factors in its external and internal environment. Organisations need to initiate rapid and discontinuous changes on their part to match up with those internal and external changes. â€Å"This sort of rapid change can be triggered by major internal problems or by considerable external shock† (Todnem, 2005,

General Motors Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

General Motors Corporation - Essay Example GM’s six main automaking divisions have catered to its manifesto of â€Å"a car for every purse and purpose† (Monks & Minow, 2008: 414). Statement of Purpose: This Case Study on the General Motors Corporation is for the purpose of investigating the company’s downward spiral into possible bankruptcy. Using appropriate theories and literature, investigation of the What? Why? and How? of the organization will help to determine the reasons for the auto giant’s decline 0ajjind the implications for the future of the company. The reasons for and the processes by which the United States’ auto giant General Motors Company deteriorated to a position of near-bankruptcy, can be determined by investigating various factors based on relevant theories of corporate collapse (Fig.1). These would include corporate governance, organisational culture, leadership styles, operational risk management and financial risk management pertaining to the functioning of General Motors. The underlying concepts pertaining to risk management, financial markets and products, and global perspectives on risk are important aspects. A widely encompassing approach that associates the causes of bankruptcy to the characteristics of the company and to the financial symptoms of distress, is essential, in examining the company’s financial decline (Thornhill & Amit, 2003). Besides the financial situation of the company, other crucial factors include the time dimension of failure, and the influence of key non-financial factors such as managerial error which is found to be one of the main reasons (Balcaen & Ooghe, 2006). Over the decades, from the time of GM’s inception in 1909, the company has suffered numerous set-backs which destroyed its ability to control the cost of its workforce. Roger Smith as CEO started downsizing the manufacturing units from 1985, with a commitment to revolutionizing the organization.

Globalisation and British Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Globalisation and British Politics - Essay Example In terms of the political aspect in one country, the idea of globalisation or creation of a world government was first described by Dante Alighieri, an Italian writer in the 14th century, as a centralised global constitution governing laws which promotes international peace and order. Oppositions however argued against international understanding wherein the authority and command of a government within its jurisdiction especially in terms of environment and economics will be influenced by external control (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2003). The word globalisation had been used to offer clarification, significance and knowledge about the essential characteristics of new age capitalism (Murphy, 1994). It suggests several discrete processes and developments which involves the international level and joins them into one centrally dominant procedure of change. Substantial interest focuses on the practical application of information technology into the procedure of production with the simultaneous action in the process of changing the administration, system and communications which is at the commercial, communal and state levels. Giddens (1997) cited that effects of globalisation are not exclusively consistent. He argued that the 1997 British general elections which resulted in an overwhelming electoral victory but a surprising downfall in turnout. He credited this as an outcome of decline in belief, trust, and assurance of the people to the elected officials in institutions or government agencies.... the situation on the global aspect that is constantly remoulded and reformed by current trends brought about by globalisation in the political economy displacing the traditional sovereignty of a nation or state. On the other hand, the sceptics argue about the certainty and basis of the gathered facts from previous experiments and observations since these global flows are in itself doubtful claiming a world without limits in terms of globalisation simply stating there had been no occurrence of change. When talking about the extent of the operation of globalisation, one sees it to be the unavoidable consequent flow of economy, information and technology, and people and interplay of their role in a single huge global market. Furthermore, Giddens stated that the term in itself spread to almost every parts of the world which came from nowhere. Regarding with the distribution of globalisation in terms of capital flows, it should be noted that its flow courses unidirectional from the top co nsisting mainly of those capable of investments down to consumers which pay for the other’s investment returns. Experiencing globalisation is more empowering to the capitalists but otherwise to the consumers of goods and services hence, inequality. Giddens asserted that nowadays, globalisation is nearly not worth mentioning since its extension has merely molded us of what we are today (Giddens, 1997). Globalisation in British Politics Globalisation implicitly decides and influences the boundaries of social knowledge which political subjects are incapable of controlling thus making them lame before the face of changes. Additionally, through the radicals’ perspective, globalisation has been considered as part of the common sense of human being and is accepted to occur as the way how

Prostate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Prostate - Essay Example Benign prostatic hypertrophy is a nonmalignant growth of the prostate that is generated by overgrowth of the fibromuscular and epithelium flesh of the peri-urethral zone and the transition area. This illness is common in men aged fifty years and above. Its clinical presentation includes obstruction of urine flow, urethra compression, frequent urination, not being able to start urinating and leaking and urgency or dribbling (Zhou, Netto & Epstein, 2012). In regard to diagnostic testing, microscopic hematuria initial evaluation is done on a patient, the presence of palpable induration or nodularity of the prostate on digital rectal assessment reveals the condition. Prostate cancer does not cause any signs at all and can present at any level of the illness. In most cases, the cancer occurs in the prostate gland periphery and the signs arise when they have developed to compress the urethra or attack the sphincter. The prostate cancer presents in urinary tract obstruction (LUTS) symptoms. The LUTS is in three distinct groups associated with the post-micturition symptoms, storage of urine and voiding (Tewari, 2013). In regard to diagnostic testing, prostate cancer is diagnosed using imaging techniques such as MRI to detect tumors that are clinically significant. The treatment of prostatitis is difficult because of the presence of inhibited penetration of most antibiotics across prostatic epithelium and through the non-fenestrated prostatic capillaries to the infected fluids and tissues. The patient must be advised that the preferred drug is fluoroquinolone because of its quality of good penetration through the prostate. The time of antibiotic therapy is usually 2-4 weeks, and that depends on the severe nature of the illness. The patient is then reviewed for clinical symptoms and signs (Koda-Kimble & Alldredge, 2013). When patients suffer from mild symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy there no need for alarm but they should be

HUMAN RESOURCES IN ACTION Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HUMAN RESOURCES IN ACTION - Assignment Example Jobseekers would evaluate the requirements of particular jobs before engaging in the application process of such jobs. This paper analyses the websites of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and DoubleTree by Hilton, henceforth referred to as Fairmont and DoubleTree respectively, to determine how their effectiveness in meeting the needs of jobseekers. Overview of the Chosen Companies Fairmont operates luxury hotels and resorts in nineteen countries around the world. Founded in 1907, its headquarters is in Canada (http://www.fairmont.com/). Founded in 1969, DoubleTree is a hotel global brand with presence in over 325 locations in five continents (http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/index.html). Its headquarters is in Virginia, US. These companies have incorporated the capabilities of information technology into their human resources functions, both leveraging on their website capabilities. Interestingly, both hotels have Taleo as their website developer. Being in the hospitality industry, the ho mepage of each of the websites provide convenient navigation for customers seeking to make bookings or to directly contact the companies, each displaying not only their traditional telephone numbers and postal addresses but also the addresses of their various social network subscriptions. Important to this task would be the careers tab which appears on both websites enabling the companies get in touch with potential employees. Evaluation of the Careers Tabs on the Websites It would be noted that the careers tab on each of the websites appear in small font and would not be easy to note as compared to other tabs such as those on about the companies and the offers available. This could be interpreted as the companies’ greater interest in attracting customers as opposed to interest in attracting others players in its distribution chain, including potential employees. Since the tab appears at the bottom of the homepage in each website, the jobseeker would be required to scroll dow n the webpage, making it a difficult to navigate to this webpage. The careers tab leads to web pages that give descriptions on the careers available in each of the companies. Fairmont headlines this webpage as ‘an extraordinary company; an extraordinary career’ with the ‘extraordinary’ emphasized by bolding. This could be a strategy to assure jobseekers of their prowess in the industry. To further attract the best pool of skills, the company encourages one to click on their ‘search position’ tab to identify exciting job opportunities. DoubleTree’s strategy for capturing the best skills in the market involves wording, introducing itself as the â€Å"most recognizable hotel brand in virtually every region of the world.† Fairmont’s website career tab has minimal information on job opportunities. It prompts one to search for available opportunities. Therefore, unless one is searching for a specific vacancy, no general informati on on career opportunities would be available, as filled in positions would return no meaningful results. It would be interesting to however note that the website has an option of one creating a profile based on which email alerts would be delivered every time an opportunity that matches such a profile arises. DoubleTree on the other hand provides much more information based on what the job seeker is looking for. It categorizes its careers into regions and level of professional qualification. Therefore, depending on what a job seeker is loo

Prostate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Prostate - Essay Example Benign prostatic hypertrophy is a nonmalignant growth of the prostate that is generated by overgrowth of the fibromuscular and epithelium flesh of the peri-urethral zone and the transition area. This illness is common in men aged fifty years and above. Its clinical presentation includes obstruction of urine flow, urethra compression, frequent urination, not being able to start urinating and leaking and urgency or dribbling (Zhou, Netto & Epstein, 2012). In regard to diagnostic testing, microscopic hematuria initial evaluation is done on a patient, the presence of palpable induration or nodularity of the prostate on digital rectal assessment reveals the condition. Prostate cancer does not cause any signs at all and can present at any level of the illness. In most cases, the cancer occurs in the prostate gland periphery and the signs arise when they have developed to compress the urethra or attack the sphincter. The prostate cancer presents in urinary tract obstruction (LUTS) symptoms. The LUTS is in three distinct groups associated with the post-micturition symptoms, storage of urine and voiding (Tewari, 2013). In regard to diagnostic testing, prostate cancer is diagnosed using imaging techniques such as MRI to detect tumors that are clinically significant. The treatment of prostatitis is difficult because of the presence of inhibited penetration of most antibiotics across prostatic epithelium and through the non-fenestrated prostatic capillaries to the infected fluids and tissues. The patient must be advised that the preferred drug is fluoroquinolone because of its quality of good penetration through the prostate. The time of antibiotic therapy is usually 2-4 weeks, and that depends on the severe nature of the illness. The patient is then reviewed for clinical symptoms and signs (Koda-Kimble & Alldredge, 2013). When patients suffer from mild symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy there no need for alarm but they should be

Management at Apple Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management at Apple - Research Paper Example Apple Company is located at Cupertino, California was established in 1976 and deals in personal computers, computer software other consumer electronics such as iPods, iPads, iPhones and tablets among others. In addition, the company has about 60, 400 permanent workers with 2,800 part time spread in more than ten countries and operating in about 357 retail stores with a present $65.23 billion â€Å"It plans to open a total of 25 stores in China by the end of 2011† (Head, 2007). Furthermore, Apple Company being a technology organization has used the location-based services strategy. This involves using an advertising platform that sends various offers to its clients from the nearby shops and restaurants. Similarly, Apple Company has been able to increase its sales and profits through venturing into the international markets such as China and Japan. In addition, departing from the domestic market to enter the international market by Apple has lead to reduced costs of production a nd the ability to trade in various markets hence lessening the dependency on one market. Supply chain management Supply chain management involves the organization and control of assets such as equipment, human, components and relationships such as customers, staff and suppliers among others in the production and delivery of customer’s commodity from unprocessed product to completed product as competently as possible. Apple Company is known to conduct its sale with a minimal physical supply sales chain. Instead, Apple uses digital supply chain involves distribution of digital media such as video or music though electronic medium from the provider to the client. For instance, through its virtual stores, Apple has been able to generate about $ 1 billion from iTunes sales only. â€Å"This can be considered as the first step by Apple towards implementing agility in its supply chain† (Sanders & Reid, 2007). In addition, the company has the ability to make sales worth more th an I billion of MP3 files without factors of physical supply management such as material sourcing, production, warehousing and transportation among others. These sales extend to iPhone mobile that do not use the normal supply chains. There are numerous advantages that are enjoyed by Apple in its usage of digital supply chains. For instance, increase in margin of hardware sales, increased maneuvers in the market because of higher flow of cash and the ability to provide what is on demand at right time. Therefore, because of this innovative idea of modern supply management, competition has increased among IT companies such as HP, Dell and IBM adopting and improving their methods. On that note, Apple has come up with its new design of supply chain called product lifecycle management (PLM). It is a programmed software that allows manufacturers from around the world to process the products they want using a collaborative design. â€Å"Thus the equation of achieving agility in supply chai n versus risk in meeting demand had to take shape for Apple† (Lebreton, 2007). Similarly, it permits the manufacturer to share and manage complicated design and commodity detail that aims at ensuring the proper development process of commodity. Inventory management Inventory management involves indicating the shape and percentage of completed products an organization has to sell. Numerous factors affect inventory of management of Apple Inc. Company. For example, there are the physical place of the

All the Pretty Horses novel Essay Example for Free

All the Pretty Horses novel Essay The main character, John Grady Cole, faces plenty of hardships throughout his journey from his home in Texas to Mexico. On the other hand, McCarthy writes this award-winning book in a positive way, demonstrating the balance between optimism and pessimism in our world. He shows how John Grady Cole has matured and grown substantially because of this negativity he faces. The reader can clearly see the negativity not only in the first page of the novel, but also in the first paragraph. McCarthy begins the book with, â€Å"†¦ he looked at the face so caved and drawn among the folds of funeral cloth, the yellowed moustache, the eyelids paper thin. That was not sleeping†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3). The funeral described in the first page is John Grady’s grandpa’s funeral. Starting a book off in this way (with a dead body) obviously points the reader towards the opinion that this book is a long, dreadful ride with much death and destruction. The image of the coffin, the yellowing moustache, and the deceased person clearly shows the negativity that fills this book. Throughout the book, John Grady Cole faces many challenges and much adversity and learns to live with it. After leaving their home in Texas, John Grady and his best friend Rawlins travel hundreds of miles deep into the heart of Mexico on horseback until they reach a ranch offering work called La Purisima. Both of these boys are skilled at working with horses and spend most of their time at the ranch taming and taking care of the many horses there. While working at La Purisima, John meets the ranch owner’s daughter, a beautiful girl named Alejandra, and falls in love. Alejandra’s father absolutely does not appreciate this; in fact, he orders for John Grady and Rawlins to be arrested because of John’s interactions with Alejandra. The hardships that these boys face are relentless, however, John Grady refuses to hang his head and give up. On their way to the jail, John Grady says to Rawlins, â€Å"I can’t back up and start over. But I don’t see the point in slobberin over it† (155). At this point, McCarthy reveals how John Grady has matured and has learned to live with the sorrows he faces. With this new found maturity, and as John Grady Cole overcomes this terrible journey of negativity, he has learned to live with the pessimism and has found out how the negatives go side by side with the positives. Nearing the end of the book John Grady Cole realizes that â€Å"the world’s pain and its beauty moved in a relationship of diverging equity† (282). John Grady has learned the skill of searching for the light in a dark room, constantly refusing to dwell on the negative aspects of his many horrible situations. He has a new wisdom of the world and has learned how it works. In conclusion, McCarthy writes All The Pretty Horses with much negativity and at the same time he delivers a lesson of how positivity is hidden in every situation, journey, and life. McCarthy demonstrates how John Grady Cole learns maturity the hard way: through hardships, sorrow and death. This book leaves the reader with a tear in their eye and a smile on their face, for they know that sorrow is sitting on the doorstep of happiness.

Child Poverty Dynamics in Seven Nations | Paper Analysis

Child Poverty Dynamics in Seven Nations | Paper Analysis Task: to evaluate the research design, methods of data collection and analysis, and any other ethical or philosophical issues that arise in the specified research paper. Introduction This assignment will focus on the working paper entitled Child Poverty Dynamics in Seven Nations (Bradbury et al, 2000). It will identify and analyse the research design, methodology, data collection and analysis contained within the paper. There will also be an assessment of philosophical and ethical issues as well as a comparison with other documents of a similar nature. The paper is a comparative study examining how children move in and out of poverty. Research Design The authors of this paper are concerned with child poverty and how children in different countries move in and out of poverty. They maintain that state welfare provision operates more effectively to reduce child poverty when it has prior research knowledge of what causes children to move in and out of poverty The research uses standard relative poverty definitions and examines the mobility rate of the poorest fifth of children from, Britain, the USA, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Hungary and Russia. It is usual at the design stage of a project to decide what approach one is going to take to the research. This is because different epistemological and philosophical assumptions are an inherent part of any approach to research ( Bryman, 2004). At a general level the study is an inter-societal comparison of the dynamics of poverty. Inter-societal comparisons look at the similarities and differences which countries display. Numbers of such studies have been undertaken, a well known recent one o f these is Esping-Anderson’s (1990) research into the welfare regimes of different countries. Comparative studies have a long history in sociology, e.g. Weber’s work on religion (1930, 1965) and Durkheim’s work on suicide (1952). Comparative studies are a big part of research into poverty, whether this is the traditional notion of poverty as a lack of disposable income, or whether it is the more contemporary concept of social exclusion (Berghman, 1995). Bradbury et al (2000) acknowledge that they have taken a rather broad brush approach in their study and that there are some problems with this, nevertheless they maintain that charting the flow in and out of poverty cross nationally is useful for policy making that aims to reduce the number of children who are poor. The researchers believe that studying poverty from the vantage point of children needs little or no justification because children represent a country’s future. It might be argued however, that is a rather Eurocentric view and may not necessarily be held in all the countries in the study. The researchers further defend their choice of method in the following way: Comparisons across countries provide a reference point for assessing the results for any single country, for example whether a particular statistic is large or small. Cross-national analysis also raises provocative questions about whether differences in outcomes are due to, say, differences in policy regimes or differences in population characteristics. Of course the usefulness of crossnational analysis relies on having good data, and making data comparable may require compromises in the depth of analysis which would not be required in a single country study. (The trade-off depends on the number of countries considered.) Our paper illustrates the various strengths – and weaknesses – of taking a cross-national perspective (Bradbury et al, 2000, p.7-8). The authors thus express a generally held view that comparative research does have integral strengths and weaknesses, the following analysis hopes to demonstrate whether or not the strengths of this research project outweigh any weaknesses it may have.. Methods of Data Collection The primary data source for this study is panel data drawn from the seven nations involved. This data is largely household survey data and is therefore the income levels are those given by heads of households. The researchers maintain that there study is complementary to one undertaken by Duncan et al (1993). The studies differ in that Duncan et al’s work concentrates on the family as the unit of analysis whereas Bradbury et al (2000) concentrate on the child. The units of analysis are children under the age of 18. The data sets refer to the early 1990s[1] with the most recent year being 1996. The researchers want to use the data to compare poverty dynamics between one year and the next, so they looked at data from two years across the seven nations. The data sets differ, with four countries, Germany, Hungary, Britain and the US providing data spanning five years and data from Germany and the US spanning ten years. This means that some countries receive a deeper analysis than others because they collect more data. The income figures provided by households are used as the income of the child with relevant adjustments for household needs. Table 1 below gives a summary description of each of the data sets used. Bradbury et al, 2000 pps 10-11 This table gives an overview of the data that the researchers used in their comparative study. The researchers chose the following features from which to compare the data for different countries: †¦the type of longitudinal survey, the period to which incomes refer, the definition(s) of income available, and two statistics summarising sample size (Bradbury et al, 2000, p.11). The chief indicator of whether a child is living in poverty and how a child moves in and out of poverty are the income measures that are available. The researchers point out however that there are differences between countries on how this is assessed i.e. whether income recorded is before or after any deductions for tax etc. They acknowledge that such differences have clear implications for differences in poverty dynamics but they do not elucidate what this is.[2] This lessens any faith that one might have in their methods of data collection because there is no explanation of how this affects poverty dynamics. Income is recorded as net except in the case of Ireland and the US. The researchers say that net income for Britain cannot be recorded in all cases and this causes a reduction in sample size, with possible resulting implications of difference (?). Only two countries, Spain and Russia, provide evidence of household expenditure in addition to household income and arguably this is a weakness in the data set as levels of expenditure may differ widely from country to country and is a greater indication of the distinction between absolute and relative poverty (Giddens, 2001).[3] Again this might evidence greater discrepancies across nations if more of such data were available and this will raise questions as to the reliability of the findings of the study.The study only uses disposable income as a measurement of poverty, In a sense this is a step back in terms of theoretical development as Berghman (1995) has said the focus has shifted from simply financial poverty to whether a person can fully participate in the society to which they belong. This is not referred to in Bradshaw et al’s study and as such might be said to evidence a weakness in their choice of conceptual indicators. While the measure did work for the variables that the researchers were interested in it is nevertheless a narrow way of measuring child poverty. This is especially the case when one considers the researchers’ acknowledgement that they have no single comparable method of measuring income across the seven nations and this raises questions about the internal validity of their methods. Data Analysis Techniques The study uses quantitative data and the study is quite large using household panels from seven nations. The researchers argue that this not only provides them with a cross national comparison of how and why children enter and leave poverty but also allows for any serious discrepancies between nations to be identified. The number of households selected for the analysis is between 1 and 2 thousand per country (see table one above). Statistical comparisons are made between child poverty rates, their relative income levels and income inequality. The statistics are similar to those found in an earlier chapter but no details of this are given. Arguably, one wonders why they mention any similarities here as they then go on to say that: †¦they are not fully comparable because there are differences in the definition of the income measure, the year referred to ,the sample, and in most cases even the survey (this is true in Britain, Ireland ,Spain, and the US) (Bradshaw et al, 2000, p.13).[4] The researchers say that they use the median income of children to measure material well being but because their data set and methodology are rather convoluted they have to explain what this is.[5] Their usage of a median is questionable as they later say (p.15 ibid) that: median income levels provide no guide to how incomes vary among children. Their use of arithmetical averages is also questionable as this can obscure the existence of very high and very low incomes, a fact which they also acknowledge.Their methods include the use of a statistical technique known as the Gini coefficient[6] The technique is named after the person who developed it, an Italian statistician called Corrado Gini.[7] The use of the Gini coefficient does tend to show whether income inequality is increasing or decreasing and so it is often used in comparisons between countries. However, its capacity to measure inequality is also determined by how disposable income is dealt with and this information is not av ailable. It is arguable therefore whether the use of the Gini coefficient gives an accurate representation of the data. The use of the Gini coefficient tends to suggest that income inequality for children is substantially different across the seven nations. Western Europe has lower inequality levels than do Russia and America, and there may be further discrepancies here because the Russian data also provides details of household expenditure and this is missing from the American data. Bradshaw et al’s (2000) findings show that with the Gini coefficient income inequality in Germany stands at 0.3 while in America and Russia it is 0.4 a rise of 10 percentage points which the authors say is larger than the overall income inequality of Britain and the United States throughout the whole of the 1980s. However, further questions are raised as to the reliability of the data from the US because the US Census Bureau shows that the calculation of the index of the US was changed in 1992 this led to an upward shift of 0.02 in the coefficient making comparisons after that period misleading.[8] Bradshaw et al (2000) claim that their major finding is a: †¦ significant (but not total) uniformity in patterns of income mobility and poverty dynamics across the seven countries. The key exception is Russia, where the economic transition has led to a much higher degree of mobility (Bradshaw et al, 2000, p.6). Having said this, the authors later go on to demonstrate that rather than there being significant uniformity, there are considerable differences between the seven countries. Their findings indicate that the US has the highest rate of income inequality which affects the income mobility but as has already been indicated American figures after 1992 may be misleading. Another factor that makes their finding problematic is that the data for all countries is only available for two years, for some five and for two countries it is available over ten years, as the author’s admit longer time spans significantly affect the dynamics of poverty. Income mobility is greater in those countries where the most data is available it is therefore arguably the case the only significant comparison of income mobility is that between America and Germany. The ways in which the data is analysed, is, like the rest of this paper, rather complex. It is not always easy to decide when they are talking about method and when they switch to data analysis techniques as the information tends to be rather mixed together. The complexity of this paper makes it difficult to assess what the author’s may have missed in their analysis, while the authors claim a number of findings from the research there is also evidence to suggest that they could have found the contrary. Conclusion Analysing this research paper has been a problematic task. The authors continually refer back to other papers/chapters in the collection of which this paper is a part but because they do not give sufficient information on what they are referring to it might be argued that it is pointless referring back to work that is not available for comparison. The structure of this paper is confusing it does not give clear indications as to when it goes from research design, to data collection, to analysis. Discussion of the issues is ongoing and at times repetitive. There are significant weaknesses in this paper, there is little discussion of ethics as they use secondary data analysis but by their own admission there are significant differences and discrepancies in the data and this leads to the view that the both the reliability and validity of the methodology and findings are questionable. On the positive side the researchers do recognise that there are weaknesses in the data set and that this may affect the findings. There are points where the researchers (arguably at least) make claims for their data that are difficult to substantiate e.g. that there are significant similarities between patterns of income mobility across the seven countries. This claim does not really hold up in view of their further analysis of the data which lists the differences between countries. In addition to this much of the data relating to the US could, according to the US Census Bureau, be misleading. Finally the constant referring back to other papers without elucidating the issues does not help the researchers to make their case and their use of income as a major conceptual indicator does not really tell the reader how poverty affects the lives and well being of the children who are meant to be the focus of the research. Bibliography Berghman, J. 1995 â€Å"Social Exclusion in Europe: Policy, context and analytical framework† in Room, R. ed Beyond the Threshold: The Measurement and Analysis of Social Exclusion University of Bristol, Policy Press Bradbury, Bruce, Stephen P. Jenkins and John Micklewright (2000), ‘Child Poverty Dynamics in Seven Nations’. Innocenti Working Paper, No. 78 Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. Bryman, A 2nd ed. 2004 Social Research Methods Oxford, Oxford University Press Duncan, G.J., Gustafsson, B., Hauser, R., Schmauss, G., Messinger, H., Muffels, R., Nolan, B., and Ray, J.-C. (1993). ‘Poverty Dynamics in Eight Countries’. Journal of Population Economics, 6: 295–34. Durkheim, E. 1952 Suicide London, Routledge Esping-Anderson 1990 The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism Cambridge, Polity Giddens, A 4th ed 2001 Sociology Cambridge, Polity Weber, M. 1930 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism London, George Allen and Unwin Weber, M., 1965 The Sociology of Religion London, Methuen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient accessed 28/4/06 http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/ie6.html http://hampshire.edu/~apmNS/design/RESOURCES accessed 28/4/06 1 Footnotes [1] This is the terminology used by the researchers see page 10 of the study [2] This working paper apparently forms part of a collection of such papers on child poverty. The researchers continually refer back to issues mentioned in other papers without elucidating what these issues are. [3] Again the paper refers back to issues covered in other papers without indicating what these issues are. [4] For example, the UK figures in BJM Chapter 3 (the UK is defined as Britain and Northern Ireland) are based on the Family Expenditure Survey while the results for Britain in this paper are based on the British Household Panel Survey. [5] By ‘median income for children’ we mean the median of the distribution of children, ranked by the value of equivalised income of their household (p, 15 ibid). [6] This is a measure of inequality of distribution which is often used in the measurement of income levels. It is a measure between 0 and 1 where 0 corresponds to complete equality and 1 to complete inequality [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient accessed 28/4/06 [8] http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/ie6.html Ten Critical Traits of Group Dynamics | Article Analysis Ten Critical Traits of Group Dynamics | Article Analysis With the industrial revolution and latest globalisation effects, competitive nature of businesses has increased more than ever. In order to survive in this modern competitive world, businesses must find solution to their problems faster and also it is more important to do their work more effectively. With that companies have identified that collaboration or in other words, group or team works will find more creative solutions for the problems that they are facing as modern day businesses. Therefore more and more companies nowadays use teams as a part of their organisational strategies. On the other hand as the Article has mentioned in its introduction, the issue is, putting some people together and expecting them to work effectively as a group would rarely work. Therefore understanding the term Group Dynamics and Group Processes and effectively manage them in groups is becoming more important. The article Ten Critical Traits of Group Dynamics which was written by Helene F. Uhlfelder who is a PhD holder in educational psychology has acknowledged the importance of identifying and improving the Dynamics of groups and teams in organisations in order to improve their effectiveness and performance. Further the author has introduced 10 critical traits that can be used to categorize group dynamics. Finally the article has mentioned the importance of assessing groups regularly in order to find issues that are facing groups and how those traits can be used to improve group dynamics in order to build effective teams. Main objective of this assignment is to summarize the given article giving my opinion on the main argument of the article. For that task various sources will be researched including text books, online journal articles and some other web sites. And the complete article will be summarized in a critical manner giving my views on necessary points using the research findings and my own experiences on the subject matter. The Main Argument of the Article This article mainly discusses the importance of 10 traits that have been identified by the author, which can be used to categorize dynamics of groups. According to the author these traits can be used to identify any areas that groups need to improve and areas that they are good at. The author argues that by doing so groups or teams will be able to work together more effectively and increase their performance levels. When analysing the article it can be seen that the author has successfully explained her argument more clearly with providing examples and covering many supplementary topics which are required to further clarify and make it easy to understand the main argument for the audience. Helene Uhlfelder has covered many technological terms like Group Dynamics, Group Process, and has defined the difference between Group and Team before explaining about the 10 critical traits. Although the article has explained group dynamics and group process before explaining what is group and team, as I believe in order the article to be more logical the author could have explained terms like Group and Team first. If the author has assumed that the readers having the knowledge about those terms then she could not have covered them later. Anyhow to begin with explaining the term group and team would be appropriate. Group and Team The term group is defined in the article as situations where two or more people coming together in order to achieve a common purpose. Further it is mentioned that in a group people should interact each other, depend on each other and they should have a task to realize. According to the article the team also a group, that is in a work environment. The author has mentioned various characteristics that are possessed by teams. It is and intact social system with boundaries. Therefore who is in the team and outside the team can be clearly identifiable. There is interdependency among members. Members are collectively responsible for the tasks to be performed. Operates in an organisational context and therefore members have relationship with other members of the organisation. It is obvious that the author has comprehensively explained the terms group and team using various sources and in different contexts like systems terms. But she has overlooked the theory of group formation, which could have added great value addition to the article. As the author has mentioned various stages during some parts of the article, it would be a necessary part to be explained. Group Formation According to (Luthans, 2008) there are five stages that are generally recognized as stages of group formation. Forming this stage is characterized by uncertainty and confusion. Members are testing the appropriate behaviour for the team. Storming in this stage leadership will be determined. Intragroup conflicts are common. Norming Members settle down into conformity and cooperation. Performing The group will perform the task that they were grouped. Adjourning After the task is completed group will disband. Group Dynamics and Process According to the author either positive or negative, group dynamics exists in every group and hence teams. Although authors definition about group dynamics and processes a bit confusing at the end of that particular section she has given a simple explanation to identify those terms distinctly. According to that group processes are simply referred to as specific processes used by group members and leaders whereas group dynamic is defined as forces and dynamics of the group as a whole. It is found in literature research that the term Group Dynamic has been defined in many different ways. According to (Forsyth, 2010) it was first defined by Kurt Lewin, as the processes of the ways groups and individuals act and react to changing circumstances. According (Luthans, 2008) another view on group dynamic identifies it from the viewpoint of the internal nature of groups like how they are formed, structure and processes, how groups function and affect its members After explaining basic definitions and concepts the author moves her discussion into the main content of this article, the 10 critical traits. Ten Critical Traits According to the author, using 10 critical traits approach it is possible to characterize group dynamics and identify issues that are faced by groups. Those 10 critical traits include, safety, inclusion, free-interaction, appropriate level of interdependence, cohesiveness, trust, conflict resolution, influence, accomplishment, and growth. Helen Uhlfelder has explained them comprehensively using examples to make them easy to understand by the readers. Safety according to this trait team members need to feel safe within their teams and members of the team should be safe from any disruptive behaviour of other team members. Inclusion all members should be allowed to participate with equal opportunities. Everyone should be taken as members of the group and efforts should be taken in order to include new and quiet members. Free interaction there should not be any restrictions on which members interact with which members and every member should be allowed to interact with others. According to the author teams can become less effective when only few members are allowed to interact with the leader. Appropriate level of interdependence there should be an appropriate balance between individual needs and group needs. It is mentioned there the important of sense of belonging and affiliation that comes from being interdependence as well as maintaining individual identity. Cohesiveness members should feel as they are a part of a team. Without the attraction of cohesiveness a group can fall apart. Therefore it is very important that members having a bond or affiliation among them. Trust team members should trust each other and they should trust the leader. There should be consistency between what they say and do. Conflict resolution as any team could face conflicts at any stage there should be a way to resolve those conflicts in order to continue the team work. Influence there should be ability for team members to influence other members. They should be able to motivate each other. If there is no method to influence members through usage of reward and punishment productivity could be minimized. As the author has mentioned it is very important to make sure that influence will not be confused as control because controlling can lead to group problems. Accomplishment team should be able to complete its tasks. They should possess skills, knowledge to do their tasks. If they cannot perform their duties frustration would lead to conflict. Growth As in any situations group members should have opportunities to grow. Also as a team they should be able to learn and growth. Otherwise boredom can result in failure in the group. When looking at those traits it is obvious that those traits in nature would help teams to achieve its goals by eliminating group issues. But one weakness of this finding is that the author has not ranked the order of importance of these traits. Perhaps one could argue that these all could be equally important. But according to my point of view some traits are certainly superior or more important than others. For example cohesiveness, conflict resolution, etc. could be more important than growth or influence, because first, the group must work together and achieve their goals. Other things like growth, etc. comes next to that. However it can be clearly said that these 10 traits would (although few traits could be more important than others) help groups or teams to achieve their goals and improve performances. Benefits of 10 Critical Traits According to the author these 10 traits can help teams or groups in great ways by helping them to identify weaknesses and strength of their group dynamics. Therefore she suggests that organisations can use a form that includes those 10 critical traits in order to evaluate teams. According to the article teams can be assessed in 5 scores continuum. Also it is important to assess teams on regular basis in order to keep and improve their performance levels. As the author explains, this evaluation can be done by any person who is not in the team, given that he has required evaluation skills. Further it is noted there that this tool can be used to evaluate a team in any development stage and find out their dynamics and processes in order to improve them. There are several steps that need to be taken after evaluation is done, The assessor should meet team members and provide reason for the score that they have got for each criterion. Appropriate actions should be taken for traits that are scored below 3. Action plans can be implemented to resolve issues. Team should celebrate scores over 3 and reinforce them in order to retain and improve performance. Last step is to follow this procedure regularly again and again after agreed time period. As I understand this is the most important part of this article, because this can be really used by any team in real world to improve their performances. Instructions are clearly given using examples. Therefore nobody would find any difficulties in implementing this. Ultimately through this procedure teams will be able to improve group dynamics and group processes and will be able to build powerful teams and improve their performance level. But there are some drawbacks in this method itself as it has not addressed all issues that could affect the performance of groups or teams. Shortcomings of the 10 Traits Method When analysing the article in depth it is clear that the author has failed to identify some of the important aspects of group and team management that are identified by other researchers and authors. Those aspects could directly affect the outcome of the group in terms of performance and effectiveness. For an example phenomenon like groupthink and groupshift that could hinder the ability of the group to come into quality decisions by evaluating alternatives objectively. According to (Robbins, Millett, Waters-Marsh, 2004) groupthink is related to the group norms. It describes that with the pressure from group to conformity group may eliminate unusual, minority or unpopular views from evaluating when making decision. Groupshift is a situation where when group arriving at a decision they could go for more risky decision as members initial positions are exaggerated toward more extreme positions. Further (Robbins, Millett, Waters-Marsh, 2004) has identified many factors that could affect group performances than the group dynamics that have been identified by the author of the article through her 10 critical traits. Size of the group, availability of resources for a group to perform, effects of social loafing, etc. could affect the outcome of groups greatly. From the shortcomings mentioned earlier it is clear that the phenomenon of groupthink could clearly contradict with cohesiveness trait that she has mentioned in the article. She has mentioned that cohesiveness as an important dynamic in performance. Without cohesiveness a group can fall apart. But she has failed to mention the limit of cohesiveness because as mentioned earlier, extreme cohesiveness can cause groupthink and ultimately affect the effective decision making in the group. Conclusion Putting some people together and expecting them to work effectively as a group would rarely work. Therefore understanding the term Group Dynamics and effectively manage them in groups is important. The author of the article has mainly discussed the importance of her 10 traits method in categorizing group dynamics in order to identify and manage any areas that a group/team need to improve or they are good at. The author argues that by doing so groups or teams will be able to work together more effectively and increase their performance levels. The article has organized its arguments in a logical manner and has introduced many theories and concepts that need to understand the main argument of the article. Apart from few adjustments that I suggested in the analysis part of this assignment, it can be concluded that the author has succeeded in those aspects. Further the article has written in simple English that is a good point because readers will be able to understand the content of this article easily. In addition to that the author has provided lot of examples to make readers understand complex theories and concepts more clearly. When critically evaluating the article, it is found that those 10 critical traits are actually important and very practical in evaluating and managing group performances except for few drawbacks that were discussed in the body of this assignment. Those drawbacks include the failure to mention some of the important aspects that could affect the performance of groups, like groupthink, the size of the group, effects of social loafing, etc. Finally it can be concluded that if any organisation follows the method that the author has suggested to evaluate group/team dynamics and manage them with taking care of the additional points that I have mentioned earlier, organisations will be able to increase performance and effectiveness of their groups/teams.

Science in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Hard Times by Charles Dicken

The 19th century was a time of massive change socially, politically and scientifically. This time saw the rise of Imperialism and of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, seeing massive changes in the way industry was run. Also during this time the literary movements of Romanticism and Victorianism emerged. Romanticism dealt with the issues of reality versus illusion, childhood and man versus nature. The first book I will examine in this essay, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, comes from this literary period and focuses on the man versus nature theme, namely the theme of scientific development and it’s contrast to nature. The second book I will look at in this essay comes from the Victorian period of the 19th century. This period saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution and of huge social and political change. Hard Times by Charles Dickens deals with these issues very closely, focussing mainly on the rise of industry in Britain and its effects on the people of Britain. Bot h of these novels challenge the social, political and scientific developments of the 19th century, namely the advent of science and technology. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has become almost a myth in our culture; it so deeply probes the collective cultural psyche and our fear of science and progress. â€Å"Frankenstein is our culture’s most penetrating literary analysis of the psychology of modern ‘scientific’ man, of the dangers inherent in scientific research, and the exploitation of nature and of the female implicit in a technological society† (Mellor, 1988:38). The interesting thing about Frankenstein is that there can be multiple readings of the text. It can be seen as a conservative criticism of science, a Promethean belief of the unlimited progress of science, the feminist anti-female principle angle to the story, even a religion versus science story. What I will explore through this essay is each of these readings and shed some light on this wonderful novel. â€Å"The value of Mary Shelley’s novel lies not in presenting a clear morale but encouraging the readers to make up th eir own† (members.aon.at.htm). The most obvious and well-known theory of the story of Frankenstein is that of a warning to the dangers of science: â€Å" Mary Shelley’s implicit warning against possible dangers inherent in the technological developments of modern science† (Mellor, 1988:114). Shelley was very interested in ... ... David Copperfield and Hard Times, New York: Macmillan Press. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Small, C. (1972) Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein-Tracing the Myth, Pittsburgh: University Of Pittsburgh Press. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shelley, M. (1996) Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition, New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tambing, J. (1995) Dickens, Violence and The Modern State, London: Macmillan Press. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ashbury, M (2001) Representation of Industrialization in Dickens’ Hard Times [Online]. Available: http://www.colourpurple.com [Accessed 25th April 2005]. 10.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Allingham, P. (2000) Charles Dickens’ Hard Times for These Times as an Industrial Novel [Online]. Available: http://www.victoriaweb.com [Accessed: 25th April 2005]. 11.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rohrmoser, A. (2004) The Origin of a Myth: Mary Shelley's Novel Frankenstein [Online]. Available: http://membersaon.at.htm [Accessed: 25th April 2005]. 12.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oldham, R. (2000) Charles Dickens’ Hard Times: Romantic Tragedy of Proletariat Propaganda [Online]. Available: http://www.pillowrock.com [Accessed: 25th April 2005]. 13.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frankenstein: a science-fiction novel or a scientific fiction? [Online], (2001). Available: http://gala.univ-perp.fr [Accessed: 25th April 2005].

How Have Cell Phones Changed Our Society Research Paper

– 1 – Alexia Corbett 3-12-2009 CELLULAR PHONES INFLUENCE(s) AND IMPACT(s) ON SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS This paper seeks to explore how cellular phones (cell phones/mobiles) have influenced and impacted social interactions and interpersonal relationships. There have been a number of suggested theories and studies that have been contributed to the rising popularity and commonality of cell phones as to how they are affecting the way individuals are interacting in society.Some of these include, a change in the concept of time and space (Fortunati, 2002), lack of face-to-face interaction (Thompson and Cupples, 2008), the maintenance of relationships, social absences, and social dependency (Reid and Reid, 2004). In addition to these ideas, it has also been suggested that the use of cell phones has had a negative affect on social relationships, grammar, and increased social anxiety (Tully, 2003). BACKGROUND Technologies are an ever-changing aspect of this day and age. New gadgets and ideas are always trying to simplify life and bring people closer together.The cellular phone was first developed in Sweden in 1956, but had no conveniences about it, nor did the average person have access to it. It weighed 90 pounds, and was as inconvenient as having a landline with a 10-foot long cord. Following several trials and developments, in 1978 Bell Labs, working with Motorola created the first generation of a cellular network (Fortunati, 2002). Although this first generation network was not approved by the FCC until 1982, it brought into focus the ability to create a – 2 – form of communication that would allow anyone to make a phone call when it was convenient for them.Following improvements within the second and third generations of cell phone networks and accessibility, cell phones went from becoming an item of luxury for those who could afford it, to an everyday necessity. For anyone operating in the modern world, in addi tion to being able to make phone calls on a cellular phone, in 2000 SMS (Short Message Service) was introduced to allow individuals to send a message to someone else’s mobile device without the necessity of making a phone call. Today, the global cellular phone market now stands at approximately 1. billion subscribers, and is forecasted to reach 3 billion by the end of 2010 (Reid and Reid, 2007). In contrast with instances in the past, having a cell phone of your own is more of the social norm vs. not having a cell phone of your own. Cell phones are taking over on a global level not just a local level, which allows individuals to have the sense of security that wherever they go, they will be able to remain in social contact with those whom are in their social networks. Communication and the way that individuals interact with each other is a huge dynamic of sociology.The cell phone is changing the way in which all of this interaction occurs, which makes it sociologically releva nt. With the creation and accessibility of cell phones, more and more individuals own their own cell phone, and using them everyday to communicate within their social network. Cell phones also make individuals available anywhere, and anytime, which changes the way that individuals are choosing to interact in social settings with other individuals. In this paper I will show how the cell phone has had an impact on social relationships and social interactions in today’s society.I will first show how the concept of having a cellular phone has changed the concept of social space and time among social relationships and interactions. Second, I will show how individuals have shown to have some form of a dependency to the use – 3 – and possession of a cellular phone. Following that, I will provide research that demonstrates how SMS (Short Message Service) has taken on its own form of communication in relationships, and has become more predominate in comparison to voice c alls.Lastly I will provide an overall conclusion of the impact that the use of cellular phones has had in regards to social interactions and interpersonal relationships. The Change of Space and Time/Proximal Relationships Since the 18 th century, the idea of using the telephone has always been a fixed mentality in regards to accessibility. The phone was located at a fixed location, usually in a home or office, and you would have to be in that location where the phone was in order to be able to receive and answer incoming phone calls.This bore the concept of â€Å"sitting and waiting by the phone† for someone to call, since at one time it was the only option. With the development of technologies, there have been ways to alter this mentality; there was the creation of the answering machine, which allowed for you to access messages from missed phone calls when you returned home, which did not always allow for a prompt relay of a message nor reply, and more recently the creation and distribution of the cellular phone. Cellular phones have taken this concept and spun it around on itself.With the development of cellular phones, individuals are able to remain in close and instantaneous contact with members of their social network regardless of where they are in the world. In addition to keeping up with social relationships, individuals have also been able to increase productivity with their work because they can be hundreds of miles away from the office, and still have instant access to their e-mail, documents and contacts wherever they are (Tully, 2003). There is no longer a disconnection. – 4 –The concept of being accessible anywhere and anytime has shown to have both positives and negative results in a social setting; older generations for example have typically been scornful of younger generations pulling out their cell phones in restaurants, classrooms, public transportation and other public spaces (Banjor, Hun and Sundar 2007). Cell phone u sage in a public place typically generates a negative response when used in close approximation to other individuals, as it is seen as a disturbance to their personal space, with little or no consideration from the cell phone user.Social interaction signifies that we are aware of the existence of others, as well as implies active engagement between two or more parties (Banjor, Hun & Sundar 2007). Cell phones have allowed individuals to surpass time and space and have any conversation that they choose, wherever they choose. With public conversation comes public invasion, meaning that you are invading into other’s personal spaces by talking out loud about your own personal spaces coming off as inconsiderate and/or rude which links to alienation of oneself.A trend that is becoming more apparent is present absences; this is the concept of how an individual’s presence in a social setting changes regardless of their physical presence, they are only half-present (Fortunati 20 08). After a ring or buzz of their mobile phone, they are drawn away somewhere else, away from their present situation and/or conversation. Through observation, researchers have found that individuals typically will not hesitate to interrupt an ongoing conversation to answer the ringing of their cell phone.This has several repercussions. In answering the ringing cell phone, the individual who is presently being conversed with, has described feeling a sense of being left alone, which can cause social anxiety, as well as resentment/annoyance towards the individual who answered the phone call (Humphreys 2009). The change of space and time through the use and accessibility of cellular phones has changed the way in which people communicate with other individuals.With the ease of being – 5 – accessible anywhere at anytime, individuals are finding that they are becoming dependent on their cell phone on a day-to-day basis. Cell phones are allowing individuals to stay in a cons tant connection with anyone and everyone in their social network. In the next section I will explain how this dependency is being seen, created and acted upon by individuals. Cell Phone Dependency As mentioned above, cell phones are becoming increasingly popular among the general population. Due to their increasing popularity, more and more people are obtaining them for themselves.In having a cell phone, individuals are becoming reliant on them from day-to-day to stay in contact with other individuals in their social networks, as described throughout this section. Cell phones are not a new concept for all generations. There are individuals who have gown up in the cell phone age, and do not think anything of it. Today, 45% of adolescents aged 12-17 possess a cellular phone in the United States (Leung 2008), making it one of, if not the, most popular way to communicate with other individuals. While cell phones have become less of a tatus symbol and more of a fashion statement, they ha ve also created an unspoken social dependency. Leisure boredom, which is a category of dependency to cell phones described as an individual who is found to become bored with their current situation, has proven to lead to cell phone dependency (Leung, 2008). For adolescents and young adults, as leisure boredom arose, they were more likely to be found engaging in SMS messages, making phone calls, accessing the internet from their phone or playing a mobile driven game.Once there is an element of boredom his or her attention is drawn immediately to his or her cell phone device for an instant connection – 6 – to someone, somewhere. Through a series of surveys it was shown that the higher rate of leisurely boredom, the more frequent use of a cell phone occurred (Leung 2008). Sensation seeking behavior has also linked adolescents and young adults to have the desire to take risks with relationships, rules and roles (Leung 2008). Individuals seek out entertainment and avoid bor edom; as with anything there are appropriate times and inappropriate times.This concept translates over to cell phone use as well, people will use their cell phones at appropriate and inappropriate times, simply to satisfy a social urge/want/need. This category was supported significantly by relationships between individuals who were cell phone addicted via sensation seeking, demonstrating that the cell phone was used more for entertainment, information and social connectivity (Leung 2008). For example, an individual using their cell phone on the side of the road when they break down vs. using their cell phone to just say ‘Hi’ to someone, or chitchat with another person.Self esteem, a third dependency category examined the standardized idea that individuals with low self esteem typically do not communicate as much with others, and are more prone to expect a negative response from those whom they do contact. However, it is thought that individuals who have low self estee m will actually use their cell phone more to try and establish social networks, and build relationships without having all of the pressures of a face-to-face encounter with an individual, as well as to try and reach out to other individuals (Reid and Reid 2007). Research shows that individuals ho have low self-esteem seek out more frequent use of the cell phone to seek to establish new relationships and try and gain an element of control in their social relationships. This makes it easier for individuals with lower self-esteem to form and maintain social relationships. Along with the factors listed above, many individuals have stated that they cannot imagine not having their cell phone with them on a daily basis. The integration of cell phones – 7 – into our daily lives is exaggerated in how younger generations talk about not being able to imagine themselves without their phones now (Thompson & Cupples 2008).Their imaginaries include cell phones; their senses of self a re tied up with this technology as is evident in the following quotations: I just can’t imagine myself without a cell phone now. . . when I don’t have my phone I always feel like I’m missing something . . . (Samantha, 14) My phone’s always in my skirt pocket at school so it’s just always there. And if I, like, leave it in my locker by accident, or it’s in my bag, I panic ’cos I don’t know where I’ve put it ’cos I’m used to having it in my pocket . . . it’s just a permanent part of you. Michelle, 15, emphasis added) Individuals are forming an attachment to their cell phones, which enables them to think that they cannot function without their cell phone on a day-to-day basis. There are many factors that lead to cell phone dependency, such as leisure boredom, sensation-seeking behavior and low self esteem as described above. Another aspect of the cellular world that contributes to dependency and changes the way in which we socially interact on a daily basis is SMS Text Messaging. SMS Text Messaging as a Social InteractionShort Message Service (SMS/Text Message) was first developed in 1990 in an effort to allow operators to notify customers when there was some type of a service issue or a network problem. This service has now become one of the most common ways in which individuals use their cell phones to communicate with others. In 2002 80% of all cell phone users in the United States were ‘Talkers’, however by 2006 that number was almost reduced by half, dropping to only 42%, with the other 58% being ‘Texters’ (Fernando 2007).Many researchers have expressed concern that the increased use of SMS messaging will cause face-to-face interaction to become non-existent, as well as poor grammar by frequent – 8 – users. Research has shown however, that text messaging between individuals can actually create stronger ties between individuals as well a s act as a buffer to face-to-face interactions with a new individual. Communicating through a text message allows individuals to not only take their time composing a more thought out reply, but it also alleviates the pressures that accompany a first encounter/face-to-face meeting.With the popularity of SMS messaging, individuals are using it more and more, and in an effort to send more text messages, a new language is being created that is making experts worried that grammar will overlooked. Individuals who are regular texters have created new acronyms for various words to get their point/idea across faster than if they were to type out the entire message. For example; LOL is the same as saying Laughing Out Loud, OMG is equivalent to Oh My God, and finally TTYL, which refers to Talk To You Later.SMS/Text messaging has become more popular among younger generations in comparison with older generations. Sending and receiving text messages is a form of communication with others that can be secretive and discrete; parents/teachers cannot intercept or have access to what is being sent back and forth. In 2001 Nokia conducted a worldwide survey of 3,300 people, under age 45, over 80% of those that were surveyed reported that text messaging was the most used function on their mobile phones (Reid and Reid 2004).With its popularity growing at an exponential rate, text/SMS messaging has also become a new way for individuals to form new relationships, and strengthen existing ones. Teens admitted spending nearly an equal amount of time talking as they do texting each month. The feature is so important to them that if texting was no longer an option, 47 percent of teens say their social life would end or be worsened – especially among females (54 percent compared to 40 percent of males) (CTIA Survey 2008).In addition, individuals claim to see text messaging as a comfortable, easy and effective means of communication for younger people (Thompson and – 9 – Couples 2008). Without the pressures that come along with a voice or face-to-face conversation, text messaging allows individuals the time to spend composing their thoughts and making edits to their responses before sending them to others. Composing thoughtful responses to text messages also allows for an element of privacy at any given time and /or place for individuals to communicate, thus relating back to the change in concept of Space & Time.Messaging back and forth allows for an often unseen and unheard communication between individuals, as well as fewer limitations to where and when they can communicate, and text messaging has served more for ‘filler’ communication, and less for functional/practical communication between individuals. Filler messages relate to messages regarding, friendship maintenance, romantic, social functions, and/or boredom and loneliness.A study on a group of undergraduates showed that only about one third of the text messages that were bein g sent were actually functional/practical information; the rest was a combination of filler messages (Reid & Reid 2004). Social interactions via text message seem to serve as more of an instant personal contact with someone else, without having to worry about your personal appearance and actual interaction. Sending and receiving text messages is a new concept for most generations, and changes the way in which individuals are required to interact.By communicating through text message, individuals are not required to interact with others socially in a face-to-face manner, they can do it all via messaging. While this is a convenient way and discrete way to communicate with another person, it has changed the way that individuals are reacting with others not only in a social setting, but also in how they are maintaining their existing relationships, and building new relationships. – 10 – CONCLUSION Our society today is one that is based on technology, and technological adva nces.Technology as a whole will always have an effect on the way that individuals function in society, and while there has not been a lot of research on the effects of cellular phone use, it has both positive and negative consequences. Cell phones in their small time in existence have changed the way in which individuals are interacting with each other. Cell phones have provided avenues for individuals to stay connected on a new level that does not depend on space or time, but is readily accessible at any time, anywhere.Never being disconnected has allowed social networks and relationships to be strengthened as well as new relationships formed. Cell phones have also allowed individuals all over the world whom, without the cell phone would never have access to all of the networks, assets and information that they do via the mobile phone. While it has provided a new avenue to social networking and interactions, the change in the space and time concept has also had a negative affect as well.Many of us have likely experienced a situation where we have been in the presence of a cell phone user who is engaging in some form of rude behavior that lacks respect for the individuals around them. Cell phones have changed the way that individuals socially interact. Individuals are communicating more via text messages and cell phones than they are face-to-face, changing our social environment. Individuals have become enveloped in their cell phones and less aware of their social surroundings, missing out on possible new social interactions.There is still a lot of future research still needs to be done on the long-term affects of the mobile phone and social relationships. Something that should be looked at is how the mobile phone effects relationships over time, as well as what the long term health effects are, and how the access and use of cell phones varies through different socioeconomic classes. However, you – 11 – can see how in its short history, cell phon es have already had a huge impact on the way individuals interact with one another. – 12 – References â€Å"Teens Who Text. â€Å"2008.Communications of the ACM 51(11):19-19 (http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=aph&AN=35211892&site=ehostlive). â€Å"New Information Technologies and the Fate of Rationality in Contemporary Culture. â€Å"2006. Russian Social Science Review 47(6):65-85. Agosto, Denise E. and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. 2005. â€Å"People, places, and questions: An investigation of the everyday life information-seeking behaviors of urban young adults. † Library & Information Science Research (07408188) 27(2):141-163. Atkin, Charles K. 1972. â€Å"Anticipated Communication and Mass Media Information-Seeking. The Public Opinion Quarterly 36(2):188-199. Boase, Jeffery. 2008. â€Å"Personal Networks and the Personal Communication System. † Information, Communication & Society 11(4):490-508. Fernando, Angelo. 2007. â€Å"If you text it, they may come. † Communication World 24(4):11-12 (http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=ufh&AN=25547883&site=ehostlive). Fortunati, Leopoldina. 2002. â€Å"The Mobile Phone: Towards New Categories and Social Relations. † Information, Communication & Society 5(4):513. – 13 – Hu, Yifeng, S. S. Sundar and Omotayo Banjo. 006. â€Å"Cell Phone Usage and Social Interaction with Proximate Others: Ringing in a Theoretical Model. † Conference Papers — International Communication Association:1-30. Humphreys, Lee. 2005. â€Å"Cellphones in public: social interactions in a wireless era. † New Media & Society 7(6):810-833. Igarashi, Tasuku, Tadahiro Motoyoshi, Jiro Takai and Toshikazu Yoshida. 2008. â€Å"No Mobile, No Life: Self-Perception and Text-Message Dependency among Japanese High School Students. † Computers in Human Behavior 24(5):2311-2324. Katz, James E. 2007. Mobile Media and Communication: Some I mportant Questions. † Communication Monographs 74(3):389-394 (http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=aph&AN=26386708&site=ehostlive). Leung, Louis. 2008. â€Å"Leisure boredom, sensation seeking, self esteem, and addiction: Symptoms and patterns of cell phone use. † Pp 359-381 in Mediated Personal Communication. Edited by S. B. Barnes, E. A. Konijn, M. Tanis, and S. Utz. New York, NY: RoutledgeMcfedries, Paul. 2002. â€Å"All Thumbs. † IEEE Spectrum 39(10):68 (http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=aph&AN=8930492