Fundamental Media Free Essays

Mass correspondence inquire about incorporates media organizations and procedures, for example, dispersion of data, and media impacts, for example, influence or control of general sentiment. In the United States, for example, a few college offices were rebuilt into schools or universities of mass correspondence or â€Å"journalism and mass communication†. Notwithstanding examining down to earth abilities of news coverage, advertising or promoting, they offer projects on â€Å"mass communication† or â€Å"mass correspondence look into. We will compose a custom paper test on Crucial Media or on the other hand any comparative point just for you Request Now The last is regularly the title given to doctoral examinations in such schools, regardless of whether the focal point of the student’s look into is news-casting practice, history, law or media impacts. Departmental structures inside such universities may isolate research and guidance in expert or specialized parts of mass correspondence. With the expanded job of the Internet in conveying news and data, mass correspondence studies and media associations will in general spotlight on the intermingling of distributing, broadcasting and computerized correspondence. The scholastic mass correspondence discipline truly contrasts from media studies and correspondence considers programs with establishes in branches of theater, film or discourse, and with more enthusiasm for â€Å"qualitative,† interpretive hypothesis, basic or social ways to deal with correspondence study. Interestingly, many mass correspondence programs truly lean toward observational examination and quantitative research†from factual substance investigation of media messages to overview look into, general sentiment surveying, and test inquire about. Enthusiasm for â€Å"New Media† and â€Å"Computer Mediated Communication† is developing a lot quicker than instructive establishments can absorb it. Up until this point, customary classes and degree programs have not had the option to suit new moves of the worldview in correspondence advances. Albeit national gauges for the investigation of intuitive media have been available in the U. K. since the mid-nineties, course work in these zones will in general differ essentially from college to college. Alumni of Mass Communication programs work in an assortment of fields in conventional news media and distributing, promoting, advertising and research foundations. Such projects are authorize by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication ACEJMC Questions a) Define and depict mass correspondence as an expert field giving instances of hypotheses and analysis around this field (20 Marks) b) Give a short history of the development of mass correspondence. The most effective method to refer to Fundamental Media, Papers

Marriott Contemporary Trends and Competitors

Foundation JW Marriott lodgings is claimed by Marriot universal. Marriot universal is a Washington DC based organization. In 1927, Willard Marriott began the lodging chainAdvertising We will compose a custom report test on Marriott: Contemporary Trends and Competitors explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More (Marriott 6). Key Bridge Marriott is the company’s longest running inn and it opened its entryways in 1959. From that point on, it touched off a worldwide development to incorporate 3,150 properties. In 1992, Marriott participation was part into two. The split shaped two organizations; Host Marriot corp. furthermore, Marriot worldwide (Marriott 8). In 1995, Marriott obtained a 49 % controlling stake in Ritz Carlot Hotel (Marriott 13). In 2005, all the rooms in the inn were given an upgrade. Around the same time, the lodging network denoted an achievement as the main inn that didn't offer trans fat nourishments (Marriott 15). Business execution Marriot lodging s and resorts have kept on performing exemplarily. This is most definitely. As much as it has a worldwide nearness in various markets, it has upgraded its business exercises to reach whatever number clients as could reasonably be expected. These can be shown from numerous business habitats it has in various markets (Marriott 23). From its second from last quarter results as at October 2010, the organization posted great monetary returns. For example, all out deals incomes expanded by 9% to $253 million. Its overall framework and development improved impressively by 8.2% (Marriott 7).in expansion, the chain of lodgings likewise understood a net gain of $ 83 million.Advertising Looking for report on business financial matters? We should check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This total compensation spoke to a 56 % ascend in pay in correlation with the aftereffects of the earlier year. Furthermore, the organization has a wide cluster of inns unde r development. The company’s solid income has empowered it to pay off its obligations in front of timetable. Its complete incomes were $2.6 billion (Marriott 21). System In request to stay serious in the market, the chain of inns has tried to coordinate a matchless brand methodology. Then again, it ought to be realized that the inn business was not a gleam according to the organization proprietor. Marriot accepts that its responsibility is to ensure that clients have the most ideal experience. By doing this, the organization knows very well that its clients originate from various foundations, culture, religion and convention (Marriott 19). The execution of the brand system starts with one part of the inn and afterward on, it is imitated to the others. This is on the grounds that consumer loyalty relates in one manner or the other with by and large business execution (Marriott 7). The organization utilizes worldwide assorted variety and incorporation as a method of flourishing in the commercial center. This is finished by laying more accentuation on clients, providers, proprietors, workforce and acknowledgment. Its present business procedure is additionally based on key unions with other similarly invested colleagues. This technique has enveloped different social skills to expand upon its prosperity. Also, the organization has faith in working with privately possessed organizations. This is all the more so comparable to various networks. By doing this, the organization accepts that it will be a success for the business and the network (Okumas12). Contender examination Porter 5 powers Marriot Hotel has been a decent shaper of the market since it has concentrated on operational and strategic execution. Industry mapping is a useful asset that can help give a decent vital perspective on the serious landscape (Harris 8). This is according to porters’ five powers as a system that helps in business methodology advancement and industry investigation. Prom oting We will compose a custom report test on Marriott: Contemporary Trends and Competitors explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More Source: Porter 2008 The accommodation business has kept on pulling in a great deal of new entrants’ on account of its development potential and significant yields (Hassanien et al 13). In spite of the fact that this are normal in an ordinary business condition, the organization has concentrated on constantly reestablishing its business for progress. Then again, there is an increasingly escalated dealing power from clients. This is on the grounds that they are increasingly illuminated about items and this has been improved by accessibility of data (Hax and Majluf 8). The organization has endure this by upgrading brand acknowledgment and consumer loyalty. Due to decent variety and rivalry, there is a great deal of serious contention inside the accommodation business (Hubbard et al 11). This can be disclosed from the inclination to gr ow and draw in more clients. Marriot inns has utilized diversifying as a method of arriving at new markets as opposed to putting resources into land which is expensive. Serious competition has additionally constrained it to upgrade brand acknowledgment and clients experience as a method of holding clients. Dealing intensity of providers is another power that organizations in the friendliness business need to adapt up to. Due to its worldwide nearness, the organization has activities in various markets. Truly, it works with privately claimed organizations and providers by making them part of the gathering. This is the place they are offered inclination to contracts in regions the organization has tasks (Marriott 27). On account of increased rivalry in the market, there is additionally a high danger of substitute items (Hubbard et al 2008, p. 24). Marriot inns has utilized inventive brand systems as a method of guaranteeing that its items are not made unessential in the market by subs titute products.Advertising Searching for report on business financial matters? We should check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Find out More The organization empowers increase of gifts as a way that it can use to assemble its items and brands and in the process guarantee that its items are not undermined by substitute items (Marriott 29). Key achievement factors The organization has changed the inn business in various manners. This has been finished by conveying quality assistance to clients and ensuring exceptional yields for investors. It has shown a high capacity to join imagination and control. This is by all accounts the sign of any high performing organization or business in the friendliness business (Spears 4). As such, it tends to be said that the organization has molded the market well to propel its activities. Just to show how fruitful the organization is, its offer cost has been steady lately. This can be clarified structure the chart underneath. Industry lifecycle The accommodation business has an extremely exceptional lifecycle. Items and administrations travel through different stages. These incorporate crea tion, development, development and decrease. Creation is the place items are acquainted in the market with be decided by clients. Marriott inns has been thinking of imaginative items to work well for the market. Development then again is set apart by an expansion in deals of the new item that the organization has presented. This can be an expansion in inn appointments or development of cafés as far as clients served. Development is described by the adjustment of the inns size and items. This can be regarding representatives or then again balanced out deals. During this stage, organizations can make a money cow and in the process settle their activities. Decrease will later be seen when the association begins to shrivel. In this stage, endeavors to revive the organization and upgrade its tasks may come up short. In actuality, organizations in the neighborliness business should be innovative and thought of new items subsequent to doing broad statistical surveying. Contender Mapping C ompetitor investigation in the neighborliness business is increasingly worried about an evaluation of shortcomings and qualities of potential and current rivals in the market and industry (Porter 17). Along these lines, through a vital protective and hostile methodology, it ought to have the option to concoct dangers and openings (Lewis 13). The organization has kept on flourishing in view of good key choices and moves. Up and down, the organization has consolidated an exceptional brand procedure as its prosperity factor. On they other hand, it has concentrated on representative preparing and maintenance. By concentrating on different components of execution life structures, the organization has made a decent collaborate culture to upgrade a triumphant attitude (Carpenter and Sanders 19). This has over the long haul invaded the authoritative structure and aided Marriot accomplish a tremendous presentation. Moreover, it has likewise manufactured a huge arrangement of brands that have wound up giving an assortment of housing and lodging alternatives to differing and unmistakable clients. Its current help situated collaborate culture can likewise be supposed to be behind the company’s achievement. Then again, the organization has set up a decent brand the executives activity (Hunger 21). Elite organizations in the cordiality business oversee ability well and guarantee that employing is for the fit as opposed to aptitudes (Hubbard et al 24). By giving the entire procedure of diversifying and the executives of inns, this has empowered the organization to stay serious in the market and subsequently upgrade its manageability. As much as lodging the executives and diversifying have been all around done, the organization has neglected to offer progressively profound limits to pull in countless clients. Since the market is getting soaked, the organization has neglected to fabricate new full assistance lodgings. Position-assess The organization is as of now divers ifying 50 to 60% of its lodging properties (Marriott 32). There is an improvement in the friendliness business atmosphere. Then again, valuing has decidedly improved and this implies the organization will proceed gettin

William Wordsworth Father Of British Romanticism - Free Essay Example

William Wordsworth, the â€Å"father† of British Romanticism, has been called a poet of spiritual and epistemological speculation in addition to being concerned with the human relationship to nature (Brodsky). Before embarking in the art of poetry, Wordsworth started and lived his early life very close to his family. He attended Hawkshead Grammar School, where it is believed that he began to practice poetry. However, at the age of eight, his mother passed away. Soon after, his father passed too, leaving him an orphan along with his other four siblings. This was the source of inspiration dealing with much of his later work regarding religion and childlike innocence. After his primary schooling, Wordsworth attended St. John’s College in Cambridge. In his last semester of school, he travelled throughout Europe during the era of the French Revolution. His experience in college and on his adventures greatly influenced his poetry dealing with political sensibility and the â€Å"Common Man. His earliest poetry was published in 1793 in â€Å"An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches. This was a solo project. Soon after, he wrote â€Å"Lyrical Ballads† in 1795 with Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s aid. These poems became some of the most influential in Western Literature (Poets). In turn, Coleridge and Wordsworth were said to be the creators of British Romantic poetry. British Romanticism was an era of literature that lasted from 1800-1850. It started during rebellions and violence throughout Europe, so while focused on nature, most poets believed they were chosen to â€Å"guide† others through the changes and turmoil. As a way to incite hope, poets believed something existed beyond the physical world. They used this to write about supernatural energy and beauty. The poet also believed they were only at â€Å"peace in nature† (the British Library). Specifically, William Wordsworth believed poetry should be democratic, and he advocated for the common man. For this reason, he tried to give a voice to those who tended to be marginalized and oppressed by society. This included the poor, discharged soldiers, widowed women, the â€Å"insane, and children (The British Library). However, as he grew older, he became more conservative in his outlook. Because of this, he was ridiculed for â€Å"selling out† to the Establishment during the revolutions. This led him to begin writing more about the spirituality of nature rather than politics. Some of Wordsworth’s most popular poems have dealt with the politics and revolutions occurring during the peak years of British Romanticism. In his poem titled â€Å"London, 1802†, Wordsworth explored the loss of English morals and tradition. Throughout the poem he used an apostrophe by the name of â€Å"Milton†, and he explained that he believed the deceased â€Å"Milton† can give the lost foundation back to England through his writing. His lines of â€Å"Milton! Thou should be living at this hour: / England hath need of thee: she is a fen / Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen† (Wordsworth) utilize an apostrophe, while describing the predicament England is in. Through these lines, he explains that England needs Milton as â€Å"she† has different altars (religion), sword (military), and pen (art) then when Milton was there assisting the arts, and Wordsworth believed that the time Milton was on Earth was better. Through his symbols of a ltars, swords, and pens, Wordsworth conveyed that he thought that England had lost their tradition and values during the European revolutions and that Milton could help. Additionally, Wordsworth wrote the political piece titled â€Å"Character of the Happy Warrior†, written in the trochaic tetrameter, that explored the characteristics of a good, English, common man. Wordsworth describes men of power and explores the theme, how strong leaders can repair a broken society, through his use of symbolism and spiritual rhetoric. He questions who the â€Å"Happy Warrior† is, continuing on to answer his own question throughout his work. He says that the â€Å"Happy Warrior† has â€Å"high endeavours of an inward light / That makes the path before him always bright† (Wordsworth). Along with this, he describes them as men that â€Å"rise to the station of command / On honorable terms† (Wordsworth) and men that â€Å"do not stoop, nor lie in wait / For wealth, or honours, or for wordly state† (Wordsworths). These lines describe the ideal character of a strong, powerful, representative English man, specifically a politic ian, that would give his nation honor. His poems not only call on the morals of his country and ask if they are there, but they also help out the marginalized groups of England. The effects of the French and the Industrial Revolution on the common people was prevalent in Wordsworth’s writing, and he was keen on portraying lives of common people, including children, making it realistic and representative of of authentic contemporary society (Choudhury). However, it can be argued that some of Wordsworth’s most vital poems deal with his use of political positions, like ones advocating for the respect of oppressed children alongside his use of nature and spiritual beauty to portray marginalized groups in a new light. For example, Wordsworth writes about children in â€Å"Ode: Intimations of Immortality†. It is argued that this poem is about â€Å"the natural insight and purity of the child† before he/she ages (Eager). There is simplicity to the rhetoric, almost childlike, that is essential to showing that the poem is about children while using themes derived from nature and spirit. However, as the poem goes on, the writing gets stronger and Wordsworth questions what happens to the innocence and dreamlike quality children have in the lines stating â€Å"Whither is fled the visionary gleam? / Where is it now, the glory and the dream?† (Wordsworth). He argued that this diminishes as we age and the children abandon God as they age in the lines that say â€Å"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: / The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star / Hath elsewhere had its setting, / And cometh from afar: / Not in entire forgetfulness, / And not in utter nakedness, / But trailing clouds of glory do we come / From God, who is our home† (Wordsworth). He also states that â€Å"There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, / The earth and every common sight, / To me did seem / Appar eled in celestial light, / The glory and freshness of a dream. / It is not now as it hath been of yore;— / Turn wheresoe’er I may, / By night or day, / The things which I have seen I now can see no more.† (Wordsworth). In his lines describing the past, Wordsworth is arguing that the children stray further from God because of English values and strict religious policies, not because of their own faults. In this argument, he pleads that this is not the England he knew. Collectively, Wordsworth argued that the only way to regain the true foundational policies of England is to reevaluate the countrys morals at the time. His writing that advocated for marginalized groups and questioned the Establishment using natural and spiritual elements of British Romanticism has been his most impactful, and arguably most important. It truly was used to guide citizens through the turmoil of the constantly changing society, giving off a sense of hope and prosperity if one looks for the â€Å"light† and puts their trust in spirit and natural beauty.

Biography of Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Emiliano Zapata (August 8, 1879–April 10, 1919) was a village leader, farmer, and horseman who became an important leader in the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). He was instrumental in bringing down the corrupt dictatorship of Porfirio Dà ­az in 1911 and joined forces with other revolutionary generals to defeat Victoriano Huerta in 1914. Zapata commanded an imposing army but rarely sallied forth, preferring to stay on his home turf of Morelos. Zapata was idealistic, and his insistence on land reform became one of the pillars of the Revolution. He was assassinated in 1919. Fast Facts: Emiliano Zapata Known For: One of the leaders of the Mexican RevolutionBorn: August 8, 1879 in Anenecuilco, MexicoParents: Gabriel Zapata, Cleofas Jertrudiz SalazarDied: April 10, 1919 in Chinameca, San Miguel MexicoEducation: Basic education from his teacher Emilio VaraSpouse: Josefa EspejoChildren: Paulina Ana Marà ­a Zapata Portillo (with his wife),Carlota Zapata Sà ¡nchez, Diego Zapata Pià ±eiro, Elena Zapata Alfaro, Felipe Zapata Espejo, Gabriel Zapata Sà ¡enz, Gabriel Zapata Và ¡zquez, Guadalupe Zapata Alfaro, Josefa Zapata Espejo, Juan Zapata Alfaro, Luis Eugenio Zapata Sà ¡enz, Margarita Zapata Sà ¡enz, Marà ­a Luisa Zapata Zà ºÃƒ ±iga, Mateo Zapata, Nicolà ¡s Zapata Alfaro, Ponciano Zapata Alfaro (all illegitimate)Notable Quote: It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees. Early Life Before the Revolution, Zapata was a young peasant like many others in his home state of Morelos. His family was fairly well off in the sense that they had their own land and were not debt peons (slaves, essentially) on one of the large sugarcane plantations. Zapata was a dandy and a well-known horseman and bullfighter. He was elected mayor of the tiny town of Anenecuilco in 1909 and began defending his neighbors’ land from greedy landowners. When the legal system failed him, he rounded up some armed peasants and began taking the stolen land back by force. Revolution to Overthrow Porfirio Dà ­az In 1910, President Porfirio Dà ­az had his hands full with Francisco Madero, who ran against him in a national election. Dà ­az won by rigging the results, and Madero was forced into exile. From safety in the United States, Madero called for a Revolution. In the north, his call was answered by Pascual Orozco and Pancho Villa, who soon put large armies into the field. In the south, Zapata saw this as an opportunity for change. He also raised an army and began fighting federal forces in southern states. When Zapata captured Cuautla in May of 1911, Dà ­az knew his time was up and he went into exile. Opposing Francisco I. Madero The alliance between Zapata and Madero did not last very long. Madero did not really believe in land reform, which was all that Zapata cared about. When Madero’s promises failed to come to fruition, Zapata took to the field against his onetime ally. In November 1911 he wrote his famous Plan of Ayala, which declared Madero a traitor, named Pascual Orozco head of the Revolution, and outlined a plan for true land reform. Zapata fought federal forces in the south and near Mexico City. Before he could overthrow Madero, General Victoriano Huerta beat him to it in February 1913, ordering Madero arrested and executed. Opposing Huerta If there was anyone that Zapata hated more than Dà ­az and Madero, it was Victoriano Huerta—the bitter, violent alcoholic who had been responsible for many atrocities in southern Mexico while trying to end the rebellion. Zapata was not alone. In the north, Pancho Villa, who had supported Madero, immediately took to the field against Huerta. He was joined by two newcomers to the Revolution, Venustiano Carranza, and Alvaro Obregà ³n, who raised large armies in Coahuila and Sonora respectively. Together they made short work of Huerta, who resigned and fled in June 1914 after repeated military losses to the â€Å"Big Four.† Zapata in the Carranza/Villa Conflict With Huerta gone, the Big Four almost immediately began fighting among themselves. Villa and Carranza, who despised one another, nearly began shooting before Huerta was even removed. Obregà ³n, who considered Villa a loose cannon, reluctantly backed Carranza, who named himself the provisional president of Mexico. Zapata didn’t like Carranza, so he sided with Villa (to an extent). He mainly stayed on the sidelines of the Villa/Carranza conflict, attacking anyone who came onto his turf in the south but rarely sallying forth. Obregà ³n defeated Villa over the course of 1915, allowing Carranza to turn his attention to Zapata. The Soldaderas Zapata’s army was unique in that he allowed women to join the ranks and serve as combatants. Although other revolutionary armies had many women followers, they generally did not fight (with some exceptions). Only in Zapata’s army were there large numbers of women combatants: some were even officers. Some modern Mexican feminists point to the historical importance of these â€Å"soldaderas† as a milestone in women’s rights. Death In early 1916, Carranza sent Pablo Gonzà ¡lez, his most ruthless general, to track down and stamp out Zapata once and for all. Gonzà ¡lez employed a no-tolerance, scorched-earth policy. He destroyed villages, executing all those he suspected of supporting Zapata. Although Zapata was able to drive the federales out for a while in 1917-1918, they returned to continue the fight. Carranza soon told Gonzà ¡lez to finish Zapata by any means necessary. On April 10, 1919, Zapata was double-crossed, ambushed, and killed by Colonel Jesà ºs Guajardo, one of Gonzà ¡lez’ officers who had pretended to want to switch sides. Legacy Zapata’s supporters were stunned by his sudden death and many refused to believe it, preferring to think he had gotten away—perhaps by sending a double in his place. Without him, however, the rebellion in the south soon fizzled. In the short run, Zapata’s death put an end to his ideas of land reform and fair treatment for Mexico’s poor farmers. In the long run, however, he has done more for his ideas in death than he did in life. Like many charismatic idealists, Zapata became a martyr after his treacherous murder. Even though Mexico still has not implemented the sort of land reform he wanted, he is remembered as a visionary who fought for his countrymen. In early 1994, a group of armed guerrillas attacked several towns in southern Mexico. The rebels call themselves the EZLN, or Ejà ©rcito Zapatista de Liberacià ³n Nacional (National Zapatist Liberation Army). They chose the name, they say, because even though the Revolution â€Å"triumphed,† Zapata’s vision had not yet come to pass. This was a major slap in the face to the ruling PRI party, which traces its roots to the Revolution and supposedly is the guardian of the Revolution’s ideals. The EZLN, after making its initial statement with weapons and violence, almost immediately switched to modern battlefields of the internet and world media. These cyber-guerrillas picked up where Zapata left off 75 years before: the Tiger of Morelos would have approved. Sources â€Å"Emiliano Zapata.†Ã‚  Biography.com, AE Networks Television, 4 Feb. 2019, McLynn, Frank. Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution. Basic Books, August 15, 2002. â€Å"Who Was Emiliano Zapata? Everything You Need to Know.†Ã‚  Facts, Childhood, Family Life Achievements of Revolutionary Leader.

The Nine By Jeffrey Toobin - 916 Words

In Jeffrey Toobin’s novel, The Nine, he promises in his subtitle to delve â€Å"Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.† And throughout his 340 page novel, Toobin accurately accomplishes this promise. To Toobin, the secret world of the Supreme Court focuses around the areas of the Court that are not often seen by the public eye, the information that often goes unnoticed or overlooked. To accomplish this goal of expanding the common man’s knowledge of the Supreme Court, Toobin not only narrates in detail the proceedings and cases of the court, but he also expands upon the complexities of the court as he describes the major themes, relationships, and intertwined connections that occur throughout the history of the Supreme Court. Furthermore, many of these major themes and relationships focus around main ideas and specific aspects of the court. In order to further illustrate the Supreme Court’s relationship and complexities, Jeffrey Toobin details the w ay the Court is shaped by the outside factors, the evolution of values, recurrent cases and constitutional requirements, and even misconceptions. Throughout The Nine, Toobin illustrates the fact that many of the Supreme Court cases are not necessarily determined on a case by case basis or simply by the hearings occurring inside the courtroom. In fact, many of the cases and decisions of the court are affected and shaped by outside forces, both internally in the nation and externally in the world. For example, during the case ofShow MoreRelatedHistory And Personality Of The Supreme Court1155 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Toobin, the history and personality of the Supreme Court has also been affected by continual topics in recurrent cases as well as recurring constitutional themes. These continually topics are seen in previous cases that have made reappearances in other cases as they are applied to modern times and cases. As seen in the provision of the historic rulings in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education and the 1964 Reynolds v. Sims that established the rule of â€Å"one person, one vote† and equal protectionRea d MoreO.J. Simpson and the Trial of the Century Essay examples2621 Words   |  11 PagesCotton, laboratory director at Cellmark Diagnostics Inc. and Gary Sims, senior criminalist with the California Department of Justice DNA laboratory (Toobin). At the Bundy crime scene police found the bodies, Browns, amassed in a pool of blood bigger than her body, and Goldmans, his shirt pulled over his head as if to keep him from helping Brown. Of the nine blood samples found on the property six were a match to Simpson. Many found near the victims and others found on the walk, leading out to whereRead MoreMartha Stewart and the Imclone Scandal3198 Words   |  13 Pages1-0083 Martha Stewart and the ImClone Scandal On January 20, 2004, jury selection launched the trial of Martha Stewart, Chief Creative Officer and former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO). Nine charges filed by the Federal Grand Jury in New York and the SEC relate to Stewart’s personal sale of $228,000 in ImClone Systems, Inc. stock on December 27, 2001, one day before regulators rejected the biotech company’s cancer drug (Erbitux) and sent

Analysis of SPMS and Competitive Advantage

Question: Discuss about the Analysis of SPMS and Competitive Advantage. Answer: Introduction The organizations functioning in the current competitive economy try to implement innovative strategies like the strategic performance measurement systems to critically analyse their business process. These methods of evaluation provides significant knowledge to the stakeholders about the performance and sustainability of the organization. The most common Strategic Performance Management System variant also known as Balance Score Card was introduced in the business to upgrade the business model of an organization. This system enhances the paraphrasing of the strategies, missions and objectives of the firm (Elijido-Ten 2013). These measures are created from the set of objectives derived from the customer, financial, learning and internal process of business perspective. The current paper tries to analyze the SPMS process of two Australian companies namely QBE Insurance Group and Santos Ltd. A comparison of the annual reports for two years of each organization will be undertaken to evaluate the SPMS process and a comparison of two years. The paper even tries to find out whether this process is in line with the annual reports and any compensations and rewards paid for it. QBE Insurance Group QBE Insurance Group is one of the most renowned general insurance and reinsurance organization functioning in all the significant insurance market. QBE is enlisted in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The organization has its headquartered located in Sydney and is currently employing around fourteen thousand people over different countries. The strategy of the firm concentrates on transporting the prospective that arises with being one of worlds true insurers. The firm was established in the year 1886 and currently has a market capitalization of $ 18 billion and has around 2.3% share of the ASX index ("QBE.COM" 2017). In the current scenario, it is seen that the sustainability reporting and environmental market-driven forces analysis is undertaken by the organization. The risk section of the annual report of the organization addresses the climate change risks of the business organization. It is seen that after analyzing the annual reports and sustainability report of two years, a general idea about the Strategic Performance and Measurement System process for the organization can be determined. The analysis of the annual report for the year 2015 for QBE Insurance show that there are no precise explanation of the effect of climate change on the business have been discussed but only a indication to an increased number appalling claims in the earlier years and Superstorm in 2012, which had an adverse effect on the monetary condition of a wholly acclaimed captive reinsurer of QBE (Equator Re). It was inclusive of the deductibles and savings made divisionally on various divisional tragedies and unit risk increase of the loss program, which raised further in the next year leading to a decrease in the excess income loss (Calace, 2014). The annual report of the previous year show that the section of environmental management of risk is in alignment to the Corporate Governance Council principles of ASX (Rodrigue, Magnan and Boulianne 2013). It includes the managing and supervising of the current risks and the opportunities in relation to the climate change in order to diminish any unfavourable impacts on the business of QBE and even secure the funds of the shareholders. There are no definite reference to the risks involved with climate change in the section of risk in the annual report. The indication towards man-made and natural calamities are the drivers of Insurance risk and the improvement process comprising of recording the historical pricing and claim evaluation and setting a patience to focus risk, reinsurance among the others. QBE even responses to the Carbon Disclosure Project to easily recognise the risks in the operations of the business, expenditure or revenue due to transformation in the physical climate parameters, the drivers of risk being unsure of the physical risks with an unknown timeframe, magnitude of the effect being low likelihood evaluated about the likeliness or not. The evaluation of the insinuation of the climate change belongs to a larger part of a risk management network. The problem of climate change is incorporated into the business strategy of QBE. The organization has a Group Committee, which supervises, monitors and provides report on sustainability problems on the basis of the data from the individual divisions. There are employees of QBE in the division that concentrates on evaluating and managing the operational costs and recognizing opportunities to raise the efficiencies (Carraro, Kolstad and Stavins 2015). Contemplation of the financial insinuation of climate change challenges and opportunities is created into our reassessment of the business process management. In every six months, every division undertakes a list related to climate change and takes initiatives within the specified zones and an appointed senior manager provides a report to the Group Chief Officer in a paper, which is forwarded to the QBE Group board. It is even se en that the one of the most vital risks is the prospect under the prediction of the effect of destructive events which are related to transform in the pattern of weather on the organization and on the insurance industry in general (Klovien? and Speziale 2015). There even exist operational risk of claim cost rise due to the effect of the climate change scenarios. The performance of the company links with the compensation plans and rewards so that the employees are motivated to give out their best. The SPMS evaluation is done by studying the financial performance and the financial measures of the targeted year. Conclusion The report on sustainability and climate change risks has been increasing in the ASX listed organizations. Though, it is seen that the data published in the annual report and in an annual sustainability report is only significant to the stakeholders if it is combined with the firms results and strategies. It is seen that the two companies QBE Insurance Group and Santos Ltd fail to make a decisive link the SPMS measures, targets with executive rewards and compensation plans. It is seen that there have been minimum changes in the financial performance of both the companies and both the firms have been able to succeed to tighten their competitive advantage over the two years that have been analyzed. Reference List "QBE.COM". in , , 2017, https://www.group.qbe.com [accessed 19 January 2017]. Calace, D., 2014, April. Disclosure in Non-Financial Reports as Strategic Leverage: can it Increase Firms' Value?. In International OFEL Conference on Governance, Management and Entrepreneurship (p. 84). Centar za istrazivanje i razvoj upravljanja doo. Carraro, C., Kolstad, C. and Stavins, R., 2015, February. Assessment and communication of the social science of climate change: Bridging research and policy. In Memorandum from Workshop conducted (pp. 18-20). Elijido-Ten, E.O., 2013. Determinants of strategic performance measurement system disclosures in Australia's Top 100 publicly listed firms. Journal of General Management, 38(4). Klovien?, L. and Speziale, M.T., 2015. Sustainability reporting as a challenge for performance measurement: literature review. Economics and Business, 26, pp.44-53. Parisi, C., 2013. The impact of organisational alignment on the effectiveness of firms sustainability strategic performance measurement systems: an empirical analysis. Journal of Management Governance, 17(1), pp.71-97. Rodrigue, M., Magnan, M. and Boulianne, E., 2013. Stakeholders influence on environmental strategy and performance indicators: A managerial perspective. Management Accounting Research, 24(4), pp.301-316. Songini, L., Pistoni, A. and Herzig, C. eds., 2013. Accounting and control for sustainability. Emerald Group Publishing.

Social Networking and Politics Essay Example

Social Networking and Politics Essay The recent political turbulence, which lasted nearly three months from April to May 2010, was the latest in a series of political unrest in the city of Bangkok. It was the most violent political event causing severe disunity in Thailand. Never before in the history have the Thais been tremendously divided into different beliefs and lived in intense hatred. Apparently, there has been one common question raised amidst the crisis: â€Å"Which color are you?† If the answer is different from the beliefs of the person who asked the question, then they automatically become opponents. Both the Yellow and the Red shirts’ leaders have been using all the ploys and plots to convince the masses to join them. Clearly, the most powerful instrument is the media. Mr. Thaksin, as a former communication business man has been effectively using various kinds of media such as the Internet, phone-in conference, and Twitter to communicate with his loyal followers. However, among the other medi a, the Red shirts’ leaders have been using the radio shows that broadcast mainly in the North and North Eastern regions to attack the Yellow shirts and the current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. They successfully cultivated the loyalty to the former, now in exile, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinnawatra and incite hatred against Mr. Abhisit. On the other hand, the Yellow shirts achieved their goal in gathering the supporters by hosting the political forums in public places and broadcast through their cable television. It is clearly seen that media has continuously played a crucial role in Thai politics in raising awareness of the political participation. Not only the old media and the new well-known media, but also the emerging use of social media that has shaped a new way of expressing political thoughts. Research Problem The social media was introduced to Thai people years ago as a newly innovated way to communicate socially. It has become popular especially among the teenagers, cyber citizen and working people in the business arena. The use of the social media such as social networking sites, instant messaging or Twitter was originally used to update news, exchange information, share experiences with photos and videos, and connect with people from every corner of the world. Nowadays, the social media are increasingly used for various activities. It has become a public place where the users not only communicate but also to share the common interests, likeness, or even hatred with other users. Groups are created to attract people of the same interest, to support the same idol and most notably, to be the use for politics. Politics entered the cyber world long time ago and, yet, it was still limited to websites, which provides one-way communication. Realizing that the social network is the faster way to reach the public as it connects millions of millions users together, the politicians then make the use of social media to promote their campaigns and to get the public’s attention. Vice-versa, the public uses the social media to express their opinions about politics and the politicians, to give support and to show hatred. The recent gatherings of the Multi-colored shirts group to demonstrate against the Red shirts and its requirement for parliament dissolution can be viewed as a good example to the use of social media by public. It is a new phenomenon that happened in Thai politics in relation to civic participation, which served as a surprise for the politicians, society and especially to the Red shirts. The appearance of the No Parliament Dissolution Group or known as the Multi-colored shirts leads to the following question: How has the social networking sites, for the first time, become the vehicle for the Thai Internet users to participate in politics, in the recent poli tical unrest? We will write a custom essay sample on Social Networking and Politics specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Social Networking and Politics specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Social Networking and Politics specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Expected Findings The dissertation examines the role of Facebook in Thai politics, with specific interest in the recent political turmoil. It is expected to reveal what influences the Facebook users, who ever or never before, been interested in politics, to came out to express their opinions and show support to the Prime Minister. The aim of the study is to find out that, for the first time in Thai politics, how and why the social networking site is used as a vehicle for political participation. Background of the Study Thai Political Background Present Political Environment. Thailand is a country with a very unique and complex political history. Following the 1932 revolution, it has become a constitutional monarchy, struggling to develop democracy through numerous Coup d’à ©tat and governments. Nevertheless, apart from the student revolution in 1971 and 1973 and the Black May in 1992, there had never been such a tragic political event similar to the recent event that happened in Bangkok. The conflict, which had divided the homogeneity of the Thais into two completely contrasting believes, caused intolerable pains. Likewise, the contradiction that exists can never be simply restored through the reconciliation plan in a few years. Thailand has undergone persistent political upheavals since Thaksin Shinawatra, a man from a business background became Thailand’s 23rd Prime Minister in 2001. Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai Party have changed the face of Thai political history forever. He succeeded in gaining votes from the rural people, which comprises the majority of the country’s population of by using the populist policy. As an astute leader, he has awakened the sleeping rural class to be conscious of their basic rights and that politics affects them directly. James Stent (2010) stated that Thaksin recognized that the majority of voters were resident in the countryside, and that they had, over the preceding decades of steady economic development, become a sleeping but nonetheless restless giant that was just waiting to be awakened. Once awaken, the rural electorate has not returned to sleep. The success of his populist policies had benefited him in gaining landslide votes in the general election in 2005 and then became prime minister for the second term.   As there were efforts to increase efficiency and accountability, Thaksin’s administration had brought many changes to the bureaucratic system. Challenges to change had been expected to operate well according to plan. However, the far-sighted telecom tycoon did not accomplish what he had intended to do. Thaksin faced the legislation issues involving his family’s free tax sales of shares of the Shin Corp to the giant Singaporean telecom company, Temasek. There were several protests against his business scandal calling him to resign. The key player in the protest against Thaksin was his former business partner, Sondhi Limthongkul, who lost his interests from the cable television. He accused Thaksin for his loss and turned to be his enemy using the media in revealing the truth about Thaksin’s busines s and his corruptions. Not long after the scandal, Thaksin dissolved the parliament and called for an election. However, the election was unsuccessful as there were boycotts from the opposition parties resulting to the Supreme Court declaring the election as invalid. The new election date was set after the declaration of the Supreme Court, until then, Thaksin was to remain the caretaker of the government. However, the military general Sonthi Boonyaratglin led a bloodless coup d’à ©tat on the nightfall of 19 September, 2006 and ousted Thaksin and his party from power. Thailand was again ruled under the military regime and later become a state under the problematic constitution. Since the overthrowing of Thaksin, Thailand has been in the period of political instability with four Prime Ministers in a three-year-span and numerous protests and insurgencies. Yellow Shirts. The term â€Å"Yellow Shirts† refers to the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). They are an alliance of anti-Thaksin groups, formed by the former business partner of Thaksin, Sonthi Limthongkul. Their first protest under yellow shirt was in 2006 to dispel then-Prime Minister Thaksin, who they viewed as a corrupted dictator. Sonthi, a media mogul, succeeded in gathering a large crowd by broadcasting a talk show about Thai politics â€Å"Muang Thai Rai Sapda† (Thailand Weekly) from many different places in Bangkok. As the show went on, more individuals from the government attended the congregation every Saturday evening. They have selected yellow, the color of the King’s Birthday as the theme color, impliedly symbolize their loyalty to the monarchy. Since then, the term â€Å"yellow shirt† was used to describe the people who are pro-royalist and have the objective of eliminating Thaksin Shinawatra (Hewison, 2010). Yellow shirts are a composition of elite, academics and the majority of the middle class in Bangkok (Stent, 2010). That is to say, they are educated protesters, demonstrated against the whole regime of Thaksin, who was selected Prime Minister by landslide votes from the people in rural areas. After an extended period of movements and protests, the yellow shirts had eventually achieved success when the military led a coup overthrowing Thaksin and his regime. This political event can be described by the famous theory â€Å"A two tales of democracies† of Anek Laothamatas (1996), a respected political academic that â€Å"the provinces elect governments, Bangkok overthrows them† (Glassman, 2009). Nevertheless, after the new election was held under the 2008 Constitution and two allied- governments in succession of Thaksin returned to office, the Yellow shirts movement re-emerged again. The most notable event was the closure of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, which was done for the purpose of demanding the resignation of then-Prime minister Somchai Wongsawat.   The seizure of the airport was widely criticized as a criminal action and has caused troubles to the passengers from flights cancellation and heavy loss to business sector. The Asian Human Rights Commission [a1]  (2008) released a statement about the takeover of the airport saying that Some commentators and opponents of the alliance have described its agenda as fascist. This is not an exaggeration. Experience shows that the types of systemic changes and regimes that follow such movements, although they may not describe themselves as fascist, have fascist qualities.[a2] Red Shirts. The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD)  or commonly known as the â€Å"Red Shirts† is the political movement group whose position is to support the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. By supporting Thaksin, the group is opposed to the PAD or the Yellow Shirts who they accused of backing the military in the 2006 Coup to overthrow Thaksin. Whereas the Yellow Shirts is composed primarily of the middle class, academics and elites, the majority of the Red Shirts are poor working class from rural areas, where they benefited from the populist policies when Thaksin was still in power. These people in the remote provinces remain faithful and supportive of Thanksin because they felt ignored in the national policies by every government except under Thaksin’s administration. Their loyalty to Thaksin has driven them to fight for him when he was deposed by the coup and subjected to numerous convictions by the Thai court. From the Yellow shirts p oint of view, the Red shirts were brainwashed by Thaksin and his loyal followers, mostly because they are uneducated, manipulated and were paid to support and attend the protests (Stent, 2010). Contrary to these claims, the Red shirts leaders argue that these rural people are the majority of the country and are not ignorant despite being poor. They know their rights as citizens and have now realized that they can participate in politics to defend their rights. Their main objective is to fight for democracy, justice and against the intervention in politics by the Amat (conservative elites) (Petty, 2010). Having extremely different political views, series of clashes and confrontations between the Red and the Yellow shirts have taken place periodically since 2006. The Red shirt leaders, from generation to generation, have been playing pivotal roles in propelling the against-dictatorship movements. The most prominent among them are Veera Musikapong, chairman of the UDD; Doctor Weng Tojirakarn, the most moderate leaders among all; Jatuporn Prompan, a former government spokesman; Nattawut Saikua, a singer; Arisman Pongruangrong and; Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol, chief of the security guard who was assassinated during the recent upheaval. The leaders are responsible for organizing the gatherings and leading the masses in the demonstrations, however, important decisions need to be discussed first with Thaksin. The recent political unrest and the Multi-colored Shirts. The series of protests in Thailand in recent years has started in early 2006, when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra decided to sell his family’s shares in one of Thailands biggest telecom groups, Shin Corp. The deal netted his family and friends $1.9bn, which angered many urban Thais, who complained that the Thaksin family had avoided paying tax and passed control of an important national asset to Singaporean investors. Later on, Thailand’s politics has been rotating around Thaksin. Thaksin’s remaining ally tried to get control of the Cabinet, while the rest gathered against them. This political atmosphere led the country to a series of protests, in which the demonstrators are mainly divided into the anti-Thaksin Yellow-Shirts (People Alliance for Democracy-PAD) and the Red-Shirts (National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship-UDD). Each side took to the street when the other succeeded in taking the chair. The political vacuum reached its peak in March 2010, when the Red-Shirts paralyzed parts of central Bangkok for two months, causing huge economic loss and discontent among urban residents. The UDD supporters demanded for the dissolution of the House of Representatives and holding of general elections. By the end of March, a group called â€Å"No Dissolution of Parliament† was created on Facebook by people who opposed the protest. To represent the middle ground for the current colored political crisis in the country, the group later called themselves â€Å"The Multi-colored Shirts†.  As of May 7, 2010, the number of group supporters reached over 1,200. The group comprises mostly of the Bangkok middle class, office employees, college students, and well-known celebrities from the entertainment industry. Moreover, the group also collaborated with other local civil society groups and the Pink-Shirts, which consisted of academics and alumni of Thailand’s oldest university, Chulalongkorn University. The main purpose of the gatherings was to protest against the demanded parliament dissolution from the Red shirts, to support the Prime Minister Abhisit and to show the power of unity of the Thais under the Monarchy with the love to the King. Significantly, some Bangkok ians that joined the gatherings do not have any interest in political matters but they came out to call for peace as the violence and the occupancy of the central district caused inevitable difficulties in living for them. Structure of the Dissertation The first chapter of this research looks at the background of Thai politics with details about the main important player in the recent crisis; the Yellow shirts, the Red shirts and the Multi-colored shirts. Likewise, it presents valuable information that informs the readers of the specific research problem that the present study attempts to discuss. The second chapter provides the information about the social network, specifically the social networking sites and the Facebook. The Third chapter reviews the literature relating to social networking sites and politics. It specifically looks at the microbloggings sites and the example of the social media’s impacts on the German and the Iranian Elections. Likewise, it examines the term â€Å"political participation† with its definition and meanings and the mode of political participation in Thailand. The Fourth chapter talks about the research project and the methodology. The Fifth chapter presents the analysis of the findings on the impacts of Facebook and the social media on Thai politics. Finally, the Sixth chapter summarizes this research project and presents the possible future trend of the use of social media towards politics and social issues. Chapter 2: Social Networking Sites The chapter presents the information gathered from existing forms of literature. The discussion is organized into subsections in order to provide an organized flow of discussion. In relation to this, the primary purpose of this chapter is to present what is already known and to identify the gaps in the existing body of literature. Introduction Social networking is the process of virtual interaction amid individuals who are bound to each other with certain social ties such as friendship, family, likes, interest, financial exchange, and others, thus forming a formal or informal social structure. In other words, it is a medium through which all people in 21st century communicate. Never before in the history of mankind had there been such dynamic modes of communicating and staying connected as there are today. People feel honored on these places since they create an online identity and spaces they can call their own. There are many forms of such networking sites, such as MySpace, FriendWise, FriendFinder, Yahoo! 360, Facebook, Orkut, Flickr, LinkedIn, Twitter and Classmates etc. Facebook being the most popularly used throughout the world. How Social Networking Websites Evolved Social networking has a long history than its recent commonplace status would imply. Networking sites from classmates.com to Six Degrees.com started with intentions of connecting people with similar interests and creating online communities. However, online spaces like, SixDegrees.com, classmates.com, Fanfare etc that began in late 1990s were left defunct without much popularity (Madge, Meek, Wellens, Hooley, 2009). But with the introduction of Friendster.com in 2002 social networking got skyrocketing fame till 2003 and became a major thespian on the Internet. Today, complete social networking sites like MySpace, Twitter and Facebook, along with specialized social networking services like YouTube, Flickr, Digg, and del.icio.us stand amid the United States’ most visited and the world’s most sought out webs on the Internet. MySpace is ranked as the third most popular sought out American Webs – standing in only after Google and Yahoo!–and sixth worldwide, po oling millions of visitors daily. Approximations range from 37.8 and 56.8 million distinctive visitors flipping through MySpace’s pages per day. Starting with Six Degrees theory, social networking web developers established upon the notion of offline social networking when planning their products. They designed on the pretext that a normal person has 150 friends, planned to add value to their products by assisting people to utilize and verbalize the degrees of separation online (Castells, 1996). Hence, Friendster pioneered successfully in modern social networking by focusing more on bringing people together providing online opportunities to share with each other, focusing less on the degrees f separation. Other social networking tools like Library Thing, YouTube, Flickr and del.icio.us focus on keeping people connected through sharing various media such as images, videos or books to keep themselves updated and share with each other. They all thrive on the principle of public participation. Till 2006 it was the most popularly visited website in USA, until recent years when it was surpassed globally by its chief rival, in April 2008, based on the number of its monthly visitors. Social Networking in Education Social networking tools are widely used for educational purposes as well because mediums like Facebook has capability to hold learners busy in creative ventures. In Fact some instructors and tutors are communicating to students on this venue online (Yang, 2003). Elgg is an open medium of social networking system devised exclusively for instructors and students to use as an e-portfolio, posting, sharing, and collaboration device. Similar to LiveJournal and Vox, Elgg has privacy options where students can decide upon users who can view their profiles, posts, blogs, etc. hence; it is running successful among tutors and learners. Enterprise Social Networking Academic libraries are not the only libraries that ought to know about utilizing social networking tools. Companies, including hospitals, are very keen in social networking tools and applications. Why? In business environments, sharing knowledge and finding experts is essential to the goodwill of the organization. Social networking sites make it easy to find coworkers, along with providing users the means to collaborate, like blogs, discussion boards, and more. Dissemination of knowledge on these forums becomes a lot easier. Other social media: LinkedIn, another successful tool to socialize are LinkedIn, a service meant to connect business professionals, colleagues and networks. Still nowhere near the attainment or reach of MySpace or Facebook, its traffic is ascending, and the site has been pooling profits in recent months. LinkedIn functions in lot manner as Friendster does, by making connections between users by degrees (i.e., Sean knows Arsala [1st degree]; Arsala knows Sean [2nd degree]; Sean knows Max [3rd degree]). Using such network, users can find business contacts, for the sake of finding jobs or just networking, by following the stream of contacts. LinkedIn also presents public and private factions; for instance, alumni organizations are using LinkedIn to provide a platform for alumni. Flickr assists people to share photos with family, friends, colleagues and other acquaintances. Basic accounts on Flickr are free and a user can display up to 200 pictures. Like other social networking sites it offers user profiles and networks. Tagging helps people to recognize each other. Libraries and librarians have greatly benefited from this social site which helps them publicize their events, put up photos of library staff and compiling photos of historical significance. Besides, Flickr is a great tool for finding pictures for presentations. LibraryThing is also a media site where users can catalog their collections of books online. Being a hit amongst librarian s, it is being used to catalog whole library collection where they can post information about new books and images as well. Books have their own tags which helps users to search for the desired ones. Impacts on Society Positive Impacts The positive contributions of social networking sites to society are the following: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It connects marginal or minority groups and subcultures that do not have the physical access or space to communicate or exercise their beliefs. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Students, businessmen and individuals can share useful information and keep themselves updated. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It connects family, friends and other acquaintances that are otherwise unable to communicate with each others in face to face due to geographical dispersion at a particular time. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They cannot count on the space-time range; one can communicate asynchronously or synchronously depending on one another requirements. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Virtual space on the Internet is also used for e-commerce and business purposes, via video conferencing (Castells, 2000). Negative Impacts On the other hand, the following are known to be the negative impacts of social networking sites to the society and its members: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As they say that technology breeds laziness. The social networking generates more indifference and laziness in users. Fat people turn devoid of vitamin D due to spending most of their leisure moments on computer. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since people are used to abbreviating their language on Internet, they get used to such language in their normal writing. Students often corrupt their language in their exams and end up losing precious marks (Acar, 2008). 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A lot of time and energy is wasted on social networking sites. Due to this addiction an individual’s family is ignored which may result in grave consequences. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People use such networking sites unethically such as entering into some exotic profiles, copying pictures and using them immorally. Hackers also have their time in hacking public accounts and mail addresses. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A lot of unnecessary even spam content is floated wasting time of other genuine users. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social networking can be humiliating to certain users bullying etc is more likely as people may deceive through disguising themselves or remaining anonymous. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Childern waste a lot of their time in finding dates even watching and sharing pornographic materials. Even adults keep extra marital affairs due to over interaction with anonymous people. As a result families are broken and lives are shattered falsifying the fact that â€Å"they connect† (Marketing Vox, 2009). Social networks are even used as tools to disgrace or harass communities such as the blasphemous cartoons which created an enormous rage and unrest in the Muslim world leading to boycotts in using such sites creating complications for those who use it for constructive purposes. Facebook Facebook is a social networking website introduced publically in February 2004,is controlled and privately possessed by Facebook, Inc. It has around 500 million active users as of July 2010. Users have a wide range of options to network with others.   It is a gathering spot where they make friends, form communities, upload pictures, make wall posts and search for the desired people, etc. Additionally, people may join networks organized by their places of work, school, college or university. Facebook allows a person of 13 years or above to become an active member of the website. History Facebook was formed by a student of Harvard university named Mark Zuckerberg (while at Harvard), who initiated it as one of his leisure pursuits with some monetary assistance from Eduardo Saverin. In a few months, Facebook and its gist spread across the doors of Harvard where it was warmly welcomed and well received. After a few months, the sphere of influence broadened its threshold to Stanford and Yale where, like Harvard, it was greatly acclaimed and endorsed. Soon, Mark Zuckerberg, the founding father of this web was accompanied by two other colleagues at Harvard – Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes – to help him upgrade the site to the next height. After a few months, Zuckerberg and Moskovitz left Harvard to follow their ambitions to run Facebook officially full time. In August 2005, the Facebook was publicly termed as Facebook and the URL Facebook.com was acquired for a reported $200,000. Effects of Facebook on Society A derisive story describes well, the state of Facebook craze in our society. It goes like: A criminal in a court was pronounced death verdict by law. The judge asks: what is your last wish to be fulfilled, the criminal replies: I want to update my status dead n Facebook. Though it was a sarcastic anecdote but it implies to all Facebook die hard freaks. I remember my aunt coming back from work and starting Facebook as she gets time. In fact she would take time instead of caring for her 2 year old child. The height was that even if there were new messages, etc to read she would visit photos of anonymous people, watch unnecessary videos and waste time instead of looking after her family. Consequently, she ended up breaking with her husband. These are the real life stories which portray the craze of Facebook users. The Pros and Cons Facebook was created with the intention of bringing lives close to each other. Though, distance, time and space have shrunk as a result of this facility (Car ter, 2009). Scattered families can stay in touch with their loved ones through this medium, old friends can stay connected. Everyone at their work places can share information and keep themselves updated. But on the contrary, people have been so much used to online networking that they would not like to meet anyone in person even if individuals are near. Socializing is enough but why do people need to over socialize? Facebook is used by a number of under aged children. These impressionable minds are prone to give away information to strangers. Besides, it has adverse effects on their education, since they freeze before Facebook at the cost of their studies. Moreover, their relationships with parents keep worsening. They remain indifferent to everything except Facebook (Kunene, 2009). According to a Rhodes University professor following can be the effects of Facebook usage: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Facebook helps unite old friends and serves as a forum for reunions. Such geographically dispersed friends can plan their reunions and events or meeting points, etc. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It also serves as a discussion forum on different topics for educational purposes 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This most visited site has been outlawed clashingly in states like Pakistan, Syria, Iran, and China on account of various controversies. The blasphemous cartoons that were displayed on Facebook greatly provoked Muslims resulting in public annoyance, protests, taking to streets even to the extent of boycotting western products, just because of Facebook. Moreover, its usage has been prohibited in various offices due to employees’ overuse of Facebook and wasting time. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People of all ages play games like Farmville which is utterly killing of time. Such time should be used towards reading and academic chores instead. Twitter Another social networking site Twitter, from its inception in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, has earned fame and popularity worldwide and till date is catering around 100 million users worldwide. It is often termed as the SMS of the Internet† It allows users to do networking and micro blogging via messages termed as tweets. YouTube It is the widely used site for browsing, streaming, sharing and uploading videos ranging on all topics. Anyone can search for the favorite short movies, celebrity interviews, talk shows, documentaries, and others. There would not be a topic where videos are not available on the site. It is also being used by libraries for educational purposes. Chapter 3: Review of Related Literature This chapter presents related literature and studies on the role of social networking sites in shaping politics. Particular attention was given to microblogging with concrete examples on the role of microblogging sites in the German and Iranian elections. Theoretical Framework Regardless of whether the political system is democratic or non-democratic, communication still exists within political terms. Literature on this subject matter has evolved in the western hemisphere and also in Asia since the year 2001 (Kluver, 2007; Park et al., 2000).   Globally, election campaigns have adopted the American approach which employs use of attacks and counterattacks (Diamond Bates, 1988). The works of Kraus, Davis, Rice, and Paisley in the 1980s looked into the impact of mass and interpersonal campaigns; however research results were inconclusive and not definitive. The theoretical backbone governing this study is the personal influence hypothesis by Giltin [a3]  (1978) as cited in Karan and Gimeno (2008). The hypothesis stated it is likely that interpersonal relationships exert a stronger influence over that of information relayed through various forms of communication media. In the same way, mediation of personal communication will have a great impact on political communication. As explained by Grà ¶nlund (2001), onset of electronic media particularly the Internet revolutionized opinion-building and voting practices by significant shaping the electorate’s opinion. Another is the theory of cross-pressures by Lazarsfeld [a4]  et al. (1994) as cited in Gronlund (2000). This theory asserts that different modes of communication may it be print, electronic, or face-to-face, can potentially make voters insecure of their choices which can lead to political passivity and ultimately, not exercising their right to suffrage. Moreover, Grà ¶lund (2001) attempted to offer an explanation on the relationship between media technologies and politics. According to him, technology provides the public horizontal communication and heightens direct communication that may cause â€Å"new political needs and demands in the political system† though communication technology does not necessarily increase voter participation and tur