Global News Agenda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global News Agenda - Essay Example News usually construct ‘them’ to show a fairer representation of those who are far in terms of culture or space and they include the neighbors abroad and the strangers living amongst them (Ginneken 1998). The news reports usually produce meanings which construct ideological representations of the different groups of people from different countries. Media usually report distant suffering in their news which brings about the construction of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. The language used in the news reports brings different meanings within the social context as to some the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ brings about negative values (Kamalipour and Snow 2004). Unprecedented censorship is also evident with how news is constructed. In most cases, the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ is created whenever there is suffering in the country or culture to be aired. The media creates ‘us’ versus ‘them’ in order to c reate specific subject position for both the spectators and suffers. The spectators ‘us’ may take the position of activists, philanthropists or even voyeurs while suffers ‘them’ take the position of a human being or abstract number. Theoretical perspectives will be used in the analysis and evaluation of how the news constructs a sense of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ between different nations. Agenda setting theory Agenda setting theory shows how the media highly affects the order of presentation in the news reports about events and issues in the minds of the public (Dearing and Roger 1996). Global news agenda is based on the construction of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. This theory also shows how the media had a high influence on the public by their ability to tell us on the important issues. The main aim of this theory is to create a public awareness and to show the salient issues created by the news media. Different aspects of the media are encompassed in this theory which shows different ways on how news is constructed. 1. Freedom of press and expression world wide Freedom of press helps the media in constructing ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Freedom of speech in Middle East is enshrined in article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights (ICCPR). It is also based on the UN treaty which is based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Magee 2002). Social solidarity is part of cosmopolitanism and it includes the bonds of mutual commitments based on more than similarities of pre-established identities. Social solidarity puts it clearly that all citizens are engaged in the making of a better future for everyone. Cosmopolitan explains how global media institutions have the power to create publics around the world as non-communitarian publics. Cosmopolitan is the willingness to relate with other people. The way media constructs news about distant suffering rarel y does it cultivate a cosmopolitan sensibility or a global public (Ginneken 1998). For example, airing news on how people are being maimed killed or burned or even tortured is the creation of cosmopolitan through the TV news where it creates a spectatorship of suffering to ‘us’ the viewers. Global news does not also overcome the

Technical aspects of tourism

Technical aspects of tourism Executive summary: This report deals with the introduction and usage of ICT (Information and communication technology in the field of tourism. This report discusses all the technical aspects of the tourism industry and its impact on consumers. First it discusses various basic factors relate to the ICT and how it has been used by the customer and the tourism sector to interact with each other and also stress on various other benefits arising out of it. It discusses the topic of e-business in detail and explains how it has affected the consumers across the world. The topics like decision making by the tourist and various models by different analysts have also been taken into consideration to assess the topic in depth. Competitive advantage of E- commerce has been brought into light. To analyse the impact of ICT on the tourism industry, we have taken an example of a tourist agency called Thomas Cook. It one of the premier tourism agencies in the word, that has achieved a lot of success through effective implementing the ICT system in their firm. This report has analysed the strategies adopted by Thomas cook for their success in tourism sector. One of the major factors called mySAP consumer relations management has been discussed in detail. This paper also deals with the advantages of the benefits that a consumer has through e-commerce as well as the barriers of e-commerce. Introduction: Information and communication technology (ICT) is the Contemporary style of doing business in an effective manner. This process was being used since the early 1930s but in recent times i.e., the past 15 years this system is been followed extensively in various sectors. Major sectors like retail, banking, telecommunication, governments of various countries, Tourism, etc is using this system effectively. This concept covers vide rang of appliances like internet, wireless, Digital Cameras Wi-Fi, VIOP, GPS, Digital Radio, etc. Every sector is trying to implement this process through one way or the other to improve their business performance. It is been so extensively these days that an article in the Daily Telegraph IT supplement said that, many large organisations would not survive 24 hours without the help of ICT. This attitude change towards ICT was always expected and is of no wonder. This development was inevitable as this made the work easier and faster. This is the main reason why outsourcing of work began. The cost of production was reduced and so was the cost of goods. This technological development has eliminated the national boundaries and helped various businesses to go global, thus integrating markets as well as economies across the world. This rapid growth in the technology has lead to the concept of E-Business and E-Commerce. With e-business there are various advantages due to the presence of global audience, online transaction, etc. This is playing a major role in reshaping the tourism sector across the world. This concept of ICT has brought people much closer to the tourism service providers. Now, customers do most of their holiday or travel plans online. Many tourism companies are adopting this technology. The tourism sector being one of the traditional sectors it was not a smooth ride in taking up this technological advancement. Many small could not afford this kind of investment. They had to terminate a lot of workers as after this advancement there was minimal response to the traditional high street travel agencies. Although physical services are the core products of industry, it is dominated by information systems. (Shankar, 2008) ICT and tourism sector: Tourism is a fast growing and information intensive sector. In traditional tourism sector the customer has to all the way to the travel agency to get the information about the journey or trip. Now, it has become easy for the customers to just sit in their home and browse through various sites and compare different packages provided by different travel agencies. The ICT tools for organising, Marketing, Managing the customer is known. Advertising, promotions, managing sales, use of GIS and GPS to monitor and manage the customer can be considered as some of the ICT tool among many. There are various reasons as to why the tourism industry is adopting this approach: (According to Avison and Fitzgerald, 1995) To expand the industrial boundaries. Reduce expenses. Improve relations with the customers. To deter the new entrants in the market. With the ICT technology been used in various sectors like Airways, Railways, Tour operators, Hotels etc has made is essential for the tourism sector to adopt this system and later an advantage for the sector (Inkpen and Sheldon, 1997). Various kinds of business are using social media to do their business through networking sites and other ways: Web 2.0: It has gained immense popularity in the web world and its users. This is been extensively used by the tourism industry. It has brought a new face to the industry. It has a lot of technological web applications like social networking groups, blogs, podcasting, online video, etc. RSS: RSS (Really Simple Syndicate) is used by the tourism industry to communicate with its customers in person. This simple syndicate enable the customer to receive information on the relevant tourism topic of his choosing. Through this a customer receives the links of different or best travel deals. (Nelson, 2006) Blogging: A person creates a blog and updates it with all the information and text. Then the blogger encourages a discussion on his blog by posting comments. This system of blogging is been used by tourism firms, where they post some information and encourage discussion between customers and keep their customer attracted. Social networking: This is the most accessed or most popular mode of sharing information on internet. As the majority are youngsters this has flourished. The most known social networking sites are Facebook, Hi5, Orkut, Twitter, etc. A person has access to various communities and has a chance to be part of different groups and to enter into discussions online (Boyd and Ellison, 2007). One of the fastest growing travel web sites is WAYN. It helps people to exchange information on their travel experiences and to share their interests online. Online videos and podcasting: When it comes to this mode the most famous site that pops in our mind is YouTube. It is of great help in the tourism as a visual is provided so as to inform/communicate with the customer in an effective manner. A social networking provides called metaverses enable the customers to interact while doing business. Virtual websites are also coming into existence where we can create a personalised avatar and go for a virtual holiday on web. (Hay, 2008) Tagging: This process saves a lot of time for the customer as many travel agencies are tagging different item from different sites so that the customer doesnt have to search in multiple places. Like tourism website may tag the location of the place from Google maps, information taken from encyclopaedia and video from YouTube. (Oconnor et al, 2008) Tourist Decision Making: This is important factor on how a tourist thinks and what are the factors that determine or influence the decision making of the tourist? There were many models which tired to explain the consumer behaviour but failed as they were regarding the tangible goods and did not take into consideration the intangible factors or the feeling part of the customer. (Gilbert, 1991) All the models were criticised that they were just an extension of other models. Let us take into consideration Schmoll (1977) which is based on decision making process in tourism. Motivation, desires/needs, and expectations are said to influence the final destination. There are other factors also which influence the decision making that is, travel stimuli, external and internal variables. (Swarbrooke and Horner, 1999) The process of decision making includes 5 points as proposed by Mathieson and Wall (1982). A desire to travel. The potential of the customer in obtaining information from the respective tourist agency, broachers, advertisements, etc. Other factor like cost of the trip, availability of alternative tours, facilities available in that region, etc. Accommodation type, travel mode and ultimately the final destination. Travel preparations like packing of clothing and equipment and the travel begins. Evaluation of past travel experiences and the result of this will obviously effect future tours. All these models have tried to analyse the behaviour of the tourist and the factors (tangible and intangible) that affect their decision making. Competitive Advantage of E-Business: There are a lot of competitive advantages that arise out of e-business and information technology. The customer can find out about the product, its various uses and compare with other products online sitting at home rather than going all the way to the store. Sometime lot of product comparison may go against the firm so they can adopt the method of product bundling. As various services can be added to the bundle and keep the customer away from individual product comparison. (Schiesel, 2001) Innovation and introduction of niche products which deals with the issues related to product substitutes and new entries into the market. (Sinha, 2000) Consumer centric strategy that is, gathering of information from the customer and developing the packages or products accordingly. (Viehland, 2000) Transfer of skills and sharing of activities and be exploited via extending to related product lines. (Porter, 1980) Price lining and smart pricing: Selling the same product at different price levels to reach people of different standard is price lining. In smart pricing, different price is charged at different market and also according to the value of the product in that region. (Sinha, 2000) Price discrimination must be done to save the profit margins, so that when the competition intensifies then they dont have to lower their prices. Dialogue based marketing must be done in order to explain the customer about the product as well as to obtain a feedback on the packages and upgrade accordingly. (Sealey, 2000) Establishing revenue sharing strategies with other web sites so as to provide customer with subsidiary requirements and fulfilling their needs to the maximum extent. For eg, dell computers is already doing this and has been successful in providing better services. (Hoffman and Novak, 2000) Completely automated delivery system so as to meet the customer desires. About Thomas Cook: It is a leading leisure travel group with 22.1 million customers. It operates around 21 countries across the word. It operates with 31,000 employees all over the world with a fleet 95 aircrafts and 3400 franchised office all over the world. (Thomas Cook Group). It has captured 30% of the UK, Ireland, India and Middle East market, with a fleet of 43 planes and a controlled distribution of 68.6%. Their strategy is to focus on their main business that is, the travel agency and to strengthen it. They also want to invest in travel related sectors and financial sectors through mergers, acquisitions and investing with partners. Ultimately their aim is to become the largest individual travel service provider in the world. They are also planning on becoming independent financial service provider in the world market. To attain this they are with the implementation of highest standard of corporate governance to have an effective decision making mechanism. (Thomas Cook Group Ltd.) Challenges for Tour Operators: All the major tourism companies after 1980 are focused on increasing their profit margins by vertical integration. Although this did not produce anticipated results as the tourism companies expected due to high costs of integration and less returns on their investment or expenditure. Due to rapid growth of travel eMediaries and commission erosion at that time had a negative impact on the travel industry. (Dombey, 2005) Due to this Crisis Thomas cook changed its strategy from an ideal integrated leisure travel group as this model was outdated. In 2006 CEO of Thomas cook announced a new business model where they will be offering optimum flexibility to the customer at the expense of low investment. (Karstadt Quell, 2006) With the vast usage of internet by the consumers and the presence of eMediaries in the market, Thomas Cook had to rethink its strategies. Although not completely abandoning of the traditional integrated vertical system, the advantages of the traditional system were integrated with that of the new dynamic and flexible system that is the system of ICT. This model was also known as hybrid model. (Chaffey, 2004) Changes in organisation as a whole: Thomas cook had to go through a lot changes on the organisational level as they have now opted for a new model of performing their business. The traditional system was more human with minimal technological involvement in the process of customer service. Now, the new model was highly sophisticated and technical so the whole organisation had to go through a change in terms of structure, work culture, workers mind set, technical changes etc. Structural changes: The traditional system followed a hierarchical structure where everything was strictly departmentalised. But as they went for e-business this kind of traditional structure was considered as barrier in performing e-business. So, they went for a system which was more like an informal networking (Shand 2000). For eg the number of directors was reduced to 8 from 40, to ensure that decisions were taken quickly in the organisation. Cultural changes: With adoption of internet and a highly technical based system it changes the whole organisation, how it thinks, how it does things and it completely effects the organisational. When a company is about to adopt e-business then it must take into consideration the two most important factors that is, the organisational culture and technical skills. The high level management was up for the rapid implementations of e-business techniques but the annual report was suggesting that it would take some time to completely adopt. It was found was part of the organisation was running fast and the rest of the organisation jus looked like they were trying to catch up. With e-business they were able to concentrate more on the consumer and their need therefore, by obtaining the loyalty and also deepening the relationship with the customers. (Siegel, 2000) Technical Changes: E-business required knowledge of skills at both the managerial as well as the operational level. Now in this scenario there will more knowledge based jobs available and there is a possibility that the manager could be less competent than his employee as he may be update with all the new technological skill. (Mahesh and Hartman, 2005) It was also observed that some of the junior managers were training or giving suggestions to their superiors. As a result 80% of the recruitments in the e-business section were made outside the organization as they didnt have the ability as they lacked technical knowledge. One of the biggest challenges to Thomas Cook was to make the technological changes that is, updating or installing new softwares, purchasing of high end computers, etc. Thomas Cook has announced a  £64 million replace it s legacy reservation systems to multi channel reservation platform. Thomas Cook and ICT: We have discussed on the information and communication system, its implications in tourism sector and the competitive advantages arising when then system is followed. Now, let us take an example of a tourism agency and analyse how the ICS has benefited them. Thomas Cook has started using the ICS from February 2000. It has made huge investments on the technical development of the firm. After they entered the online system their business was up by 15% and 30% of the customers were using the online services. It has invested a lot in e-business development and training and is now reaping the benefits of it. Thomas cook adopted the strategy of direct marketing which is nothing but an interactive use of the advertising media to stimulate and to modify in such a way that the behaviours can be recorded, tracked, understood, stored for the future use of the information. (Jacobs R. and Stone B., 2001) They first adopted the Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) which was then proposed by the IT project manager in the firm. This is a Formal Language that was used to describe patterns in interaction between concurrent systems. It was a failure because of the following reasons: CSP complicated the process for error search and made it very tedious. It delayed the process of generating the campaigns and market segment reports as, by 2004 its database was full and was unable to accommodate or manage further data/information. In travel world each customer has a different choice and the CSP database was not sophisticated enough to handle these issues as it was an outdated method. The cost of campaign was increased due to the use of CSP as it was outdated and did not serve the purpose of the dynamic future needs. As cost of maintenance was increasing and thus were unable to use the profits for various aspects of their business. They were now looking for a cost effective, and a system which could enable the smooth processing of the information, effective campaign, etc. Their answer to all these problems was one solution an thaw was mySAP CRM. This was a product of SAP global for customer relations management (CRM). What is mySAP CRM? This software unlike other CRM software helps in not only in formulating and achieving the short term imperatives but also in the process of decision making and in reducing the cost of managing or maintenance. It can also help a company in achieving differentiated capabilities to compete in the market. SAP CRM covers various aspect of the tourism industry and helps them in various ways like: (According to SAP Global) Marketing: It helps in achieving the organisational goals. Better understanding of market spending and the returns on them. Visibility and control of operations is increased which accelerates the process of marketing. High value customers can be identified and retained with the help of Customer loyalty programmes. A central marketing platform could be established. Sales: Profits can be increased. Customer interaction and be initiated and their demands could be met more efficiently. The focus on sales is increased Enterprise sales process can be initiated across channels. Personalised experience to the customers can be provided. Service: With the help of in spot information and other resources there shall be an improvement in first contact resolution. Service employees are provided with tools and the information that is requires to retain the customer and to prevent a churn. Easy access to resources and information boosts field utilization. Product based services are provided to the customer to increase the revenue. Issues related to product defects can be handled effectively. A unique and consistent user experience is possible with various interaction channels like voice mails, text messages, e-mails, etc. Contact Centre: The number of relevant calls can be increased. Personalised telemarketing campaigns can be initiated. Customer services can be improved from the first call itself. A proper analysis on contact centre is possible and insight is attained on the current trends. E-Commerce: Improving sales and to extend market with relevant offers. Personalised and targeted e-marketing campaign to attain the customer loyalty. Intuitive self services could be provided to increase customer convenience. The cost of sales can be reduced by following proper and consistent ways of pricing and customer information across channels. Reliable commitments are made using streamline end to end order to cash. Possibilities of analyzing the actions and trends of e-business. IT Services: IT service agents and track and solve the problems easily through streamline service desk. Management of IT financials by the use of native integration of SAP ERP financial solutions. Built in analytics and add on tools enable to get a insight into the IT service desk. Both the customer and the stakeholders are satisfied as there is a transparent process in defining and enforcing agreements on service levels. Web 2.0 supports native integration with SAP solution manager so all the SAP and non SAP related IT support services are managed appropriately. With all these advantages of mySAP CRM in providing effective services in the tourism industry has enabled Thomas cook to attain a superior level in the tourism sector then its counterparts in the same sector. The major competitive advantage that Thomas Cook attained from mySAP CRM are: To integrate campaign between various departments and partners this in turn helped in maintaining the brand consistency. The marketing department have streamlines and standardized the process for creating or approving a particular campaign. Complex segmentations and database operations have become faster with the use of high speed segmentation and also provide new insights into customer behaviour. Thomas Cook was able to provide campaign relevant data for the execution of a campaign due to highly flexible customer structure. It reduced the cost of reaching the targeted customer and now Thomas Cook and reaches more customers without any increase in spending. (Reiner Wegmann, IT Project Manager, Thomas cook, 2006) Thomas Cook was now independent and not relying on any other IT department for third party subscription. Interactive drag and drop phase and graphic visualisation has speeded up the process of market segmentation and listing. The process of decision making was faster due to personalised portals. This also enables the players to take wise and quick decisions as important information is already there in there portals. Thomas cook was able to make long term business propositions as well as to focus on the operational business objectives. (SAP customer success story retail, Thomas cook, 2006) Benefits of E-commerce to Customers: From the above analysis we can say that there are a lot of benefits to the customers: The web provides ample information about every destination and the facilities over there. Through e commerce the tourism agencies are able to provide all the information about the desired destination. The products or packages can be compared and the customer can take a decision accordingly. The customer can use the social networking and discuss the tour experiences or enquire about them or to know about them. It provides flexibility to the customer. The customer no longer has to go all way to the agency to gather information about his desired destiny. E-commerce provides various packages and concessions online which are not available otherwise. E-commerce has user friendly web sites that are designed for the targeted customers. Barriers of E-Commerce: We have discussed all the various factors that influenced the tourism industry to adopt ICT system and e-commerce played an important role. There also some barriers associated with e-commerce that has to be taken into consideration by the tourism industry and to work on them to get better results in the future. It cannot functions without the basic requirements like backup services and required hardware. These can be an expensive investment in the company at the time converting from a traditional system. The trust factor of the e-commerce must be given preference and both the government and the private sector should work together in increasing the safety of e-commerce. Confidentiality should be provided to the customers personal information, safety of credit card details must also be ensured. The existence of regulations and presence of international laws prevents e-commerce from being an effective source. Conclusion: From the above analysis we can conclude that, Information and communication system plays an important role in the development of the tourism industry. Social networking and various other options on web have taken the tourism industry to the next level. The web has provided a huge marketing source for the tourism sector in cost effective manner. (Armstrong and Hagel, 1996; Kozinets, 1999; Wang et al, 2002) It is also evident that the latest upgrade in information systems has clearly given Thomas Cook an edge over the other tourism agencies. Although it has gone through rapid changes in the organisational structure but it has effectively managed its resources and is able provide one of the best services in the world to desired tourists. In the process of adopting new skills and systems, the mindsets and cultures have to develop and resistance at any level of the organisation need to be handled with lot of care. (Jackson and Harris, 2003) Thomas Cook has effectively used mySAP Consume Relation management system to provide quality services to the customer and at the same time limiting their expenditures on publicity or promotion of the product. The process of innovation and implementing new methods in work place has paid off for Thomas Cook. It was a bold step to adopt the ICT system into a traditional tourist sector. Thus, we can conclude by saying that ICT has played an important role in the development of the tourism industry and enable the customers to enjoy better services that they deserve. Although there is this trust issue regarding e-commerce and its uses but more people are using this facility every day. References: Arusha, T. (2000, february). Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and Tourism. Retrieved may 23, 2010, from www.nric.net: http://www.nric.net/tourism/sidebar/ICT.pdf Boyd, D. M. (2007). Journal of computer mediated communications , 210-230. Fitzgerald, A. . (n.d.). INtroduction to information systems in business. Retrieved may 23, 2010, from www.comp.glam.ac.uk: http://www.comp.glam.ac.uk/pages/staff/tdhutchings/chapter1.html Global, S. (n.d.). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software From SAP. Retrieved may 24, 2010, from www.sap.com: http://www.sap.com/solutions/business-suite/crm/index.epx Group, T. C. (n.d.). www.thomascookgroup.com. Retrieved may 23, 2010, from Business segments and brands: http://www.thomascookgroup.com/segments Jackson, P. (n.d.). Ebusiness and organisational change. Journal of organisational change management , 497-511. Juline E.Mills, R. L. (2005). Handbook of Consumer Behavior, Tourism and the Internet. Haworth press. Kozinets. (1999). Staregic implications of virtual comunities of consumption. European mamagement , 252-264. netstarter. (n.d.). e commerce barriers and opportunities. Retrieved may 22, 2010, from www.netstarter.com: http://www.netstarter.com.au/Content_Common/pg-ecommerce-Benefits-Barriers.seo Roberto daniele, A. j. (n.d.). Tour operator in an ebusiness world. Retrieved may 23, 2010, from www.googlebooks.com: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=s9f5_kvYrZoCpg=PA207lpg=PA207dq=thomas+cook+information+and+communication+technologysource=blots=KkiM3J5HGosig=iL2qLClFWLyN8wzC6Dgx3PXScUchl=enei=1vykS5jQFIS80gTFitT1CQsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=9ved= SAP customer success story, Reatil-tourism marketing. (n.d.). Retrieved may 22, 2010, from www.sap.com: http://www.sap.com/solutions/business-suite/crm/pdf/CS_ThomasCook%20.pdf Seveg, M. B. (1997). The Impact of Electronic Commerce on the Travel Industry. California. Shanker, D. (n.d.). ICT and Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities. Retrieved may 24, 2010, from www.dspace.iimk.ac.in: http://dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/536/1/50-58.pdf Shin, N. (n.d.). STRATEGIES FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE. Retrieved may 22, 2010, from www.csulb.edu: http://www.csulb.edu/web/journals/jecr/issues/20014/paper4.pdf Sigala, m. (n.d.). Tour operators in an e business world. Retrieved may 23, 2010, from www.books.google.com: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=s9f5_kvYrZoCpg=PA207lpg=PA207dq=thomas+cook+information+and+communication+technologysource=blots=KkiM3J5HGosig=iL2qLClFWLyN8wzC6Dgx3PXScUchl=enei=1vykS5jQFIS80gTFitT1CQsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=9ved= Thomas, D. (2002, june 27). Holidaymakers take plunge into Internet booking pool. Retrieved may 22, 2010, from www.computerweekly.com: http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2002/06/27/188052/holidaymakers-take-plunge-into-internet-booking-pool.htm

Lord of the Flies :: Lord of the Flies Essays

William Golding, in his fictional novel Lord of the Flies, has created one of the most stunningly elaborate, captivating works of American literature. It is a straightforward story of a few shipwrecked schoolboys that dramatically turns into a multifaceted tale of endless deceit, trickery and all out jealousy. It is in this story that three boys, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack, come to play the pivotal parts of leaders to a group of children who are fighting for the right of survival.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first boy is Ralph, a fine example of morals, compassion and friendship. He is the first person on the island to take charge and the one who hold the group together. Ralph was elected the leader as soon as the group first came together. He was recognized as one person who courage to lead them home. On the vote for chief, Ralph said, “ ‘Who wants me?’ Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air. Ralph counted ‘I’m chief then’ '; (Golding 23). Ralph is chosen as leader because in the story Lord of the Flies, he symbolizes every good quality necessary to return home. The qualities are leadership, kindness, benevolence, and most of all, friendship. The second youth is known to the other boys as Piggy. Piggy is not like the other boys, in the fact that his sense of fun and adventure was replaced with that of worrisome and caution. He is a portly child, which brought on the name “Piggy.'; He also suffers from various ailments, such as bad eyesight and asthma. “He was shorter than the fair boy and very fat. He came forward, searching out safe lodgments for his feet, and then looked up through thick spectacles'; (Golding 7). Piggy symbolically represents every problem, every mistake that could be made, that might leave many young boys stranded on an island far out at sea. The final young man goes by the name of Jack Merridew. Jack is a hotheaded youth with a flair for leadership, and a temper to go along with it. Jack was the boy who wanted the position of chief from the start. In response to Ralph’s election as chief, “Even the choir applauded; and the freckles on Jacks face disappeared under a blush of mortification'; (Golding 23). Jack Merridew, from then on, was different. He detested Ralph and from then on was consumed by hate and jealousy toward everyone that followed the new chief.

Role of Communication in Health and Social Care

P1 Explain the role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction in a health and social care environment.Communication‘Communication is about passing messages between people.’(http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/people/communicationrev1.shtml). There are different types of communication in the health and social care sector. When communication is effective the conversation is clear and no one gets confused by what the other person’s meanings. Effective communication in a health and social care environment is very important and there are many types of it.Being able to effectively communicate with the service user requires the person to be open minded in respecting other people's thoughts and opinions in avoiding passing judgment on what that person is saying. Active listening is also another form of being an effective communicator as it allows you to increase your understanding of that person's thoughts and feelings. Eye contact and facial expressions are also a form of being an effectively communicating as this shows understanding and interest in what the other person is saying, allowing one to hold the conversation for longer with more understanding and enjoyment of the conversation.Formal communication, Informal communication:Formal communication is including writing letters, emails, speaking clearly and using standard English rather than using ’slang’. This is often used to shorten terms and phrases to make it quicker o type when texting and messaging on Facebook. This is used when talking to friends and family, making sure that it isn’t used in the working environment is crucial as tit can be classed as unprofessional. Informal communication can be used in case of emergencies to contact ones manager, and can also be used when one is contacting the client once there is a good understanding between the care worker and the service user. It can help the user to feel more comfortable with the car e worker too.Forms of CommunicationTexting There are other ways of communicating with the service users such at text messaging, this is technologic communication. But this is only an effective way of communicating depending on the relationships between the sender and receiver. For example, one wouldn't text their boss to have a laugh with them, but may text them if they are running late for work or are unable to make it into work on that particular day. Although they may text a colleague whom they have befriended to discuss matters which are non-work related and can also text them to tell them they are sick or that they may need someone to cover a shift for them.Another way that it could be used is if a social worker wanted to communicate with their teenage client, they could so by coming down to their way of communicating. They may choose to do this as it's the preferred way of communicating for teenagers. An example of when this can be used is, ‘What time shall I come see yo u today?' This the teenage will not feel intimidated by the situation in which their social worker is communicating in regards to.Sign Language & Other non-verbal ways of communication.Having the capability to effectively communicate with the service user it does not only mean verbally, it means that the carer can communicate either through verbal or non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is a form of interpersonal interaction by gestures and eye movements.Non-verbal communication skills such as one’s body language and hand gestures improve relationships by helping to accurately read people's emotions understanding what they are feeling, creating trust and responding to non-verbal clues to show that you understand notice and care about what the patient is saying. In such situation where a client is deaf or hard of hearing signing is an effective way of communicating the deaf and hard of hearing. It's effective because signing is the main way to communicate with th e deaf and can sometimes be the only way of communicating with a certain deaf person as this is the only form of communication they may have learned over the years.Music & DramaMusic can be used in a health and social care environment as therapy as well as communication; it may allow service users to understand how they would like to voice their opinions. This can also allow the service user to use technology like computers and laptops to not only listen to music but also for watching dramas which also have morals and give the service user the ability to hopes and aspirations.Pictures & WritingPictures and writing would be used as communication for service users with learning difficulties to help them with speech and communication skills. They also enable the service user to see situations and life problems from a third persons view.BrailleThis is a series of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or whose eyesight is not sufficient for reading printed material. Teachers, parents, and others who are not visually impaired ordinarily read Braille with their eyes. Braille is not a language. Rather, it is a code by which languages such as English or Spanish may be written and read. But this allows the service user to be able to ‘read’. (http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/reading/how/braille/braille/Pages/what_is_braille.aspx)Written:Newspapers –Inform you about what is going on throughout the world socially and economically. This is a form of communication via the media.Online, )Books – These can be both fiction and non-fiction. The non-fiction is things like biographies. They are communication with the outside world of what the author has done throughout his life or the incidents or crisis’s they have experienced in their lifetime.Magazines – These keep the rest if the world informed with the day to day events of the actor, singers, and other famous and popular people around the world . This is via the paparazzi, it is said that they invade their privacy to keep their fan in touch with what is going in their daily lives.Technological: This is communication that has been made easy by the development of the technology over the years.Computers – This is technology is used for communication, with this you can access the internet and a person can access social networking through this such as Yahoo, Facebook, MSN and so on.Telephone –This technology that has been designed to communicate with someone who is far away from others. They have to pay for it. Sometimes it is quite expensive but it is quite often affordable. When an individual have a mobile phone they do not need to worry about missing a phone call or. These are more modern and convenient as they come is smaller sizes and are easier to handle.P2 Discuss Theories of Communication.Theories of communicationArgyle's Communication Cycle.â€Å"According to Argyle, skilled interpersonal interaction (so cial skills) involves a cycle in which you have to translate or ‘decode' what other people are communicating and constantly adapt your own.† (Whitehouse,2007,P19)Argyle's stages of the communication cycle were when an idea occurs, message coded, message sent, message received, message decoded, message understood.The first stage is ideas occur this is the process where we think about what we are going to say and who to. The second stage, message coded, is where we think about our idea and plan what to say. The third stage is message sent, this is where we speak or sign what we are saying. The fourth stage is message received; this is where the person they are speaking to has listened to what they have to say. The fifth stage is message decoded; this is where the message can be translated if needed to. The final stage is message understood, this is where the receiver can clarify the meaning or ask any questions to clarify misunderstandings. Argyle's theory of the communica tion cycle centres on six core concepts, or, a cycle. The cycle is as follows:1. A idea occurs. For example, the service user’s idea is that they want to buy a car.2. Message coded. This would be them putting their desire of a car into whatever means they wish to communicate with. This may be a language, pictures, writing, or any other means of communication that they can think hold a conversation with.3. Message sent. Here they have communicated their desire for wanting a car.4. Message received. The person they wish to notify of their desire to have a car in this case it would be a care worker who has received our message.5. Message decoded. The service user now must take what they have said and attempt to decode it. Now, â€Å"I want a car† is pretty straight forward0000000, but remember, not everyone is as obvious as this, and this is the step where communication breakdown may occur as they may decode our message incorrectly.6. Message understood. Hopefully the las t step was effective and carer was able to understand what the service user was trying to communicate about. Now the cycle can begin anew, with the start of a new conversation. (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Argyle_communication_cycle)Tuckman’s Stages of Group InteractionTuckman described the four distinct stages that a group can as it comes together and starts to operate. This process can be subconscious, although an understanding of the stages can help the group reach effectiveness more quickly and less painfully. â€Å"Stage 1: Forming Individual behaviour is driven by a desire to be accepted by the others, and avoid controversy or conflict. Serious issues and feelings are avoided, and people focus on being busy with routines, such as team organisation, who does what, when to meet. But individuals are also gathering information and impressions – about each other, and about the scope of the task and how to approach it. This is a comfortable stage to be in, b ut the avoidance of conflict and threat means that not much actually gets done.Stage 2: Storming Individuals in the group can only remain nice to each other for so long, as important issues start to be addressed. Some people's patience will break early, and minor confrontations will arise that are quickly dealt with or glossed over. These may relate to the work of the group itself, or to roles and responsibilities within the group. Some will observe that it's good to be getting into the real issues, whilst others will wish to remain in the comfort and security of stage 1. Depending on the culture of the organisation and individuals, the conflict will be more or less suppressed, but it'll be there, under the surface. To deal with the conflict, individuals may feel they are winning or losing battles, and will look for structural clarity and rules to prevent the conflict persisting.Stage 3: Norming As Stage 2 evolves, the â€Å"rules of engagement† for the group become establish ed, and the scope of the group’s tasks or responsibilities is clear and agreed. Having had their arguments, they now understand each other better, and can appreciate each other's skills and experience. Individuals listen to each other, appreciate and support each other, and are prepared to change pre-conceived views: they feel they're part of a cohesive, effective group.However, individuals have had to work hard to attain this stage, and may resist any pressure to change – especially from the outside – for fear that the group will break up, or revert to a storm. Stage 4: Performing Not all groups reach this stage, characterised by a state of independence and flexibility. Everyone knows each other well enough to be able to work together, and trusts each other enough to allow independent activity.Roles  and responsibilities change according to need in an almost routine way. Group identity, loyalty and morale are all high, and everyone is equally task-orientated and people-orientated. This high degree of comfort means that all the energy of the group can be directed towards the tasks in hand.Stage 5: AdjourningThis is about completion and disengagement, both from the tasks and the group members. Individuals will be proud of having achieved much and glad to have been part of such an enjoyable group. They need to recognise what they've done, and consciously move on.† (Whitehouse,2007,P19)From Tuckman’s theory it is shown that by the way that people are feeling and the views they have on different topics of discussion. It also has a big impact on if the individual feels as though they belong in that group.

Monopoly and American Dream

Monopoly: Reinforcement of the American Dream Many board games are used to bring in family, friends, and even strangers to come together and socialize. What many people do not know is that sometimes these games teaches our society the values, skills, and social statuses in each individual’s life. Video games such as Medal of Honor or Call of Duty teach young teens (even children), the American pride of being a soldier. Board games such as Life teaches individuals about life in general or what is expected by society when children move on to be adults (go to college, have a job, have kids, get married).I’ve decided to examine the Monopoly board game, where it teaches a variety of values, skills, and social inequalities. Some good aspects about the Monopoly game are the teachings of real life accounting. A player learns how to budget their money and makes decisions on what to spend. There are even taxes, such as luxury tax and income tax. Mastilak (2012) states that  "Monopoly involves investing money into a financial enterprise, developing a strategy, making investment decisions, paying expenses, collecting revenues, and competing with other similar enterprises. † Monopoly teaches individuals the value of the American Dream.It is supposedly said that everyone starts off in the same social conditions and everyone has equal chances to climb the social classes. In the game, every player starts off with the same amount of money. In life, everyone is born with the same opportunities among your peers. For example, individuals born in a low social class have the same amount of chances to reach the higher social statuses. To reach a high social class, individuals have to invest themselves in the American dream, so that one-day individuals will own a house, have money, have luxurious items, and â€Å"live happily. The Monopoly game incorporates the American dream elements into the game. The paper money obviously represents money, the houses and h otels represents real estate; luxuries are included in the game as well, such as a jet plane, a limo, a yacht, and a bullet train. Even household luxuries such as water and electricity are included. The game is based on competition; the winner is clearly the wealthiest. The game represents corporate culture, where the game is about winners and losers, it’s about greed and it’s about being heartless. Players are suppose to use every way to get their wants, even if it means hurting their family and friends.For example, if a player lands on another player’s spot, the player has to find a way to pay for landing in the spot, even if it means that the player doesn’t have the money for it. Monopoly also teaches players the rules of social engagement. Taking turns, following the rules, and fair play are general norms of social engagement (Glasberg, Nangle, Maatita, and Schauer 1998). Glasberg, Nangle, Maatita, and Schauer also bring out a good observation when pl ayers noticed the political socialization. They stated that since unknown players made up these games, the players did not debate or negotiate the rules.What I’ve noticed about the game is that the square that says â€Å"In Jail†, â€Å"Just Visiting†, the price of the estates are relatively cheap. This reinforces the idea that people who are in jail are most likely people from bad neighborhoods. It can also mean that the estates are cheap because it’s next to a jail and it brings down the value of the estate. While on the other hand, the estates near the â€Å"Go To Jail† square are significantly higher on prices. The way I interpreted this is that higher security is placed among valuable estates. It’s like in life; people with the money can afford to buy security cameras or high security equipments.Or it can mean that higher securities are placed around rich neighborhoods. Another square, called the â€Å"Free Parking† represents lu ck. The way I interpreted the â€Å"Free Parking† spot is the chances of winning the lottery, or in the case of the game it is to take all the money piled in the middle of the board game. There are many Americans who play the lottery, hoping to beat against the odds to win a vast amount of money. If the game were to be played different, for example some players start of wealthy while other players start off poor, the real life application may be accurate.A professor from Pennsylvania State University tested 50 students with the poor and rich elements. As suspected, the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. According to the article Classroom Monopoly Game Shows Rich Often Get Richer, 20% of the people control 40% of the wealth and 20% splits 1%. The remainder divides the middle 59% in the United States. It’s just really interesting that how easy it is for players to adjust to the power of money and how accurate it is sometimes. For example, it was very interesting that a student stole $100 from a neighbor because the student was poor.That’s how it is in some places; people have no other choice but to steal for survival. Monopoly does have many useful skills such as accounting and money investments. However, the board game does reinforce American values, it incorporates the lemets of the American Dream and the corporate culture as well. Even if the game is played differently, these values remain the same and some players even become greedy and heartless (do anything to win, even if it means hurting friends or family). It’s very interesting, it taught me new ideas, and made me think of games that they are not always as it seems.Works Cited 1. Classroom monopoly game shows rich often get richer. (1992, Feb 22). Journal Record. Retrieved from www. search. proquest. com 2. Glasberg, D. , Nangle, B. , Maatita, F. , & Schauer, T. (1998, Apr). Games children play: an exercise illustrating agents of socialization. Teaching Sociology, 26( 2), 130-139. Retrieved from www. jstor. org 3. Mastilak, C. (2012): First-Day Strategies for Millennial Students in Introductory Accounting Courses: It's All Fun and Games Until Something Gets Learned, Journal of Education for Business, 87(1), 48-51. Retrieved from www. ebscohost. com