Relationship Of Playing Online Games To Student Behavior And Academic Performance

In the present time, most adolescents get hooked on to online gaming. Online games are video games played through a form of computer network. Online games can range from simple text based games to games incorporating complex graphics and virtual worlds populated by many players simultaneously. Gaming faces criticism by groups who point out that some of the programs contain objectionable content. As the children clicked together with spreading of online games, parents and instructors are alarmed, but researchers questioned whether these games can be harnessed into educational purposes.The purpose of this research is to know the Relationship of Playing online games to the students’ behavior and academic performance and what are its positive and negative effects. With this research, people will be able to comprehend on what the students are enjoying so much about online games and why they let it affect their behavioral and academic performance.Related LiteratureElectronic games h ave become ingrained in our culture. Children’s fixation with these games initially alarmed parents and educators, but educational researchers soon questioned whether the motivation to play could be tapped and harnessed for educational purposes. However, although many claim that educational potential lies within video games, they still have not been universally been regarded as a quality learning tool. According to Patricia Greenfield (Mind and Media) claimed in 1984 that with increasing technology and increased research that future video games would be a vital component to the educational process. David Sheff (Video Games: A Guide for Savvy Parents) said almost the exactly same thing in 1994.It seems as if the issue of using video games for educational purposes is still not fully accepted and their implementation brings forth many concerns. Thus, it is also seen that we have constantly regarded video games as having high potential and that their use in education will be vita l in the near future. However, these visions have remained the same as time has passed and the foreseeable goal of implementation has still yet to be reached, for we keep pushing the time line further into the future.Video games are seen as a good learning tool because many think that they can teach children in ways that their teachers are failing by sparking their minds, stimulating their thinking, and inspiring their imagination.Playing Online games are one of the medium of entertainment especially in the student of (Holy cross of Davao College). Virtual or cyber games over internet are direct personally to each individual user. It encourages and requires the participation of individual user or gamester. It is an inexpensive in the sense that the internet connections for the online games are easily accessible everywhere and anywhere and affordable days. This aspect works in association with the personal characteristic and importance of discipline to the individual (student) gamest er. The effective advertisement and promotions of online games developers caught the youth or student’s attention to response.These qualities of online games advertisement give it immense influence over a vast range and sizeable number of student especially in (Holy cross of Davao College). Certainly, it is not just a matter of a single flick. Online game is a business and profit has to generate. Apparently, businesses, or anyone for that matter, do not see many monetary profits from hardcore developmental animation, graphic development, and as businesses, they must do everything to maximize profits. The children, teenager or students are where the money and corporate boards of many online game sites decided that these are the ones who must be targeted. The more children, teenager or students playing at strategic times of the day, the more they could advertise and give promos. DLSU..Taha, Jackilyn A. Relationship Of Playing Online Games To Student Behavior And Academic Performance In the present time, most adolescents get hooked on to online gaming. Online games are video games played through a form of computer network. Online games can range from simple text based games to games incorporating complex graphics and virtual worlds populated by many players simultaneously. Gaming faces criticism by groups who point out that some of the programs contain objectionable content. As the children clicked together with spreading of online games, parents and instructors are alarmed.Playing Online games are one of the medium of entertainment especially in the student of (Holy cross of Davao College). Virtual or cyber games over internet are direct personally to each individual user. It encourages and requires the participation of individual user or gamester. It is an inexpensive in the sense that the internet connections for the online games are easily accessible everywhere and anywhere and affordable these days.This aspect works in association with the personal character istic and importance of discipline to the individual (student) gamester. The effective advertisement and promotions of online games developers caught the youth or student’s attention to response. These qualities of online games advertisement give it immense influence over a vast range and sizeable number of student in (Holy cross of Davao College). Certainly, it is not just a matter of a single flick. Online game is a business and profit has to generate.Apparently, businesses, or anyone for that matter, do not see many monetary profits from hardcore developmental animation, graphic development, and as businesses, they must do everything to maximize profits. The children, teenager or students are where the money is at, and corporate boards of many online game sites decided that these are the ones who must be targeted. The more children, teenager or students playing at strategic times of the day, the more they could advertise and give promos.

Digital Media

Introduction: You may have heard of digital media, but you may have no idea what it is and how it can help you out when it comes to marketing. It's definitely important that you get up to speed so you can use this to benefit your business. Basically digital media refers to any type of electronic media out there. Today media can be accessed in many ways, including with hand held devices like mobile phones, laptops, desktops, mp3 players, and more. Digital media must be stored in an electronic way, so there is a lot of digital content on the internet today, including text content, pictures, audio content, as well as video content.Through the history of internet, digital media has been developing in various ways. Here's we'll take a look at how it has affected the Internet and ways that it may be integrated moving forwards (Rogers 2006). One type of digital media is text; this in fact represented the very first explosion of  this  type of content  out there on the Internet. When t he Internet first got big, there was an explosion of content on the web, especially with all the text editors and word processing options out there today (Rogers 2006).Larger companies started to put date on computers instead of storing it in cabinets, and the internet definitely allowed a great way to share, transfer, and store content as well. As the Internet grew, images began to appear. Instead of just text emails, soon people could send photos, and soon photo sites for sharing photos began to pop up. Then in the middle 1990s, audio began to become an important part of digital media with the mp3 files that could be easily used. Soon music and more was shared online with sites that allowed you to share audio.Last in the digital media development was video. YouTube definitely made video sharing a hugely popular form of modern media distribution and this is continuing to grow as we speak today. Now with new technology seen in things like the iPhone,  this new form of virtual medi a  is available in handheld devices as well, and no doubt  this sector  is only going to continue to grow in the future (Rogers 2006). Now that you understand a bit more about the technology side, you may be wondering how it can help your business.Well businesses are using digital media for marketing more and more today, realizing that there is a huge marketing field out there and that  it can help to draw in visitors and can even provide better search engine visibility with you. Text content can be kept updated on your site and helpful content is a great part of good marketing. Expertise in your field can really help your business and get traffic flowing into your business website. Photos, charts, diagrams, and models are always popular online and will help you to get more visibility as well.Audio allows you to use music on pages or to do podcasts for your business. Creating videos is a popular method of digital media marketing today, and videos do very well in search engin es (Rogers 2006). With the popularity of digital media, it is definitely important that you continue to create and use it for good marketing and business results. Even if you have to hire someone to help out, the benefits will make it worth the money. So knowing about and using digital media is definitely important for your business success todayProblem statement: Most people accept the idea that the media can influence people. But the degree of that influence, as well as who is most-impacted, when, how and why, have been the subjects of great debate among communication scholars for nearly a century. Media effects refers to the many ways individuals and society may be influenced by both news and entertainment mass media, including film, television, radio, newspapers, books, magazines, websites, video games, and music.To understand digital media effects, it is first critical to consider how media are used and for what purposes. Communication scholars have traditionally fallen into tw o camps – functionalists, who believe the media audience tends to be in control and active, and critical/culturalists who believe the audience has less control and is therefore more passive. The balance may lie somewhere in the middle and may vary from country to country. Purpose of the study: In this paper we are going to study and evaluate the digital media and its effect on children in general.The following text is a general idea: Youth spend an average of ;7 hours/day using media and the vast majority of them have access to a bedroom television, computer, the Internet, a video-game console, and a cell phone. In this paper we review the most recent research on the effects of media on the behavior and health and well-being of children and adolescents. Studies have shown that media can provide information about safe health practices and can foster social connectedness.However, recent evidence raises concerns about media's effects on aggression, sexual behavior, substance use , disordered eating, and academic difficulties. We provide recommendations for parents, practitioners, the media, and policy makers, among others, for ways to increase the benefits and reduce the harm that media can have for the developing child and for adolescents. More than 50 years of media research attests to the significant influence of media on child and adolescent health.Both â€Å"old† media (television, movies, magazines) and â€Å"new† media (the Internet and social networking sites, video/computer games, cell phones) can have an impact on virtually every health concern that practitioners and parents have about young people, including aggressive behavior, risky sexual behavior, substance use, and disordered eating. Although the media are not the leading cause of any of these problems, the research reviewed here suggests that they are significant.Yet, despite the evidence of potential harm, there is also evidence that media can be beneficial for youth (eg, by increasing empathy and acceptance of diversity through modeling of prosocial behaviors and developing children's early literacy skills through educational programming). Those concerned with child and adolescent health need to be aware of the research on the effects of modern media on youth. Theoretical framework: Literature review: Media affect youth not only by displacing time they spend doing homework or sleeping but also by influencing beliefs and behaviors.According to social learning theory, children and adolescents learn by observing and imitating what they see on the screen, particularly when these behaviors seem realistic or are rewarded. Cognitive development theory asserts that children's cognitive capacities at different stages determine if and how they understand media content. For example, children younger than 8 years who are not yet able to comprehend persuasive intent will be more vulnerable to advertising.In addition, media present youth with common â€Å"scriptsâ €  for how to behave in unfamiliar situations such as romantic relationships. Finally, superpeer theory states that the media are like powerful best friends in sometimes making risky behaviors seem like normative behavior. With the variety of theories suggesting a potentially powerful effect of the media and the growing empirical evidence for negative impact, one might hypothesize that parents would take care to limit exposure to detrimental media content.However, the â€Å"third-person effect† (a well-documented phenomenon in the communications literature) shows that teenagers and adults think that the media influence everyone except themselves or their children Violence and Aggression By the age of 18, the average adolescent will have seen an estimated 200 000 acts of violence on television alone. Much of the violence on television and in movies is presented in a sanitized and glamorized fashion, and in children's programming it often is presented as humorous.More than 1 0% of 10- to 14-year-olds saw 40 of the most violent movies in 2003. Both music videos and rap music have become increasingly violent. Interactive media can encourage antisocial beliefs and behavior in children and adolescents, particularly because violence in new media has been found to be prevalent as well. A recent analysis of video games revealed that more than half of all games contain violence, including ;90% rated as appropriate for children aged 10 years and older.Health professionals worry most about first-person shooter video games. In the aftermath of the West Paducah, KY school shooting, it was discovered that the shooter had never fired a real gun in his life before that day, yet his marksmanship was both accurate and lethal. Researchers believe that repeated exposure to mediated violence can lead to anxiety and fear, acceptance of violence as an appropriate means of solving conflict, and desensitization, with resulting increases in aggression and decreases in altruism. In particular, the portrayal of justifiable violence that is common in American media—â€Å"good guys versus bad guys†Ã¢â‚¬â€places children at risk because it is so powerfully reinforcing. The relationship between media violence and real-life aggression is nearly as strong as the impact of cigarette smoking on lung cancer not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer, and not everyone who views media violence will become aggressive themselves. However, the connection is significant. The most problematic forms of media violence include attractive and unpunished perpetrators, no harm to victims, realism, and humor. SexResearchers investigating the impact of exposure to sexual content in media on adolescent sexual beliefs and early sexual initiation have found modest but significant associations, particularly in the realm of pornography. In a national sample of 1500 10- to 17-year-olds, nearly half of the Internet users had been exposed to on-line pornography in the prev ious year. In a sample of middle-school youth, exposure to sexually explicit (X-rated) content predicted perpetration of sexual harassment (for males), more permissive sexual norms, having oral sex, and engaging in sexual intercourse while in high school.Longitudinal studies now exist that have linked heavy exposure to sexual content in mainstream media with more rapid progression of sexual activity, earlier coital behavior, greater risk for and unplanned pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease. One explanation for this relationship may lie in the role of the media as a â€Å"superpeer† that gives adolescent audiences a consistent message that sex is normative and risk free. In addition, media play an important role in providing sexual information to adolescents in the United States and in shaping their beliefs about how males and females behave in romantic relationships.Television shows geared toward teenagers actually have more sexual content than adult-oriented shows, yet there is little mention of the need for contraception or for responsibility. Virtually every Western country makes birth control available to adolescents, including allowing birth control advertisements in the media, but the major US television networks balk at airing ads for contraception. This flies in the face of the fact that a substantial body of evidence shows that giving teenagers’ access to condoms does not lead to earlier sexual activity.Parents and child advocates often express concern over children connecting with strangers on-line. Although there have been disturbing cases of Internet sexual predatory activity by adults on children, most recent studies of Internet safety have suggested that sexual solicitation of minors is more likely to occur by other minors. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook enable adolescents to present themselves publicly, sometimes in very sexually suggestive ways; however, adult on-line predators are not using social n etworking sites to find or entice their victims.One national survey of â€Å"sexing† with cell phones, conducted with 13- to 19-year-olds, revealed that 20% had sent and 48% had received sexual messages. However, social networking sites can also be used prosocially for safer-sex campaigns, for example. Substance Use In the United States, more than $22 billion is spent marketing and advertising drugs ($13 billion on tobacco, $5 billion on alcohol, and $4 billion on prescription drugs), and many research studies have shown that it has a significant impact on adolescent use.Children and teenagers can also see considerable alcohol and drug content in on-line videos. Recent studies of social networking sites have found that substance abuse is referenced in 40% of the profiles. Portrayals of tobacco are also prevalent in the movies: ? 70% of movies made in the United States today contains smoking, and smoking is rarely associated with negative health outcomes. Longitudinal prospect ive studies have revealed that exposure to movie smoking at baseline (grades 5–8) predicts smoking initiation 1 to 8 years later.Experimental research has helped illuminate why exposure to movie characters' smoking is associated with smoking initiation: viewers who identify with the storyline and the characters are more likely to increase their intention to smoke. Obesity and Eating Disorders Numerous American and international longitudinal studies (one of them as long as 26 years in duration) have shown that media use is contributing to the current epidemic of obesity worldwide. However, the mechanism for why heavy television-viewing, in particular, is predictive of children's weight status is unclear. Food marketing may be 1 culprit.Children and teenagers see 4400–7600 ads per year for junk food and fast food on television alone. Randomized, controlled experiments have provided evidence that exposure to junk food advertising has an impact on children's food beliefs a nd preferences. The Internet now presents a new concern. As the Kaiser Foundation noted, â€Å"There is a vast amount of food related content online, with the potential to significantly expand and deepen children's exposure to food marketing messages. Apart from the influence of advertising, eating while viewing may lead to greater food consumption.College-aged students showed significantly greater consumption of food when subjects were watching television versus listening to classical music. The investigators hypothesized that satiety cues are suppressed in viewing conditions. Although the evidence that television-viewing displaces physical activity is equivocal, researchers are now examining whether heavy media use, particularly at nighttime, displaces sleep. Children who do not get enough sleep are more likely to engage in sedentary behaviors (such as television-viewing) and less likely to engage in physical activity.The media play a crucial role in the formation of body self-im age and may be responsible for creating unrealistic expectations and body dissatisfaction. Females who are regular readers of fashion and beauty magazines in early adolescence are more likely to suffer from a distorted body image during their teenaged years. A natural field experiment in Fiji revealed that the prevalence of eating disorders increased dramatically after the introduction of American television programs, which show excessively thin female lead characters.On the Internet, there are now ;100 proanorexia Web sites that not only encourage disordered eating but offer specific advice on purging, severely restricting caloric intake, and exercising excessively. School Performance and Learning Problems The possibility of a connection between television-viewing and ADD or other learning disabilities is currently an issue of great controversy. An initial study in 2004 revealed an association between daily hours of television-viewing at the ages of 1 to 2 years and subsequent atte ntional problems at the age of 7.However, a more recent study in which 59 children with ADD and 106 comparison children were examined actually revealed that the latter had more impairment in their cognitive processes after viewing television than the former. At least 4 studies have shown an impact on academic performance, especially if there is a television set in the child's or teenager's bedroom. Other Health Effects Heavy television-viewing has also been associated with hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, an increased prevalence of asthma, sleep disorders, mood disorders, psychological distress, and depression.These were largely correlational studies and, therefore, did not necessarily show cause and effect. Prosocial Effects Despite the negative effects listed above, the media can be powerfully prosocial and educational. Children and teenagers can learn antiviolence attitudes, empathy, tolerance toward people of other races and ethnicities, and respect for their elders. Video ga mes can be beneficial as well, including improving compliance with chemotherapy regimens in adolescents with cancer.Important and useful public messages can be successfully embedded into primetime television shows that are popular with adolescents. In an episode of the television program Friends, for example, Rachel tells her boyfriend Ross that she is pregnant although they had used a condom. A national telephone survey conducted with Friends viewers after the episode aired found that adolescents learned that condoms are not fool-proof and were more likely to discuss contraception with their parents.Similarly, a recent episode of Gray's Anatomy was effective in teaching viewers about HIV and pregnancy. Research into the impact of digital media on relationship formation and maintenance has revealed that on-line communication and on-line self-disclosure can stimulate adolescents' social connectedness and, thereby, their well-being. However, the benefits of socializing on-line are not equal for every child or adolescent. The positive Internet effect holds only when adolescents predominantly talk with their existing friends.Communication technologies that are most often used to communicate with strangers (eg, chat in a public chat room) or more solitary forms of Internet use (such as surfing the Web) have negative effects on social connectedness. TRADITIONAL MEDIA AND NEW MEDIA Children and adolescents spend more time with media than they do in any other activity except for sleeping—an average of ;7 hours/day. Children's bedrooms are replete with media technology: by 2005, two thirds had a television set, one half had a VCR or DVD player or video-game console, and nearly one third had Internet access or a computer.Media impact is increased significantly with the presence of a bedroom television: viewing increases 1 to 2 hours/day, risk of overweight increases by 31%, and the likelihood of smoking doubles. When a television is in the bedroom, parents are le ss able to monitor viewing habits , children participate in fewer activities such as reading and hobbies, and sleep is shortened Field Observation: Focus group: One of the aims of my research paper was to understand what children feel about the way they are affected by the Digital media. To do this i used one of our qualitative methods – focus group.A focus group is a method that is used by researchers to find out what people’s opinions and views are. During a focus group the researcher(s) will ask questions to stimulate discussion within the group, while taking note of what people are saying about particular issues. The focus group were conducted in Notre dame college-lwaize in total, 10 young people (5 males and 5 females) took part, who were all aged between 9 – 12year. Question asked during the focus group: * Do Digital media take a lot of your time? * Do you feel lost when you are not connected? Do you go online to check for new updates? * Do you feel you a lways have to go online to learn/view information? * Do you forget to eat when you are connected? * Do you use online social networking to retrieve any type of information? * Does spending time on social networking affects on your grades in a negative way? * Do you think you can stop yourself from always connecting online? * Are you unable to continue your day without checking for updates of news / friends online? * Has social networking sites made you become depressed? Do you enter sexual websites? * Do you talk with stranger people online? Analysis: After the focus groups were done, the information was analyzed and i was able to put together the information to have a basic result. I can say that each person had his/her own view, the information was not possible to evaluate and conduct on a percentage scale. The focus group study it showed that the males spend more time on social networking sites then men. They believe they do spend more time online which allows them to play ad ent er many kind of websites.All participants believe online social networking is time consuming and has its negatives. Some of the negatives given about online social networking. Some positives were: it has allowed a number of people to be curious to want to know more information, to learn more, to be able to communicate with people in different countries and be entertained. Solution and recommendation: Parents should limit total screen time for children older than 2 years to no more than 1 to 2 hours/day, and avoid screen time for children younger than 2 years.Also keep children's bedrooms free of screen media; and co-view media with their children and discuss the content.. Parents also need to avoid exposing young children to PG-13– and R-rated movies, given the prevalence of violent and sexual content in higher-rated film sand the new evidence that movie scenes that depict drinking alcohol and smoking may be very influential in teenagers' decisions to use alcohol and tobacco. In addition, parents can be mindful of their own media practices, because studies have shown that the strongest predictor of children's heavy media use is parents' heavy media use.Parental efforts to interpret, elaborate, and provide supplemental information on topics introduced by television have been found to be successful in countering negative or harmful content. In a recent study on exposure to sexual media content, adolescents who report that they discuss the content of what they see on television are less likely to engage in risky sexual activity. Moreover, Schools have not kept pace with modern media, especially in violence prevention, drug prevention, and sex education programs.With the amount of sexual suggestiveness currently displayed on television and in movies, schools no longer have any excuse for not providing comprehensive school-based sex education programs for children and adolescents, including full discussions of contraception and discussions of how sex and sex uality are portrayed in the media. Similarly, drug education programs must progress beyond scare tactics to incorporate principles of media education, teaching young people how to deconstruct alcohol and tobacco ads and, therefore, become more resilient.Conclusion: During the past 50 years, thousands of research studies have revealed that the media can be a powerful teacher of children and adolescents and have a profound impact on their health. To date, too little has been done by parents, health care practitioners, schools, the entertainment industry, or the government to protect children and adolescents from harmful media effects and to maximize the powerfully prosocial aspects of modern media. More research is needed, but sufficient data exist to warrant both concern and increased action. Digital Media Introduction: You may have heard of digital media, but you may have no idea what it is and how it can help you out when it comes to marketing. It's definitely important that you get up to speed so you can use this to benefit your business. Basically digital media refers to any type of electronic media out there. Today media can be accessed in many ways, including with hand held devices like mobile phones, laptops, desktops, mp3 players, and more. Digital media must be stored in an electronic way, so there is a lot of digital content on the internet today, including text content, pictures, audio content, as well as video content.Through the history of internet, digital media has been developing in various ways. Here's we'll take a look at how it has affected the Internet and ways that it may be integrated moving forwards (Rogers 2006). One type of digital media is text; this in fact represented the very first explosion of  this  type of content  out there on the Internet. When t he Internet first got big, there was an explosion of content on the web, especially with all the text editors and word processing options out there today (Rogers 2006).Larger companies started to put date on computers instead of storing it in cabinets, and the internet definitely allowed a great way to share, transfer, and store content as well. As the Internet grew, images began to appear. Instead of just text emails, soon people could send photos, and soon photo sites for sharing photos began to pop up. Then in the middle 1990s, audio began to become an important part of digital media with the mp3 files that could be easily used. Soon music and more was shared online with sites that allowed you to share audio.Last in the digital media development was video. YouTube definitely made video sharing a hugely popular form of modern media distribution and this is continuing to grow as we speak today. Now with new technology seen in things like the iPhone,  this new form of virtual medi a  is available in handheld devices as well, and no doubt  this sector  is only going to continue to grow in the future (Rogers 2006). Now that you understand a bit more about the technology side, you may be wondering how it can help your business.Well businesses are using digital media for marketing more and more today, realizing that there is a huge marketing field out there and that  it can help to draw in visitors and can even provide better search engine visibility with you. Text content can be kept updated on your site and helpful content is a great part of good marketing. Expertise in your field can really help your business and get traffic flowing into your business website. Photos, charts, diagrams, and models are always popular online and will help you to get more visibility as well.Audio allows you to use music on pages or to do podcasts for your business. Creating videos is a popular method of digital media marketing today, and videos do very well in search engin es (Rogers 2006). With the popularity of digital media, it is definitely important that you continue to create and use it for good marketing and business results. Even if you have to hire someone to help out, the benefits will make it worth the money. So knowing about and using digital media is definitely important for your business success todayProblem statement: Most people accept the idea that the media can influence people. But the degree of that influence, as well as who is most-impacted, when, how and why, have been the subjects of great debate among communication scholars for nearly a century. Media effects refers to the many ways individuals and society may be influenced by both news and entertainment mass media, including film, television, radio, newspapers, books, magazines, websites, video games, and music.To understand digital media effects, it is first critical to consider how media are used and for what purposes. Communication scholars have traditionally fallen into tw o camps – functionalists, who believe the media audience tends to be in control and active, and critical/culturalists who believe the audience has less control and is therefore more passive. The balance may lie somewhere in the middle and may vary from country to country. Purpose of the study: In this paper we are going to study and evaluate the digital media and its effect on children in general.The following text is a general idea: Youth spend an average of ;7 hours/day using media and the vast majority of them have access to a bedroom television, computer, the Internet, a video-game console, and a cell phone. In this paper we review the most recent research on the effects of media on the behavior and health and well-being of children and adolescents. Studies have shown that media can provide information about safe health practices and can foster social connectedness.However, recent evidence raises concerns about media's effects on aggression, sexual behavior, substance use , disordered eating, and academic difficulties. We provide recommendations for parents, practitioners, the media, and policy makers, among others, for ways to increase the benefits and reduce the harm that media can have for the developing child and for adolescents. More than 50 years of media research attests to the significant influence of media on child and adolescent health.Both â€Å"old† media (television, movies, magazines) and â€Å"new† media (the Internet and social networking sites, video/computer games, cell phones) can have an impact on virtually every health concern that practitioners and parents have about young people, including aggressive behavior, risky sexual behavior, substance use, and disordered eating. Although the media are not the leading cause of any of these problems, the research reviewed here suggests that they are significant.Yet, despite the evidence of potential harm, there is also evidence that media can be beneficial for youth (eg, by increasing empathy and acceptance of diversity through modeling of prosocial behaviors and developing children's early literacy skills through educational programming). Those concerned with child and adolescent health need to be aware of the research on the effects of modern media on youth. Theoretical framework: Literature review: Media affect youth not only by displacing time they spend doing homework or sleeping but also by influencing beliefs and behaviors.According to social learning theory, children and adolescents learn by observing and imitating what they see on the screen, particularly when these behaviors seem realistic or are rewarded. Cognitive development theory asserts that children's cognitive capacities at different stages determine if and how they understand media content. For example, children younger than 8 years who are not yet able to comprehend persuasive intent will be more vulnerable to advertising.In addition, media present youth with common â€Å"scriptsâ €  for how to behave in unfamiliar situations such as romantic relationships. Finally, superpeer theory states that the media are like powerful best friends in sometimes making risky behaviors seem like normative behavior. With the variety of theories suggesting a potentially powerful effect of the media and the growing empirical evidence for negative impact, one might hypothesize that parents would take care to limit exposure to detrimental media content.However, the â€Å"third-person effect† (a well-documented phenomenon in the communications literature) shows that teenagers and adults think that the media influence everyone except themselves or their children Violence and Aggression By the age of 18, the average adolescent will have seen an estimated 200 000 acts of violence on television alone. Much of the violence on television and in movies is presented in a sanitized and glamorized fashion, and in children's programming it often is presented as humorous.More than 1 0% of 10- to 14-year-olds saw 40 of the most violent movies in 2003. Both music videos and rap music have become increasingly violent. Interactive media can encourage antisocial beliefs and behavior in children and adolescents, particularly because violence in new media has been found to be prevalent as well. A recent analysis of video games revealed that more than half of all games contain violence, including ;90% rated as appropriate for children aged 10 years and older.Health professionals worry most about first-person shooter video games. In the aftermath of the West Paducah, KY school shooting, it was discovered that the shooter had never fired a real gun in his life before that day, yet his marksmanship was both accurate and lethal. Researchers believe that repeated exposure to mediated violence can lead to anxiety and fear, acceptance of violence as an appropriate means of solving conflict, and desensitization, with resulting increases in aggression and decreases in altruism. In particular, the portrayal of justifiable violence that is common in American media—â€Å"good guys versus bad guys†Ã¢â‚¬â€places children at risk because it is so powerfully reinforcing. The relationship between media violence and real-life aggression is nearly as strong as the impact of cigarette smoking on lung cancer not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer, and not everyone who views media violence will become aggressive themselves. However, the connection is significant. The most problematic forms of media violence include attractive and unpunished perpetrators, no harm to victims, realism, and humor. SexResearchers investigating the impact of exposure to sexual content in media on adolescent sexual beliefs and early sexual initiation have found modest but significant associations, particularly in the realm of pornography. In a national sample of 1500 10- to 17-year-olds, nearly half of the Internet users had been exposed to on-line pornography in the prev ious year. In a sample of middle-school youth, exposure to sexually explicit (X-rated) content predicted perpetration of sexual harassment (for males), more permissive sexual norms, having oral sex, and engaging in sexual intercourse while in high school.Longitudinal studies now exist that have linked heavy exposure to sexual content in mainstream media with more rapid progression of sexual activity, earlier coital behavior, greater risk for and unplanned pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease. One explanation for this relationship may lie in the role of the media as a â€Å"superpeer† that gives adolescent audiences a consistent message that sex is normative and risk free. In addition, media play an important role in providing sexual information to adolescents in the United States and in shaping their beliefs about how males and females behave in romantic relationships.Television shows geared toward teenagers actually have more sexual content than adult-oriented shows, yet there is little mention of the need for contraception or for responsibility. Virtually every Western country makes birth control available to adolescents, including allowing birth control advertisements in the media, but the major US television networks balk at airing ads for contraception. This flies in the face of the fact that a substantial body of evidence shows that giving teenagers’ access to condoms does not lead to earlier sexual activity.Parents and child advocates often express concern over children connecting with strangers on-line. Although there have been disturbing cases of Internet sexual predatory activity by adults on children, most recent studies of Internet safety have suggested that sexual solicitation of minors is more likely to occur by other minors. Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook enable adolescents to present themselves publicly, sometimes in very sexually suggestive ways; however, adult on-line predators are not using social n etworking sites to find or entice their victims.One national survey of â€Å"sexing† with cell phones, conducted with 13- to 19-year-olds, revealed that 20% had sent and 48% had received sexual messages. However, social networking sites can also be used prosocially for safer-sex campaigns, for example. Substance Use In the United States, more than $22 billion is spent marketing and advertising drugs ($13 billion on tobacco, $5 billion on alcohol, and $4 billion on prescription drugs), and many research studies have shown that it has a significant impact on adolescent use.Children and teenagers can also see considerable alcohol and drug content in on-line videos. Recent studies of social networking sites have found that substance abuse is referenced in 40% of the profiles. Portrayals of tobacco are also prevalent in the movies: ? 70% of movies made in the United States today contains smoking, and smoking is rarely associated with negative health outcomes. Longitudinal prospect ive studies have revealed that exposure to movie smoking at baseline (grades 5–8) predicts smoking initiation 1 to 8 years later.Experimental research has helped illuminate why exposure to movie characters' smoking is associated with smoking initiation: viewers who identify with the storyline and the characters are more likely to increase their intention to smoke. Obesity and Eating Disorders Numerous American and international longitudinal studies (one of them as long as 26 years in duration) have shown that media use is contributing to the current epidemic of obesity worldwide. However, the mechanism for why heavy television-viewing, in particular, is predictive of children's weight status is unclear. Food marketing may be 1 culprit.Children and teenagers see 4400–7600 ads per year for junk food and fast food on television alone. Randomized, controlled experiments have provided evidence that exposure to junk food advertising has an impact on children's food beliefs a nd preferences. The Internet now presents a new concern. As the Kaiser Foundation noted, â€Å"There is a vast amount of food related content online, with the potential to significantly expand and deepen children's exposure to food marketing messages. Apart from the influence of advertising, eating while viewing may lead to greater food consumption.College-aged students showed significantly greater consumption of food when subjects were watching television versus listening to classical music. The investigators hypothesized that satiety cues are suppressed in viewing conditions. Although the evidence that television-viewing displaces physical activity is equivocal, researchers are now examining whether heavy media use, particularly at nighttime, displaces sleep. Children who do not get enough sleep are more likely to engage in sedentary behaviors (such as television-viewing) and less likely to engage in physical activity.The media play a crucial role in the formation of body self-im age and may be responsible for creating unrealistic expectations and body dissatisfaction. Females who are regular readers of fashion and beauty magazines in early adolescence are more likely to suffer from a distorted body image during their teenaged years. A natural field experiment in Fiji revealed that the prevalence of eating disorders increased dramatically after the introduction of American television programs, which show excessively thin female lead characters.On the Internet, there are now ;100 proanorexia Web sites that not only encourage disordered eating but offer specific advice on purging, severely restricting caloric intake, and exercising excessively. School Performance and Learning Problems The possibility of a connection between television-viewing and ADD or other learning disabilities is currently an issue of great controversy. An initial study in 2004 revealed an association between daily hours of television-viewing at the ages of 1 to 2 years and subsequent atte ntional problems at the age of 7.However, a more recent study in which 59 children with ADD and 106 comparison children were examined actually revealed that the latter had more impairment in their cognitive processes after viewing television than the former. At least 4 studies have shown an impact on academic performance, especially if there is a television set in the child's or teenager's bedroom. Other Health Effects Heavy television-viewing has also been associated with hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, an increased prevalence of asthma, sleep disorders, mood disorders, psychological distress, and depression.These were largely correlational studies and, therefore, did not necessarily show cause and effect. Prosocial Effects Despite the negative effects listed above, the media can be powerfully prosocial and educational. Children and teenagers can learn antiviolence attitudes, empathy, tolerance toward people of other races and ethnicities, and respect for their elders. Video ga mes can be beneficial as well, including improving compliance with chemotherapy regimens in adolescents with cancer.Important and useful public messages can be successfully embedded into primetime television shows that are popular with adolescents. In an episode of the television program Friends, for example, Rachel tells her boyfriend Ross that she is pregnant although they had used a condom. A national telephone survey conducted with Friends viewers after the episode aired found that adolescents learned that condoms are not fool-proof and were more likely to discuss contraception with their parents.Similarly, a recent episode of Gray's Anatomy was effective in teaching viewers about HIV and pregnancy. Research into the impact of digital media on relationship formation and maintenance has revealed that on-line communication and on-line self-disclosure can stimulate adolescents' social connectedness and, thereby, their well-being. However, the benefits of socializing on-line are not equal for every child or adolescent. The positive Internet effect holds only when adolescents predominantly talk with their existing friends.Communication technologies that are most often used to communicate with strangers (eg, chat in a public chat room) or more solitary forms of Internet use (such as surfing the Web) have negative effects on social connectedness. TRADITIONAL MEDIA AND NEW MEDIA Children and adolescents spend more time with media than they do in any other activity except for sleeping—an average of ;7 hours/day. Children's bedrooms are replete with media technology: by 2005, two thirds had a television set, one half had a VCR or DVD player or video-game console, and nearly one third had Internet access or a computer.Media impact is increased significantly with the presence of a bedroom television: viewing increases 1 to 2 hours/day, risk of overweight increases by 31%, and the likelihood of smoking doubles. When a television is in the bedroom, parents are le ss able to monitor viewing habits , children participate in fewer activities such as reading and hobbies, and sleep is shortened Field Observation: Focus group: One of the aims of my research paper was to understand what children feel about the way they are affected by the Digital media. To do this i used one of our qualitative methods – focus group.A focus group is a method that is used by researchers to find out what people’s opinions and views are. During a focus group the researcher(s) will ask questions to stimulate discussion within the group, while taking note of what people are saying about particular issues. The focus group were conducted in Notre dame college-lwaize in total, 10 young people (5 males and 5 females) took part, who were all aged between 9 – 12year. Question asked during the focus group: * Do Digital media take a lot of your time? * Do you feel lost when you are not connected? Do you go online to check for new updates? * Do you feel you a lways have to go online to learn/view information? * Do you forget to eat when you are connected? * Do you use online social networking to retrieve any type of information? * Does spending time on social networking affects on your grades in a negative way? * Do you think you can stop yourself from always connecting online? * Are you unable to continue your day without checking for updates of news / friends online? * Has social networking sites made you become depressed? Do you enter sexual websites? * Do you talk with stranger people online? Analysis: After the focus groups were done, the information was analyzed and i was able to put together the information to have a basic result. I can say that each person had his/her own view, the information was not possible to evaluate and conduct on a percentage scale. The focus group study it showed that the males spend more time on social networking sites then men. They believe they do spend more time online which allows them to play ad ent er many kind of websites.All participants believe online social networking is time consuming and has its negatives. Some of the negatives given about online social networking. Some positives were: it has allowed a number of people to be curious to want to know more information, to learn more, to be able to communicate with people in different countries and be entertained. Solution and recommendation: Parents should limit total screen time for children older than 2 years to no more than 1 to 2 hours/day, and avoid screen time for children younger than 2 years.Also keep children's bedrooms free of screen media; and co-view media with their children and discuss the content.. Parents also need to avoid exposing young children to PG-13– and R-rated movies, given the prevalence of violent and sexual content in higher-rated film sand the new evidence that movie scenes that depict drinking alcohol and smoking may be very influential in teenagers' decisions to use alcohol and tobacco. In addition, parents can be mindful of their own media practices, because studies have shown that the strongest predictor of children's heavy media use is parents' heavy media use.Parental efforts to interpret, elaborate, and provide supplemental information on topics introduced by television have been found to be successful in countering negative or harmful content. In a recent study on exposure to sexual media content, adolescents who report that they discuss the content of what they see on television are less likely to engage in risky sexual activity. Moreover, Schools have not kept pace with modern media, especially in violence prevention, drug prevention, and sex education programs.With the amount of sexual suggestiveness currently displayed on television and in movies, schools no longer have any excuse for not providing comprehensive school-based sex education programs for children and adolescents, including full discussions of contraception and discussions of how sex and sex uality are portrayed in the media. Similarly, drug education programs must progress beyond scare tactics to incorporate principles of media education, teaching young people how to deconstruct alcohol and tobacco ads and, therefore, become more resilient.Conclusion: During the past 50 years, thousands of research studies have revealed that the media can be a powerful teacher of children and adolescents and have a profound impact on their health. To date, too little has been done by parents, health care practitioners, schools, the entertainment industry, or the government to protect children and adolescents from harmful media effects and to maximize the powerfully prosocial aspects of modern media. More research is needed, but sufficient data exist to warrant both concern and increased action.

12 Angry Men †the Definition of a Leader Essay

Yvette Perkins MBA-6620/Paper 1 The definition of a leader can be expressed in many ways. In reference to the movie 12 Angry Men, I have come to agree with the quote of our sixth President John Quincy Adams which states â€Å"if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. † (Smith, 14) In this movie the main character Davis played by Henry Fonda was able to influence 11 other jurors by introducing the concept of possibility. Davis exemplified leadership through his behavior, thinking, and communication skills in his efforts to persuade the other jurors. To begin, Davis’ behavior displayed positive energy throughout the entire movie. Upon entering the room he remained silent and observant of the other jurors. From our discussion packet I have learned an important success secret, which is to be â€Å"quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. † (Smith, 31) This method proved to be meaningful through his actions. He was able to keep his composure during the arguments of the jurors. In order to become an effective leader, your passion, confidence, and determination must be expressed through your body language, as did Davis. In addition to that, I have come to learn that â€Å"thinking is the deliberate exploration of experience for a purpose. † (Smith, 3) In my opinion, Davis followed the trinity thinking model. In pursuit of his purpose he used direction by asking the other juror â€Å"is it possible†. He used perception by being observant of his surroundings and the others that surrounded him. Finally, he used lateral thinking by assessing the possibilities. Davis stood by his assumption that there was reasonable doubt in his mind. I believe that he saw the evidence as â€Å"EBNE†, it was excellent nut not enough. (Smith, 7) In his exploration of possibilities he took the approach of two Greek philosophers. One was Socrates and the approach through question and two Aristotle the approach through box logic. In this case Davis thought outside the box. Last but not least, communication skills are crucial to becoming an effective leader. As we have learned from our discussion on how the brain flows into perception, people are happy with stability and are reluctant to change their ways. Well, in the movie some jurors were reluctant to change their perception of the case, which we also know as â€Å"blocked by openness†. (Smith, 19) Davis try’s to challenge their perception by using, manipulating, and managing the facts presented in the case. By asking questions he was able to uncover insights and new evidence which lead to the other jurors changing their votes from guilty to not guilty. To conclude, â€Å"It is what you cause to happen in the mind of a listener that makes you interesting†. Smith, 19) I truly believe that the hardest obstacle of life is getting people to think what you think and fighting human nature. However, Davis has showed us that it is possible. According to the five stages of thinking from the packet, the stage of possibility is the generative stage. This stage is where we create possible solutions and approaches. My definition of a leader is someone who analyzes information, challenge the facts, and initiates change; which was demonstrated by Henry Fonda in the movie 12 Angry Men.

Approach to Race and Racism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Approach to Race and Racism - Essay Example Jews suffered millions of deaths in death camps because their 'race', which was speculated to be lead by the Elders of Scion, was a threat to the supremacy of the German pure blood. The term "race" in the not so distant past had a negative connotation associated with it because it was used as an instrument to justify violation of basic human rights. The term 'Racism' has been equated to Discrimination. We see in America reputed to be of high civility, Negroes sold and made to work in the cotton field and was given no election power or the basic right of Self Determination. Yet, as the loom of time unwinds its thread, the concept behind Race has gradually transformed. Although the same notion of inferiority is still present today in some regions of the world, we now see that Race has become a classifying tool trying to rid itself of discrimination tendencies. Many nations today have mixed populations and are thriving. In The United States, for example, the colored citizen has as much right as the white citizen. This paper aims to determine how the anthropological nature of race has evolved thru time. According to the brochure entitled "Race : The Power of an Illusion", all people tend to have a notion of race. The problem, however, is that their notions vary from person to person. This problem was also stated in the 13th page of the reading Chapter 1 Some Theoretical Considerations where each student had some characterization to the term different from their peers. However, the author was able to find commonalities in the answers. Race is associated with the characteristics of each racial group. This includes not only physical features but also the culture practiced by the individual. By culture, we mean music styles, mannerisms, personality traits and the like. Race tends to become rather like classifying according to the nationality of the individual - Chinese, Russian, German, African and the likes. Essentially, the term race tries to distinguish one population or group of people. The most widely used human racial categories are based on visible traits especially skin color, facial features and hair texture and then one refers to genes and self-identification. Conceptions of race, as well as specific racial groupings, vary temporally. This characteristic is significant because of scientific reasons and its impact on social identity and identity politics. Some scientists regard race as a social construct while others maintain it has genetic basis. Although classification of people can be found in as far back as the Ancient Egyptian sacred text the Book of Gates with reference to skin tone, we focus ourselves to the development of the idea of race starting in the 19th century where it has received much attention and fan fare. Our setting will mostly be in the United States where the academic development of anthropology from an exotic undertaking became an academic discipline. The 19th Century This period was characterized by attempts to change race from a taxonomic to a biological concept and where tribesmen where shown in fairs not only to show people the variety of men but also their supposed inferiority to the Western civilized world. There were many natural scientists who delved in the subject of race such as Georges Curvier, Alfred Wallace, Francis Galton and many more but none was more influential than Charles Darwin. In his most

Explain the history and evolution of the U.S. Constitution, related Essay

Explain the history and evolution of the U.S. Constitution, related historical documents, and the U.S. Supreme Court - Essay Example The judges of the federal courts are structurally envisaged to remain independent through a constitutionally designated separation of powers. Article III involves dealing with two basic features of the United States Constitution, namely federalism and separation of powers which makes it eternally relevant and contestable. Here, the constitution invests central powers with the United States Supreme Court as the only institution in which the highest judicial powers of the land is concentrated. According to Amar, â€Å"the Constitution clearly does limit in important ways congressional power to shift ultimate judicial power from federal to state courts† (1985, 271). Importantly, the federal judges and the lower court judges are not equal as the latter is constitutionally created as supreme and independent. III) The Case or Controversy Requirement The case or controversy requirement of Article III is meant for safeguarding the timely power allocation among the courts in an easy ma nner, the rightful representation of a party who is ate the receiving end of the judgment and protecting the matter of self-determinism.

Im not sure about the topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Im not sure about the topic - Essay Example Cardio-respiratory exercise engages and relies on the type of exercise, period, concentration and the speed. Examples of aerobic training activities are swimming, basketball, running among others while weightlifting is an example of anaerobic exercise. Preventable diseases that result from lack of exercises include obesity, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular ailments. Body composition is the bodily fitness aspect that is determined from the relative quantities of body organs, body fat content, muscle, and skeleton. Determining body composition is crucial in the establishment of the baseline measurement, conducted prior to the launch of the exercise program. The analysis of body composition is also vital in evaluation of the progress in the course of the fitness program. Several methods of establishing body composition exist. A simplified method relies on the use of the thickness in skin folds to establish subcutaneous fat. This method is however less accurate when compared with the hydrostatic testing which involves underwater weighing. Hydrostatic testing is nonetheless expensive and as such is not easily available and certain individuals do not tolerate this

Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Climate Change - Essay Example Earlier it has been pointed that ecological destruction is one of the many leading causes that contributed to climatic changes. Jha and Whalley (1999) pointed that in developing countries, these environmental destruction is caused by massive soil erosion, open and illegal logging, dumping of solid and chemical wastes to the seas and ocean floors, incessant and unregulated pollution’s emission from companies, households, vehicles and industries. This is exacerbated by untreated human and nonhuman waste and other non-compliance of environmental control and laws in resource extraction, land use, and maximization of chemical-based fertilizers (Jha et al., 1999). The heterogeneity of environmental issues is also affected by the lack, if not absence, of enabling policies that can regulate and address ecological problems around the globe. As advanced nations engaged in an extractive industries in open states or countries, project developments in sites where there are mineral production sharing agreement proved destructive to mountains due to open pit nature of operations with consequential negative impact to rivers, water basins, siltation in the shorelines, displacement of native people, polarization of community (e.g. pro-mining and against), militarization of mine sites, and aggravation of community-based human rights violations (World Bank, 2004). The human beings, an integrated part of ecosystem, are also alienated by these developments as original residents in mine sites are removed from their natural livelihood (World Bank, 2004).... The influence and confluence of sun’s phenomenal flares that emit heat waves, atmospheric natural relations within earth’s axis and the environmental destruction made by human beings, intentional and non-intentional, have contributed or caused climatic changes (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2008). Figure 1. A comprehensive graphics of climate change effects to the world. (OpenGreenSpace, 2012). Causes of environmental problems Earlier it has been pointed that ecological destruction is one of the many leading causes that contributed to climatic changes. Jha and Whalley (1999) pointed that in developing countries, these environmental destruction is caused by massive soil erosion, open and illegal logging, dumping of solid and chemical wastes to the seas and ocean floors, incessant and unregulated pollution’s emission from companies, households, vehicles and industries. This is exacerbated by untreated human and nonhuman waste and other non-compliance o f environmental control and laws in resource extraction, land use, and maximization of chemical-based fertilizers (Jha et al., 1999). The heterogeneity of environmental issues is also affected by the lack, if not absence, of enabling policies that can regulate and address ecological problems around the globe. As advanced nations engaged in an extractive industries in open states or countries, project developments in sites where there are mineral production sharing agreement proved destructive to mountains due to open pit nature of operations with consequential negative impact to rivers, water basins, siltation in the shorelines, displacement of native people, polarization of community (e.g. pro-mining and against), militarization of mine sites, and

How Far Should Pornography Be Regulated in the 21st Century Essay - 1

How Far Should Pornography Be Regulated in the 21st Century - Essay Example FÐ ¾r exÐ °mple, MÐ °rshÐ °ll Ð °nd BÐ °rbÐ °ree (1984) stÐ °ted thÐ °t "there hÐ °ve been drÐ °mÐ °tic increÐ °ses in the Ð °mÐ ¾unt Ð ¾f viÐ ¾lent sex in bÐ ¾th sÐ ¾ft cÐ ¾re . . . Ð °nd hÐ °rd cÐ ¾re pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy. . . Ð °vÐ °ilÐ °ble in Western sÐ ¾cieties". BÐ °rry (1979) stÐ °ted, "The mÐ ¾st prevÐ °lent theme in pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy is Ð ¾ne Ð ¾f utter cÐ ¾ntempt fÐ ¾r wÐ ¾men . . . (whÐ ¾) Ð °re rÐ °ped, ejÐ °culÐ °ted Ð ¾n, urinÐ °ted Ð ¾n, Ð °nÐ °lly penetrÐ °ted, beÐ °ten, Ð °nd, with the Ð °dvent Ð ¾f snuff films, murdered in Ð °n Ð ¾rgy Ð ¾f pleÐ °sure". Russell Ð °nd Lederer (1980) Ð °lleged thÐ °t  «pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy usuÐ °lly cÐ ¾mbines sÐ ¾me sÐ ¾rt Ð ¾f viÐ ¾lence with sex ». DwÐ ¾rkin (1981) in describing pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy stÐ °ted, "reÐ °l wÐ ¾men Ð °re tied up, stretched, hÐ °nged, fucked, gÐ °ng-bÐ °nged, whipped, beÐ °ten, Ð °nd begging fÐ ¾r mÐ ¾re". SimilÐ °rly, Grif fin (1981) described pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy Ð °s "usuÐ °lly Ð ° wÐ ¾mÐ °n, sÐ ¾metimes Ð ° mÐ °n, Ð ¾ften Ð ° child, is Ð °bducted by fÐ ¾rce, verbÐ °lly Ð °bused, beÐ °ten, bÐ ¾und hÐ °nd Ð °nd fÐ ¾Ã ¾t Ð °nd gÐ °gged, Ð ¾ften tÐ ¾rtured, Ð ¾ften hung, his Ð ¾r her bÐ ¾dy suspended, wÐ ¾unded, Ð °nd then murdered". Ð °ll these clÐ °ims Ð °s fÐ ¾r pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy Ð °nd its negÐ °tive impÐ °ct Ð ¾n sÐ ¾ciety hÐ °s evÐ ¾ked cÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾versiÐ °l Ð °pprÐ ¾Ã °ch tÐ ¾ the regulÐ °tiÐ ¾n Ð ¾f pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy Ð °nd subsequent viÐ ¾lence in 21st century. FrÐ ¾m Ð ¾ne side the demÐ ¾crÐ °tic system is believed tÐ ¾ hÐ °ve freedÐ ¾m in mÐ °ss mediÐ ° Ð °nd thus expÐ °nd different kinds Ð ¾f infÐ ¾rmÐ °tiÐ ¾n, frÐ ¾m Ð °nÐ ¾ther side the Ð ¾bscentity by which the wÐ ¾rld hÐ °s been filled with respect tÐ ¾ pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy mÐ °kes it impÐ ¾rtÐ °nt tÐ ¾ regulÐ °te Ð °nd cÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾l the infÐ ¾rmÐ °tiÐ ¾n Ð °vÐ °ilÐ °ble fÐ ¾r the peÐ ¾ple Ð ¾f different Ð °ges. The pÐ ¾rnÐ ¾grÐ °phy cÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾versy is Ð ° cÐ ¾mplex Ð ¾ne, spÐ °nning persÐ ¾nÐ °l, technicÐ °l Ð °nd public Ð °rgument (see GÐ ¾Ã ¾dnight) Ð °s it invÐ ¾kes sÐ ¾ciÐ °l, mÐ ¾rÐ °l, legÐ °l, Ð °nd ethicÐ °l clÐ °ims. It Ð °lsÐ ¾ rÐ °ises interesting theÐ ¾reticÐ °l questiÐ ¾ns  Ã °bÐ ¾ut the wÐ °y persÐ ¾nÐ °l testimÐ ¾ny Ð ¾perÐ °tes in public Ð °rgument. PriÐ ¾r tÐ ¾ Ð °ll Ð ¾f these cÐ ¾nsiderÐ °tiÐ ¾ns, hÐ ¾wever, is hÐ ¾w the cÐ ¾ntrÐ ¾versy is distinguished by the primÐ °ry rÐ ¾le plÐ °yed by definitiÐ ¾nÐ °l Ð °rgument.

Summary of the article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Summary of the article - Essay Example For instance, before the 2007-2009 economic recessions, there was increased acquisition of attractive global investment opportunities, the engagement in foreign direct investments, and the migration of business operations to host countries, a trend that reversed after the economic recession because of the contraction of financial markets. Therefore, undesirable and unanticipated geopolitical events, such as governmental shifts, regulatory changes, civil disobedience, acts of terrorism, and sovereign defaults can negatively affect global supply chains and disrupt business activities resulting in massive operational and investment losses for multinational corporations. For instance, in the wake of the governmental uprisings, consecutive surges and social disturbance in the MENA region, it is likely that the European agricultural and textile industries will be negatively impacted by supply shocks in countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, hence necessitating critical examination of such political events before transitioning into foreign markets (Fabiani, 2011). However, many aspects of political risks are difficult to measure and quantify before transitioning into such foreign markets. Although organizations like Aon, Euromoney, the World Bank, The Economist and Freedom House, have attempted to develop political indices, which score countries on an individual or regional basis to proxy for political risk; consequently serving corporations with early warning signals of pending disruptions, which can cause undesirable financial losses and consequential reductions in shareholder’s value in the corporation. However, regardless of their merits in helping corporations pre-examine their foreign market interests, these indices have some shortcomings, which render their reliability questionable. For instance, these indices are based on historical data, which could be inaccurate in making determinations and forecasts about the

Occupied America Essay Example for Free

Occupied America Essay The logic of â€Å"Not just pyramids, Explorers, and Heroes.† The main purpose of this chapter is to explain the evolution of the Mesoamerica civilizations through the Preclassical and Postclassical periods, explain the evolution and impact that agriculture had during the first stages of the civilization and how that fact was the main factor of the change from nomads to sedentary and also to describe the changes in the development of the classes and differences of gender and the creation of the â€Å"cities† and urban centers. Everything explained chronologically to a better understand of the topic, evaluating every aspect of the culture, as the author says â€Å"Time represents the knowledge a people have accumulate.† (2) What the author was question I think in this chapter was the main characteristics of the most important or more highlighted cultures in Mesoamerica, talking also briefly about the similarities whit other civilizations around the world but putting more attention that what the â€Å"evolution† or progress of people in Mesoamerica means because he talks from the Olmecas to the Aztecs and some other cultures that were an important part of the history of those civilizations and the generation of a new urban population as stated â€Å"Food surpluses made possible â€Å"specialization of labor† and the development of complex social institutions such as organized religion and education.† (2) I do believe that the most important information that we have to remember are not necessarily the exact time or the exact characteristics of each civilization but which one was first and which one appeared later chronologically, by an example knowing that the Olmeca’s are known as the mother culture because it is known as the oldest culture of all, and then the Mayas appeared with some similarities in their hieroglyphics and some traditions, or as how the religion and beliefs about Quetzalcoatl of the mother culture was expanded towards some other civilizations of Mesoamerica, and not stopping here but also remembering the importance of each of one and also their differences. Getting to understand their progress through the time, and how this civilizations developed a new urban system by creating centers and actual cities formed not only by pyramids but also homes and schools, how is that their progress created a society that advanced. And also the changes every culture ha d by how the hierarchies worked and how some people were more powerful than others by the â€Å"primogenitor† right.

Ocean Park Of Hong Kong

Ocean Park Of Hong Kong This report is about Ocean Park of Hong Kong one of the largest amusement ocean park in the Orient and even in the world. In this report we are going to cover such topic as strategy concepts of Ocean Park, external and internal environment of organisation and its corporate, business-level and international strategy. On base of data collected well give our recommendation and advice to CEO and Board of Ocean Park of Hong Kong about Parks strategy to the next 10 years (from 2005 to 2015). The main aim of this report is to provide in-depth strategic analysis to CEO and Board members. Thus, this work is focused on challenges, opportunities and threats of organisation, its culture and economic aspects, strengths and weaknesses of organisation, core competency of ocean park in order to help to improve it in anticipation of arrival of Hong Kong Disneyland. Strategy concepts and vocabulary -Mission (Strategic purpose, not specified) Ocean Park provides all guests with memorable experiences that combine entertainment and education, while inspiring life long learning and conservation advocacy. Our aim is to maintain a healthy financial status, while striving to deliver the highest standards of safety, animal care, products and guest service.http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/html/en/footer/corporate-information/vision.html -create all activities for perfect family holiday -increase involvements of visitors in environmental issues and lives of animals -Goals and objectives to fulfill its mission Boost the number of annual visitors from four million in 2004 to five million by 2010 To make a 0,5 per cent contribution to Hong Kongs gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 (page 7) -Vision (More specified) http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/html/en/footer/corporate-information/vision.htmlOcean Park aspires to be a world leader in providing excellent guest experiences in a theme park environment connecting people with nature Become number one marine-based park for each family not only from Hong-Kong but also from mainland China. To be main attraction for all tourists, who visit Hong-Kong -What performance measures would you use to determine the success of Ocean Park? -It is the hometown favorite. It had been a long-time favorite of several generations ((its been operated for more 28 years). Many local people were sympathetic to Ocean Park. People who had visited the park as children were now bringing their own children to visit the park. Its reputation even extended into mainland China. It had become a fixture of Hong Kongs cultural heritage. (p.5) -The number of visitors in 2004 is 4 m of people (with daily maximum capacity 35,000 people). -Total revenue in 2004 was 536, 2 HK$ m comparing to 428,3 HK$ m in 2003, surplus for 2004 year was 95,7 HK$ m comparing to deficit 4,1 HK$ m in 2003. recognizability of new brand (Whiskers became a household name in Hong Kong) -Who are the various stakeholders in Ocean Park organization (how might they impact on its purpose and mission)? Stakeholders, who help to achieve parks purpose and mission: Hong Kong government, Home Affairs Bureau and the Tourism Board, employees of Ocean Park corporation, its visitors (customers). Interfere with achieving parks purpose and mission: Activist groups (certain environmental groups and animal rights activists) forbid of buying and transportation exotic animals to park, trade associations and unions (bus companies and taxi drivers) forbid in building a mass transit railway (MTR), competitors regain market share. External Environment -Conduct a PESTEL analysis for Ocean Park, identify the key driving forces for change facing Ocean Park; Rank key driving forces based on their predictability and potential impact on Ocean Park, then develop some scenarios and identify implications of these scenarios for Ocean Park. PESTEL: Political: Government support Improving relationship between Hong Kong and Mainland China Promotion of tourism the easiness of the restrictions and promotion of the free travel of China in 2003 that helped to inject a new life to the tourism industry of Hong Kong environmental law Economic: Growth and development of the global amusement park industry Disneylands arrival Increasing number of mainland visitors Increasing standards of living in midland China Raise and spend HK$5.55 billion Social: Major events and activities (peak seasons and holiday themes: Chinese New Year, Easter Holiday, Summer Holiday, Halloween and Christmas) Media, advertisement and publicity, required for these special events Change of demographic (Population growth rate, age distribution, size of families) Increasing the cost of labor and more guarantees for employees Negative affect of Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outcome Technological: Development of the amusement machinery industry Increasing popularity of new technologies for consumers (internet, mobile, digital camera) Amortization of park equipment Developing of new transport system (for example, a mass transit railway (MTR)) Research and development activities (creating of new park amusement) Environmental: Opposition from certain environmental groups about the importation of wild animals to Ocean Park Expenses on maintenance of exotic animals Protests of animal rights activists against relocation of animals Climate change (rain season in spring, hot in summer, typhoons in summer) Legal: Approval of Town Planning Board for hotel, Legislative Council for MTR station. Restrictions on mergers Employment laws Key driving forces and their ranking : 1)Global changing in tourism for Hong-Kong and Asia-Pacific region (development of tourism in region) 2)Raise and spend HK$5.55 billion from private and government loans to revamp parks well-worn product line (approval of development plan) 3)Disneylands arrival worldwide success of main competitor-Disneyland, coming to Hong Kong (Disneys success or failure) Binary table of scenarios for Ocean Parks key drivers (in decreasing order of their impact on park): Development of tourism in region Approval of development plan Disneys failure Scenario + + + Successful scenario + + + + Middle scenario + + + + + Failure scenario -Define Ocean Parks industry and conduct a five forces analysis: Which are the dominant forces in the industry? How may the five forces change? What are the underlying dynamics which are driving these five forces, and how may the five forces change? What are the impacts on key competitors and on Ocean Park? What can be done to influence the impact of the five forces? Five forces analysis for amusement park industry: 1) Threat of New Entry In terms of the amusement park industry, the entry barrier is high due to the need to invest large amount of financial resources (for park equipment, human resources maintenance), a lot of time required for parks planning, construction, development and launching, a lot of licenses and legalization required (safety, sanitary, security etc.). In addition to the amusement park required land for a full scale development. This factor is important because Hong Kong has a high land price real estate market. Re-write in own words!!!!! 2) Threat of Rivalry: It is important to consider that with lack of differentiation, visitors choice will greatly over the price and service, thus causes pressure for the intense price and service competition. Due to high threat of rivalry, Ocean Park is implementing different plans and activities such as redevelopment and introduction of new attractions in order to catch the attention of the visitors and differentiate themselves from rivals. There are no rivals with exactly the same range of products. Disneys arrival is only expected. Re-write in own words!!!!! 3) Threat of Substitution: (where this information from I like this point!)) The main threat of substitution is Hong Kong Disneyland Wetland Park, a new international theme park and an educational park (Appendix 2) Apart from this, there are other forms of substitution. From the education side, Hong Kong residents can switch to go to Cultural Centre, Mai Po Wetland, Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden. For entertainment purpose, they can visit the Karaoke, Cinema, Game Centre, or have a day trip to China. 4) Bargaining power of buyers (visitors): (where this information from I like this point!) -Tourists Tourists have a low bargaining power as long as must see image successfully built-up and the Park cannot be replaced by other substitutes. Therefore, Ocean Park focuses to build up this image especially in Asia. Local residents The buying power of local resident is high since they have many choices as mentioned above. The switching cost is relatively low. Also, Hong Kong people like new experience and their loyalty to the product are generally low. The Park, therefore, launched difference programs like Big Five events with difference theme each year to bring new excitement and experience to them. Besides, special discount in low season and year pass intent to attract 5) The power of suppliers. Suppliers have quite high power. Thus, construction elements of amusement rides are huge and complicated, thats why park is highly tied with supplier. Otherwise, this market is developed and the choice of suppliers is become greater now. While constructing buildings (hotels, etc) with particular contractor park cant easily change to another contractor because of high switching cost). The situation with the exotic animals is such as Ocean Park can buy in particular country only. Which are the dominant forces in the industry? The dominant forces in the industry are: rivalry, buyers and substitutes. How may the five forces change? Looking forward, the five forces will change in this way: -Rivalry will increase with Disneys arrival; -Buyer power will increase slightly; -Substitute threat will also increase; -Entry threat decrease dramatically; -Supplier power will also decrease. (Exhibit 2.5 p.72) What are the underlying dynamics which are driving these five forces? Aftermath of economic crises and increasing in number of suppliers will decrease supplier power. Disneys arrival decrease entry threat in entertainment park industry. Developing of new technologies will affect rising of substitutes. Also competitors with new technologies will gain (in this aspect Disney has an advantage) Disneys arrival increase demands in diversification of Ocean Parks products. Ticket price advantages (185 HK$ for adult ticket at Ocean Park compared to 295HK$ for the same ticket at Disney). The main rival (Disney) is also same market oriented (families with children). What are the impacts on key competitors and on Ocean Park? Five forces much more affect Wetland park Ocean Parks key competitor, located at the northern part of Tin Shui Wai, in Yuen Long than Ocean Park itself, because Wetland parks products are less differentiated. It has a 10,000m2 visitor centre, Wetland Interactive World, and a 60-hectare Wetland Reserve. (http://www.wetlandpark.com/en/aboutus/overview.asp). Arrival of other competitor Disney and its substitutes doesnt affect much Ocean Park because it has its its own niche. What can be done to influence the impact of the five forces? More differentiation of new products, directed mainly to Chinese native culture will affect rivalry, substitutes and buyers. Unique high-quality products and services also will influence buyers. For seeking suppliers big impact will have Internet and special web-sites with best quality of service, characteristics, recommendations and prices. Conduct a strategic group/space analysis for Ocean Park There are 2 key competitors for Ocean Park: First one is mentioned above Hong Kong Wetland Park. It is a conservation, education and tourism facility, consisted of large visitor centre, Wetland Interactive World and a Wetland Reserve. This park provided visitors with opportunities to observe wildlife, awareness and understanding the values of wetlands throughout the East Asian Region and beyond, wetlands conservation. So, its mainly about wetlands. The Hong Kong Wetland Park is also going to be a world-class ecotourism facility to serve both local residents and overseas tourists.(ttp://www.wetlandpark.com/en/aboutus/mission.asp) Compare to Disneyland and Ocean Park, Hong Kong Wetland Park has different facilities and product range (such as themed exhibition galleries, a theatre, a souvenir shop, an indoor play area), provide different services and thus, like Disney and Ocean Park, has its own niche. The range of facilities provided is the narrowest among 3 parks. Thus, Wetland Park cant meet demand of those visitors, who are looking for excitements and extreme pleasure, which can be found on a rides at 2 other parks. Who are the main visitors? Is it local or global? Is it has the lowest range of facilities than Ocean Park and Disney? Much lower prices. The second one arriving in a nearest future The Hong Kong Disneyland. After 28 years of operating as a near monopoly, Ocean Park would soon have to compete with one of the biggest names in the entertainment and theme park industry. Moreover, Disneyland targets the same group of parks customers families with children. It has well-known brand and reputation. Its the world leader in terms of entertainment. Several of Disneys characters (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Winnie the Pooh) were household names all over the world, including in Hong Kong. Thus, Ocean Parks mascot, Whiskeys, appear lackluster by comparison. Image, which Disney company holds almost for a century (The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923) and Disneyland itself (first park was opened in 1955) for half a century (compared to 28 years of Ocean park) helps to attract visitors not only from Hong Kong and midland China, but also from different part of the globe, especially those who are from the USA and Europe. Among other advantages of Disneyland are: location: it could be reached in just 10 minutes from Hong Kongs airport and less than 30 minutes from downtown Hong Kong. -at least 5.6 million people were expected to visit the Hong Kong Disneyland during its first year of operation (compared to 4 million of Ocean Park expected visitors). -the price claimed to be the least expensive among the five Disney amusement parks throughout the world. -the area of Disneyland is 310 acres compared to 215 acres of Ocean Park. -5 times greater investment than for Ocean Park. -Expected economic effectiveness is 3 billion more. -world-renowned innovation -high customer service standards Strategic groups within the entertainment and theme park industry in Hong Kong Broad Ocean Park Geographical Scope Global Product range Disneyland Narrow Wetland Park Local Conduct a market segment analysis for Ocean Park: How is the market segmented? How could it be segmented? Where would you position Ocean Parks products and services? Where would you position the competitors products? Ocean Park is a part of entertainment and theme industry. Its market is families with children. Disneyland future competitor applies to the same market. Despite this, Ocean Park has its own niche visitor from midland China. Internal Environment -What resources and capabilities does Ocean Park have? Resources (what a firm has): 1)Tangible: -financial suppliers of money (private and government loans) expected HK$5,6 billion investment; HK$145 billion economic effectiveness; surplus from operations in 2004 was HK$182,2 million on revenues of HK$536,2 million ; -physical Sea World, marine life and real animals:35 rides and attractions; 3 hotels; favorable and convenient location on the southern side of Hong Kong Island; wide range of new activities, such as the Abyss Turbo Drop thrill ride, seasonal and special events, popular water-related activities, interactive activities with animals, edutainment programs, successful Sea Jelly Spectacular and so on. 2)Intangible: long-time reputation of park with government, customers, -new brand sea lion named Whiskers; -cultural heritage of Hong Kong -great number of repeated visitors 3)Human: -37,100 employees, their skills and knowledge; -Thomas Mehrmann, new CEO of Ocean Park, and his previous experience at US-based Six Flags Corporation; Natural and wild life focus (Interactive activities with animals) Recreation and education Capabilities (what a firm can do) -New products, facilities and services development capability continually adding new features and attractions (such as: a new roller coaster, a subzero Ice Palace, 7.6 million liter aquarium with an underwater restaurant, extra 33 animals species, the number of rides doubled to 70), so, become a nearest future one of the best marine-based theme park with strong connection with nature; -Keeping park attractions fresh, novel and exciting, while minimizing costs; research and development, marketing and sales capabilities: plan to refurbish and rename Ocean Parks 2 major areas (the Lowland and the Highland), new hotels to be developed, including a five-star boutique, spa-type hotel this redevelopment plan would be completed in 2012!! recommendation part too!!, plan to open offices in the major urban areas of Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai to enhance promotional activities in Hong Kong and attract more mainland visitors -new incentive compensation, that linked employee compensation to the financial performance of park -What might be the competence of Ocean Park? Core competences resources and competences which are both valuable to customers and difficult to imitate -distinctive work culture, with its own norms and practices -local market loyalty -unique SmartFun Annual Pass program -cultural aspect (cultural heritage of Hong Kong), orientation on specific market segment-mainland Chinese visitors, -long-term reputation, distinct Chinese characteristics -powerful brand -customer trust -primary focus of OP on real nature and wildlife in contrast to Disneys strengths in cartoon characters, castles, virtual reality and fantasy -focused on education and the live animal attractions one of the key elements that will differentiate it from Hong Kong Disneyland when it opens in 2005. (from Echos articles) -cost and differentiation of product (continually adding new features and attractions as well as price advantage over Disney encouraged visitors to return to the park) -The aerial tram that takes visitors from the entrance side of the park over a hill to the rest of the attractions has become a Hong Kong tourism icon-is it still true (from Echos articles) Competitive advantage is explained by the distinctiveness of its resources and capabilities, by offering customers greater value by means of lower prices or greater benefits and service Competitive Advantages of Ocean Park over Disney: -long-time reputation, -hometown favorite, -cultural heritage of Hong Kong, orientation mostly on visitors from midland China -first-mover advantages -no need to engage in high-profile advertising and publicity, rely more on word-of-mouth -more diverse and wide range of products (including Sea World, marine life, real animals plus 35 rides and attractions) price advantage: the admission price for Disneyland is expected more than twice higher for child and one and a half higher for adult than price of Ocean park. And visitors from mainland China are very price sensitive. SmartFun Annual Pass program with unlimited admission to the park for its holders within a year, and discounted prices for food, souvenirs -Infrastructure 3 hotels had been constructed comparing to 2 at Disney. -orientation not only on entertainment, but also on education of visitors, differentiating by focusing on ecology and conservation issues -recognizable brand -In addition to all the American fun at the park, traditional Chinese holidays are still observed (Chinese New Year) -Disney has its characters, but we have flexibility to mix and match and bring in other entertainment (from Echos articles) -Does Ocean Park build its strategy on its resources, capabilities and competences? Yes. Importation of more species Water/Sea-related construction Hotel-better recreation -Are they sustainable? How can they be developed? Sustainable to some extent, but with some limitation. For example, it may face the opposition from environmental group. They cant relay only on resources, capabilities and competences-they need to be developed, innovated and refreshed, because they may begin to look dated and shabby for their visitors. SWOT Analysis Positive impact Negative impact Internal environment Strengths -Diversified and wide range of amusements (thrills, animals, seasonal and special events) -product line revamp -Highly linked with culture of mainland Chinese visitors, knows their demands and behavior -the main, oldest and most famous amusement park in the country (long-time reputation, hometown favorite), -cultural heritage of Hong Kong, -28 years of operating as a near monopoly -no need to engage in high-profile advertising and publicity, rely more on word-of-mouth -strong business connection to the local government (support from the government of Hong Kong and mainland China) -renovation of the parks brand image -mascot as a brand -previous experience of Thomas Mehrmann (new CEO of Ocean Park) in theme park industry (at US-based Six Flags Corporation) -local market loyalty -positive image of park Weaknesses -Located on a hills-hard to get to some riders-thats why visitors experienced rides only once. -different facilities are old and un-attractive and need renovation -a lot of activities depend on weather-ask Echo about it -no substantial capital investment External environment Opportunities -focusing on delivering mainland Chinas visitors as well as foreign visitors -development of new transportation South Island Line (when-check case-and ask Echo about it) that would cause convenience and fast access direct to the Park for the foreign and local visitors. -plan to build a mass transit railway (MTR) station to connect OP to the subway grid -the development and improvement of the amusement machinery can impact the services and features of the organization and its relationship to their foreign visitors. raise the standards of park with Disneyland arrival fostering sponsorships plan for building new hotels (boutique and spa-type) orientation on luxury tourism new market segment Threats -economical instability (such as the Asian financial crisis of 1999-2001, lasted for 3 difficult years for OP ), outbreak of different diseases, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 (Both these factors can affect number of visitors and their buying behavior, worsening the park financial situation) -arrival of Disneyland Hong Kong -OP was situated on valuable real estate: it could be shut down and its land could be sold off for other recreational or commercial purposes. Recommendation p.6-7!!! (recommend to use this business connection for future purposes, such as building a subway line for the visitors (itll happen in 2007). Say, in 3 years Build a mass transit railway (MTR) station for connection to the subway grid. Till 2015) (recommend to start innovation process, it will take about 6 years). Say, in 5 years

A Comparison Of Concrete Steel And Timber Construction Essay

A Comparison Of Concrete Steel And Timber Construction Essay Composite construction is a method whereby a concrete floor slab is utilised as part of the beam system. The slab acts as a concrete flange to the beam. As the beam and slab are of different materials, the size of the concrete flange is scaled down using a modular ratio where the youngs modulus of steel is divided by the youngs modulus of concrete. When these two elements bend, the top of each element is in compression and the bottom in tension. Because the bottom of the concrete is in tension of the top of steel is in compression this causes shear along the interface of the two materials. To overcome this a steel stud is welded through the metal deck. The stud is designed to take the shear force. The composite system consists of a concrete slab cast on profiled steel decking acting compositely with glue-laminated timber beams. Composite action is achieved with coach screw shear connectors between the beams and slab. The connectors have been tested in push out shear tests and a three-point bend test of a full-scale floor slab has been completed. The composite system is more than three times as stiff and almost twice as strong as the same beam/slab configuration without composite action. Richard Persaud, Dr Digby Symons The Structural Engineer 21 February 2006 Euro codes are a full set of structural design codes for building and civil engineering that used across Europe to open up trade boundaries allowing designers, and manufacturers to supply designs and products to other countries across the continent. Conceived over 30 years ago, the Eurocodes are now landing on the desks of engineers, and are expected to be fully adopted in 2010. For this reason, the Eurocodes were used for the design comparisons. In 2004, The Steel Construction Institute published a study comparing the costs and construction programme of various methods of steelwork and concrete framing solutions that reflect modern construction techniques to determine which is the most cost effective. The study looked at two types of buildings, costing and programming each of them. The study also looked at other aspects of the building, which can be affected by the choice of framing solution such as foundations, external elevation treatments and mechanical/electrical services. The study was motivated by the Egan report, which looked at the construction industry and how to lower costs. The report encourages offsite construction to improve speed and quality on site. People are starting to use tree planting as a way of offsetting carbon emissions. This is because of trees absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. One of the problems is that once a tree reaches maturity it stops absorbing CO2, then the next problem is when it dies and decays it starts to release CO2 back into the atmosphere. One solution round this is to store the carbon in materials, by using the timber as a construction material. The way in which timber is used us also key in reducing CO2 emissions. Timber should be dried before it can be used as a material, and it must be. One method is by kiln drying. Kiln drying is an artificial method of drying the timber by heating it up and in turn using fossil fuels, emitting CO2. This defeats the point of the object. The sustainable alternative is to allow the timber to dry naturally under cover. The ideal situation would be for people to use natural unaltered timber and design buildings within its limitations. However, due to human nature and the endeavour to improve, we are going to build higher and wider buildings that are filled with more objects and fewer supports. For this reason, we must come up with more innovative and sustainable solutions to overcome these challenges. We must harness timbers ability to lock CO2 into its structure and adopt methods to manipulate its properties. One of these engineered lumbers is Glue Laminated Timber, commonly abbreviated to Glulam in the industry. Timber in the UK as a building material is widely used, but not so much as for major building components such as beams and columns. In our history, we used to use great oak timbers for roofs and beams, but due to time it takes to grow these massive timbers, it was not long until demand outstripped supply. Moving into the 21st Century with the use of high strength glues, we are able to utilise fast growing tree species and mechanically bonded the timbers to form sizes and strengths that rival the oak timbers. These mechanically glued timbers are referred to as Glued Laminated Timber, which has been abbreviated to Glulam. In sustainability, the social impact on an area cannot be discussed without also discussing the environment and economics. The introduction of an industry can create an economic wealth for the local population that can lift certain areas out of poverty. This can be balanced against the environmental impact on the are by such industries. Industries can create noise and vibration, dust, local climate, ecology, soils, heritage, and archaeology as a by-product of the manufacturing process. Initially I thought that the timber would have a great depth of construction as compared to steel. The depth of steel beams were indeed shallower than the timber beams but because the steel beams require a concrete slab needs to span from beam to beam, the overall construction depth of the steel beam plus the slab is only marginally shallower than the overall timber floor construction. The shallowest overall floor construction is of the concrete flat slab because you do not require a beam as such; the slabs span directly to the columns.