Society Social Networking Sites

Introduction The mounting popularity of social networking sites (SNSs) among Internet users across the world certainly demands an introspection of their shorter-term and longer-terms effects on individuals as well as societies. Available statistics demonstrate that an estimated 1.5 billion people across the globe have already created their profiles in SNSs, with the majority being on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Ning and Tagged (Das et al., 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Society Social Networking Sites specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At the surface, it is believed that SNSs have a great potential to essentially alter the character and scope of our social engagements on all fronts – individual, interpersonal, as well as societal (Ellison et al., 2009).. But while common practice always assumes the shifts to be beneficial, this paper seeks to demonstrate that SNSs have negatively altered the framew ork for social interactions that bind society together. Understanding Social Networking Sites In the literature, SNSs are defined as web-based services that provide people with the capacity to â€Å"†¦ (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system† (Tokunaga, 2011, p. 425). SNSs popularity continue to rise throughout the world, especially among adolescents, not only because of the way they have changed how this group of the population receive information (Neelamalar Chitra, 2009), but also due to their equalizing effect as users often feel the freedom to express themselves in ways not possible via other offline channels (Cardon et al., 2009). However, there exist salient issues that need to be illuminated to understand the actual effects that SNSs are having on the social relations hips that act to glue the society together. Social Networking Sites: Unveiling the Defects By virtue of the fact that online social networking is a type of virtue communication that allows users to connect with each other, there exists a very constricted gap between private and public life in this modern age of communication as users find themselves helpless in controlling the distribution of content they have already uploaded on their profiles (Das et al., 2011). This disposition has occasioned serious personal and social consequences as individuals increasingly find themselves being rejected for job postings due to content they had posted on the sites, not mentioning that a sizeable number of users have already lost their life savings to online fraudsters who visit their profiles and use the personal information available to estimate a person’s social security number and ‘steal’ other sensitive information.Advertising Looking for essay on communications m edia? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Advocates of SNSs have argued that users of these sites can change their default privacy preferences to keep the fraudsters at bay, or to prevent sensitive information from getting into the wrong hands. However, a research conducted on 4000 Facebook profiles of Carnegie Mellon University students revealed that only 1.2 percent of the users took time to change their default privacy settings (Das et al., 2011), implying that many users do not care if their sensitive information, which could fundamentally alter their relationships with other members of the society, becomes open to public discourse. The second point deals with work productivity, which is known to be the mainstay of the society. It is within the realms of public knowledge that a society that does not work cannot look after itself, not mentioning that it cannot prosper or achieve the dreams of prosperity (Tokunaga, 2011). However, ow ing to the proliferation of SNSs, people are spending considerable work hours chatting with their friends and browsing sites to update profiles. Indeed, extant literature demonstrates that â€Å"†¦it becomes a compulsive habit to visit own profile several times in a day for checking friends updates, changing status, and commenting on others photos and videos† (Das et al., 2011). In the workplace context, the attention of employees is distracted as they routinely visit the sites to update their status and communicate with friends, occasioning major adverse consequences on their productivity and customer satisfaction levels. Of course some advocates of SNSs would like to argue from the viewpoint that employers can always install monitoring software to dissuade employees from visiting these sites during work hours; however, it has already been found that monitoring of employees’ online activities raises serious ethical and legal concerns (Ellison et al., 2009). More importantly, the monitoring software is not full-proof, meaning that employees could still engage in these actions that bring adverse societal ramifications in lowered productivity and heightened customer dissatisfaction levels (Cardon et al., 2011). A recent study conducted on 237 corporate workers revealed that about eight in every ten employees use Facebook during work hours, resulting in 1.5% slump in their productivity (Das et al., 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Society Social Networking Sites specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The third point revolves around the fact that some SNSs â€Å"†¦have loosely articulated social or interactional norms dictating appropriate actions and behaviors† (Tokunaga, 2011, p. 426). In using SNSs, many people are unaware or ignorant of the context-specific social norms because of the inadequately specified set of conventions, further degrading the social fa bric because these people end up relying on social behaviors learned and negotiated in offline contexts to direct their online actions and behavior. Equally uninteresting, a sizeable number of users end up relying on social behaviors learned in online contexts to guide and direct their off-line relationships, actions and behavior. Fourth, many online social norms, according to Tokunaga (2011), are characterized by carelessness and impoliteness, not mentioning that they have the potential to adversely demoralize the interpersonal relationships that act to hold the society together. In other words, it can be argued that constant interactions via social networking platforms have inexorably harmed interpersonal relationships that glue society together by providing a forum for negative incidences that result in relational strain. On context-specific norms and interpersonal relationships, advocates of SNSs would want to differ by putting up the argument that â€Å"†¦through social n etworking, people can use networks of online friends and group memberships to keep in touch with current friends, reconnect with old friends or create real-life friendships through similar interests or groups† (Neelamalar Chitra, 2009, p. 126). However, the germane issue is the context-specific norms used to relate to online friends and if these norms could still be used in furtherance of offline interpersonal relationships that are key to the stability of the society as a whole. Findings reported by Tokunaga (2011) demonstrate that not only are the context-specific norms for the two types of relations essentially different and hence cannot compliment each other, but some norms and value systems learnt in SNSs are adversely affecting interpersonal relationships, through which the foundation of the community is grounded. Lastly, it is a well known fact that the ambiguous and elastic concept of â€Å"friends† on social networking platforms has always presented further co ncerns through which millions of visitors to these sites must navigate. As postulated by Tokunaga (2011), â€Å"†¦friends merely refer to the contacts individuals create on SNSs, which obscures the nature of the relationships between users† (P. 426).Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More People who have never met even for a single day suddenly become the best of friends because of their presumed shared interests that are matched in the arena of online protocols. Not only has this insensitive disposition of friendship continues to hurt the very basis of society (Das et al., 2011), but the dichotomous categorization of friends and non-friends on many of these networking platforms acts as fuel to many of the social problems encountered by users (Tokunaga, 2011), including falling prey to fraudsters and sexual offenders. It is possible that advocates of SNSs may seek to downplay this issue of the creation of strange friendship bonds on account that people are free to talk to anyone across the world (Neelamalar Chitra, 2009), and that these sites have assisted communities to minimize transaction costs for finding and connecting with ‘friends’, who may share one interest or concern but deviate on other dimensions (Ellison et al., 2009). These assertions, in my view, are valid to the extent that some of these friendship bonds have provided opportunities for some users, including but not limited to, job openings, educational prospects, skills acquisition and knowledge sharing. But we have seen the consequences of users who unconditionally accept friendship requests from strangers and end up being killed and mutilated in a presumed sex party. We have read in the news how children as young as 10 years are hijacked for ransom by their presumed ‘online friends.’ Conclusion It is indeed true that most SNSs have beneficial outcomes, but care must be exercised so that these sites do not alter the framework for social interactions that bind society together. Important issues relating to privacy, work productivity, context-specific norms, interpersonal relationships as well as the conception of friendship, need to be evaluated in more detail to ensure that the society does not suffer under the heavy baggage of the social networking s ites. References Cardon, P.W., Marshall, B., Jeongil, C., El-Shinnaway, M.M., North, M., Svensson, L†¦Juan, P. (2009). Online and offline social ties of social network website users: An exploratory study in eleven societies. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 50(1), 54-64. Das, B., Sahoo, J.S., Jyoti, S. (2011). Social networking sites – a critical analysis of its impact on personal and social life. International Journal of Business Social Science, 2(14), 222-228. Web. Ellison, N.B., Lampe, C., Steinfield, C. (2009). Social network sites and society: Current trends and future possibilities. Web. Neelamalar, M., Chitra, P. (2009). New media and society: A study on Indian youth. Estudos em Communicacao, 45(6), 125-145. Web. Tokunaga, R.S. (2011). Friend me or you’ll strain us: Understanding negative events that occur over social networking sites. CyberPsychology, Behavior Social Networking, 14(7/8), 425-432. This essay on Society Social Networking Sites was written and submitted by user Geraldine Flynn to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Arctic Tundra

The Arctic Tundra LocationThe Tundra is located in the northern regions of North America, Europe, Asia, as well as a few regions of Antarctica. The Tundra is the second largest vegetation zone in Canada. It can be divided clearly into three different sections: the High Arctic Tundra, the Low Arctic Tundra and the Alpine Tundra. The latter Alpine Tundra occurs in higher altitudes such as mountains whereas the first two are mainly based in plains and lowlands of some kind. The Low Arctic Tundra is the transmission point to the north. It is located above Canada's Boreal forests and is followed by the High Arctic Tundra. The High Arctic Tundra is located farther north and encompasses the Arctic circle as well as most of the western Northwest Territories. Generally though since climate more or less corresponds to vegetation zones, the Tundra is located in Arctic climate areas.TemperatureThe Tundra suffers a very harsh climate.Photo of tundra vegetation on Alaska's coastal pla...Because of this fact most of the area remains barren save for a few shrubs and lichens. It's winters last from 8-10 months and the summers are cool and short. Also due to the fact that much of it's territory is located within the northern pole a lot of the Tundra receives alternating 6 month periods of light and dark. This is also the reason why the Tundra receives cold weather; at it's degree of latitude the suns rays end up hitting the region obliquely, thus causing less solar heat. Here are the temperatures of the Tundra in general:Average January temperature: -32.1 degrees CelsiusAverage July temperature: +4.1 degrees CelsiusTemperature range: 36.2 degrees CelsiusAverage annual temperature: -17 degrees CelsiusLowest temperature recorded: -52.5 degrees CelsiusHighest temperature recorded: +18.3 degrees CelsiusAfter seeing these temperatures you can see the reason why...

Lebanese Security Issues and Solutions - Syrian Involvement Essay

Lebanese Security Issues and Solutions - Syrian Involvement - Essay Example Other groups that worsen the complication are the participation of the Libyans, Iraqis, Americans and the Russians ("The Lebanese War", 2005). The 15-years war in Lebanon (1975-1990) has begun from the disputes and political clash since the colonial period. One of the factors that aggravated the war was the conflict between the Christian and the Muslim. Added to these are the nearness of the country to Syria, the political revolutions and many other events in Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The growing Arab Nationalism and Socialism in the perspective of the Cold War are the other contributing factors to the conflict in Lebanon. Also included were the trouble between Arab and Israeli, the revolution in Iran and the Palestinian terrorism. To complete the list, the Black September in Jordan, Islamic fundamentalism, and the war between Iran and Iraq are the rest of these factors. The war brought countless of victims. More than 100,000 people were killed and almost 100,000 persons were injured and added to this were the thousands who lost their limbs resulting from the explosion of land mines. More than 900,0 00 innocent civilians were dislocated. More than double of this number migrated to other countries to keep away from the trouble. The Lebanese war can be divided into a number of periods. The outburst of the war was in the middle of 1970s then in late 1970s came the intrusion of the Syrian together with the Israeli. It was then followed by the intensification of the war between the PLO and the Israeli that occurred in early 80s. The invasion of Israeli in 1982 and the involvement of the multinationals were the added factors to the conflict which happened after was the resolution of the Syrian occupation ("History of Lebanon", 2006). Large contingent of Syrian Army was remained in Lebanon as early as 1976. Although the war has ended, the Syrian keeps a total of 14,000 soldiers to maintain the peace and order in the country. With their presence and involvement in Lebanese political affairs, the major political decisions are mostly made in Damascus ("Young in the Arab World: Lebanon", 2005). At first, the Syrian's presence in Lebanon is supported by America for more than 30 years together with the Israelis they favored the stay of the Syrian forces to keep the control of the 300,000 Palestinian refugees in the country. At present, the continuous stay of Syrian troops and its domination to the internal affairs of Lebanon is becoming the concern of U.S. President Bush (Fisk, 2005). Growing number of Lebanese are becoming displeased in long stay of the Syrian troops in the country. The Christians are believed to be the most affected group in the peace and security situation. The presence of checkpoints can be noticed in many parts of the country. Large posters of former President Hafez Assad can be seen everywhere. Spies or undercover agents who are dispersed anywhere brought fear to the people. The Lebanese Government is largely influenced by the Syrian particularly in their major decision making and political exercises. Tension are felt during election, the officials to be elected should be endorsed by Syria. It was only until last year

Recent new york history with short essay format questions Assignment

Recent new york history with short essay format questions - Assignment Example the inefficiencies within the governments, as well as introduced reform coalitions and invented â€Å"methods of mobilizing public opinion† through â€Å"muck racking, celebrity picket line, forcing of an official witness-calling investigation, launching of a referendum campaign,† and poring over the city planner or commission government’s outputs (Rodgers, â€Å"Atlantic Crossings† 52; Thelen 1885 qtd. in Rodgers, â€Å"In Search of Progressivism† 117). Progressivism caused a lot of civil-focused reforms via the amendment of the Constitution; these reforms covered or created the personal income tax, Federal Reserve, antitrust laws, immigration-restrictions and food regulation (Leonard 207). A significant highlight of progressivism in New York City is its participation in the reformation of prostitution in the Tammany Hall. A published report, which linked â€Å"Tammany Hall with police-protected brothels,† paved the way to â€Å"redefine† policies that caused the proliferation of prostitution (Engs 76). In an incumbent party’s view, the Progressives took its opportunity to strike whenever government inefficiencies are spotted. Exploiting government flaws through reform proposals is a foolproof idea to firmly root the Progressive Party in New York. The only drawback of this movement is the simultaneous reforms’ sustainable capacity; with all the reformation occurring, there may be not enough people to watch its effectivity. Consequently, feedback is not captured to be incorporated to reform-improvements. The fiscal crisis in New York consisted of the primary and secondary cause. While the primary cause is considered the root cause, the secondary causes were government responses to the primary cause. The primary cause was the â€Å"city’s exaggerated forecast of real estate revenue collections† (Fuchs 56). This forecast left the city with significant deficits. However, instead of cutting spending, the government resorted to short-term borrowing (Fuchs 56).

Video Game Design Essay Example for Free

Video Game Design Essay Video games is no doubt the widely celebrated market leading the entertainment industry for youngsters. From the basic Atari consoles with mere up and down buttons and a special plastic rifle spewing infra red bullets to Level Up internet games where you can fight opponents in the other side of the world, this violent entertainment industry is definitely not stopping from evolving into a bigger money making monster. News reports further observe that â€Å"fueled by a growing portable gaming market, sales of video game software and hardware topped . 5 billion, a six percent increased over 2004s $9. 9 billion and topping 2002, which held the previous record of $10. 2 billion, according to The NPD Group. † (CNNMoney. com. , 2006) The industry is not devoid of morale and ethical issues despite its support from the business sector and overwhelming support from its consumers. In fact, conferences of video game event are worldwide in scope. The Entertainment Software Association are preparing for the E3EXPO slated for next year. â€Å"E3Expo remains an important event for the industry and we want to keep that sense of excitement and interest, ensuring that the human and financial resources crucial to its success can be deployed productively to create an exciting new format to meet the needs of the industry. The new event ensures that there will be an effective and more efficient way for companies to get information to media, consumers, and others,† (ESA, 2006) as its leader Lowenstein promoted. With video gamers on one side, video game creators on another, the public continues to debate on the issue of social responsibility in this video game industry. Who is responsible for all the violence found in video games? Debates arise from the breadth of the studies against video games to those that could see measures that regulate the games aimed at protecting young minds who could not distinguish from real to non real. These debates arise because people acknowledge the social responsibility that needs to be addressed. Social responsibility is the vanguard of the morales of a community. When something is not ethical, these two words are brought up like a bell that calls people into order. In the video gaming industry, where sex and violence reach both adult and juvenile minds, where gamers can spend days on end in front of a monitor totally locked in a world of play and totally forgetting his other social duties and responsibilities, something is not right. Video game designers must be socially responsible not to design games that are violent. They should not step outside market decision. There is no such thing as letting the market decide in this age of complex marketing and advertising tactics and strategies. Social and psyschological studies would prove that issues arising from violent video games must find immediate solutions from all stakeholders including designers. â€Å"Not only can excessive video game playing cause behavioral and social changes in a person, but it can also result in neurological changes as well. A recent study utilized positron emission tomography in order to show that levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine increased while playing video games. (Ingram, 1998) â€Å"The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado, near Denver and Littleton. Two teenage students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, carried out a shooting rampage, killing 12 fellow students and a teacher, as well as wounding 24 others, before committing suicide. It is considered to be the deadliest school shooting, and the second deadliest attack on a school in United States history after the Bath School disaster. † (Wikipedia. com. 2006) The advent of video games was expected with the development of software and computer hardware industries. Tracing back, the need for entertainment increased the need to develop technologies that would cater to this need. The need for entertainment was spawned by the decline of social values that are based on physical social interaction. This is not over simplification. Statistics show that one of three six year old have their own televisions in their room. The alarming statistics should make the community act on these issues. Unfortunately, the community itself is hooked on these video games where society’s need to release their frustrations can be exhausted. Doctors believe that whatever the content, children and adults must not be hooked on technologies like the computer and television for more than two hours a day. American statistics note an average of five hours of television and computer use a day. Health risks due to technologies are on a rise. One of three people in America is obese due to improper diet and lack of exercise. One of ten teenagers have been jailed for at least five times before turning eighteen. It is a fact that parents hold two jobs to sustain a family. One million children a year become member of divorced households. The need to be entertained exists because a void in the values exists. And this void is being nurtured by sex and violence found in games created by the very same people who are void of this nurturing. There is no amount of creative video game that can replace family and social dynamics. Violence is violence. As it is, the juveniles are desensitized from blood and gore so much so that the need for more blood and gore leads to more blood and gore. Unlike television, video game is an interactive system. The creator is the one who thinks of the big plot where all subplots follow. He is the one who creates the characters that the gamers choose from the start. How can the creator not be responsible for something he created when he is a member of society who will feel and face the consequences of his creations. Maybe these video game creators rake in millions of dollars now but a few years from now, the wars they create and on the video console will become flesh and blood as proven by recent bomb attacks. But no matter how violent this creative output becomes, American dare not cross the right to free speech. Courts are also in disparities. â€Å"Our contemporary court decisions show that the right to free speech is more important to us than eliminating offensive content about women, says Ren Reynolds. Whether games even qualify as speech, though, is still up for debate. St. Louis County recently asserted that games are not speech, and therefore are not protected under the First Amendment. However, in a separate case, the 7th Circuit U. S. District Court of Appeals found that games are speech. Most of us, including feminists concerned by representations of women, are not in favor of diminishing our rights under the First Amendment. † (Hall, 2002). Video game creators cannot forever run away from their social responsibility. Sooner or later these young creative dynamic people at the prime of their lives will become old. They will one day see themselves at the hands of their caregivers in hospices. Their game buddies would be in other hospices as well remember good old killing days of blood and gore. They must not expect society to be as compassionate when they can’t keep up the level of their games when they grow old. Investing on one’s future is answering to the call for social responsibility. This responsibility is not in the hands of just a few but in all of the stakeholders. Being responsible is just like thinking about creating the bomb that can be dropped in Hiroshima. The Chernobyl accident effects have been passed on to generations in the enviornment as well as with their people. It is only when creators give true service to the community when they are truly creative and worthy of awards. Reference CNN Money. Video game set sales record in 2005 January 14, 2006: 3:56 PM EST Game Boy, PSP lift the industry, despite languid holiday season http://money. cnn. com/2006/01/13/technology/personaltech/gamesales/index. htm ESA. Entertainment Software Association Announces Evolution of E3Expo for 2007 http://www. theesa. com/archives/2006/07/for_immediate_r. php Hall, Wesley. Kitchen Sink. Oakland: Oct 31, 2002. Virtual Morality; Violence and Ethics in Video Games Vol. 1, Iss. 1; pg. 75 Ingram, Jay. June 12, 1998 Positron Emission Tomography Wikipedia. com. 2006

Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland, 1801-1922 :: Government Politics Political Essays

Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland, 1801-1922 The British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland (BPPI) are an indispensable primary source for virtually every historian (and many non-historians) working in most fields of Irish history, and the history of Anglo-Irish relations, during the period of the Union (1801-1922). We have identified some 13,700 official publications relating to Ireland from the House of Commons[1] Sessional Indexes for this period, ranging in scale from short bills of a few pages and reports, to the massive social inquiries with volumes of minutes of evidence exemplified by the decennial censuses, the Poor Inquiry Commission (1836) and Devon Commission (1845) reports, each of which were multi-volume documents covering thousands of pages. Subjects covered by BPPI range from government, politics and administration, to finance, agriculture and industry, communications, emigration, social conditions, poor relief and health, population, law and order, education, cultural institutions, religion and language. The types of evidence contained are extremely varied, from statistical series and accounts to lightly- or unedited transcripts of emigrants’ letters and witness interviews from across the social spectrum. Obviously the BPPI are elite documents, created by the Government, Parliament and state agencies for the purposes of governance, administration, and the creation of official knowledge. This naturally implies an official bias in what was thought relevant of observation, what data was collected, and what was selected for publication. The principal value of the BPPI might thus be taken to lie in what they tell us about governing knowledge, preoccupations, strategies and ideologies – all crucial in themselves for an understanding of the British-Irish relationship in the period between the Act of Union and the Irish Revolution and the partition of the island in 1919-22. But the BPPI can also provide us with much more than the ‘official view’. British governance of Ireland took place in the context of executive responsibility to Parliament, a body which contained growing numbers of oppositional and nationalist Irish members who could demand returns of official data and serve on committees and commissions of inquiry, and beyond Parliament (however imperfectly) to an Irish as well as a British public opinion, increasingly conscious through the burgeoning popular press of the proceedings of Parliament. Irish newspapers, for example, carried not only verbatim accounts of parliamentary debates, but long extracts from the BPPI, and debated their findings and implications in editorials. The BPPI were very much part of the public life of 19th and early 20th-century Ireland.

Southern Comfort

SO-199-01 Southern Comfort How did the movie made me feel? It was a warm feeling. The first ten minutes of the video showed this close knit family eating outside and that alone I admired. And I when I found out that his connection to his â€Å"chosen family† was so strong to come to his aid when he woke up in a pool of his own blood I began to admire the family even more. I assumed that that the life of a transgender person was hard. That was a given because it is human nature to fear or to hate what people do not understand. But I general broad scope of how hard it was. I never thought a trans-person could be denied service from a doctor.The film challenged me to really think about the social constructs that society built around the term man and woman. I still find it hard to see differently because I feel it is engrained into me to think otherwise. And honestly, the more think about it the more frustrating it is because each day I discover subtle things like blue blankets an d pink blankets for newborn boys and girls respectively that I never thought about. Which cause me to think ask a friend what exactly is a woman and man? A friend, replies with woman are capable of having children and then I responded by saying females can produce offspring.Manny and I couldn’t come to a clear a definition for the term â€Å"woman† or â€Å"man†. I liked how Robert stated it not between your legs that define you, but how you feel in your head and heart. I noticed that Robert’s son mixed his pronouns when he was talking about him. I also had trouble with keeping the pronouns correct, not during the movie but writing my reflection. I liked the movie overall because I believe the message was to let people know that it is up to us, as individuals, to be more open to the idea that our bodies do not label us as men or women. Our thoughts and our feelings do that.