Social networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social networking - Essay Example Over the years, social networking has replaced a great amount of the traditional, physical communication between people. This reveals that while there are numerous advantages of online social networking, there are also plenty of disadvantages. When someone communicates with a friend or family member over an online social networking website, their attention is often divided. They are usually watching television, eating, doing homework, talking to another person via another medium, or even a combination of the aforementioned. Even though the person they are speaking to is usually unaware of it, they are not getting the complete attention of their friend, who has found other things to busy themselves with. The same can even be said for the person being talked to. Physical communication, on the other hand, means that both people are being given the proper amount of attention. They may be engaged in other activities, but the physical presence of each person will prompt better undivided at tention. They will acknowledge that the other is there, thus allowing more focus on communication, as opposed to something else. Yet another downside of communicating through online social networking websites is that tone and emotion are often misconstrued.

Tesco Plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Tesco Plc - Essay Example . Tesco plc is largest retailer in the UK and one of the largest retail firms in the world. The company operates four store formats :Tesco Express, Tesco Metro, Tesco Extra and Tesco Superstores.Tesco Express store are combinations of convenience and gasoline retailers. Tesco Metro locations are small urban stores designed to meet the needs of the local community. Tesco Extra stores are hypermarkets located in Asia. Tesco Superstores provide traditional grocery items as well as insurance, banking, telecommunications products, books, flowers, movie rentals and school uniforms. The firm has expanded all of its grocery stores to include non-food items, such as book, software, electronics and music. Tesco also operates on e-commerce site with over 500,000 registered users in the UK. This division makes nearly 300,000 CD, video and DVD titles. The firm also operates the Tesco Direct catalog and the Tesco Baby club. Tesco is involved in the financial services business, serving nearly 1.5 m illion customers. Services offered by the company include saving accounts, online banking, and travel, house and pet insurance policies. In early 2006, Tesco telecom began offering a cost effective, easy to use Internet phone. Also in 2006, Tesco introduced self-branded software. Its office suit retails for roughly $35, well below Microsoft’s. The firm owns a 35% stake in Safeway Grocery works, a grocery store chain in the U.S.Tesco plans to open convenience stores on the West Coast of the U.S. in early 2007.... in early 2007. Also in 2007, the company will begin running a dedicated green rail line between Scotland and the Midlands to improve its suppy chain Strategic review of Tesco Plc Environmental Analysis Organizations need to be in tune with their environment. In particular, they need to anticipate the sort of changes that will take place in their environment and make appropriate plans for these. Environmental auditing enables the organization to be proactive rather than reactive. The effective organization will put a lot of effort into the process of environmental auditing and scanning. The principal tools used to carry out the environmental analysis of Tesco Plc is: PEST Analysis Competitor Analysis/Audit (Porter's 5-force analysis) SWOT Analysis PEST Analysis PEST stands for political, economic, social and technological features of the business environment which might influence or even threaten the company. The acronym PEST suggests that these are all nuisance or hindrance factors to business development. New regulations to be compiled with, increased taxes or import tariffs, reductions in market size due to demographic changes or the threats of new technology rendering products obsolete - these are all stuff of the executive nightmares. Often, however, PEST factors can often be of considerable business value. This technique is, in truth, little more than four headings to stimulate thinking about broad aspects of the business environment that might otherwise go unnoticed. Political: Changes in law or regulations introduced by Governments or government agencies. Can also include political changes which may stabilize or

Video Games Cause Violence And Behavior Problems Psychology Essay

Video Games Cause Violence And Behavior Problems Psychology Essay One of the major concerns is that they increase the nature of violence among the youth. The Harvard medical school or the Journal of adolescent health, as well as the British medical journal have concluded that there is a huge link between video game and violence. Studies have pointed towards a typical pattern between video game and negative behavioral/attitude problems associated with them. A research by the University of Indiana in the US, involving a brain scanning of some those who were involved in playing violent video games positively indicates a correlation between the violent behavior and the game they played. The research confirmed a substantial increase in the negative emotions of those who played some violent game as compared to those who either did not play any games or those who played a non-violent game. According to author Vince Mathews, parents should look more closely at the types of games their children are playing. Third paragraph Second argument Video games cause addiction and induce children to remain glued to the console for substantially longer period of time which often results in their giving up other activities. Perhaps excess of anything is bad and video games are no exception. In his article Video Games Addiction, Media literacy specialist, Dr. Charles Ungerleider states that if a youngster becomes addicted to video games it can be a problem. According to him practicing or making effort to achieve excellence in playing might not be an issue by itself, but it certainly becomes worrying if video games create hindrance in youngsters other tasks. He recommends parents or guardians intervention to create a balance in all their wards activities. According to Mary Schlimme in a 2002 article titled: Do We Need a Video Gamers Anonymous? Video game addicts are often described by clinicians in the field as displaying many symptoms characteristic of other addictions. According to her article, Addiction includes such behavior as failure to stop playing games, difficulties in work or school, telling lies to loved ones, decreased attention to personal hygiene, decreased attention to family and friends, and disturbances in the sleep cycle. Schlimme quotes Dr Orzack that many game addicts have struggled with finding their place in society and as a result play video games in order to become part of a crowd. She emphatically states excessive video game playing may not only cause behavioral and social changes in a person, but it may also result in neurological changes. Fourth paragraph third argument Even if video games and videos do not directly create killers and murderers out of the young people they may tend to contribute towards insensitivity and indifference towards violence. This is worrying because it may change the profile of the society in the longer run. In an article published in the Time Magazine on 10th May 1999 author and editors Joshua Quittner, Maryanne Buechner and Jay Ehrlich say The question isnt whether games make children kill, because it isnt that simple. The concerns are subtler yet no less worrisome. Do graphically violent games desensitize children to violence? Do such games teach kids to take pleasure in the suffering and death of others? Nicholas Carnagey, an Iowa State psychology instructor and Iowa State University Professor of Psychology Craig Anderson and Brad Bushman published an article The Effects of Video Game Violence on Physiological Desensitization to Real-Life Violence in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. In this paper, the aut hors explain the state of insensitivity towards violence a reduction in emotion-related physiological reactivity to real violence. Their latest study involves testing of college students. According to the study The results demonstrate that playing violent video games, even for just 20 minutes, can cause people to become less physiologically aroused by real violence. According to the article It appears that individuals who play violent video games habituate or get used to all the violence and eventually become physiologically numb to it. Fifth paragraph Transition Paragraph Supporter of the video games do not seem to take the issues seriously. Despite this overwhelming evidence that video game causes violence and problems in many children and among the youth, there are supporters who believe that there are advantages to video games in todays society. Key finding states in a research titled Internet Fantasy Violence: A Test of Aggression in an Online Games carried out in 2005 by Williams, D. Skoric, M there was no effect on levels of aggressiveness or in belief and behaviors of the gamers who were engaged in a violent massive multiplayer online role-playing game. Cheryl K. Olson, professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical Schools Center for Mental Health and Media, in her 2004 article in the Journal Academic Psychiatry Media Violence Research and Youth Violence Data: Why Do TheyConflict? e carries out a comparison about between violence contained in various modern-day video games and in day to day real-life. She states there is no evidence that targ eted violence has increased in Americas schools. While such attacks have occurred in the past, they were and are extremely rare events. She goes on to write that, Theres no indication that violence rose in lockstep with the spread of violent games. In 2002 Dr. Van Eeenwyk of the Washington State Department of Health presented information indicating that after controlling for psychosocial factors, association between aggression and playing video games was not statistically significant. Massachusetts Institute of Techonology professor Hennery Jenkins says, 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play video games. The overwhelming majority of kids who play do NOT commit antisocial acts. And, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the strongest risk factor for school shootings centered on mental stability and quality of home life, not media exposure. Critics claim that video games are addictive has also been refuted by some supporters of the video games. In a response to a proposal in 2007 to brand video g ame addiction as a mental health issue similar to the addiction to alcohol, doctors and supporters of video games opposed the proposal. The supporters say that there is no evidence to indicate a proper basis for any such theory. These same supporters of video games argue that video game, computer and television are not only an excellent medium of imparting knowledge to and education to children, but also they assist the pupils with their studies at home as well as in the educational institutions. According to psychologists video games are a good means of mental exercise for the children who play these games. In many video games, in order to win, the player needs to have a good strategic thinking.   This is something that is generally not available at the school in the form of an academic subject.   Some of the mental exercise and knowledge obtained through using video games include the art of coordination between a childs eye and his/her hand.  Some supporters of video games s ay that video games teach children to plan and build their strategic thinking. Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad is Good For You: How Todays Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter, calls this telescoping. Gamers must deal with immediate problems while keeping their long-term goals on their horizon. Sixth paragraph Refutation of opponents counter- argument While there are researchers and supporters who claim that the video games do not have an effect on the increase in aggression and violence in the behavior of the gamers, yet those researches and studies are not based on modern scientific lines. Those studies are not as comprehensive and as scientific as those carried out by Craig Anderson, David Grossman or others. The supporters studies are generalized and are based more on hypothetical basis rather than actual scientific methodology. As proved by the various researches quoted above, their findings are flawed. Seventh paragraph Refutation of opponents counter- argument Supporters of the video games say that video games are healthy and educational. They claim video games provide children with quality mental exercise.   In several games, in order to win, the player must possess good strategic thinking and be swift with his skills. However, the fact is that addiction to video games causes not only health and other problems, including social ones, but also results in poor school results and grades, lack of concentration to academics and class activities. The critics have always disputed this claim about video games contributing to health and education. Dr. Louis Kraus of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and a psychiatrist at Rush University Medical Center, has stated The more time kids spend on video games, the less time they will have socializing, the less time they will have with their families, the less time they will have exercising. They can make up academic deficits, but they cant make up the social ones, he said. As a re sult of this, one in ten youths, may be suffering from family, social, school or psychological damage. In several studies it has been clearly proved that the youth under examination had problems concentrating on academics and their school routine, as a result of which not only they lost grades at the school but also were subject to some severe health issues including depression. Final paragraph Conclusion. Based on the above research it is clearly evident that violent video games contribute to the aggressive and violent behavior and addiction to video games. However, considering some of the advantages of the video games, their use must not be prohibited. Parents and guardians should do the following to reduce the effect of violence. Monitor video game play the same way one needs to monitor television and other media. Parents are responsible to be kind, loving but at the same time attentive and firm to properly discipline their wards. An aggressive child is more a product of dysfunctional parenting than anything else, including violent games and TV.   To avoid possibilities of addiction, parents should attempt to provide a variety of entertainment to their children. It would be a good idea to make sure that children read quality books, involve themselves in sports and interact with other children and their friends.

Revealing Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Revealing And oh ye high flown quills that soar the skies, And ever with your prey still catch your praise, If e'er you deign these lowly lines your eyes, Give thyme or Parsley wreath, I ask no Bays. This mean and unrefined ore of mine Will make your glist'ring gold but more to shine. -Anne Bradstreet, from Prologue â€Å"Honey, if you ever get yourself pregnant, you always have a home†. My mother’s most memorable words of advice on sex were doled out to me at the tender age of six. Her prematurely passed on advice lost its sentiment for a couple of reasons. In spite of my kindergarten experiences, I had no idea how to â€Å"get† myself pregnant, (the phraseology obviously conveying that it only takes one to tango). After too many conversations carried on within my earshot about labor pains, forceps, episiotomies, and pre-labor enemas by the late-teen to early twenty something army of military mothers that hung out at our house in a cloud of cigarette smoke and swearing, the thought of pregnancy terrified me. My mother parented primarily through scare tactics hoping to control my behavior through fear. She warned me of many taboos including the lewd act of †¦.writing. Before being forced to drop out of high school due to her pregnancy with me, she decided to bring a diary to school. Somehow, she lost it. The book fell into the hands of the adminis tration after being passed around the school population. My mother ended up on suspension for the detailed diary entries regarding her hellish home life and promiscuity. In today’s world, a teen bringing her book of confessions to school desperately cries for a sch... ... enjoy each diverse personality from Doug, the humorous cynic penning his sunny sarcasm to mysterious well-spoken, well-written Wendy describing her diverse interests to caring Camille finding the courage to write it all down to our fearless leader who kept reminding us that he was the teacher. However, due to the small class size, he willingly began to streak around in his shorts, too, so to speak, sharing his own penned thoughts. The experience undressed my fears, opening my once-hidden self like a centerfold. I revealed myself unashamed to this gracious group of fellow writers, inviting critique and learning to accept all my scars and scabs. I have now succumbed to the suggestion of seeking publication for some of my more shapely work. I’m dropping the seventh veil, a come-on for the general public. I’m writing it all down and I want the whole world to know!

Megabeast Theory

Scientists have discovered the truth behind many mysteries. One of the mysteries yet to be uncovered is the Mega-beasts, the creatures that roamed North America during the Ice Age, 13,000 years ago. An example of Mega-beasts are the Saber-Toothed Tiger,Woolly Mammoth, and Giant Sloth. There are three main theories as to how the Mega-beasts went extinct. They are as follows: 1 . ) The Clovis People killed them all off for food. 2. ) They died due to the sudden climate change. ) A comet wiped them all out. My personal theory is that all three of these factors played a part in the Mega-beast's extinction. If the Clovis People and the climate change together had taken out, say, 59% of the Mega-beast population, and a comet struck the Greenland Ice Sheet,the results could be catastrophic. The entire Mega-beast population could be wiped out entirely, and even if there were survivors, they would be wiped out quickly by the Clovis People and/or the dramatic climate change. There are spikes o fIridium and hexagonal diamonds-which can only be formed by massive impact and incredible heat, hotter than a volcano-in both the layer of ice in the Greenland Ice Sheet that was from the Ice Age and the Black Mat layer in Arizona. The reasons the other theories are incorrect is simple. The Clovis People simply couldn't wipe out all the Mega-beasts on their own. This is correct for climate change as well. Also, there were 35 total species of Mega-beasts. There is no possible way I have heard as of yet that the meteor could have wiped out all the mega-beasts n its own.Ergo, this lead me to the theory that all three are correct and also simultaneously incorrect. They are correct in the sense that they played a part in the mass mega-beast extinction, but they are incorrect in the sense that they didn't – couldn't- do it alone. Personally, I think my theory should be researched. One of the ways to do that would be to look further into the mysteries of the Black Mat layer, Greenla nd Ice Sheets, and other areas like that. Surely, there must more clues to be discovered as to what truly killed the Mega-beasts.

Marketing 570 Proposal

Marketing Research Project Proposal I proposed to do my final course project on market research on service quality at Starbucks Coffee restaurants. Background on Company Beginning in 1971 with only one shop in Settle’s historic Pike Place Market for coffee and tea, Starbucks has managed to become one of the most successful companies in the world. It has become number one in the coffee industry. As of June 2012 Starbucks owns 19,763 coffee shops in 59 countries which includes 12,848 in the United States, 1,264 in Canada, 973 in Japan, 778 in Great Britain, 621 in China, 441 in South Korea, 350 in Mexico and 269 in the Philippines.Offering to its consumers’ different coffees with unique flavors, tea and beverages, including food snacks and coffee accessories Starbucks has attracted consumers and turned them into loyal customers. (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2012) Introduction Recently, the new trend that is developing is narrowed toward offering to the customer good service despite the good product. Having high service quality is accepted as one strong competitive advantage that is difficulty built but it brings high success for the company if managed properly.Service quality is following the perceptions of the customer of what he/she thinks that quality of service is about and meeting exactly their experience. So the question is what factors are there that are shaping service quality at Starbucks? Theoretical Background Service Quality Defining service quality may mainly be based on assumptions because of the intangible nature that services have. Moreover, there are many circumstances that might shape the definition of service quality differently. Brown, 1999) Despite the intangibility that describes the services, the second very important element when giving theory based on service quality is that services are heterogeneous. Presenting them varies from producer to producer or from client to client. Finally, the last characteristics describing the se rvices is the inseparability of the production and the consumption. Mainly, in most of the cases service quality arises in the duration of the process of interaction between the customer and the provider. (Berry, 1990)The latest definition for what service quality stands for according to Javadi (2011) is: â€Å"The extent to which the customer’s perceptions of service differs from his/her expectations. † Javadi (2011) has described 10 dimensions of service quality which regularly are used in constructing the customer’s opinions on services: 1. Tangibility- The appearance of the facilities where the service is provided. 2. Reliability- How consistent is the service? 3. Competence- Employees’ speed of delivering the service in the appropriate way. 4. Responsiveness- Personnel’s capabilities and skills for servicing the customer. . Courtesy- Employees’ good manners and politeness. 6. Credibility- Confidentiality and honesty of staff. 7. Securit y- 8. Access- Convenience of services. 9. Communication with the customer. 10. Understanding the customer- Perception of customers’ needs and wishes. Importance of Marketing Research for Service Quality Conducting marketing research in order to examine service quality in any business is very important, because the high service quality will bring customer satisfaction, and the customer satisfaction will create loyal customers which is a very important part for a company in order to make profits.According to Siddiqi (2010) customer satisfaction is the most important part of marketing, it connects the purchase of a product or service with the post purchase phenomena that reflects into a repeated purchase. Moreover, by managing to create repeated purchase, the loyal customer will operate as a positive word of mouth. Research Objectives 1. Examine the customer’s Starbucks experience. 2. What are the factors that are shaping service quality in Starbucks? 3. Are customers sat isfied by Starbucks’ offers? 4. Identify employees obstacles to improve service quality.Methodology The research of service quality for Starbucks will be structures in a survey questionnaire format. In order to make statistical research by using questionnaires, the formal standardized questionnaires type must be followed. Meeting the research objectives is the aim of a successful survey. For the purpose of examining the service quality in Starbucks store in the area of Northwest Indiana, 10 different closed ended questions will be used. By doing this the respondents are going to have the option of choosing from the given alternatives.By giving this kind of questionnaire the information that is going to be gathered is easier to analyze, bearing in mind that specific answers are needed for statistical research. The questions that are included are from various types such as: Dichotomous questions (influencing audience to reply with specific answers like Yes/No, True/False or Agr ee/Disagree responses). Example of questionnaire as follows: 1. Age Group & Occupation ( This will be the only open-ended question on the survey) 2. How often do you visit Starbucks? Here I would ask 1-2 times per week, 3-4 times per week and so on) 3. What products do you purchase? ( Multiple answers given to choose from) 4. Are you currently satisfied with the menu selections? 5. How satisfied are you with the cleanliness of the store? 6. How satisfied are you with the staff? 7. How convient is the locations of the Starbucks store? 8. How satisfied are you with the prices that Starbucks are currently offered? (Scale of 1-10) 9. Would you recommend Starbucks to friends and family? 10. Would you choose Starbucks over the competitors?Secondary Data Sources Much of my data will be taken from Government statistics such as population censuses, social surveys, family expenditure surveys and production statistics. I would also utilize commercial services which would show publish market re search reports and other publications that are available from a wide range of organizations that are similar to Starbucks but, this information may have a small charge for their information. Target Population My target population would consist of the working adults and college students.The reason for this target population is because these individuals are on the go every day. Many of them prefer to utilize fast food restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This population is also known as the individuals who would spend multiple dollars for cappichino, flavored coffees and pastries. This group is more technology savvy where they use cloud computing and they rather sit in coffee shops and etc. to complete work and school assignments throughout the day and establishments like Starbucks is a good source for these individuals.