Strategic management in an international context Coursework

Strategic management in an international context - Coursework Example Therefore, the company should consider investing the $2 billion in the country to set up beer industry. The net disposable income for the citizens of Norway has been growing gradually for the last ten years. This has been due to the gradual growth of the country’s economy. Therefore, consumers’ demands for the products and services has been rising year in year out, with beer being inclusive. As such, Fyne Ales Company should be pulled by these factors to consider investing in Norway. The government of Norway has lower trade barriers to investors who want to invest in its economy. In fact, the government of Norway has put in place initiatives and incentives to encourage potential investors to invest more in the country. These incentives include tax waiver during the initial stages of the project as a way of cushioning new investors against the initial financial shocks at the start of their investments (Karrenbrock, 2009, p. 2). The government will also be offering the licensing agreement to make the products produced by companies operating in the country available to foreign markets. One example of the license agreement is a situation whereby the brewer themselves can allow a brewer who has already settled down in Norway to brew and sell beers of foreign brewers. Therefore, Fyne Ales Company should consider making good use of such opportunities and favours to invest in Norway in the beer production industry, from which it will be able to generate more returns. The internationalization of the western economy in the last few years shows a cross-border investment and the increasing number of companies with production segments in a number of countries. Exploitation of natural resources is the fundamental reason foreign companies should invest in the non-metropolitan Norway. If Fyne Ales Company invests in Norway’s economy, Norway as a country will have the advantage of getting closer to its customers who live in the non-metropolitan Norway, thereby,

The Evolution of the Human 'Y 'Chromsome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Evolution of the Human 'Y 'Chromsome - Essay Example Females account for two X chromosomes while males have one X and one Y chromosome. Y chromosome is also one of the significant sex determining chromosomes in animals and since we are focusing on the human aspect, so the same is in human beings as well. In mammals, the gene SRY is located in the Y chromosome which has an effect on the development of the testis which in all fairness is an indicator of the maleness of a person. The Y chromosome spans 58 million base pairs which are indeed the building blocks of the DNA and there is a clear enough representation of around 0.38% from the DNA as present in the cell of a human being. The Y chromosome has within it 78 genes where there is a coding taking place of only 23 proteins which are very distinct and different in nature. Specifically talking about the Y chromosome now, we see that in the past, the scientists were of the belief that the human sex chromosome, the Y chromosome was just a minute and smaller version of the X chromosome, which indeed is the chromosome present in both the sexes, males and females. Moving further ahead on this notion, we discern that the research conducted by Dr. David Page who is a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research showed that on the reversal of the Y chromosome there is a significant story as it brings out the essence related with the evolution of the sex chromosomes and not only that but also provides an area of respite for the genes present for the sake of male fertility. What these results have done is to educate one and all of the basis and importance related with the Y chromosomes. (Ribbert, 2003) More than that, it has portrayed the Y chromosome as being the basis for the different diagnostic techniques for literally thousands of men who are infertile and cannot have babies. The genetic differences are easily understood through the results thus achieved on the working done on the Y chromosome and these genetic differences are in line with the

Waterside Boarding Kennels

Waterside Boarding Kennels Environmental Analysis Business Management 1 Executive Summary This report reflects an environmental analysis of Waterside Kennels.Co To write this report I looked into internal and external environments of the company using the SWOT,PEST and Porters Five Forces tools. This report offers opportunity of improvement and reflections of the threats which may occur within the Waterside Kennels.Co 2 Title An Environmental Analysis of the Waterside Kennels.Co 3 Terms of Reference On Wednesday day 16thSeptember 2009 the Business Management Tutor Ms Karen Abberton requested a report on Environmental Analysis of a Company of Work placement to comply with the requirements of the FETAC level 6 Business Management. I choose Waterside Boarding Kennels where I am doing work experience. This report is to submitted by 15th December 2009. Recommendation were requested. 4 Method of procedure In order to obtain relevant information the following procedures were adopted to acquire the information in the report: * Waterside Kennels Co. * Website research * College handouts 5 Findings 5.1 History of the Company Waterside Kennels is a solo proprietorship founded and owned by Fred Quinn, established 5 years ago in North Co. Dublin on the old N2 road. 5.1.1 Type of work carried by Waterside Boarding Kennels Every pet should have a good home but if you are going to be away for a while because of business or a holiday, your pet still needs the proper care and handling until you come back from an out-of-town business meeting or holiday. The best way to do this is to get in touch with a pet care and boarding business which can help your cat, dog or other pet. When you choose a pet care and boarding business you want the best care for your pet while you are away from home. The goal is to get a pet care and boarding business that feels close to the comforts of your home. Your pet will feel more comfortable in an environment that resembles your home environment and wont experience anxiety if you must leave for a few days. At Waterside Kennels, we specialise in caring. Whether it is providing a happy holiday home for pet, training dogs to be a socially acceptable companions or advanced competition dogs the owners peace of mind and a contented pet is our prime concern. The Waterside Kennels is able to offer this specialized attention because they are equipped very well. When customers leave their dog at the Waterside Kennels it is surrounded by people all day, has its own bed and is taken for walk twice a day and has an eleven acre of grassland fenced in backyard to explore. The Waterside Kennels is a superior alternative to a Kennel because the dog gets attention all day, have plush facilities and have ample opportunities to exercise. 5.1.2 Organization Structure Pet care and boarding services include a wide range of full or part-time employment opportunities for people that want to provide care for animals on a temporary basis. Services such as boarding, grooming, house sitting and training pets are a part of lucrative market especially to people that have experience in pet care and boarding services. Waterside Kennels is a flat company administrated by Fred Quinn The organisational structure of Waterside Kennels is the follow: 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 0020000000000bc02000000000102022253797374656d00003f3f000000000000000001003f3f3f3f3f3f3f3f3f3f3f00040000002d010100040000002d010100030000000000 From the chart above we can see that Waterside Kennels Co is managed by Fred Quinn who at the same time is in control of finances and is in top of all departments. John Lynch is responsible in training the dogs. Kevin Hogan is in charge of caring the dogs and cleaning the kennels. At my request to get work experience placement Fred Quinn positioned me in advertising department , and ask me to do a research what are wants and needs of people with pets on this period of time. Veterinary services for Waterside Kennels provides Veterinary Clinique from Asbourne on request. 5.1.3 Capability Waterside Kennels buildings is zoned perfectly on 11 acres of grassland, and has ability to host more than 60 dogs at the same time. Company provides services, such as grooming, training or doggy day care. Waterside Kennels is open all year round for boarding for dogs, cats and small animals and can also offer a collection and delivery service for you. Company is capable to take in consideration every needs of each individual customer. 5.2 SWOT SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis is an important tool for auditing the overall strategic position of a business and its environments. The following SWOT analysis captures key strengths and weaknesses within the Waterside Kennels and describe the opportunity and treats that facing the company. Strengths Ø Strong relationship with the Human Society and local breeders. Ø Ample time to dedicate to the care of the animal Ø Ideal facility Ø High customer loyalty Weaknesses Ø Lack of visibility in the community Ø A limited marketing budget Ø A limited access of Dublin customers Opportunities Ø Growing market with a significant percentage of the market still not aware that the Waterside Boarding Kennels exists Ø Fixed cost that is reduced when spread over multiple animals. Treats Ø A slump in the economy that will reduce peoples discretionary income, thereby, reducing their opportunity to travel Ø New competitors realising the true market potential 5.3 PEST The PEST analysis is a useful tool for understanding the â€Å"Picture† of the environment in which you are operating and the Opportunities and Threats that lie within it. By understanding the environment in which you operate (external to your company) you can take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats. The PEST is used to describe a framework for the analysis of a range of macro environmental factors including the Political, Economical, Social and Technological. By using the following PEST method I will look at some of the outside factors which affects Waterside Boarding Kennels. Political * Introduction of water charges levy. This introduction affects the company budget as it will cost 800 euro a month. * Introduction of more strictly regulation such as waste, fire, health and safety make the company to spend more money to be in line with this regulation. Economical * Downturn in the economy affected peoples ability to travel. The company relays on holidaying people. * Interest rates increasing leaving the company to struggle whit the monthly repayments. The company borrowed from the bank 300.000 euro to develop the business. * Increase in unemployment. With no jobs people care for their pets themselves. Social * Life style changes in the last 3-4 years many people moved to live in Dublin. * The customers are 30-60 years. * Increase in unemployment is a big issue for the company Technological * Company is using website for advertising * At all the time supervision by developed technology * Working on project of modifying the locking system on the kennels which will allow to close and open the door automatically in case of Health and Safety (Fire, Flooding) 5.4 Porter 5 Forces Michael Porter has identified five forces that are widely used to assess the structure of any industry. Porter five forces are: Ø Bargaining Power of Suppliers Ø Bargaining Power of Buyers Ø Treats of New Entrants Ø Treats of Substitutes Ø Rivalry among Competitors Together the strength of the five forces determines the profit potential in an industry by influencing the prices, costs and required investments of business. Stronger forces are associated with a more challenging business environment. Scanning Waterside Boarding Kennels I remarked the follows: Ø Power of suppliers for Waterside Boarding Kennels is low. It is easy to switch from one supplier to another. Ø Power of buyers is medium. In boarding business customers like to stay with the same company as they feel their pets are happy. Ø Treats of new entrants is medium. Depends on how much the entrants will invest. Waterside Kennels invested, (for boarding business ) a lot of money and try to have a high standard of services. For five years period the company acquired a good reputation. Customers are loyal to our company. Ø To reduce the treats of substitutes we are staying closely in tune with customers preferences. Ø To look at competitive rivalry whiten boarding industry in Ireland, I did a research and realised there were many boarding businesses. The Waterside Kennels have low rivalry as there no other boarding business in the area. 6 Conclusion Waterside Boarding Kennels Co. is very well placed on N2 road with new ideal facilities. The owner invested a lot of money unexpecting the downturn in economy which affected the company. This company must to do a research on their needs/wants. In my view, boarding business is like any businesses have to have strategies. There is still a lot to be done. At the moment company operates for local customers. It is time to expand coverage. I am optimistic on this company future. Not many people will turn away from their love pets. 7 Recommendations My recommendations Waterside Boarding Kennels are the following: * Review the company strategies. * More advertising * Organise events * Clear signs for directions(location) * Coffee machine for customers * Collecting rain water for cleaning will reduce water charges bill * Employ volunteers who can come with good ideas 8 Bibliography Waterside Boarding Kennels company.

Jane Eyre :: essays research papers

Passion and Responsibility In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses Jane Eyre as her base to find out how a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with her responsibilities. . Mistreated abused and deprived of a normal childhood, Jane Eyre creates an enemy early in her childhood with her Aunt Mrs. Reed. Just as Mrs. Reeds life is coming to an end, she writes to Jane asking her for forgiveness, and one last visit from her. â€Å"Will you have the goodness to send me the address of my niece, Jane Eyre, and to tell me how she is. It is my intention to write shortly and desire her to come to see me at Madeira†¦I wish to adopt her during my life, and bequeath her at my death whatever I may have to leave.† (252) Regretting many things in her life, Jane is put into a situation in which the answer lies in deterring to redress the wrong or to keep the past where it belongs and do what Jane believes is ethical and morally right.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Obligations arise as Jane is forced to stay with Mrs. Reed. With out being nurtured, Jane receives unnecessary abuse and still feels as if she is yet to find â€Å"home†. Frustration slowly builds up in Jane’s mind and she awaits the perfect chance to let it all out, â€Å"You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I cannot live so: and you have no pity† (33) With the anger and anguish built up inside of Jane, she finally finds a chance to move out, leaving behind a broken relationship with her aunt Mrs. Reed. Jane works towards living a better life, a more worthwhile life leaving what happened in the past, where it belongs. As Mrs. Reed becomes ill, she wishes to see Jane one last time before she passes away. This triggers the moral side of the Character Jane Eyre, and she is stumped on a decision she was to make, not realizing that her decisions will show her true character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether it is because of the obligation, out of love, pity or kindness, Jane believes she visit Mrs. Reed and fulfill her last wishes. â€Å"Forgive me for my passionate language; I was a child then; eight, nine years have passed since that day.† (253) Putting the hardships behind her Jane gives her full apologies to Mrs. Jane Eyre :: essays research papers Passion and Responsibility In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses Jane Eyre as her base to find out how a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with her responsibilities. . Mistreated abused and deprived of a normal childhood, Jane Eyre creates an enemy early in her childhood with her Aunt Mrs. Reed. Just as Mrs. Reeds life is coming to an end, she writes to Jane asking her for forgiveness, and one last visit from her. â€Å"Will you have the goodness to send me the address of my niece, Jane Eyre, and to tell me how she is. It is my intention to write shortly and desire her to come to see me at Madeira†¦I wish to adopt her during my life, and bequeath her at my death whatever I may have to leave.† (252) Regretting many things in her life, Jane is put into a situation in which the answer lies in deterring to redress the wrong or to keep the past where it belongs and do what Jane believes is ethical and morally right.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Obligations arise as Jane is forced to stay with Mrs. Reed. With out being nurtured, Jane receives unnecessary abuse and still feels as if she is yet to find â€Å"home†. Frustration slowly builds up in Jane’s mind and she awaits the perfect chance to let it all out, â€Å"You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I cannot live so: and you have no pity† (33) With the anger and anguish built up inside of Jane, she finally finds a chance to move out, leaving behind a broken relationship with her aunt Mrs. Reed. Jane works towards living a better life, a more worthwhile life leaving what happened in the past, where it belongs. As Mrs. Reed becomes ill, she wishes to see Jane one last time before she passes away. This triggers the moral side of the Character Jane Eyre, and she is stumped on a decision she was to make, not realizing that her decisions will show her true character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether it is because of the obligation, out of love, pity or kindness, Jane believes she visit Mrs. Reed and fulfill her last wishes. â€Å"Forgive me for my passionate language; I was a child then; eight, nine years have passed since that day.† (253) Putting the hardships behind her Jane gives her full apologies to Mrs.

Facebook Addiction Disorder

Article 1 Title : Online Social Networking and Addiction Writer(s) : Daria J. Kuss and Mark D. Griffiths Source : www. mdpi. com/journal/ijerph Social Networking Sites (SNS) or in this case Facebook has been causing serious addiction amongst individuals these days. This situation is no longer seen as an addiction but as a serious mental health issue. People these days spend majority of their time online by surfing Facebook in their virtual community. Psychologists describe this scenario as ‘Facebook Addiction Disorder’ (FAD).This disorder is seen as an addiction because the individual who is said to be addicted to Facebook actually confronts similar criteria as other addictive activities. One is said to be having FAD due to the increase in time spent on Facebook. Besides that, FAD also increases individualistic culture among its users. Moreover, egocentrism is another factor that contributes to this problem since it may induce addictive characteristics within the particu lar individual. This is mainly down to attraction which is the key factor to Facebook Addiction Disorder.Furthermore, like any other addiction, this issue has its symptoms as well. The author has addressed several symptoms that can be used to classify a person as a Facebook addict. Negligence of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism, mood modifying experiences, tolerance, and concealing the addictive behavior are among the symptoms that can be seen in a Facebook addict. These symptoms are detrimental to one’s mental health and well being because the person spends too much of time and energy in a virtual world.The effects of Facebook addiction or behavioral-related addiction and substance-related addiction is suggested to be the same as both have negative consequences on the addict as time goes by. (259 words) Article 2 Title : Facebook Addiction Disorder – The 6 Symptoms of F. A. D. Writer : Amy Summers Source : www. socialtimes. com This article touches on the issue of Facebook Addiction Disorder, amongst teenagers and its effect on their surroundings. This occurrence is the latest obsession and a virtual object of craze amongst teenagers.This is mainly due to Facebook being the current big thing everywhere that even family members of the teenagers till educated professionals are going mad over the social networking site. These teenagers tend to go overboard when they participate in this phenomenon as it is a trend that is considered uber- cool and they become obsessive about it. â€Å"Facebook Addiction Disorder† (FAD) is a condition which is defined by hours spent on Facebook by a person. The time spent is said to be affecting the balance of an individual’s life.There are six key symptoms mentioned by the author for this disorder. Firstly, a person with FAD will be spending so much time on the site which leads to a stage where they need it in order to obtain satisfaction. Besides, reducing normal social or recreational ac tivities, they will also plan virtual dates as instead of meeting their partner somewhere, they will ask their partner to be online at a certain time. Other than that, the friends list of an addict will mostly have strangers rather than the ones they know in real life.Finally, the sign of complete addiction is when they introduce themselves to someone and promise to see them on Facebook. Parents who try to help their children out of this problem, turn out to be more addicted than their teenage kids. (257 words) REFLECTION Facebook. Something that started off within the walls of Harvard University in 2004 has been ruling the world for the past half decade. Newborn babies to near death grannies and even animals these days have a profile on this social networking site. This site has been so major that these days the first word that type into the World Wide Web is Facebook. 45 million users in just 8 years is a quite a record for any social networking site in the world. It has been so h yped up that to have a Facebook profile has become a basic need for certain group of people. A tool that is supposed to be used prudently has been used extensively by some individuals so much so that they have become addicted to it. In fact, psychologists in the United States of America came up with the term ‘Facebook Addiction Disorder’ (FAD) back in 2009 as they predicted this syndrome will take the world faster than it took for the site to become global.Well, their prediction has become true. This condition is considered to a serious mental illness these days, even worse since it’s caused by addiction that could be compared to the likes of drugs and cigarettes. Who would’ve thought that a social networking site could spell so much trouble? Based on the two articles, the key point to this disorder is due to the amount of time spent on this site. People tend to spend too much time on this site than actually do something about their lives.Those days when a working man gets his off day, he would be either having a good sleep or spend some quality time with his family, but nowadays the working man would rather spend his off day by enduring a sleepless night just to spend his time on Facebook. This sounds totally ridiculous. In the context of students, they would be glad to chat with their friends online, upload pictures and update their status but they would not bother to even flip through their textbooks or homeworks given by the teacher. This proves that Facebook is affecting people regardless of age limit.The amount of time spent on Facebook shows the level of addiction of the person to the site. Thus, the hypothesis would be that, the more the time taken to use Facebook, the higher the addiction level. A person who is possessed with this global demon is also very dangerous as it may make you oblivious to your surroundings. Facebook addicts do not care about what’s happening around them. However, they would ‘likeâ€℠¢ a certain post about Earth Hour during the hour when all electric appliances should be shut down.This shows how a person can be an environmentalist in the virtual world, but a person with no social awareness in reality. This means that Facebook addicts have another problem, Multiple Personality Disorder because they have two avatars, each in two different worlds, Facebook and reality. This disorder also causes people to be very aggressive. They would be very sad if a friend did not respond to their request to be friends on Facebook. Some of them would even compete with each other to increase their list of friends.This situation could not be considered as something that tickles our funny bones, but it is something that should be thought rationally and seriously since the issue is getting worse day to day. What is the point of adding a thousand people into your profile and chat with them happily online, when you turn your back towards them in reality? Besides that, the majority of g roup that is most affected by this phenomenon are teenagers. Being born in this era of online madness is not a sin, but they are being led into fake world that is given a fancy name of globalization!They think that being on Facebook is the coolest thing to do as a teenager. What a misconception? Students these days do not prefer face to face interaction where as they prefer to virtual communication. Do not be surprised if in the future two people, who won’t even smile at each other, could be best friends on Facebook. If the number of Facebook addicts increase continuously, sooner or later we would be witnessing the growth of an unhealthy generation of youth with no social skills because all this while they never knew how to make friends, socialize or even take part in recreational activities.The major factor to this crisis is because their conceptualization of social life is Facebook. This so called social networking site also happens to social crime networking site lately. O n 18th April 2012, in Pune, India, a 16 year old girl was kidnapped by her Facebook friend whom she had known through the website. After kidnapping her, the accused initially demanded a ransom of Rs 100,000 from her mother. But later fearing police action, he got the girl admitted to a private hospital telling the hospital authorities that he found her ‘wandering' on the road after she was thrown out of a van by some people.What could have happened to the girl if the kidnapper was a psychopath? The consequence would have been unfathomable. This is what happens to certain Facebook addicts who reveal too much of details online. What is the worth of an individual who is deemed as a very private person in reality, where as in the virtual world they reveal everything to everyone? In the working world, those days’ workers were scolded by their employers for talking during their work time; nowadays they are sacked for using Facebook at work.In certain scenarios, the employees are sacked because they update their Facebook status at work, capture pictures while working and also to have the guts to upload it at work. Where is the discipline of the working world going? Why are they being so irresponsible? In a book titled ‘Facebook Addiction’, the author who is an addict himself says that once when he was trying to pack up his laptop, a client called and asked him to work on a website. The moment he opened the internet browser, the first thing he did was, type in â€Å"www. acebook. com† and logged in, he promised to himself to spend only five minutes, he couldn’t resist himself and spent eight hours on the website. On top of that, in terms of relationships, Facebook addicts do not have a proper life there either; there have been reported cases in America, of young married couples who file for divorce. In a survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), researchers found that Facebook was mentioned in 1 out of every 5 divorces in the United States.Some of the cases were due to lack communication between couples because one of the partners was always busy updating his Facebook status rather than actually communicating with his wife. Before marriage, messaging through the site could be fun or romantic, however post marital relationship requires commitment and real communication. These cases have proved that Facebook Addiction Disorder has been the major cause of many serious problems from school to the confinements of our home. If this scenario continues, this disorder could get into the line along serious mental illnesses.We as educators will be facing great dilemmas as the students would be more passive socially in reality, to overcome it we have to teach them in a condition where there is no active interaction between teacher and a student. However, if we stand with our hands folded, one day we might see the portrait of our society in the obituary column in the newspapers. APPENDIX A rticle 1 Title : Online Social Networking and Addiction Writer(s) : Daria J. Kuss and Mark D. Griffiths Source : www. mdpi. com/journal/ijerph â€Å"I’m an addict.I just get lost in Facebook† replies a young mother when asked why she does not see herself able to help her daughter with her homework. Instead of supporting her child, she spends her time chatting and browsing the social networking site . This case, while extreme, is suggestive of a potential new mental health problem that emerges as Internet social networks proliferate. Newspaper stories have also reported similar cases, suggesting that the popular press was early to discern the potentially addictive qualities of social networking sites.Such media coverage has alleged that women are at greater risk than men for developing addictions to SNSs . The mass appeal of social networks on the Internet could potentially be a cause for concern, particularly when attending to the gradually increasing amounts of time p eople spend online . On the Internet, people engage in a variety of activities some of which may be potentially to be addictive. Rather than becoming addicted to the medium per se, some users may develop an addiction to specific activities they carry out online.Specifically, Young argues that there are five different types of internet addiction, namely computer addiction (i. e. , computer game addiction), information overload (i. e. , web surfing addiction), net compulsions (i. e. , online gambling or online shopping addiction), cybersexual addiction (i. e. , online pornography or online sex addiction), and cyber-relationship addiction (i. e. , an addiction to online relationships). SNS addiction appears to fall in the last category since the purpose and main motivation to use SNSs is to establish and maintain both on- and offline relationships.From a clinical psychologist’s perspective, it may be plausible to speak specifically of ‘Facebook Addiction Disorder’ ( or more generally ‘SNS Addiction Disorder’) because addiction criteria, such as neglect of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism, mood modifying experiences, tolerance, and concealing the addictive behavior, appear to be present in some people who use SNSs excessively. Social Networking Sites are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends, and meet other people based on shared interests.SNSs are web-based services that allow individuals to: construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system†. The focus is placed on established networks, rather than on networking, which implies the construction of new networks. SNSs offer individuals the possibilities of networking and sharing media content, therefore embracing the main Web 2. attributes, against the framework of their respective structural characteristics. In terms of SNS history, the first social networking site (SixDegrees) was launched in 1997, based on the idea that everybody is linked with everybody else via six degrees of separation, and initially referred to as the â€Å"small world problem†. In 2004, the most successful current SNS, Facebook, was established as a closed virtual community for Harvard students. The site expanded very quickly and Facebook currently has more than 500 million users, of whom fifty percent log on to it every day.Furthermore, the overall time spent on Facebook increased by 56% from 2007 to 2008. This statistic alone indicates the exponential appeal of SNSs and also suggests a reason for a rise in potential SNS addiction. Hypothetically, the appeal of SNSs may be traced back to its reflection of today’s individualist culture. Unlike traditional virtual communities that emerged during the 1990s based on shar ed interests of their members, social networking sites are egocentric sites. It is the individual rather than the community that is the focus of attention. Egocentrism has been linked to Internet addiction.Supposedly, the egocentric construction of SNSs may facilitate the engagement in addictive behaviors and may thus serve as a factor that attracts people to using it in a potentially excessive way. This hypothesis is in line with the PACE Framework for the etiology of addiction specificity. Attraction is one of the four key components that may predispose individuals to becoming addicted to specific behaviors or substances rather than specific others. Accordingly, due to their egocentric construction, SNSs allow individuals to present themselves positively that may â€Å"raise their spirits† (i. . , enhance their mood state) because it is experienced as pleasurable. This may lead to positive experiences that can potentially cultivate and facilitate learning experiences that d rive the development of SNS addiction. A behavioral addiction such as SNS addiction may thus be seen from a biopsychosocial perspective . Just like substance-related addictions, SNS addiction incorporates the experience of the ‘classic’ addiction symptoms, namely mood modification (i. e. , engagement in SNSs leads to a favourable change in emotional states), salience (i. e. behavioral, cognitive, and emotional preoccupation with the SNS usage), tolerance (i. e. , ever increasing use of SNSs over time), withdrawal symptoms (i. e. , experiencing unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms when SNS use is restricted or stopped), conflict (i. e. , interpersonal and intrapsychic problems ensue because of SNS usage), and relapse (i. e. , addicts quickly revert back in their excessive SNS usage after an abstinence period). Moreover, scholars have suggested that a combination of biological, psychological and social factors contributes to the etiology of addictions, that may also hold true for SNS addiction.From this it follows that SNS addiction shares a common underlying etiological framework with other substance-related and behavioral addictions. However, due to the fact that the engagement in SNSs is different in terms of the actual expression of (Internet) addiction (i. e. , pathological use of social networking sites rather than other Internet applications), the phenomenon appears worthy of individual consideration, particularly when considering the potentially detrimental effects of both substance-related and behavioral addictions on individuals who experience a variety of negative consequences because of their addiction.Article 2 Title : Facebook Addiction Disorder – The 6 Symptoms of F. A. D. Writer : Amy Summers Source : www. socialtimes. com â€Å"Okay, I admit it. I am truly addicted to Facebook,† said teenage blogger Heidi Barry-Rodriquez in 2007. In 2009, teen Neeka Salmasi described the social networking giant as being â€Å"li ke an addiction†. This year, a casino site mentioned that â€Å"Facebook provides the atmosphere where it is tough to walk away† in a direct comparison to gambling addiction. A quick web search and it becomes appallingly evident that we have a problem.Text messaging is no longer the biggest teenage obsession, and long gone are the days where the biggest worries for parents were celebrity crushes, massive phone bills from ridiculously long phone calls and chocolate overloads. These teenage obsessions still exist, but in today’s day and age, and in comparison to the Facebook craze, they seem rather insignificant. Facebook is taking over the world, and that’s no exaggeration. Everyone from eager-to-fit-in teens to educated business people to intrigued grandparents has joined the phenomenon, and unsurprisingly many teenagers have also caught Facebook fever.And like with many of the latest attention-grabbing trends, some teenagers can go a little overboard when participating in them. Perhaps we join Facebook because everyone has an account and, as teenagers, the need to fit in is just too great, or perhaps there’s just a special something that has helped the social networking site attract so many million people. Teenagers have a tendency to become obsessive with the ‘in’ thing and Facebook, the trend of the decade, is no exception; the question is, have we overdone in? And is there really such thing as Facebook addiction?An American psychologist believes so. In fact, he’s even introduced a new term to describe such an addiction. FAD, or Facebook Addiction Disorder, is a condition that is defined by hours spent on Facebook, so much time in fact that the healthy balance of the individual’s life is affected. It has been said that approximately 350 million people are suffering from the disorder that is detected through a simple set of six-criteria. People who are victims of the condition must have at least 2- 3 of the following criteria during a 6-8 month time period. . Tolerance: This term is used to describe the desperate behavior of a Facebook addict. They spend an increasing amount of time on the site, coming to a stage where they need it in order to obtain satisfaction or on the other extreme, it is having a detrimental effect on them as a person and their life. For the family members and friends who think they are dealing with an addict, a sign to look out for are multiple Facebook windows open. Three or more confirms that they are indeed suffering from this condition. 2.Withdrawal symptoms: These become obvious when one is restricted from using Facebook because they have to participate in normal everyday activities. Common signs are anxiety, distress and the need to talk about Facebook and what might have been posted on their wall in their absence. 3. Reduction of normal social/recreational activities: Someone suffering from FAD will reduce the time spent catching up with friends, playing sport or whatever it is they used to enjoy doing, to simply spend time on Facebook. Instead of catching up with a friend for coffee, they will send a Facebook message.A dinner date will be substituted with a messenger chat. In extreme cases, the person will even stop answering their parent’s phone calls, instead insisting that they use Facebook to contact them. 4. Virtual dates: It is obvious that things are extreme when real dates are replaced with virtual dates. Instead of going to the movies or out to dinner, they tell their partner to be online at a certain time. 5. Fake friends: If 8 out of 10 people shown on their Facebook page are complete strangers, it is undeniable: they have a serious case of FAD. 6.Complete addiction: When they meet new people, they say their name, followed by â€Å"I’ll talk to you on Facebook†, or for those who are extremely bad, â€Å"I’ll see you in Facebook†. Their pets have Facebook pages, and any notifica tions, wall posts, inboxes or friend requests that they receive give them a high, one which can be compared to that gambling addicts get from the pokies or roulette table. So someone believes that addiction to the net is a real condition that needs to be treated just like any other addiction, with care and caution, but is an obsession with Facebook a real condition, or is FAD really just the latest fad?Either way, Facebook obsessions are definitely present in today’s society and whether it is a disorder or not, something needs to be done to fix it. Forget the fancy name and look at the facts. Many people, teenagers in particular, are spending too much time online. People’s lives are being affected because of the hours spent looking at profiles and pictures. Facebook, very beneficial in some ways, is having a detrimental effect on the everyday behaviors of people around the world. Having seen the affects of too much time online firsthand, I know this to be true.Nobody c an possibly disagree when the facts speak for themselves and when an individual’s online ‘life’ becomes more important than their real one; we know that there is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. But, what to do about it? How can we possibly fix a problem that has affected more than a third of the world’s population? That is a question I can’t answer, but I do know that our parents can play an important role, well, that is if the addicted is still young enough to be influenced by their parents. There are two kinds of parents in my area, both from different ends of the spectrum.On one side we have the Facebook haters; the parents who don’t have Facebook, don’t understand Facebook and never want to understand Facebook. On the other side, we have the Facebook lovers, those who act more like their teenage children than their parents. They’ve befriended their kids online, participate in their online conversations, comment on their photos and send messages from the lounge room to the bedroom instead of just walking up the hallway and keeping matters that should be kept private, well, private. Don’t believe me? I completely understand.It definitely sounds strange. But the truth is I actually know people like this and well I can only conclude one thing: that these parents, in an attempt to be their teen’s friend rather than their parent, have also been swept up in the Facebook craze and are now suffering from a similar sort of addiction. The apple really does never land far from the tree. REFERENCES 1. http://www. healthism. com/articles/facebook-addiction 2. http://deaddictioncentres. in/news/facebook-de-addiction-social-dysfunction/ 3. http://columbianewsservice. om/2011/02/the-facebook-relapse-trying-to-defriend-facebook/ 4. http://www. sakaaltimes. com/20120418/5754739842191348023. htm 5. http://socialtimes. com/facebook-addiction-disorder-the-6-symptoms-of-f-a-d_b60403 6. http://www. tomsguide. com/us/facebook-twitter-myspace,news-10312. html 7. http://www. netaddiction. com/index. php? option=com_blog&view= 8. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Text Revision, Fourth Edition; American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC, USA, 2000 9. Lenhart, A. Social Networking Facebook Addiction Disorder Article 1 Title : Online Social Networking and Addiction Writer(s) : Daria J. Kuss and Mark D. Griffiths Source : www. mdpi. com/journal/ijerph Social Networking Sites (SNS) or in this case Facebook has been causing serious addiction amongst individuals these days. This situation is no longer seen as an addiction but as a serious mental health issue. People these days spend majority of their time online by surfing Facebook in their virtual community. Psychologists describe this scenario as ‘Facebook Addiction Disorder’ (FAD).This disorder is seen as an addiction because the individual who is said to be addicted to Facebook actually confronts similar criteria as other addictive activities. One is said to be having FAD due to the increase in time spent on Facebook. Besides that, FAD also increases individualistic culture among its users. Moreover, egocentrism is another factor that contributes to this problem since it may induce addictive characteristics within the particu lar individual. This is mainly down to attraction which is the key factor to Facebook Addiction Disorder.Furthermore, like any other addiction, this issue has its symptoms as well. The author has addressed several symptoms that can be used to classify a person as a Facebook addict. Negligence of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism, mood modifying experiences, tolerance, and concealing the addictive behavior are among the symptoms that can be seen in a Facebook addict. These symptoms are detrimental to one’s mental health and well being because the person spends too much of time and energy in a virtual world.The effects of Facebook addiction or behavioral-related addiction and substance-related addiction is suggested to be the same as both have negative consequences on the addict as time goes by. (259 words) Article 2 Title : Facebook Addiction Disorder – The 6 Symptoms of F. A. D. Writer : Amy Summers Source : www. socialtimes. com This article touches on the issue of Facebook Addiction Disorder, amongst teenagers and its effect on their surroundings. This occurrence is the latest obsession and a virtual object of craze amongst teenagers.This is mainly due to Facebook being the current big thing everywhere that even family members of the teenagers till educated professionals are going mad over the social networking site. These teenagers tend to go overboard when they participate in this phenomenon as it is a trend that is considered uber- cool and they become obsessive about it. â€Å"Facebook Addiction Disorder† (FAD) is a condition which is defined by hours spent on Facebook by a person. The time spent is said to be affecting the balance of an individual’s life.There are six key symptoms mentioned by the author for this disorder. Firstly, a person with FAD will be spending so much time on the site which leads to a stage where they need it in order to obtain satisfaction. Besides, reducing normal social or recreational ac tivities, they will also plan virtual dates as instead of meeting their partner somewhere, they will ask their partner to be online at a certain time. Other than that, the friends list of an addict will mostly have strangers rather than the ones they know in real life.Finally, the sign of complete addiction is when they introduce themselves to someone and promise to see them on Facebook. Parents who try to help their children out of this problem, turn out to be more addicted than their teenage kids. (257 words) REFLECTION Facebook. Something that started off within the walls of Harvard University in 2004 has been ruling the world for the past half decade. Newborn babies to near death grannies and even animals these days have a profile on this social networking site. This site has been so major that these days the first word that type into the World Wide Web is Facebook. 45 million users in just 8 years is a quite a record for any social networking site in the world. It has been so h yped up that to have a Facebook profile has become a basic need for certain group of people. A tool that is supposed to be used prudently has been used extensively by some individuals so much so that they have become addicted to it. In fact, psychologists in the United States of America came up with the term ‘Facebook Addiction Disorder’ (FAD) back in 2009 as they predicted this syndrome will take the world faster than it took for the site to become global.Well, their prediction has become true. This condition is considered to a serious mental illness these days, even worse since it’s caused by addiction that could be compared to the likes of drugs and cigarettes. Who would’ve thought that a social networking site could spell so much trouble? Based on the two articles, the key point to this disorder is due to the amount of time spent on this site. People tend to spend too much time on this site than actually do something about their lives.Those days when a working man gets his off day, he would be either having a good sleep or spend some quality time with his family, but nowadays the working man would rather spend his off day by enduring a sleepless night just to spend his time on Facebook. This sounds totally ridiculous. In the context of students, they would be glad to chat with their friends online, upload pictures and update their status but they would not bother to even flip through their textbooks or homeworks given by the teacher. This proves that Facebook is affecting people regardless of age limit.The amount of time spent on Facebook shows the level of addiction of the person to the site. Thus, the hypothesis would be that, the more the time taken to use Facebook, the higher the addiction level. A person who is possessed with this global demon is also very dangerous as it may make you oblivious to your surroundings. Facebook addicts do not care about what’s happening around them. However, they would ‘likeâ€℠¢ a certain post about Earth Hour during the hour when all electric appliances should be shut down.This shows how a person can be an environmentalist in the virtual world, but a person with no social awareness in reality. This means that Facebook addicts have another problem, Multiple Personality Disorder because they have two avatars, each in two different worlds, Facebook and reality. This disorder also causes people to be very aggressive. They would be very sad if a friend did not respond to their request to be friends on Facebook. Some of them would even compete with each other to increase their list of friends.This situation could not be considered as something that tickles our funny bones, but it is something that should be thought rationally and seriously since the issue is getting worse day to day. What is the point of adding a thousand people into your profile and chat with them happily online, when you turn your back towards them in reality? Besides that, the majority of g roup that is most affected by this phenomenon are teenagers. Being born in this era of online madness is not a sin, but they are being led into fake world that is given a fancy name of globalization!They think that being on Facebook is the coolest thing to do as a teenager. What a misconception? Students these days do not prefer face to face interaction where as they prefer to virtual communication. Do not be surprised if in the future two people, who won’t even smile at each other, could be best friends on Facebook. If the number of Facebook addicts increase continuously, sooner or later we would be witnessing the growth of an unhealthy generation of youth with no social skills because all this while they never knew how to make friends, socialize or even take part in recreational activities.The major factor to this crisis is because their conceptualization of social life is Facebook. This so called social networking site also happens to social crime networking site lately. O n 18th April 2012, in Pune, India, a 16 year old girl was kidnapped by her Facebook friend whom she had known through the website. After kidnapping her, the accused initially demanded a ransom of Rs 100,000 from her mother. But later fearing police action, he got the girl admitted to a private hospital telling the hospital authorities that he found her ‘wandering' on the road after she was thrown out of a van by some people.What could have happened to the girl if the kidnapper was a psychopath? The consequence would have been unfathomable. This is what happens to certain Facebook addicts who reveal too much of details online. What is the worth of an individual who is deemed as a very private person in reality, where as in the virtual world they reveal everything to everyone? In the working world, those days’ workers were scolded by their employers for talking during their work time; nowadays they are sacked for using Facebook at work.In certain scenarios, the employees are sacked because they update their Facebook status at work, capture pictures while working and also to have the guts to upload it at work. Where is the discipline of the working world going? Why are they being so irresponsible? In a book titled ‘Facebook Addiction’, the author who is an addict himself says that once when he was trying to pack up his laptop, a client called and asked him to work on a website. The moment he opened the internet browser, the first thing he did was, type in â€Å"www. acebook. com† and logged in, he promised to himself to spend only five minutes, he couldn’t resist himself and spent eight hours on the website. On top of that, in terms of relationships, Facebook addicts do not have a proper life there either; there have been reported cases in America, of young married couples who file for divorce. In a survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), researchers found that Facebook was mentioned in 1 out of every 5 divorces in the United States.Some of the cases were due to lack communication between couples because one of the partners was always busy updating his Facebook status rather than actually communicating with his wife. Before marriage, messaging through the site could be fun or romantic, however post marital relationship requires commitment and real communication. These cases have proved that Facebook Addiction Disorder has been the major cause of many serious problems from school to the confinements of our home. If this scenario continues, this disorder could get into the line along serious mental illnesses.We as educators will be facing great dilemmas as the students would be more passive socially in reality, to overcome it we have to teach them in a condition where there is no active interaction between teacher and a student. However, if we stand with our hands folded, one day we might see the portrait of our society in the obituary column in the newspapers. APPENDIX A rticle 1 Title : Online Social Networking and Addiction Writer(s) : Daria J. Kuss and Mark D. Griffiths Source : www. mdpi. com/journal/ijerph â€Å"I’m an addict.I just get lost in Facebook† replies a young mother when asked why she does not see herself able to help her daughter with her homework. Instead of supporting her child, she spends her time chatting and browsing the social networking site . This case, while extreme, is suggestive of a potential new mental health problem that emerges as Internet social networks proliferate. Newspaper stories have also reported similar cases, suggesting that the popular press was early to discern the potentially addictive qualities of social networking sites.Such media coverage has alleged that women are at greater risk than men for developing addictions to SNSs . The mass appeal of social networks on the Internet could potentially be a cause for concern, particularly when attending to the gradually increasing amounts of time p eople spend online . On the Internet, people engage in a variety of activities some of which may be potentially to be addictive. Rather than becoming addicted to the medium per se, some users may develop an addiction to specific activities they carry out online.Specifically, Young argues that there are five different types of internet addiction, namely computer addiction (i. e. , computer game addiction), information overload (i. e. , web surfing addiction), net compulsions (i. e. , online gambling or online shopping addiction), cybersexual addiction (i. e. , online pornography or online sex addiction), and cyber-relationship addiction (i. e. , an addiction to online relationships). SNS addiction appears to fall in the last category since the purpose and main motivation to use SNSs is to establish and maintain both on- and offline relationships.From a clinical psychologist’s perspective, it may be plausible to speak specifically of ‘Facebook Addiction Disorder’ ( or more generally ‘SNS Addiction Disorder’) because addiction criteria, such as neglect of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism, mood modifying experiences, tolerance, and concealing the addictive behavior, appear to be present in some people who use SNSs excessively. Social Networking Sites are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends, and meet other people based on shared interests.SNSs are web-based services that allow individuals to: construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system†. The focus is placed on established networks, rather than on networking, which implies the construction of new networks. SNSs offer individuals the possibilities of networking and sharing media content, therefore embracing the main Web 2. attributes, against the framework of their respective structural characteristics. In terms of SNS history, the first social networking site (SixDegrees) was launched in 1997, based on the idea that everybody is linked with everybody else via six degrees of separation, and initially referred to as the â€Å"small world problem†. In 2004, the most successful current SNS, Facebook, was established as a closed virtual community for Harvard students. The site expanded very quickly and Facebook currently has more than 500 million users, of whom fifty percent log on to it every day.Furthermore, the overall time spent on Facebook increased by 56% from 2007 to 2008. This statistic alone indicates the exponential appeal of SNSs and also suggests a reason for a rise in potential SNS addiction. Hypothetically, the appeal of SNSs may be traced back to its reflection of today’s individualist culture. Unlike traditional virtual communities that emerged during the 1990s based on shar ed interests of their members, social networking sites are egocentric sites. It is the individual rather than the community that is the focus of attention. Egocentrism has been linked to Internet addiction.Supposedly, the egocentric construction of SNSs may facilitate the engagement in addictive behaviors and may thus serve as a factor that attracts people to using it in a potentially excessive way. This hypothesis is in line with the PACE Framework for the etiology of addiction specificity. Attraction is one of the four key components that may predispose individuals to becoming addicted to specific behaviors or substances rather than specific others. Accordingly, due to their egocentric construction, SNSs allow individuals to present themselves positively that may â€Å"raise their spirits† (i. . , enhance their mood state) because it is experienced as pleasurable. This may lead to positive experiences that can potentially cultivate and facilitate learning experiences that d rive the development of SNS addiction. A behavioral addiction such as SNS addiction may thus be seen from a biopsychosocial perspective . Just like substance-related addictions, SNS addiction incorporates the experience of the ‘classic’ addiction symptoms, namely mood modification (i. e. , engagement in SNSs leads to a favourable change in emotional states), salience (i. e. behavioral, cognitive, and emotional preoccupation with the SNS usage), tolerance (i. e. , ever increasing use of SNSs over time), withdrawal symptoms (i. e. , experiencing unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms when SNS use is restricted or stopped), conflict (i. e. , interpersonal and intrapsychic problems ensue because of SNS usage), and relapse (i. e. , addicts quickly revert back in their excessive SNS usage after an abstinence period). Moreover, scholars have suggested that a combination of biological, psychological and social factors contributes to the etiology of addictions, that may also hold true for SNS addiction.From this it follows that SNS addiction shares a common underlying etiological framework with other substance-related and behavioral addictions. However, due to the fact that the engagement in SNSs is different in terms of the actual expression of (Internet) addiction (i. e. , pathological use of social networking sites rather than other Internet applications), the phenomenon appears worthy of individual consideration, particularly when considering the potentially detrimental effects of both substance-related and behavioral addictions on individuals who experience a variety of negative consequences because of their addiction.Article 2 Title : Facebook Addiction Disorder – The 6 Symptoms of F. A. D. Writer : Amy Summers Source : www. socialtimes. com â€Å"Okay, I admit it. I am truly addicted to Facebook,† said teenage blogger Heidi Barry-Rodriquez in 2007. In 2009, teen Neeka Salmasi described the social networking giant as being â€Å"li ke an addiction†. This year, a casino site mentioned that â€Å"Facebook provides the atmosphere where it is tough to walk away† in a direct comparison to gambling addiction. A quick web search and it becomes appallingly evident that we have a problem.Text messaging is no longer the biggest teenage obsession, and long gone are the days where the biggest worries for parents were celebrity crushes, massive phone bills from ridiculously long phone calls and chocolate overloads. These teenage obsessions still exist, but in today’s day and age, and in comparison to the Facebook craze, they seem rather insignificant. Facebook is taking over the world, and that’s no exaggeration. Everyone from eager-to-fit-in teens to educated business people to intrigued grandparents has joined the phenomenon, and unsurprisingly many teenagers have also caught Facebook fever.And like with many of the latest attention-grabbing trends, some teenagers can go a little overboard when participating in them. Perhaps we join Facebook because everyone has an account and, as teenagers, the need to fit in is just too great, or perhaps there’s just a special something that has helped the social networking site attract so many million people. Teenagers have a tendency to become obsessive with the ‘in’ thing and Facebook, the trend of the decade, is no exception; the question is, have we overdone in? And is there really such thing as Facebook addiction?An American psychologist believes so. In fact, he’s even introduced a new term to describe such an addiction. FAD, or Facebook Addiction Disorder, is a condition that is defined by hours spent on Facebook, so much time in fact that the healthy balance of the individual’s life is affected. It has been said that approximately 350 million people are suffering from the disorder that is detected through a simple set of six-criteria. People who are victims of the condition must have at least 2- 3 of the following criteria during a 6-8 month time period. . Tolerance: This term is used to describe the desperate behavior of a Facebook addict. They spend an increasing amount of time on the site, coming to a stage where they need it in order to obtain satisfaction or on the other extreme, it is having a detrimental effect on them as a person and their life. For the family members and friends who think they are dealing with an addict, a sign to look out for are multiple Facebook windows open. Three or more confirms that they are indeed suffering from this condition. 2.Withdrawal symptoms: These become obvious when one is restricted from using Facebook because they have to participate in normal everyday activities. Common signs are anxiety, distress and the need to talk about Facebook and what might have been posted on their wall in their absence. 3. Reduction of normal social/recreational activities: Someone suffering from FAD will reduce the time spent catching up with friends, playing sport or whatever it is they used to enjoy doing, to simply spend time on Facebook. Instead of catching up with a friend for coffee, they will send a Facebook message.A dinner date will be substituted with a messenger chat. In extreme cases, the person will even stop answering their parent’s phone calls, instead insisting that they use Facebook to contact them. 4. Virtual dates: It is obvious that things are extreme when real dates are replaced with virtual dates. Instead of going to the movies or out to dinner, they tell their partner to be online at a certain time. 5. Fake friends: If 8 out of 10 people shown on their Facebook page are complete strangers, it is undeniable: they have a serious case of FAD. 6.Complete addiction: When they meet new people, they say their name, followed by â€Å"I’ll talk to you on Facebook†, or for those who are extremely bad, â€Å"I’ll see you in Facebook†. Their pets have Facebook pages, and any notifica tions, wall posts, inboxes or friend requests that they receive give them a high, one which can be compared to that gambling addicts get from the pokies or roulette table. So someone believes that addiction to the net is a real condition that needs to be treated just like any other addiction, with care and caution, but is an obsession with Facebook a real condition, or is FAD really just the latest fad?Either way, Facebook obsessions are definitely present in today’s society and whether it is a disorder or not, something needs to be done to fix it. Forget the fancy name and look at the facts. Many people, teenagers in particular, are spending too much time online. People’s lives are being affected because of the hours spent looking at profiles and pictures. Facebook, very beneficial in some ways, is having a detrimental effect on the everyday behaviors of people around the world. Having seen the affects of too much time online firsthand, I know this to be true.Nobody c an possibly disagree when the facts speak for themselves and when an individual’s online ‘life’ becomes more important than their real one; we know that there is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. But, what to do about it? How can we possibly fix a problem that has affected more than a third of the world’s population? That is a question I can’t answer, but I do know that our parents can play an important role, well, that is if the addicted is still young enough to be influenced by their parents. There are two kinds of parents in my area, both from different ends of the spectrum.On one side we have the Facebook haters; the parents who don’t have Facebook, don’t understand Facebook and never want to understand Facebook. On the other side, we have the Facebook lovers, those who act more like their teenage children than their parents. They’ve befriended their kids online, participate in their online conversations, comment on their photos and send messages from the lounge room to the bedroom instead of just walking up the hallway and keeping matters that should be kept private, well, private. Don’t believe me? I completely understand.It definitely sounds strange. But the truth is I actually know people like this and well I can only conclude one thing: that these parents, in an attempt to be their teen’s friend rather than their parent, have also been swept up in the Facebook craze and are now suffering from a similar sort of addiction. The apple really does never land far from the tree. REFERENCES 1. http://www. healthism. com/articles/facebook-addiction 2. http://deaddictioncentres. in/news/facebook-de-addiction-social-dysfunction/ 3. http://columbianewsservice. om/2011/02/the-facebook-relapse-trying-to-defriend-facebook/ 4. http://www. sakaaltimes. com/20120418/5754739842191348023. htm 5. http://socialtimes. com/facebook-addiction-disorder-the-6-symptoms-of-f-a-d_b60403 6. http://www. tomsguide. com/us/facebook-twitter-myspace,news-10312. html 7. http://www. netaddiction. com/index. php? option=com_blog&view= 8. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Text Revision, Fourth Edition; American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC, USA, 2000 9. Lenhart, A. Social Networking

Coeducation in Pakistan

Coeducation is to educate both boys and girls together. in the modern world of today,coeducation is the new order of the day. most of the countries in the world have adopted this form of education. in Pakistan too, there are some schools where there is coeducation whereas, in many institutes there is sex-segregation. coeducation finds its origin in Sparta,Greece. at that time,there was no distinction between boys and girls. they studied and played together. they were given academic education along with physical training.Plato,the great philosopher theorized that coeducation was essential for the development of personality. he believed that coeducation was the only way to make boys and girls beneficial to the society. therefore,west has acknowledged and adopted the benefits of coeducation since long ago. In the subcontinent, during ancient times,coeducation was present at a few places. but,gradually girls education begin to be ignored. the educational system of that time was quite dif ferent from that of today. boys were sent to gurukuls where they spent most of their educational period.They were imparted physical and academic education. the former included warfare training while,the latter comprised of study of scriptures. in medieval india, women and people belonging to lower caste were forbidden from reading the scriptures. However,raja ramohan roy,the great social reformer revolted against this practice. his succesors also played a pivotal role in revolting against the illiterate practices. Islam has stressed upon the importance of education. infact, the first word revealed was â€Å"iqra† translated as† to read†. Islam has ordained both men and women to acquire education.Holy prophet P. B. U. H said â€Å"acquire education from cradle to grave†. similarly,islam also acknowledges that an illiterate and an educated man can never be equal. During the time of Holy Prophet(P. B. U. H),mosques were the only educational institutions. there are no instances recorded where holy prophet P. B. U. H forbade his wives from attending semon(khutba),the primary tool of education. Apart from this ,there are many examples which illustrate that muslim women accompanied there men to mosques and even inquired questions from Holy prophet in the presence of men.Even today,many liberal muslims acknowledge that morality emanates from heart. Quran, time and again, has emphasized muslims to guard themselves against immorality. it says â€Å"say to the believing men to lower their gaze and to guard their private parts†¦. †. many Islamic scholars acknowledge the fact that islam has not barred both the sexes from acquiring education together as long as morality is not infringed. Coeducation, in Pakistan has always remained a controversial issue. some people want this system to be adopted in all the institutions on the other hand, there is a sizeable portion of population that is opposed to it.Both the schools of thought present argument supporting their stance. proponents of coeducation argue that it is the need of hour and that it has the ability to eliminate the problems of the developing country. nonetheless,the opponents dare to disagree. to them,the system does not confirms to the religious, social and cultural values of the society. Coeducation has the ability to cope with the problems of developing countries. for instance,Pakistan is a developing country. it will be difficult for a developing economy to maintain separate instituitions for both sexes.if coeducation system is introduced in all the schools and colleges of the state, then the cost of separate infrastructure, stationary and recruitment personnel can be saved. A country can develop only by increasing the rate of literacy. unfortunately, for developing countries, there is a dearth of well trained teachers. if both girls and boys are taught together in the same class, at the same time then this issue can also be resolved. In coeducation, b oys and girls get the opportunity to intermingle and to understand each other. by studying together, they will develop mutual respect and understanding.Professor simon said â€Å" the only reason to support coeducation is that without it, boys and girls will not be knowing about each other for many years†. In a coeducational instite, boys and girls interact with each other freely. they become broadminded and overcome their shyness. There is no hard and fast rule that if girls will always intereact with girls and boys with boys when they grow up . therefore coeducation will boost their confidence level, which will be beneficial in their future life. such individuals will be more comfortable interacting with opposite sex be it at professional or personal level.Coeducation will provide both sexes an opportunity to learn to cooperate with each other. they will be working together in assignments and projects which will help them to understand the way opposite sex works. this will help them in their respective role taking when they enter practical lives. this cooperation will create a feeling a comradeship in both the sexes. Proponents of coeducation argue that such an educational system will be useful for their personality development. in a coeducation,boys will be free to intereact with girls.Doing so, will help them to understand opposite sexing a better way and allow them to develop a healthy personality.. they will,then not indulge in eve teasing. the students of today will be the citizens of tomorrow. it is the demand of today,to allow individuals to grow in a free atmosphere. In addition, coeducation will allow both the sexes to treat each other on equal terms. girls will become more confident and responsive and the boys will develop more tolerance. the relationship between them will be based on equality,respect and humanity. this will help them to overcome the centuries old system of male dominance.Researchers argue that coeducation has proved to be a better educational system as in such colleges,the results of exams are far better than in sex segregated schools. in coeducation, boys and girls compete with each other and try to remain ahead of the other one. this results in better academic results. A research conducted concluded that presence of girls in class prevents boys from indulging in unruly behavior. it also helps in fostering stronger bondage between teachers and students. generally, in coeducational classes, the number of violent outbursts are fewer. Presence of more than 55% girls in class room has shown better exam results.Particularly, at primary level,coeducation has shown exceptional results. Boys and girls in presence of each other become more conscious of their habits, style and appearance. they abstain from exhibiting immoral behaviour. they try their best to please the opposite sex by showing best behaviour. these habits become a part of the personality. Women of today are entering every profession in large nu mber. they are heading big organizations. They face similar challenges as boys while finding jobs or in professional life. therefore,it is imperative that they should be given education on similar grounds as boys.Although,it is a fact that both boys and girls have different ways of learning,but still it is observed that their joint education has a positive influence overall. Infact, the supporters of coeducation speak of its benefits as if it’s the only road to heaven. Every coin has two sides. An impartial eye should focus on both the silvery sides rather than adopting a biased attitude. The opponents of coeducation believe that in coeducation, boys and girls are exposed to each other. the temptation of flirting appears more attractive than the urge to open books.It also destroys the relationship between teacher and student as temptation cannot differentiate between teacher or student. People against coeducation state that it is not the panacea to the problems of developing countries,in reality it will sprout more problems. Anyone who has attended even a few schools and colleges in Pakistan knows the fact that they are frightfully overcrowded. even girls only institutes present a similar picture. therefore, new institutions are needed and if a few are reserved for girls and boys separately,it will not be an additional burden on the economy.Perhaps, the greatest harm that coeducation can cause is to lead to moral depravity. in coeducation, boys are girls are free to interact with each other. curiousity plays its role well in this regard. the immoral standards promoted by media fill up the gap created from the germs of curiousity implanted by satan. this coupled with the fact, that the students are deprived of sincere supervision, as the teachers themselves do not present an ideal picture of morality and decency. As a result, they fall victim to sexual impurity. Religious conservatives argue that coeducation will wreak havoc to the Islamic values.As boys and girls will be easily accessible to each other, this will promote development of immoral relations between them. they support their view by stating that during the time of Holy Prophet(P. B. U. H) educational instituitions were mosques where, though coeducation was present,but the chances of going astray were limited. they further emphasise that the present coeducational system are not at conformity with the Islamic approach to coeducational system. Supporters of coeducation believe that this system will promote understanding between both sexes.However, the opponents say that if boys and girls cannot understand each other in family and home then they will not be able to do so in coeducation. why is it that a person thinks he can understand the opposite sex only when he meets his neighbour’s daughter? Further, it is believed that coeducation is a western concept. many people want to adopt coeducation because it is prevalent in west. they think that if west has it then they must have it too. They want to be more western than the west. but,they should bear it in mind that a system should be adopted only if it goes along with cultural,social and religious values of a society.Certainly,our society does not accepts the present coeducational system. Antagonists of coeducation assert that it is an urban concept. boys will grow up to earn while girls will maintain their household. they emphasize that as both sexes will play a different role, there is no logic in teaching them similar curricula in a similar manner. Even teachers of some subjects such as biology hold opinion that it is easier to teach certain chapters more thoroughly in presence of only girls or boys in the class room. They find teaching certain topics embarrassing and difficult in coeducation.Nowadays, sex education is becoming a part of the curricular. this further acts as fuel on fire. Certain educationists believe that students do not remain focused in studies in the presence of opposite s ex. they remain more engaged in paying attention to opposite sex, than on lectures. Therefore,it is feared that coeducation will not raise the standard of education,instead will lower it. In coeducation institutions, boys and girls are more consumed by how they appear to the opposite sex. they spent countless hours contemplating what to wear, how to wear and where to wear.This leads to the loss of precious time which should have been dedicated to studies only. The only solution that springs to mind in view of Islamic injunctions and logic of common sense is that there should be sex segregated institutions. however, if a developing country like Pakistan is not able to do so in current situation then it is the responsibility of government to take measures to ensure that coeducation does not attacks the moral values preached by islam. Firstly, the curricula chosen should be such that does not risks morality.Secondly,government should be careful in choosing faculty. the teachers recruit ed should be an embodiment of decency and morality. meanwhile, the religiou conservatives should adopt an attitude of tolerance. Nonetheless,it is also important that some girl doctors should be educated in coeducation otherwise,our mothers and sisters will have compelled to expose their private parts before male doctors under ailment. but still,it is the responsibility of the government to ensure sex segregated educational instituitions whenever,it can bear the expenses.