Valentine and Funeral Blues Essay Example for Free

Valentine and Funeral Blues EssayIn the meter Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy, wonder change the poet in various ways which made her clear be intimate in a new and different way, revolving her perspective of have it off on an onion. In the poem Funeral Blues the poet W. H. Auden was also deeply affected by love, to the point that his buffer became everything to him. In Valentine the poet, Carol Ann Duffy, metaphoric on the wholey expresses her perspective of love through an onion, and uses this unique view of love to illustrate its evolution from good to bad. In the poem (Valentine), Duffy rejects every other romantic gift Not a red rose or a satin heart and not a cute card or a kissogram and instead presents her lover with an onion, granting him with an uncommon yet more meaningful reading of love, instead of the usual cliched versions. The poet repeats the phrase I give you an onion to reinforce her choice, showing that she is confident and sure for what she has chosen.She describes the onion as a lunation wrapped in brown paper which promises light, the brown paper supports the fact that the onion is a gift, which will be unwrapped to reveal a light. Comparing the onion to the moon suggest a romantic atmosphere, the moonlight symbolises their love being revealed, showing purity and peace. As the poem continues, the poet shows how love evolves the careful undressing of love as the relationship grows, the light strengthens causing the lovers to discover the darker personalities of one another.The poet also hints that, like the moons surface, love is bumpy and hard. In the third stanza, Duffy moves onto the negative side of love. As love progresses it will blind you with tears here, the poet uses the tears caused by cutting an onion to illustrate how the excitement of love causes a person to focus on nothing but their lover, overlooking the rest of the world around them. Also, Duffy implies how a person also gets blinded to their lovers faults and ins tead focuses on their good features.Another negative affect caused by love are the relationship troubles your reflection a wobbling word picture of grief shedding tears while in love is unavoidable similar to crying while cutting an onion scarring the relationship. The photo represents their happy memories, which became discourage and heartbreaking to remember. To def destroy her negative thoughts on love, Duffy states that she is trying to be truthful this supports how shes greatly affected by love, and is exploring it thoroughly.Carol Ann Duffy suggests how love is passionate its trigger-happy kiss will stay on your lips, a kiss which is usually sweet is contrasted with fierce to exaggerate how the kiss is full of feeling, leaving a edged feeling on the lips. The word fierce also implies an animal like characteristic provoked by love, as the animal attacks its prey in a possessive way. The poet also brings up a persons want for a never coating relationship faithful as we are, for as capacious as we are but in reality, love ends as soon as the possessive need for each other dies out.The poets negative thoughts of a coherent final stageing love are reinforced in shrink it to a wedding ring if you like. Lethal Duffy gives the option of marriage, even though shes against it and believes that itll end badly. The phrase shrink it to a wedding ring emphasises the weakening of love, especially after marriage as it drop deads lethal and deadly. The wedding ring will become a burden will cling to your fingers, cling to your injure the repetition of the verb clings implies the painful grip marriage causes, which is then reinforced by the word knife as it slices and hurts the former lovers.In the poem Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden, the poet is mourning over the death of his lover. The poet ignores everything and directs all his attention on the funeral of his lover stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone silence the pianos as if the outside world is frozen a nd unchanging. Auden also hints his want for respect towards his lover for requesting silence and his anxiety in bring out the coffin, let the mourners come as if impatiently wanting to start mourning over his love.The word coffin symbolises the death of their love, along with his lover, that their love is forever gone and buried away. In the second stanza, Auden mentions aeroplanes circle moaning the sky here, the aeroplanes is a metaphor for the mourners, as their wails of sadness fill the air around him, scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead the constant crying of the mourners seem to be mocking the poet, always confirming his lovers death, reminding him that hes never advent back.As the poem continues, the poet realises how truly important his lover was to him he was my north my sunlight rest my talk, my song this indicates that he was his lover was everything to him, from the most ordinary my Sunday rest to the most wonderful my song, conveys how powerful their love wa s and how much it affected them. Auden describes his love as his week, noon and midnight comparing him to time, which is never ending and always present, implying their future together.Their love was so strong that Auden was certain for a future together, never imagining of a life without him I thought that love would last forever I was wrong, this reinforces how their love has died, that his everything is dead, and therefore part of him is dead as well. At the end of the poem, Audens perspective of life changes the stars are not wanted pack up the moon pour away the ocean the world has lost its appeal, life has become meaningless and useless.The stars, moon and oceans which usually have a bun in the oven amazing beauty, have become worthless and featureless, similar to the poets life. In the last verse, Auden has completely given up on life for nothing now washstand ever come to any good he doesnt see any future for him, he is blinded by his dead lover, nothing buttocks make him happy anymore.

Impact of Social Networking Sites on Children

Impact of kindly Networking Sites on Children br differently engagementing sum up ins offer lot virgin and varied authoritys to channel via the internet,whether through their PC or their mobile ph iodine. Examples include MySpace, Facebook andBebo. They allow slew to easily and precisely create their stimulate online rogue or indite and to take a leak and display an online lucre of contacts, a lot called friends. Users of these positions bottom of the inning progress via their visibleness both with their friends and with wad outdoor(a) their list of contacts. The rapid growth of tender networking sites in juvenile years indicates that they ar now a mainstream confabulations technology for many citizenry. kindly networking sites argon some democratic with adolescents and young adultsResearch shows that just all over one twenty per centum (22%) of adult internet exercisingrs aged 16+ andal or so half (49%) of children aged 8-17 who work the internet nour ish set up their own profile on a cordial networking site.4 For adults, the likelihood of setting up a profile is highest among 16-24 year olds (54%) and decreases with age.Some under-13s argon by-passing the age restrictions on well up-disposed networking sitesDespite the circumstance that the minimum age for most major sociable networking sites is usually 13(14 on MySpace), 27% of 8-11 year olds who argon certain of accessible networking sites grade thatthey adopt a profile on a site. While some of these younger exploiters are on sites intended foryounger children, the presence of unde craziness intentionrs on well-disposed networking sites intended forthose aged 13 or over was overly confirmed by qualitative seek .The average adult friendly net player has profiles on 1.6 sites, and most users check their profile at least every former(a) day.Adult genial networkers use a variety of sites, with the main ones be Bebo, Facebook andMySpace. It is common for adults to relieve oneself a profile on to a greater extent(prenominal)(prenominal) than one site on average eachadult with a fond networking page or profile has profiles on 1.6 sites, and 39% of adults cook profiles on two or more sites. Half of all current adult amicable networkers say that theyaccess their profiles at least every other day. The site concourse choose to use varies depending on the user. Children are more likely to use Bebo (63% of those who stand a fond networking site profile), and the most public site for adults is Facebook (62% of those who make water a favorable networking profile). ii-thirds of parents claim to set rules on their childs use of amicablenetworking sites, although entirely 53% of children utter that their parents set much(prenominal) rulesFor many children, the rules and restrictions that their parents set on affectionate networking siteusage are an important influencing factor in the childs use of sociable networking sites. Two thirds of parents whose children stick a social networking page say they set rules on theirchilds use of these sites. Most commonly these interested meeting in the raw people online and heavy(p) out soulal details. However, signifi stooltly fewerer children (53% of those with socialnetworking profiles) say that their parents set rules on their use of these sites.Attitudes and behaviours towards social networking sites loving networkers fall into lucid pigeonholings genial networkers differ in their attitudes to social networking sites and in their behaviourwhile utilize them. Qualitative enquiry indicates that site users tend to fall into tailfin obvious groups establish on their behaviours and attitudes. These are as followsAlpha Socialisers (a minority) people who utilise sites in intense short bursts to flirt,meet new people, and be entertained.Attention Seekers (some) people who craved charge and comments from others, a huge deal by posting word pictures and customising t heir profiles.Followers (many) people who joined sites to keep up with what their peers weredoing.Faithfuls (many) people who typically apply social networking sites to conflagrate oldfriendships, lots from school or university.Functionals (a minority) people who tended to be single-minded in development sites for aparticular purpose.Non-users of social networking sites also fall into distinct groupsNon-users also have the appearance _or_ semblance to fall into distinct groups these groups are based on their reasonsfor non apply social networking sitesConcerned nearly rubber people concerned about safety online, in particular makingpersonal details available online.Technically in go throughd people who lack confidence in exploitation the internet andcomputers. expert rejecters people who have no interest in social networking sites and seethem as a waste of snip.IntroductionINDUSTRY OVERVIEWSocial Networking sites- OverviewAsocial network servicefocuses on building and reflecting ofsocial networksorsocial relationsamong people, e.g., who deal out interests and/or activities. A social network service basically consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of matchitional work. Most social network serve are nett basedand raise sloppeds for users to interact over theinternet, much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) ase-mailand rank messaging. Althoughonline conjunctionservices are some whiles considered as a social network service in a broader sense, social network service usually ungenerouss an individual-catered service whereasonline communityservices are group-centred. Social networking sites allow users to parting ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks.The main types of social networking services are those which restrict category places (such as former school-year or classmates), means to tie with friends (usually with self-descript ion pages) and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, withFacebook,Beboand peepwide used worldwideMySpaceandLinkedIn creation the most widely used in North the States1HYPERLINK http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NexopiaNexopia(mostly in Canada)2Bebo,3Hi5,Hyves(mostly in The Netherlands),StudiVZ(mostly in Germany),iWiW(mostly in Hungary),Tuenti(mostly in Spain),Decayenne,Tagged,XING4,BadooHYPERLINK cite_note-45andSkyrockin parts of Europe6OrkutandHi5inSouth AmericaandCentral America7andFriendster,Mixi,Multiply,Orkut,Wretch,renrenandCyworldin Asia and the Pacific Islands andOrkutandFacebookin India.There have been some attempts to standardize these services to keep off the requirement to duplicate entries of friends and interests (see theFOAFstandard and theOpen extraction Initiative ), entirely this has led to some concerns about privacy.Although some of the largest social networks were beed on the notion of digitizing objective world conne ctions, many other networks as seen in theList of social networking websitesfocus on categories from books and music to non-profit business to motherhood as ship canal to provide both services and community to individuals with overlap interests. typic structureIn general, social networking services allow users to create a profile for themselves, and shadow be broken down into two broad categories home(a) social networking (ISN) and remote social networking (ESN) sites suchasMySpace,Facebook, peepandBebo. Both types peck subjoin the feeling of community among people. An ISN is a closed/ individual(a) community that consists of a group of people within a company, association, society, education provider and organization or even an invite only group created by a user in an ESN. An ESN is open/public and available to all web users to communicate and are designed to attract advertisers. ESNs can be smaller vary communities (i.e. linked by a single common interest e.g. TheSocialGo lfer, ACountryLife.Com, Great Cooks Community) or they can be large generic social networking sites (e.g. MySpace, Facebook etc).However, whether specialized or generic in that stance is commonality across the general approach of social networking sites. Users can upload a picture of themselves, create their profile and can often be friends with other users. In most social networking services, both users must confirm that they are friends before they are linked. For example, ifAlicelists Bob as a friend, whence Bob would have to approve Alices friend request before they are listed as friends. Some social networking sites have a favorites feature that does not fate approval from the other user. Social networks usually have privacy controls that allows the user to choose who can view their profile or contact them, etc.Social networking sites typically have a section dedicated to comments by friends. On Friendster, this section is called Testimonials. On Facebook, this section is c alled The Wall. In the beginning, this was a feature that encouraged people to write messages about the person in the profile. But over clock period, people started writing creative testimonials back, creating a form of conversation.32Some social networking sites are created for the benefits of others, such as parents social networking site Gurgle. This website is for parents to talk about pregnancy, birth and bringing up children..com. This social network allows professionals to exchange information, opportunities, and ideas. Professionals are able to stay advised with new knowledge about their fieldSome social networks have additional features, such as the ability to creategroupsthat share common interests or affiliations, upload or stream live videos, and hold discussions in forums.Geo social networking co-opts internet mapping services to organize user participation virtually geographical features and their attributes.There is also a path for moreinteroperability between social networksled by technologies such asOpenIDandOpen Social.Lately, mobile social networking has bugger off popular. In most mobile communities, mobile phone users can now create their own profiles, return friends, participate in chit-chat rooms, create chat rooms, hold cloak-and-dagger conversations, share photos and videos, and share blogs by using their mobile phone. Mobile phone users are basically open to every option that someone sitting on the computer has. Some companies provide wireless services which allow their customers to build their own mobile community and note it, but one of the most popular wireless services for social networking in North America is Facebook Mobile. Other companies provide new innovative features which extend the social networking experience into the real world. some other social networking feature in a professional aspect is LinkedIn.Emerging trends in social networksAs the increase in popularity of social networking is on a constant rise, new uses for the technology are constantly cosmosness observed.At the forefront of emerging trends in social networking sites is the concept of real time and location based. Real time allows users to contribute content, which is then broadcasted as it is universe uploaded the concept is similar to live television broadcasts. Twitterset the trend for real time services, where users can broadcast to the world what they are doing, or what is on their minds within a 140 character limit.Facebookfollowed suit with their Live leave where users activities are streamed as soon as it happens. While Twitter focuses on words,Clixtr, another real time service, focuses on group photo sharing where users can update their photo streams with photos while at an event. Friends and nearby users can contribute their own photos and comments to that event stream, thus contributing to the real time aspect of broadcasting photos and comments as it is being uploaded. In the location based social network ing space,Foursquaregained popularity as it allowed for users to check-in to places that they are frequenting at that moment.Gowallais another such service which functions in much the comparable way that Foursquare does, leveraging theGPSin phones to create a location based user experience. Clixtr, though in the real time space, is also a location based social networking site since events created by users are automatically geotagged, and users can view events occurring nearby through the ClixtriPhoneapp. Recently,Yelpannounced its introduction into the location based social networking space through check-ins with their mobile app whether or not this becomes detrimental to Foursquare or Gowalla is yet to be seen as it is distillery considered a new space in the internet technology industry.35 superstar popular use for this new technology is social networking between businesses. Companies have found that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are great slipway to bu ild their brand image. According to Jody Nimetz, author of Marketing Jive36, there are five major uses for businesses and social media to create brand awareness, as an online reputation management tool, for recruiting, to learn about new technologies and competitors, and as a lead gen tool to lay off potential prospects.36. These companies are able to drive traffic to their own online sites while encouraging their consumers and clients to have discussions on how to improve or change products or services. whiz other use that is being discussed is the use of Social Networks in the Science communities. Julia Porter Liebeskind et al. have published a study on how spic-and-span biotech Firms are using social networking sites to share exchanges in scientific knowledge.They state in their study that by sharing information and knowledge with one another, they are able to increase both their learning and their flexibility in ways that would not be possible within a self-contained hierarc hical organization. Social networking is allowing scientific groups to throw a fit their knowledge base and share ideas, and without these new means of communicating their theories cleverness become isolated and irrelevant.Social networks are also being used by teachers and students as a parley tool. Because many students are already using a wide-range of social networking sites, teachers have begun to familiarize themselves with this trend and are now using it to their advantage. Teachers and professors are doing everything from creating chat-room forums and groups to extend classroom discussion to posting assignments, tests and quizzes, to assisting with homework outside of the classroom setting. Social networks are also being used to foster teacher-parent communication. These sites make it possible and more convenient for parents to ask questions and voice concerns without having to meet face-to-face.Social networks are being used by activists as a means of low-cost grassroots organizing. Extensive use of an array of social networking sites enabled organizers of the 2009National Equality Marchto mobilize an estimated 200,000 participants to march on Washington with a cost savings of up to 85% per participant over previous methods.38Theuse of online social networks by librariesis also an increasingly prevelant and growing tool that is being used to communicate with more potential library users, as well as extending the services provided by individual librariesIssuesPrivacyOn large social networking services, there have been growing concerns about users giving out too much personal information and the flagellum ofsexual predators. Users of these services also need to be aware of information theftorviruses. However, large services, such asMySpaceandNetlog, often work with law enforcement to try to prevent such incidents.citation neededIn addition, there is a perceived privacy threat in relation to placing too much personal information in the hands of large corporations or governmental bodies, allowing a profile to be produced on an individuals behaviour on which decisions, detrimental to an individual, may be taken.Furthermore, there is an issue over the control of datainformation that was modify or removed by the user may in fact be retained and/or passed to 3rd parties. This danger was highlighted when the moot social networking siteQuechupharvested e-mail addresses from users e-mail bills for use in aspammingoperation.43In medical and scientific research, asking subjects for information about their behaviors is normally rigorously scrutinized byinstitutional review progresss, for example, to ensure that adolescents and their parents haveinformed consent. It is not clear whether the same rules apply to researchers who collect data from social networking sites. These sites often contain a great deal of data that is hard to obtain via traditional means. Even though the data are public, republishing it in a research paper capabi lity be consideredinvasion of privacy.44Privacy on Facebook is undermined by three principal factors users disclose too much, Facebook does not take adequate steps to protect user privacy, and third parties are energeticly seeking out end-user information using Facebook. Every day teens go on social networking sites and let out their most interior thoughts for the whole world to see. Information such as street address, phone number, Instant Messaging name are disclosed to an inexplicable population in cyberspace. Whats more, the creation of a Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc. account is a fairly easy process to do and no identification is required, which can lead to identity theft or impersonation. For the Net generation, social networking sites have become the preferred forum for social interactions, from posturing and role playing to simply sounding off. However, because such forums are relatively easy to access, posted content can be reviewed by anyone with an interest in the users personal information.There has been a trend for social networking sites to send out only positive bills to users. For example sites such as Bebo, Facebook, and Myspace get out not send notifications to users when they are removed from a persons friends list. Similarly Bebo volition send out a notification if a user is moved to the top of another users friends list but no notification is sent if they are moved down the list.This allows users to purge undesirables from their list extremely easily and often without confrontation since a user will rarely identity card if one person disappears from their friends list. It also enforces the general positive atmosphere of the website without drawing economic aid to unpleasant happenings such as friends falling out, rejection and failed relationships.Many social networking services, such as Facebook, provide the user with a choice of who can view their profile. This prevents unauthorized user(s) from accessing their information.4 9Parents have become a big problem to teens who want to avoid their parents to access their MySpace or Facebook accounts. By choosing to make their profile private, teens are able to select who can see their page and this prevents unwanted parents from lurking. This will also mean that only people who are added as friends will be able to view the profile. Teens are constantly trying to create a structural prohibition between their private life and their parentA common misuse of social networking sites such as Facebook is that it is occasionally used to unrestrainedly abuse individuals. such actions are often referred to as trolling. It is not rare for confrontations in the real world to be translated online. Online bullying (aka Cyber-bullying) is a relatively common occurrence and it can often government issue in emotional trauma for the victim. Depending on the networking outlet, up to 39% of users admit to being cyber-bullied?.54danah boyd, a researcher of social networks quo tes a teenager in her article, why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites. The teenager expresses frustration towards networking sites like MySpace because it causes drama and too much emotional stress.55There are not many limitations as to what individuals can post when online. Inherently individuals are given the power to post offensive remarks or pictures that could potentially cause a great amount of emotional pain for another individual.Interpersonal communicationInterpersonal communication has been a growing issue as more and more people have turned to social networking as a means of communication.Benniger (1987) describes how mass media has gradually replaced interpersonal communication as a acculturation force. Further, social networking sites have become popular sites for youth culture to explore themselves, relationships, and share cultural artefacts. Many teens and social networking users may be harming their interpersonal communication by using sites such as Facebook and M ySpace. Stated by Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University Neuroscientist, My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the momentIt is not unusual if you often hear your siblings or your friends talk about the people they have met and do friends with through the net profit as social networking is one of the phenomena that have taken the world of Internet by storm. or so every Web surfer has an account in at least one of thesocial networking sites, for these sites are the more enjoyable places to hang about in.ProsSocial networking siteshave paved the way for easier communication to your friends, family, or colleagues. One example is that instead of meeting in a certain place, you and your classmates could discuss a school activity by having a throng in a certain site that you are all members of, thus saving you time and eff ort. Virtual communities are also formed, which are composed of people connected in concert by common interests, purpose, and goal. People of different races also get to mingle with each other in just a few clicks.The idea of socializing with millions of people of different backgrounds excites the Web surfers. This is one thing that you can hardly do outside the virtual world.Communication with distant family and friends. hit new people, be creative, and be yourselfIt entertains you when youre boredSocial networkingwebsitesare a great way of keeping in touch with family andfriends. You can post blogs, share photos, use instant messaging (Myspace has its own instant messaging service), make comments and add people to your friends list. SocialnetworkingHYPERLINK http//www.blurtit.com/q430795.htmlHYPERLINK http//www.blurtit.com/q430795.htmlsitesallow you to create a profile, where you can share your interests with other users and also, you can make new friends. These type of sites, My space in particular, are also used people such as bands or authors to build up friends in place to generate interest in their music and booksConsSocial networking sites require or give you the option to provide personal information such as your name, location, and email address. Unfortunately some people can take this as an opportunity for identity theft. They can copy your information and pretend to be you when engaging in illegal activities. Bad news So be cautious with what you enter into an online networking site.You could fall into the trap of someone who pretends to be somebody else. For example, they power offer you a job or want to meet up with you just to get your money. This can lead to cyberstalking, where the stalker uses electronic media such as the Internet to tag or harass you.there is also the chance of peoples profiles being hacked or identities being stolen some other downside is that sites such as Myspace, which allow users to add their own background, are ofte n very slow due to backgrounds taking up a lot of memory. This has led to userscomputerscrashing every time they got onto a profile which uses up a lot of memory. Also, because these types of sites have millions of users, errors can often occur.It hampers the students the most. Students waste a lot of time on the social networking sites. This disturbs their education. It distracts you from your work that is needed to be done.Social Networking-Stats and figuresThe way we communicate online has gone through a sea-change over last few years. In fact, majority of net users spend most of their time on social Media / Networking sites. Even thoughIndia Software companies are lagging behindin adoption of social media, others are flocking them in large numbers.Twitter has been a rage over past 1 year, Facebook has become one of the most visited sites on the web, Professionals are flocking Linkedin and keep their profiles updated.Facebookclaimsthat 50% of active users log into the site each d ay. This would meanat least 175m users every 24 mos.Twitternow has75m user accounts, but only around 15m are active users on a continuous basis.LinkedInhas over50m members worldwide..Facebook currently has in excess of350 million active users on global basis.Six months ago, this was 250mThis means over 40% growth in less than 6 months.Flickr now hosts more than4 billion images. more(prenominal) than 35m Facebook users update their status each day.Wikipediacurrentlyhas in excess of14m articles, meaning that its 85,000 contributors have compose nearly a million new posts in six months.Photo uploads to Facebook haveincreased by more than 100%.Currently, there are around2.5bnuploads to the site each month.Back in 2009, the average user had 120 friends within Facebook. This is now around 130.Mobile is even big than before for Facebook, withmore than65m users accessing the site through mobile-based devices.In six months, this is over 100% increase.There are more than3.5bn pieces of co ntent(web links, news stories, blog posts, etc.) shared each week on Facebook.There are now11m LinkedIn users across Europe.Towards theend of last year, the average number of tweets per day was over27.3 million.The average number of tweets per hour was around1.3m.15% of bloggers spend10 or morehours each week blogging, according to Technoratis newState of the Blogosphere.At the current rate, Twitter will process intimately10 billiontweets in a single year.About 70% of Facebook users are outside the USA.India is currently the fastest-growing country to use LinkedIn, with around 3m total users.More than 250 Facebook applications have over amillioncombined users each month.70%of bloggers are organically talking about brands on their blog.38% of bloggers post brand or product reviews.More than80,000websites have implemented Facebook Connect since December 2008 and more than60mFacebook users engage with it across these external sitesTop Social Networking sites in India 2010Orkut.comFac ebook.comTwitterBharatstudent.comhi5.comibibo.ComMySpace SitesLinkedIn.comPerfSpot.comBIGADDA.comFropper.comfriendsterLiterature ReviewLiterature reviewSocial Networking in EducationBY Geetha KrishnanaOverall, an astonishing 96 portion of students with online access report card that they ever used any social networking technologies, such as chatting, text messaging, blogging and visiting online communitiesStaggering as the 96 percent statistic is, it is intriguing to wonder what the other 4 percent is doing. Just e-mail and web surfing?Further, students report that one of the most common topics of conversation on the social networking scene is education. Almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online and, surprisingly, more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork.Tempting as this statistic might sound to champions of the social-networking-for-education cause, it may be worth considering that most of the discussions that people have on education could be to do with help on homework and difficult topics, classical problems that would otherwise get discussed in the college canteen perhaps.It may not mean a new avenue for learning something new it is just a new strength to get problems shared and solved. That is not to say it is not a good thing, but it may not be much more than that.Nonconformistsstudents who step outside of online safety and behavior rulesare on the cutting edge of social networking, with online behaviors and skills that indicate leadership among their peers. The report offers some recommendations for school board members as well. research social networking sites.This is an important recommendation because most often we tend to condemn something without really understanding it.Consider social networking for staff communication and professional development.This could well help achieve the previous point as well. It will also serve to integrate students and staff in the networking space. Find ways of harnessing the educational evaluate of social networking.This is a seemingly motherhood statement, but it could be worthwhile for teachers to consciously think of projects and assignments to be executed through networking approaches. master equitable access.An frank point, strengthen the access mechanisms for students to technology.Pay attention to nonconformists.This has already been touched on earlier in this post.Re examine social networking policies.Another obvious point, come at social networking as an integral component of the education process, not as a diversion.Facebook Impact on Student Grades Raises New Questions for BusinessBY Lawrence WalshAn Ohio State University study links Facebook use to lower grades. The study comes as businesses worry about the impact of social networking tools on worker productivity, integrity of their quick property and data security. Security vendors such as Websense, Fortinet and Trend Micro release new tools to combat embedded threats in social networks.As enterprises grapple with whether social networking creates security risks and productivity losses, a new study from the Ohio State University suggests there is a link between the use of Facebook and lower grades among college students.According to the slew of 219 students, those who said they use Facebook have grade point averages between 3.0 and 3.5 and study 1 to 5 hours per week. Conversely, non-Facebook users have GPAs between 3.5 and 4.0, and study 11 hours or more per week.The study found that 79 percent of Facebook users believe that it has no impact on their academic performance.Research methodologyResearch methodologyProblem commentaryIn todays era, education is seriously getting hampered through these social networking sites. In the name of connectivity, students and teens are actually wasting a huge amount of time in facebooking and orkuting. The sick person is none other than them, and the worst part is that they do not even realise it. 80% of the teens and students in India have atleast one active account in either facebook or orkut. So the need of the hour is to find out whether these social networking sites are useful or is it a pure waste of time.Hence, the research objective is to find the factors that motivates the students to open an account in the social networking sites and thus wasting time.Research Objectives1)To find out whether Social networking sites are a threat or a helping hand for education2)To find out the reasons that compel the students to join the networking chain3) To find out ways bywhich the social media can be used constructively in the field of educationResearch MethodologyThe research design that will be used would be exploratory researchImpact of Social Networking Sites on ChildrenImpact of Social Networking Sites on ChildrenSocial networking sites offer people new and varied ways to communicate via the internet,whether through their PC or their mobile phone. Examples include MySpace, F acebook andBebo. They allow people to easily and simply create their own online page or profile and toconstruct and display an online network of contacts, often called friends. Users of thesesites can communicate via their profile both with their friends and with people outside their list of contacts. The rapid growth of social networking sites in recent years indicates that they are now a mainstream communications technology for many people.Social networking sites are most popular with teenagers and young adultsResearch shows that just over one fifth (22%) of adult internet users aged 16+ andalmost half (49%) of children aged 8-17 who use the internet have set up their own profile on a social networking site.4 For adults, the likelihood of setting up a profile is highest among 16-24 year olds (54%) and decreases with age.Some under-13s are by-passing the age restrictions on social networking sitesDespite the fact that the minimum age for most major social networking sites is usuall y 13(14 on MySpace), 27% of 8-11 year olds who are aware of social networking sites say thatthey have a profile on a site. While some of these younger users are on sites intended foryounger children, the presence of small-scale users on social networking sites intended forthose aged 13 or over was also confirmed by qualitative research .The average adult social networker has profiles on 1.6 sites, and most users check their profile at least every other day.Adult social networkers use a variety of sites, with the main ones being Bebo, Facebook andMySpace. It is common for adults to have a profile on more than one site on average eachadult with a social networking page or profile has profiles on 1.6 sites, and 39% of adultshave profiles on two or more sites. Half of all current adult social networkers say that theyaccess their profiles at least every other day. The site people choose to use varies depending on the user. Children are more likely to use Bebo (63% of those who have a s ocial networking site profile), and the most popular site for adults is Facebook (62% of those who have a social networking profile).Two-thirds of parents claim to set rules on their childs use of socialnetworking sites, although only 53% of children said that their parents setsuch rulesFor many children, the rules and restrictions that their parents set on social networking siteusage are an important influencing factor in the childs use of social networking sites. Two thirds of parents whose children have a social networking page say they set rules on theirchilds use of these sites. Most commonly these concerned meeting new people online andgiving out personal details. However, significantly fewer children (53% of those with socialnetworking profiles) say that their parents set rules on their use of these sites.Attitudes and behaviours towards social networking sitesSocial networkers fall into distinct groupsSocial networkers differ in their attitudes to social networking sites and in their behaviourwhile using them. Qualitative research indicates that site users tend to fall into fivedistinct groups based on their behaviours and attitudes. These are as followsAlpha Socialisers (a minority) people who used sites in intense short bursts to flirt,meet new people, and be entertained.Attention Seekers (some) people who craved attention and comments from others,often by posting photos and customising their profiles.Followers (many) people who joined sites to keep up with what their peers weredoing.Faithfuls (many) people who typically used social networking sites to rekindle oldfriendships, often from school or university.Functionals (a minority) people who tended to be single-minded in using sites for aparticular purpose.Non-users of social networking sites also fall into distinct groupsNon-users also appear to fall into distinct groups these groups are based on their reasonsfor not using social networking sitesConcerned about safety people concerned about safety online, in particular makingpersonal details available online.Technically inexperienced people who lack confidence in using the internet andcomputers.Intellectual rejecters people who have no interest in social networking sites and seethem as a waste of time.IntroductionINDUSTRY OVERVIEWSocial Networking sites- OverviewAsocial network servicefocuses on building and reflecting ofsocial networksorsocial relationsamong people, e.g., who share interests and/or activities. A social network service essentially consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services areweb basedand provide means for users to interact over theinternet, such ase-mailandinstant messaging. Althoughonline communityservices are sometimes considered as a social network service in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual-catered service whereasonline communityservices are group-centred. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks.The main types of social networking services are those which contain category places (such as former school-year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages) and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, withFacebook,BeboandTwitterwidely used worldwideMySpaceandLinkedInbeing the most widely used in North America1HYPERLINK http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NexopiaNexopia(mostly in Canada)2Bebo,3Hi5,Hyves(mostly in The Netherlands),StudiVZ(mostly in Germany),iWiW(mostly in Hungary),Tuenti(mostly in Spain),Decayenne,Tagged,XING4,BadooHYPERLINK cite_note-45andSkyrockin parts of Europe6OrkutandHi5inSouth AmericaandCentral America7andFriendster,Mixi,Multiply,Orkut,Wretch,renrenandCyworldin Asia and the Pacific Islands andOrkutandFacebookin India.There have been some attempts to standardize these s ervices to avoid the need to duplicate entries of friends and interests (see theFOAFstandard and theOpen Source Initiative ), but this has led to some concerns about privacy.Although some of the largest social networks were founded on the notion of digitizing real world connections, many other networks as seen in theList of social networking websitesfocus on categories from books and music to non-profit business to motherhood as ways to provide both services and community to individuals with shared interests.Typical structureIn general, social networking services allow users to create a profile for themselves, and can be broken down into two broad categories internal social networking (ISN) and external social networking (ESN) sites suchasMySpace,Facebook,TwitterandBebo. Both types can increase the feeling of community among people. An ISN is a closed/private community that consists of a group of people within a company, association, society, education provider and organization or e ven an invite only group created by a user in an ESN. An ESN is open/public and available to all web users to communicate and are designed to attract advertisers. ESNs can be smaller specialized communities (i.e. linked by a single common interest e.g. TheSocialGolfer, ACountryLife.Com, Great Cooks Community) or they can be large generic social networking sites (e.g. MySpace, Facebook etc).However, whether specialized or generic there is commonality across the general approach of social networking sites. Users can upload a picture of themselves, create their profile and can often be friends with other users. In most social networking services, both users must confirm that they are friends before they are linked. For example, ifAlicelists Bob as a friend, then Bob would have to approve Alices friend request before they are listed as friends. Some social networking sites have a favorites feature that does not need approval from the other user. Social networks usually have privacy cont rols that allows the user to choose who can view their profile or contact them, etc.Social networking sites typically have a section dedicated to comments by friends. On Friendster, this section is called Testimonials. On Facebook, this section is called The Wall. In the beginning, this was a feature that encouraged people to write messages about the person in the profile. But over time, people started writing creative testimonials back, creating a form of conversation.32Some social networking sites are created for the benefits of others, such as parents social networking site Gurgle. This website is for parents to talk about pregnancy, birth and bringing up children..com. This social network allows professionals to exchange information, opportunities, and ideas. Professionals are able to stay informed with new knowledge about their fieldSome social networks have additional features, such as the ability to creategroupsthat share common interests or affiliations, upload or stream liv e videos, and hold discussions in forums.Geo social networking co-opts internet mapping services to organize user participation around geographic features and their attributes.There is also a trend for moreinteroperability between social networksled by technologies such asOpenIDandOpen Social.Lately, mobile social networking has become popular. In most mobile communities, mobile phone users can now create their own profiles, make friends, participate in chat rooms, create chat rooms, hold private conversations, share photos and videos, and share blogs by using their mobile phone. Mobile phone users are basically open to every option that someone sitting on the computer has. Some companies provide wireless services which allow their customers to build their own mobile community and brand it, but one of the most popular wireless services for social networking in North America is Facebook Mobile. Other companies provide new innovative features which extend the social networking experie nce into the real world.Another social networking feature in a professional aspect is LinkedIn.Emerging trends in social networksAs the increase in popularity of social networking is on a constant rise, new uses for the technology are constantly being observed.At the forefront of emerging trends in social networking sites is the concept of real time and location based. Real time allows users to contribute content, which is then broadcasted as it is being uploaded the concept is similar to live television broadcasts. Twitterset the trend for real time services, where users can broadcast to the world what they are doing, or what is on their minds within a 140 character limit.Facebookfollowed suit with their Live Feed where users activities are streamed as soon as it happens. While Twitter focuses on words,Clixtr, another real time service, focuses on group photo sharing where users can update their photo streams with photos while at an event. Friends and nearby users can contribute t heir own photos and comments to that event stream, thus contributing to the real time aspect of broadcasting photos and comments as it is being uploaded. In the location based social networking space,Foursquaregained popularity as it allowed for users to check-in to places that they are frequenting at that moment.Gowallais another such service which functions in much the same way that Foursquare does, leveraging theGPSin phones to create a location based user experience. Clixtr, though in the real time space, is also a location based social networking site since events created by users are automatically geotagged, and users can view events occurring nearby through the ClixtriPhoneapp. Recently,Yelpannounced its entrance into the location based social networking space through check-ins with their mobile app whether or not this becomes detrimental to Foursquare or Gowalla is yet to be seen as it is still considered a new space in the internet technology industry.35One popular use for this new technology is social networking between businesses. Companies have found that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are great ways to build their brand image. According to Jody Nimetz, author of Marketing Jive36, there are five major uses for businesses and social media to create brand awareness, as an online reputation management tool, for recruiting, to learn about new technologies and competitors, and as a lead gen tool to intercept potential prospects.36. These companies are able to drive traffic to their own online sites while encouraging their consumers and clients to have discussions on how to improve or change products or services.One other use that is being discussed is the use of Social Networks in the Science communities. Julia Porter Liebeskind et al. have published a study on how New Biotechnology Firms are using social networking sites to share exchanges in scientific knowledge.They state in their study that by sharing information and knowledge with one another, they are able to increase both their learning and their flexibility in ways that would not be possible within a self-contained hierarchical organization. Social networking is allowing scientific groups to expand their knowledge base and share ideas, and without these new means of communicating their theories might become isolated and irrelevant.Social networks are also being used by teachers and students as a communication tool. Because many students are already using a wide-range of social networking sites, teachers have begun to familiarize themselves with this trend and are now using it to their advantage. Teachers and professors are doing everything from creating chat-room forums and groups to extend classroom discussion to posting assignments, tests and quizzes, to assisting with homework outside of the classroom setting. Social networks are also being used to foster teacher-parent communication. These sites make it possible and more convenient for parents to ask questions and voice concerns without having to meet face-to-face.Social networks are being used by activists as a means of low-cost grassroots organizing. Extensive use of an array of social networking sites enabled organizers of the 2009National Equality Marchto mobilize an estimated 200,000 participants to march on Washington with a cost savings of up to 85% per participant over previous methods.38Theuse of online social networks by librariesis also an increasingly prevelant and growing tool that is being used to communicate with more potential library users, as well as extending the services provided by individual librariesIssuesPrivacyOn large social networking services, there have been growing concerns about users giving out too much personal information and the threat ofsexual predators. Users of these services also need to be aware ofdata theftorviruses. However, large services, such asMySpaceandNetlog, often work with law enforcement to try to prevent such incidents.cita tion neededIn addition, there is a perceived privacy threat in relation to placing too much personal information in the hands of large corporations or governmental bodies, allowing a profile to be produced on an individuals behaviour on which decisions, detrimental to an individual, may be taken.Furthermore, there is an issue over the control of datainformation that was altered or removed by the user may in fact be retained and/or passed to 3rd parties. This danger was highlighted when the controversial social networking siteQuechupharvested e-mail addresses from users e-mail accounts for use in aspammingoperation.43In medical and scientific research, asking subjects for information about their behaviors is normally strictly scrutinized byinstitutional review boards, for example, to ensure that adolescents and their parents haveinformed consent. It is not clear whether the same rules apply to researchers who collect data from social networking sites. These sites often contain a grea t deal of data that is hard to obtain via traditional means. Even though the data are public, republishing it in a research paper might be consideredinvasion of privacy.44Privacy on Facebook is undermined by three principal factors users disclose too much, Facebook does not take adequate steps to protect user privacy, and third parties are actively seeking out end-user information using Facebook. Every day teens go on social networking sites and reveal their most inner thoughts for the whole world to see. Information such as street address, phone number, Instant Messaging name are disclosed to an unknown population in cyberspace. Whats more, the creation of a Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc. account is a fairly easy process to do and no identification is required, which can lead to identity theft or impersonation. For the Net generation, social networking sites have become the preferred forum for social interactions, from posturing and role playing to simply sounding off. However, be cause such forums are relatively easy to access, posted content can be reviewed by anyone with an interest in the users personal information.There has been a trend for social networking sites to send out only positive notifications to users. For example sites such as Bebo, Facebook, and Myspace will not send notifications to users when they are removed from a persons friends list. Similarly Bebo will send out a notification if a user is moved to the top of another users friends list but no notification is sent if they are moved down the list.This allows users to purge undesirables from their list extremely easily and often without confrontation since a user will rarely notice if one person disappears from their friends list. It also enforces the general positive atmosphere of the website without drawing attention to unpleasant happenings such as friends falling out, rejection and failed relationships.Many social networking services, such as Facebook, provide the user with a choice o f who can view their profile. This prevents unauthorized user(s) from accessing their information.49Parents have become a big problem to teens who want to avoid their parents to access their MySpace or Facebook accounts. By choosing to make their profile private, teens are able to select who can see their page and this prevents unwanted parents from lurking. This will also mean that only people who are added as friends will be able to view the profile. Teens are constantly trying to create a structural barrier between their private life and their parentA common misuse of social networking sites such as Facebook is that it is occasionally used to emotionally abuse individuals. Such actions are often referred to as trolling. It is not rare for confrontations in the real world to be translated online. Online bullying (aka Cyber-bullying) is a relatively common occurrence and it can often result in emotional trauma for the victim. Depending on the networking outlet, up to 39% of users a dmit to being cyber-bullied?.54danah boyd, a researcher of social networks quotes a teenager in her article, Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites. The teenager expresses frustration towards networking sites like MySpace because it causes drama and too much emotional stress.55There are not many limitations as to what individuals can post when online. Inherently individuals are given the power to post offensive remarks or pictures that could potentially cause a great amount of emotional pain for another individual.Interpersonal communicationInterpersonal communication has been a growing issue as more and more people have turned to social networking as a means of communication.Benniger (1987) describes how mass media has gradually replaced interpersonal communication as a socializing force. Further, social networking sites have become popular sites for youth culture to explore themselves, relationships, and share cultural artefacts. Many teens and social networking users may be harmi ng their interpersonal communication by using sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Stated by Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University Neuroscientist, My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the momentIt is not unusual if you often hear your siblings or your friends talk about the people they have met and made friends with through the Internet as social networking is one of the phenomena that have taken the world of Internet by storm. Almost every Web surfer has an account in at least one of thesocial networking sites, for these sites are the more enjoyable places to hang around in.ProsSocial networking siteshave paved the way for easier communication to your friends, family, or colleagues. One example is that instead of meeting in a certain place, you and your classmates could discuss a school activity by having a conference in a certain site that you are all members of, thus saving you time and effort. Virtual communities are also formed, which are composed of people connected together by common interests, purpose, and goal. People of different races also get to mingle with each other in just a few clicks.The idea of socializing with millions of people of different backgrounds excites the Web surfers. This is one thing that you can hardly do outside the virtual world.Communication with distant family and friends. Meet new people, be creative, and be yourselfIt entertains you when youre boredSocial networkingwebsitesare a great way of keeping in touch with family andfriends. You can post blogs, share photos, use instant messaging (Myspace has its own instant messaging service), make comments and add people to your friends list. SocialnetworkingHYPERLINK http//www.blurtit.com/q430795.htmlHYPERLINK http//www.blurtit.com/q430795.htmlsitesallow you to create a profile, where you can share your interests wit h other users and also, you can make new friends. These type of sites, Myspace in particular, are also used people such as bands or authors to build up friends in order to generate interest in their music and booksConsSocial networking sites require or give you the option to provide personal information such as your name, location, and email address. Unfortunately some people can take this as an opportunity for identity theft. They can copy your information and pretend to be you when engaging in illegal activities. Bad news So be cautious with what you enter into an online networking site.You could fall into the trap of someone who pretends to be somebody else. For example, they might offer you a job or want to meet up with you just to get your money. This can lead to cyberstalking, where the stalker uses electronic media such as the Internet to pursue or harass you.there is also the chance of peoples profiles being hacked or identities being stolenAnother downside is that sites suc h as Myspace, which allow users to add their own background, are often very slow due to backgrounds taking up a lot of memory. This has led to userscomputerscrashing every time they got onto a profile which uses up a lot of memory. Also, because these types of sites have millions of users, errors can often occur.It hampers the students the most. Students waste a lot of time on the social networking sites. This disturbs their education. It distracts you from your work that is needed to be done.Social Networking-Stats and figuresThe way we communicate online has gone through a sea-change over last few years. In fact, majority of net users spend most of their time on social Media / Networking sites. Even thoughIndia Software companies are lagging behindin adoption of social media, others are flocking them in large numbers.Twitter has been a rage over past 1 year, Facebook has become one of the most visited sites on the web, Professionals are flocking Linkedin and keep their profiles up dated.Facebookclaimsthat 50% of active users log into the site each day. This would meanat least 175m users every 24 hours.Twitternow has75m user accounts, but only around 15m are active users on a regular basis.LinkedInhas over50m members worldwide..Facebook currently has in excess of350 million active users on global basis.Six months ago, this was 250mThis means over 40% growth in less than 6 months.Flickr now hosts more than4 billion images.More than 35m Facebook users update their status each day.Wikipediacurrentlyhas in excess of14m articles, meaning that its 85,000 contributors have written nearly a million new posts in six months.Photo uploads to Facebook haveincreased by more than 100%.Currently, there are around2.5bnuploads to the site each month.Back in 2009, the average user had 120 friends within Facebook. This is now around 130.Mobile is even bigger than before for Facebook, withmore than65m users accessing the site through mobile-based devices.In six months, this is ov er 100% increase.There are more than3.5bn pieces of content(web links, news stories, blog posts, etc.) shared each week on Facebook.There are now11m LinkedIn users across Europe.Towards theend of last year, the average number of tweets per day was over27.3 million.The average number of tweets per hour was around1.3m.15% of bloggers spend10 or morehours each week blogging, according to Technoratis newState of the Blogosphere.At the current rate, Twitter will process almost10 billiontweets in a single year.About 70% of Facebook users are outside the USA.India is currently the fastest-growing country to use LinkedIn, with around 3m total users.More than 250 Facebook applications have over amillioncombined users each month.70%of bloggers are organically talking about brands on their blog.38% of bloggers post brand or product reviews.More than80,000websites have implemented Facebook Connect since December 2008 and more than60mFacebook users engage with it across these external sitesTop S ocial Networking sites in India 2010Orkut.comFacebook.comTwitterBharatstudent.comhi5.comibibo.ComMySpace SitesLinkedIn.comPerfSpot.comBIGADDA.comFropper.comfriendsterLiterature ReviewLiterature reviewSocial Networking in EducationBY Geetha KrishnanaOverall, an astonishing 96 percent of students with online access report that they ever used any social networking technologies, such as chatting, text messaging, blogging and visiting online communitiesStaggering as the 96 percent statistic is, it is intriguing to wonder what the other 4 percent is doing. Just e-mail and web surfing?Further, students report that one of the most common topics of conversation on the social networking scene is education. Almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online and, surprisingly, more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork.Tempting as this statistic might sound to champions of the social-networking-for-education cause, it may be worth considering that most of the discussions that people have on education could be to do with help on homework and troublesome topics, classical problems that would otherwise get discussed in the college canteen perhaps.It may not mean a new avenue for learning something new it is just a new medium to get problems shared and solved. That is not to say it is not a good thing, but it may not be much more than that.Nonconformistsstudents who step outside of online safety and behavior rulesare on the cutting edge of social networking, with online behaviors and skills that indicate leadership among their peers. The report offers some recommendations for school board members as well.Explore social networking sites.This is an important recommendation because most often we tend to condemn something without really understanding it.Consider social networking for staff communication and professional development.This could well help achieve the previous point as well. It will also serve to integrate student s and staff in the networking space.Find ways of harnessing the educational value of social networking.This is a seemingly motherhood statement, but it could be worthwhile for teachers to consciously think of projects and assignments to be executed through networking approaches.Ensure equitable access.An obvious point, strengthen the access mechanisms for students to technology.Pay attention to nonconformists.This has already been touched on earlier in this post.Re examine social networking policies.Another obvious point, come at social networking as an integral component of the education process, not as a diversion.Facebook Impact on Student Grades Raises New Questions for BusinessBY Lawrence WalshAn Ohio State University study links Facebook use to lower grades. The study comes as businesses worry about the impact of social networking tools on worker productivity, integrity of their intellectual property and data security. Security vendors such as Websense, Fortinet and Trend Micr o release new tools to combat embedded threats in social networks.As enterprises grapple with whether social networking creates security risks and productivity losses, a new study from the Ohio State University suggests there is a link between the use of Facebook and lower grades among college students.According to the survey of 219 students, those who said they use Facebook have grade point averages between 3.0 and 3.5 and study 1 to 5 hours per week. Conversely, non-Facebook users have GPAs between 3.5 and 4.0, and study 11 hours or more per week.The study found that 79 percent of Facebook users believe that it has no impact on their academic performance.Research methodologyResearch methodologyProblem DefinitionIn todays era, education is seriously getting hampered through these social networking sites. In the name of connectivity, students and teens are actually wasting a huge amount of time in facebooking and orkuting. The sufferer is none other than them, and the worst part is that they do not even realise it. 80% of the teens and students in India have atleast one active account in either facebook or orkut. So the need of the hour is to find out whether these social networking sites are useful or is it a mere waste of time.Hence, the research objective is to find the factors that motivates the students to open an account in the social networking sites and thus wasting time.Research Objectives1)To find out whether Social networking sites are a threat or a helping hand for education2)To find out the reasons that compel the students to join the networking chain3) To find out ways bywhich the social media can be used constructively in the field of educationResearch MethodologyThe research design that will be used would be exploratory research

Tescos Market Position Analysis

Tescos Market Position AnalysisThis is a report on Tesco PLC which is one of the largest grocery and widely distributed merchandising seller in the UK and in new(prenominal) countries rough the world. Tesco is the third largest retailer in the world the send- take out two largest retailers ar wall-mart which is similarly know as Asda in the UK and Carrefour which is a French inter study retail transcription. Tesco is the 2nd largest retailer in the world in comparison of profits which is direct by Wal-Mart. This report looks at the organisation on how it was formed to how it has become successful around the UK and the rest of the world.Tesco is a highly reputable organisation which has been development all over the last 8 decades and is however out dumbfoundth. Tesco is a highly profitable organisation and evidence has been shown of this in this report. In this report I testament intake a range of models and strategic analysis both internal of the organisation andextern ally as tumesce as strategy formulation. I this report I have use a rage of model and tool to demonstrate what TESCO is all about. Tescos has over 4,330 stores around the world but chief(prenominal)ly around the UK. In this report I have use the strategic tools give c are PESTEL, Porters Five Forces, SWOT analysis and a value strand analysis.2. Background how and when TESCO was introduced and its current identify in the grocery storeTesco initial was founded by Jack Cohen early in the 1920s. The filth was initially named when jack Cohen bought a shipment of tea from T.E.Stockwell and by exploitation the initials of T.E.Stockwell Cohen added the depression two letter of his surname to create the tarnish TESCO. The first Tesco was open in 1929 in the north of London in the bea of Brunt Oak.Tesco first started by selling food and drinks and over the year has diversified its product range from garment, insurance, telecommunications and retailing and renting DVDs to online s ervices like music download and softw be. The organisation has also diversified geographically as it is a well known brand around the UK which was the primary focus to the rest of the world and is now direct in 14 major(ip) countries around the world.TESCO is on the London stock exchange as the FTSE 100 Index which shows Tesco is one of the 100 most capitalised organisations in the UK. In 2009 Tescos has staggering revenue of 54biillion and the organisation employs over 472,000 employees worldwide. Tesco have over 960 Tesco designate stores around the UK which sell around 7,000 products which include fresh food around the Tesco express local stores. Tesco also has around 170 metro stores which sell a diverse range of food products around city centres. Tesco currently has over 450 superstores whichSell all their product rage including services such as DVD rental and Tesco Mobile. Tesco provides financial services called Tesco Personal Finance (TPF) as well as providing broadband in ternet connections.The position of Tescos in regards to carry ons with other foodstuff leaders have been put into a PIE chart belowMarket shareTescoASDASainsburysMorrisonOthers% of market share30.60%16.60%16.30%11.10%25.40%Fig 1 Share of leading organisations in UK Food Retail Market3. PESTELPoliticalWith the immersion of 10 more countries in the European Union (EU) in 2004 had promoted the trades between Western and the Eastern European countries (BBC, 2009). This has allowed Tesco to expand in the retail markets around the EU.Last year it was sign-language(a) off by Tesco with china that Tesco will be able to open a chain of shop malls in China. This joint project included three main malls to be built in Qinhuangdao, Anshan and Fushan. A total of 18 hypermarkets were also expected to open this year. This information was provided by Tesco last year. The growth of the international market is on the get hold and is predicted to account for 25% of the companys profit.In the Strait s Times 2010 article it is motioned that due to Chinas accession with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) it has promoted a forgo flow for foreign trades this was through by removing all barriers which would encourage companies from the west including Tesco to make it way to the most profitable market which would encompass over 1.3 gazillion people.EconomicThe economic factor is a point of concern for Tesco since the UK was officially declared as being in the recession in 2008. This has affected the consumers promptly as they became in beneficial about their financial income. The geting behaviour of Tescos customers meant since the recession consumers were more selective on what they bought. The reduction of the interest rates tendinged in the reduction of the growth of unemployment in 2009. As a result the spending power of the consumers in on the rise again as people became more secure about their financial positions. However there is still allot of people under threat and so are belike to spend less specie on the ready prepared meals, this will affect the sales value and the profit margins adversely.On a positive note in regards to the recession consumer are more likely to cook at home compared to eating out and this would have a positive effect on the amount of sales in the grocery retailers like Tescos. Consumers are less likely to cut down on food expenses instead the percentage of spending on food has travel over the years. Below is a graph showing this form Euromonitor 2010Fig 2 The % of UK consumers spending on food from 2004 2008The economic recession has been brought to radiance with the help of the following GDP growth graph since 1990 (BBC news 2010)Fig 3 UK GDP Growth 1990-2010SocialIn an analysis UK population it shows that there are more people in the UK who are retired compared to the children in the UK. The elder generation tends to eat less and tend to travel less to supermarkets compared to the younger generation. It has been predi cted that the internet shop is more convenient to the elder generation but due to the low amounts of food required by the elder generation deliveries are less profitable.In the recent decade the number of people choosing has enlarged and Tesco have identified this and have increased their product range to meet customer demands.Payments by check into and cash were 1st made achievable by Tesco.TechnologicalOne of the main macro ecological variables that have inclined the supply chain, operation and wait on of grocery and food retailers is technology. The operations of supermarkets are being affected by the use of services like internet shopping. Internet shopping has been growing and is still growing in the UK. The subscription of internet has developed by over 50% and it is estimated to have 70% of UK being users of the internet. (Office for National Statistics, 2010).The use of loyalty schemes which are used by online retailer helps to retain customer as people are discouraged to shop elsewhere (Sun, 2009).Online shopping is also available on telecommunicate so people can shop anywhere at any time.Due to the increase of the access of broadband internet shopping is increasing in the UK.15.5 million Number of users is in UK who is broadband users and this account for 70% of the total market (Keynote 2010).EnvironmentalThe environmentally warm solution of reducing packaging is promoted by the UK Government. In a study by the Office for National statistic, the number of people using reusable bags has raised by 3% from 71% to 74% and those consumers using normal bags and are trying to cut down has also increased from 65% to 68%. This has helped in reducing the cost and it also soundly for Tesco CSR image.Tesco has recently started adding carbon footprint data to dairy product, orange juice and potatoes and plans to expanding this data onto bread and non-food items in the future (Tesco 2010)There are customers who are reusing bags, cycle old mobile phones and aluminium cans and also prefer bagless deliveries. These customers are being awarded for their contributions through the Tescos Club control panel points (Datamonitor, 2010).Supermarket Tesco have put wind turbines on one of the stores roof this produces adequate energy to run all 15 tills.Fig 4 Consumers actively being Green 2007-2010LegalDue to the rise of the VAT in January to 20% by the government to reduce the budget deficit, Tesco non-food products will be affected such as clothing and electrical goods.In recent years the national minimum wage has been increased by 15.5% this has increased the supermarkets running and operating costs.Porters Five Forces AnalysisThreat for substitute products and servicesIn the retail market the threats for grocery retail products is low compared to non-food products.Substitute food products are available from local convenience stores and shop but are not seen as a threat for Tesco as Tesco is able to provide higher quality for lower prices d ue to buying power and other factors. Tesco are also opening express stores which take most of the business form local convenience stores.The threat for non food items is high as consumers are inclined to by discounted products like clothing form other retailers, however due to the recession Tescos is benefiting compared to the specialised clothing outlets.Threat of entry of new competitorsThreats in the food retail industry are low for new competitors.To succeed in the food retail market a huge investment is required to be matched against Tesco or other food retailers as the new organisation would have to build a brand name. Major retailer of food like Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury account for 80% of shopping for food in the UK (Mintel 2010).In order to compete against the tryed brads the new brad must either produce a higher quality or sell the product for lower prices or even both to be any threat to the big players.To gain permission from the local government to establ ish a new supermarket could take a considerable amount of time so therefore there is a key barrier for new fledgeling in this business.Intensity of competitive rivalryCompetitive rivalry is quite high in the food retail industry.Due to the high level and the growing levels of rival market shares Tesco is at risk of losing its market leadership. All the major competitors like Asda Morrisons and Sainsbury have had an increase in the market share for 2009-2010.All the major retailers are being very competitive against each other as they are always lowering prices and promoting products.In the rural areas of the UK consumers are inclined to go to places like Somerfield and Co-op due to the distance of the major retailers.The highly discounted food products from retailer like Aldi and Lidl are inclining customers to go there especially in generation of financial difficulties due to the recession. These retailers have grown by 25% during 2008. (Keynote, 2010).Bargaining power for buyers The Bargaining power for the buyer is high.Consumers are inclined to buy cheaper products and with the use of the internet for comparing product prices consumers are inclined to switch to cheaper alternatives.Where products are more standardised and have little differentiation consumers can intimately switch from one brand to a different one.Bargaining power for suppliersBargaining power for suppliers is lowSuppliers are geted to sell their products to major retailer like Asda and Tesco as the supplier would not want to lose their contacts with these major suppliers due to their selling power and so the negotiations with suppliers are strengthened and the major retailers are likely to come with a positive outcome when it comes to buying at lower prices.Detailed SWOT AnalysisBelow I have done a SWOT analysis for Tesco.StrengthsTesco is the 3rd largest retailer in the world.Tesco holds 30.7% of shares for the UK grocery market.In a research done by Datamonitor 2010 Tesco has a turno ver of 54 meg this in an increase of 14.9% compared to 2008.Tesco has done this by customising products and services to meet the demands of the consumers.Tesco has focused on reducing product prices without compromising on quality.Online services in the non-food retail market Tesco Direct has seen an increase by 50% (Tesco, 2010).Tesco has retained its customer with the use of Clubcard. The information from Clubcard has been used to promote products and other promotional techniques.Fig 4 Tesco annual Growth in Key Performance IndicatorsWeaknessesTesco has not performed well over the last year compared to the competitor in a report by Mintel (2010).A large number of goods were recalled which has resulted in finical loss. This has also had negative impact on the brands image.The main operations of the organisation are in the UK where it is preserve more than 75% of its revenue is generated in the UK in 2009. This was mentioned in a report by Tesco (2010).The organisation lacks geog raphic diversification and this shows a key weakness for Tesco to systematic risks of the UK market.OpportunitiesIn a report by Mintel (2010) it is recorded that Tesco have opened over 620stores in 2009 and 435 of them were in international locations. The geographic growth will help the firm to improvising its economy of scale, while it is also reducing the expo certain of the systematic risk.In the Guardian (2010) it is mentioned that Tesco.com has over 1 million customers, this has provided the firm to attract new customers which is helping to increase profits due to overall costs.The company is focusing in expanding geographically this will strengthen its global market position. Tesco has signed off a new deal with Tata group which is one of the major industrial organisations based in India (Daily Mail, 2010)The food retail market is expected to grow from 125 billion in 2009 to over 145 billion by the year 2014 as it is important to have enough food. (Euromonitor, 2010)ThreatsDu e to the reduction to consumers income and the rise of unemployment the buyers behaviour is affected and non-food products are being adversely affected.Tesco has been the market share leader for over 15 years and is now facing difficult times due to the intense competition of its competitors like Asda and Morrisons (Mintel, 2010).Bellow is an abridged SWOT analysis of which can be summarised in the illustration belowFig 5 Tesco reduced SWOT AnalysisValue Chain Analysis for TescoThe value chain shows the strength and weakness in the value accumulation process.The value chain for Tesco has been illustrated belowFig 6 Value chain for TescoPrimary ActivitiesInbound logisticsThe primary stage of the value chain is where the opportunity arises to create value for the business. The first stage is known to be upstream for activities. Inbound logistics is where products are bought from the supplier and are and are handled and transported to the shelves. Tesco adds value by maintaining the le vel of choice while it is also improving the efficiency of distribution system. Quality control measures are taken to remove the damaged goods and reducing the cost which may be incurred to its consumers.OperationsIn the day to day running of the stores Tesco has to maintain its service levels by selling the products and services and making sure they are open for business in accord to their trading hours. Tesco would have to also make sure products are available on shelves for their day to day business, this is done overnight daily. In order to uphold their competitive advantage Tesco may have to consider opening more hours or even opening metro and express stores.To do this Tesco must desire permission from the council and sometimes this may not be possible, this would take away their competitive advantage.Outbound logisticsOutbound logistic is the third stage of the value chain and Tesco add value by providing deliveries to customers. Tangibles such as parking facilities, troll ey collection, staff at till and systems are also used to gain the competitive advantage by saving time of consumers if done properly. The implementation of trolley deposit stations and keeping them orderly helps customers to get to and from the stores premises allot quicker as well as making these facilities available to use.Marketing and salesThe marketing and sales side of the value chain is more downstream. The Tesco club card provides discounts and help to keep customers loyal. Tesco also advertise on the radio, newspapers as well as TV adverts to attract customers with their pricing and promotions available. In regards to selling environmentally friendly products there are some constrains however Tesco can take advantage of this by providing products that are environmentally friendly which could help attract new customers. sustentation ActivitiesCompany InfrastructureTo help maintain the price of the products the implementation of security systems are in place as well as anti impostor systems to prevent people acting fraudulently. To reduce costs departments such as profit protection are employed by Tesco to reduce losses. The reduction of offensive activity and its prevention helps Tesco keeps is low prices low.Human resource managementHuman resource management would be regarded as a downstream activity. The job of HRM is to make sure staff are recruited and trained properly so benefits are passed to the customers. Tesco are always trying to maintain is high level of customers service by displace in programs for employees which are performance related. Employees are paid more by providing a better service to its customers and so employees are encouraged to do this. engine room developmentThis activity is also downstream and Tescos ability to provide product ranges which are new and innovative products has to be maintained. The product vitality adds value to the brand of these products.ConclusionThe report has clearly showed the success of Tescos from a small enterprise to a large PLC. Tesco success depends on their brand name which has always been evolving. Tescos brand name has hit the world like a virus but mainly in the UK. Tesco have managed to get the right message across to its consumers by making sure their CRS was to focus on their stakeholders.In order to succeed in the future Tesco has to diversify its products ranges and also diversify geographically as it has done over the last 8 decades, this will continue to create new customers as well as retaining its existing customers. Also to continue to succeed Tesco must adapt to any changes which may occur like a change in the services like broadband, BT have started to install fibre optic to increase its broadband seed. If Tesco wants to continue to grow its must adopt to all changes in real time, not only with this help retain customers as the services and products are up to date but this will also attract new customers. The strategy formulation for Tesco is to continue t o learn.Large organisations like Tesco the strategy should be analysed and apply on all levels of the hierarchy. The strategy of the different levels must be common throughout the hierarchy in order to have the competitive advantage.http//www.tesco.com/talkingtesco/retailing/ lowlife of FormTop of FormTop of FormBottom of Form

Social Determinants of Health

Social Determinants of HealthQ1. The Social determinants of health is the discovered favorable, economic, mental and environmental health factors that affect the case of lifespan of society or its community. The basic formation of these factors have been sepa stationd and placed into 10 different categories amicable gradients, strive, early life, hearty exclusion, work, unemployment, social support, addiction, victuals and transport (WHO regional Office for Europe, 2010). One example of a social determinant of health is the social gradient. The social gradient is a socio-political theory that places people on a social ladder and categorises them based on their boilersuit financial, social and hierarchical standing in society (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010). The social gradient demonst tempos that life expectancy is shorter and affliction of disease is risqueer if you reside further down the social ladder (Marmot Wilkinson, 2006). The social gradient demonstrates th e effect of social standing on people and how it effects quality of life, therefore making it a Social Determinant of Health.Q2. Causes of the arrests is a term used to describe the social determinants of health for each category and how it may impact upon the other categories. For example Marmot and Wilkinson state that it is not an accident that people regularly consume food with high saturated fat and salt content. What causes this to occur is food availability, culture, affordability and culture as well as many other possible external influences (Marmot Wilkinson, 2006). Then if rock-loving food prices were to escalate, poorer citizens would struggle to purchase healthy food. The poorer citizens then resort to purchasing cheaper and unhealthier food which contain unhealthy amounts of sugar and fats. These sugar and fats then cause obesity, rawness problems and many other diseases and illnesses that effect these people of lower socio-economic status (WHO Regional Office for E urope, 2010). This demonstrates that ace category caused an effect in another.In Fig. 8. in the bear EN Social determinants of health it shows the mortality rate from coronary heart disease in comparison to fruit and vegetable supply in selected European countries. (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010) This chart demonstrates that a falling off in health food supplies in kg/per person/per year causes an increase in standardize death rates matured 35-74. There is a direct effect of food prices going up as lack of supply, these items would be enumerate less cheap as well as vice versa. A good diet and adequate food supply are main areas of health promotion and overall well- creation of a person. (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010) These cause and effect issues are the main issues in dealing with health problems as one change could drastically effect the lives of Australian citizens, particularly those who are in a lower socio-economic standings. (WHO Regional Office for Eur ope, 2010)Q3. Barbara is a 52 year old unemployed, single bring who has fallen on hard times. She receives inadequate payments from the government via the Newstart allowance scheme, and struggles to pay off her car loan and rent. Barbara has many problems, however the main focus of this marvel will be on her social support, her ability to cope with the mental and physical stresses of her life and her health issues involving her current unemployment. Barbara describes her social life as being non-existent as a result of her financial difficulties and doesnt normally get to see her friends, now simple socialising crimsonts such as grabbing a burnt umber with her friends is seen as a luxurious expenditure (Thompson Ramsay, 2013).Socialising is an important experience within our lives, without the help and support and friendship of others, maintaining quality of life would be nest impossible. Lack of a social life can even lead to physical problems as explained in the book Social Determinants of Health the Solid Facts on the graph Fig. 6 (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010). The graph shows results gathered of both male and females in America, Where the age-adjusted mortality rates are compared with level of social integration. The graph demonstrates a correlation of when there is a decrease of social integration, it results in an increase of age-adjusted mortality rate (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010). This highlights that we are a social species, isolation can be very damaging and could cause a variety of mental anguish and mentals issues such as depression or even physical problems like an increase of disability from chronic diseases (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010). As evident in Fig. 6, lack of social integration can cause physical harm to our bodies and is a quintessential in maintaining our physical health (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010). Therefore, Barbaras lack of social behaviour increases her risk of last slightly, as small a s the increase is, these small Health factors can easily pile up and cause round changes in quality of life.Barbaras stress mainly forms from her recent unemployment and her increasing debt of her car loan, which escalated to be much than the actual car is worth (Thompson Ramsay, 2013). This emotional strain can be observed on Barbaras face as she received a Coles gift card for 60 dollars from the Spiers Centre employee (Thompson Ramsay, 2013). Barbara becomes emotional and continually thanks the Spiers centre employee for circumstances her with her current situation, she highlighted that she would for once be able to pay for her own groceries and toiletries instead of resorting to borrowing them. Barbaras Stress could similarly can activate the flight or fight response in the body, resulting increase in heart rate and alertness by stored energy from diverging origin to the muscles, this is known as the stress response (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010). Turning on this s tress response diverts energy and resources away from physiological processes important to long-term health maintenance (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010). Therefore, during periods of long durations of continued stress can lead to increase vulnerability of a wide range of conditions and diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, depression and aggression (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010).The major cause of the Barbaras other two issues stated can be linked tail to her unemployment. Due to her lack of income, she has resorted to many desperate attempts to keep herself afloat financially. This includes buying items based on budget instead of necessity. The fact that she lost her job as a result of poor health indicates that she was having health issues even before finance and employment were specific problems in her life (Thompson Ramsay, 2013). Therefore, the current events would only exacerbate her situation of stress and social isolation she currently is experiencing.Q4. The basic fundamentals of stress can be outlined by what are the causes of stress in the first place and what can be done to remedy these stress factors? According to the Australian Psychological Society, Australians aged 18-25 and 46-55 reported the lowest levels of wellbeing (The Australian Psychological Society, 2014). Stress is caused by many factors, majority of these factors are the result of financial and family issues which is the leading cause of stress amongst Australian citizens (The Australian Psychological Society, 2014). similar to all previous surveys conducted, issues involving health concerns are frequently rated as sources of stress to people who experience personal health issues, problems with maintaining their healthy and active lifestyle and also issues where a close persons health has been compromised (The Australian Psychological Society, 2014). With this information you can easily target particular age groups that are experienci ng these issues more than others, and try to involve not just informative ways of creating prevention and improvement but also with the use of practical techniques.Stresses in life come from expectations we have for ourselves, as well as expectation from others for us. In a radio interview with Terence Cheng a researcher from the University of Melbournes Institute of Applied stinting and Social Research, studied and identified statistics that proved the existence of a midlife crisis, Ashley Hall a reporter for the ABC asked about his findings into. Terence Chengs study shows that after the age of 18 there is a gradual decline in happiness until the age of around 40 to 42 years old (Hall, 2014). The stresses in life occur where many events can cause huge outcomes in the happiness of a person, events such as marriage, losing ones job, illness and death of a close loved one can cause major swings in the happiness and stress of the person experiencing these life events (Hall, 2014). Ala n Oster the National Australia Banks capitulum economist conducted a survey that had similar results from the National Australia Banks Quarterly Australian Wellbeing Index. Alan Oster states that what weve had is that the lowest tended to be in the 18 to 29 year olds, where I think there was a lot of stress in terms of unemployment (Hall, 2014).These ages indicate where stress is becoming most of a problem, The Australian Psychological Society and Alan Oster both state that slumps in happiness as well as wellbeing occur around the age of 18 to mid-20s because of unemployment. Australia has an unemployment rate of 6.1% which is 115th in the world (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015 Trading Economics, 2015). We could attribute this to our aging population where there is a total increase of one person either 1 minute and 21 seconds (Australian Bureau of Statistics , 2015). Jobs are drying up as a result of this population increase and therefore my project proposal is to decrease u nemployment rates in Australia through funding small and large business, as well as implementing a bonus stimulus for people who have one child or less, in an attempt to slow population growth. The small and large business proposal will be funding small and large businesses for use only allowed on expansion amongst city and urban areas of Australia. This is hoped to create more venues for jobs, allow expansion of companies creating new section for workers, and thus decrease the unemployment rate in Australia.

Gone With The Wind Essay -- Summary Book Review Essays

gone(a) With the Wind The novel being summarized is titled Gone with the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell. It was published in 1936, later it took her seven years to write, and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937. Gone with the Wind was the only give-and-take Ms. Mitchell wrote and is an American Classic. Gone with the Wind was a story of work force and women living in the south during the war between the states and of the souths transformation after the war. The novel began in somewhat 1861 at Tara and Twelve Oaks, two southern plantations in Georgia. We were given a glance of the hospitality and generosity of plantation life. When the men went off to war, the women moved to Atlanta. While in Atlanta, they worked as nurses as they awaited the return of their men. Shermans troops marched in and burned Atlanta, so the women were forced to leave. They returned to Tara, where we ascertained the destruction and desolation of the land. After the war, the story shifted back and forth betwee n Atlanta and Tara. We experienced the struggles to save Tara, rebuild Atlanta, and the effects of the carpetbaggers. The story continued until about 1871 as the main characters began to regain the security and grace of the days before the war. There were four main characters in the story. They were Scarlett OHara, Ashley Wilkes, Melanie Hamilton-Wilkes, and Rhett Butler. Scarlett, Ashley, and Melanie were raised together, and Rhett Butler was an outlander who came from Charleston. Scarlett was the daughter of a wealt...

The Quintessential American Woman Essay -- American Women Henry James

The Quintessential American WomanThe American charr is a mystery that has yet to be solved. She is an ever-changing poem that sparks vex in those who are unaccustomed to her mysterious ways. The American women fascinated many authors, including Henry pack. To express his enthrallment, James employed his literary talent to create Daisy Miller. Daisy exudes the wide depth of the entity of the American woman, which originally captured James attention. John Hay, a contemporary observer of American manners and mores stated of the American woman, Her conduct is without blemish, according to the unsophisticated American standard, and she knows no other (qtd. in Fogel 52). Jamess Daisy Miller depicts the innocence of the American woman, with its accompanying crudeness. It is through Daisy Miller, and her contradictory characteristics of purity and crudeness that James presents and depicts his American woman to the world. Pure is defined as chaste virgin in the American Heritage Dic tionary (681). This describes one half of the American woman in the Jamesian perspective. Daisy Millers character is depicted as the epitome of pure. This purity particularly lies in Daisys ignorance of proper social behavior. Daniel Mark Fogel wrote in his critical analysis of Daisy Miller, In America, women were under somewhat less rigid control than they were in England or Europe, in part because of the comparatively high degree of social mobility in the United States and the concomi...