Yoga Brand Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Yoga Brand Comparison - Essay Example Besides, the post underscores Marika Company’s diversity that extends to children wear hence time saving as wears of all consumer categories are available under one roof in a superior brand. The idea of the writer on coming up with an improved line of apparel is consistent with the consumer demand trend that emphasizes flexibility, light weight and strength. Exercise clothing are becoming a significant part of daily life hence the relevance of the post (Hitzmann 54). The viewpoint of this writer is sensitive and a welcome as it considers the aspect of environment. The post emphasizes the aspect of eco-friendly products of Barefoot Yoga Company. This is in line with contemporary marketing strategy and ethical business practices. It is worth to note that eco-friendly products meet the global campaign needs on sustainable growth and climate change management. The writer is therefore emphatic on this concept and relates it to the ongoing debate on global climate change which is attributed to environmental degradation (Corrett,et al.43). The experience of Yoga is a key factor into Barefoot Yoga company products. On Marika Company, the post explores the significance of a company website that eases the work of the consumer in choosing among variety. Besides, website is in tandem with the overriding online marketing idea hence its relevance. Gender sensitivity of Marika products and its profound fitness aspect put it ahead of the park. This post is positive in the sense that it creates awareness on the comfort factor when it comes to buying clothing for exercise and Yoga experiences. The opinion of the writer on creating a personal line that caters for long lasting, flexible and sweat absorption is a desire of many hence the validity of this post’s

Inter national trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Inter national trade - Essay Example International trade is in principle not different from domestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a trade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether trade is across a border or not. The main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade. (Cited from Wikipedia) The reason is that a border typically imposes additional costs such as tariffs, time costs due to border delays and costs associated with country differences such as language, the legal system or culture. Another difference between domestic and international trade is that factors of production such as capital and labor are typically more mobile within a country than across countries. Thus international trade is mostly restricted to trade in goods and services, and only to a lesser extent to trade in capital, labor or other factors of production. (Cited from Wikipedia)Then trade in goods and services can serve as a substitute for trade in factors of produ ction. Question 1 The table obtained from the World Trade Organization in 2010, showed International Trade Statistics-Growth in the volume of world merchandise exports and production 2000-2007. The percentage for world merchandise exports during 2005-2007 was fluctuative, with the highest growth recorded in 2006. Agricultural products started off steadily but suffered a decline in 2007. Fuels and Mining Products were consistent in its growth over that same period. Manufacturers showed its highest growth in 2006, whilst world merchandise production was consistent but showed a marginal increase in 2007. Agriculture was fluctuating similarly to Mining which suffered a nil growth in 2007. Manufacturing was consistent until its marginal increase in 2007. Lastly, the World GDP got a marginal increase over the last two years. Four factors which may have contributed in the growth in world exports include; Industrialization, advanced transportation, globalization and multinational corporatio ns . Industrialization may be defined as the process in which a society or a country transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and services. Individual manual labor is replaced by mechanized mass production and craftsmen are replaced by assembly lines. (Industrialization, Anon, 2011) Characteristics of industrialization include the use of technological innovation to maximize production efficiency in order to increase economic growth. The growth of the amount of freight being traded as well as a great variety of origins and destinations promotes the importance of international transportation as a fundamental element supporting the global economy. Economic development in Pacific Asia and in China in particular, has been the dominant factor behind the growth of international transportation in recent years. Since the trading distances involved are often considerable, this has resulted in increasing demands on the maritime shippi ng industry and on port activities. International transportation systems have been under increasing pressures to support additional demands in freights volume and the distance at which this freight is being carried. This could not have occurred without considerable technical improvements permitting to transport larger quantities of passengers and freight, and this

Christianity Essay Example for Free

Christianity Essay Trade and merchants play a major role in Christianity and Islam from their origins to the 1500’s, and even though both had similar attributes yet differed as well. Christians and Islam both had a negative outlook, both had their religious viewpoints, as well as both changed their views towards trade. Despite this, Christianity began to open up to trade, even tolerating it, while Muslims became stricter on merchants and trade. Furthermore, Both Islam and Christianity had a negative attitudes for instance, in the Bible, Jesus preaches to his disciples how a rich man will never reach heaven. This is due to their behavior, for merchants are greedy and lying people whose only content is to get rich, which goes against Christianity’s belief. Moreover, Thomas Aquinas explains how unfair and unjust merchants are for they price their goods higher than what the product actually cost. By the tone of the document as well as how he explains trade and its problems show his dislike. Likewise Ibn Khaldun describes merchants as weak, and disgusting men and how they negatively affect the government. His tone is harsher however, which indicates his anger towards the merchants. Merchants constants rip-off of the people by selling their goods at a high price as well s giving their all their goods to those who pay more. The Islamic Court in Ankara had to deal with a case in which merchants would give all their cotton to a single person, if they pay extra high price in addition to the merchant’s high prices. Document seven contains quotes from that of the people who have complained about the merchants. Both Christianity and Islam share the same pessimistic attitude towards merchants and trade because of their behavior and how they sell their goods. Anyways, I would have like to see a document from a merchant, it would have help me better indicate if merchants were really sneaky and unfair as spoken in the documents given. Some looked to the Christianity’s and Islam’s beliefs, to determine their view on merchants and trade for both religions impacted all their followers. In the Bible, Jesus says that no rich man will ever reach heaven. The small passage comes from the bible, which heavily every Christians view. Which is also why he emphasized how the quote from the bible and how i t fit into the situation. The Muslim Qur’an also circled around honesty and truthfulness which the Muslims and Muslim merchants had to follow if they wanted to reach paradise. Thomas Aquinas who was also heavily influence by Christianity, and its bible, for he states a line out of the bible. He indicates the bible  because he knows that adding the bible would persuade many of the Christians which was his intended target audience. Reginald, a monk of Durham also says explains the life of Godric and how he became a successful merchant, only to become tired of it and soon devoted himself to God giving away all his possessions to the poor. Reginald’s attended audience was Christian followers, he also helps justify document 1 in Godric went from rich to poor in order to devote himself to god. I would have liked a document from a person not Christian or Islam because it would have allow me to understand how much both religions influence the views of its subjects. Despite the similarities Christianit y religious views seem to rather negative and stricter than the Muslims were lighter and positive. Merchants and trade in the eyes of Christianity and Islam began to change significantly overtime. Ibn Khaldun says how beneficial the merchants are to the capital, for they buy goods in one area, only to sell at a higher price in an area in demand. Which the Qur’an also depicts, however it encourages trade as long as it is fair and truthful. Yet Ibn Khaldun gives us evidence of laws which were established in order to control merchant’s behavior. In addition, document 7 shows how the Islamic court had power over merchants and could affect their behavior as well as. Unlike Islam which began to become stricter, Christianity began look towards it positively, such as, letter C of document 6 describes an order being canceled for English wool, and the consumer seemingly brings god name into it, which suggest the consumer does not think of trade conflicting with Christianity. Which letter A also identify for both letters show how the merchant’s goal is to make a profit, and they see no problem with. In conclusion, Christianity and Islam attitudes towards trade and me rchants were similar in certain aspects as, of the beginning both viewed it negatively, and on a religious level. However, both began to change their views on trade and merchants. For Christianity began approving trade, while Islam began harsher treatment towards trade and merchants.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited Ptcl

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited Ptcl Introduction: Currently, the business environment is facing challenges related to globalization and human resource. As global competition intensifies, and industries have become more intensive towards skill, the demand for talent, knowledge and skill-based workers is increasing. Due to this, companies and organizations are adopting sophisticated and high-end recruitment and selection strategies in order to get the right employee for the right position at the right time. As a result, e-recruitment had emerge and become more easy, accessible and efficient than the traditional methods (Tong Sivanand, 2005). The Internet Business Network, a US recruiting consulting firm, reported that the number of worldwide websites which contain job listing had increased from 500 to 200,000. In addition, the number of rà ©sumà ©s being posted and uploaded in e-recruitment websites had increased from 100,000 in 1995 to 2.5 million in 1998. According to the Forrester Researchs study, a total of 124,000 companies will be recruiting online (cited in Harvard Update, 2000). E-Recruitment in Pakistan In Pakistan today, online job searching had become very popular. This is because of the popularity of the Internet. Online job postings started in 1990, when different IT companies and universities begin to use the Internet in extensive manner. The first reference to online recruitment emerged in the mid-1980s, and the systematic reference to online recruitment in the HR began 10 years after mid-1990s. During the two years of existence, there are more or less 3,000 companies to use online career centres (OCC), or known as online job portals (Rehman Khan, 2010). Access to the Internet had been available in Pakistan since the early 1990s. PTCL was one of the companies in the country to take advantage of the benefits and advantages of the Internet, by offering different Internet services via nation-wide local call network. Currently, the Internet had become a vital part of the nation, particularly for the younger generation (Rehman Khan, 2010). In a qualitative, open-ended survey, 30 senior executives were interviewed to identify the existing HR trends in the IT industry of Pakistan. The result showed that 43% of the respondents prefer online vacancy posting or online posting in order to select and recruit candidates. Furthermore, 80% of the entire population chose rozee.pk as the main destination for online head-hunters, while the remaining 20% consists of theritemoves.com, bayt.com, yahoo groups, meramustakbil.com and LinkedIn, which are considered as the secondary destinations (Pervaz, 2009). Context of the Study: Recent study, in 1999, survey conducted in order to analyze the trends and development of online job searching processes in the job market of the country. The result of the study shows that time-saving is the primary motivator for Internet job searching, followed by, researching a wide area of jobs, providing global coverage, ease, and cost-saving. Thus, it shows that the Internet had been a very important means or channel of finding jobs for fresh graduates and jobholders (Rehman Khan, 2010). These are the primary reasons why the popularity of e-recruitment service providers is increasing. However, the study of Kin Tong Sinavanand (2005) showed that even though the revenues of e-recruiters are growing in rapid manner, their profits are still elusive. Reasons for Selecting the Research Environment: As stated in the proposed title, I choose Pakistan for its research environment. The primary reason behind, this is because I been located in the said country, thus, it will be feasible and accessible for me, because the respondents or the primary data can be accessed within the vicinity, and thus, cultural and ethical factors will not be a great factor. Nature of Organization or Case Study: Pakistani Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) was incorporated in Pakistan on December 31, 1995. The organization commenced business on January 1, 1996. It is listed an all of the three stock exchange in Pakistan. The company was established in order to undertake the telecommunication business that was first offered by Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation (PTC). The business was transferred to PTCL on January 1, 1996 under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Reorganization) Act, 1996, which enable the company to take all of its resources, which include properties, rights, assets, obligations and liabilities of PTC, expect those that have been transferred to the National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Trust (PTET) (Forex PK 2010). PTLC was chosen by the author because it is considered as one of the largest and biggest companies in the country. Currently, it is servicing innovations and technologies towards millions of people, improving their life. In 2010, the PTCL Group declared its 2009 revenue of Rs 49.4 billion, which was higher by 6%, compare with the last year (Forex PK 2010). Literature Review: There are vast literatures which tackle the issue of e-recruitment. However, most of these literatures mainly focus on the different advantages and benefits of e-recruitment inside different organizations. The study of Online recruitment connects 3 with top talent: HR specialist can learn a lot from marketing reveals how mobile-telephone company 3 is applying its e-recruitment in order to attract top talent in a highly competitive market. The study shows that e-recruitment had helped to increase the efficiency, easiness as well as speed of the hiring process, which made it easier for the managers to handle huge volumes of applications and interviews. The result also shows that there have been a great change in the recruitment process in the company, compared before, when the company was using combination of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Outlook in recruitment management. Thus, it had helped in order to improve the employer brand by the improvement of the application experience (25 26). The result was supported with the case study of Superdrug, a UK health and beauty retailer which focuses on describing the weaknesses of the paper and e-mail based recruitment system that the company used to apply. The result shows that the entire recruitment process has become quicker, more efficient and the company experienced 87% savings in using e-recruitment (2007, 26 28). The same result was experienced by Nike, a leading manufacturer of shoes and sports apparel, with the introduction of e-recruitment in Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) headquarters of the company. The result shows that there 54% savings upon the introduction of the system, at the same time, the average time in filling up vacancies has fallen from 62 to 42 days (Anon, 2005). The study of Zafar, Shaukat and Mat (2010) about the e-human resource management practices inside State Bank of Pakistan of 37 employees, shows that e-HRM, together with e-recruitment, were applied and used inside the organization in order to acquire efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, the survey also showed that the employees and possible employees were satisfied with the current implementation of the system inside the organization. Thus, it enables the entire HRM department and the Bank to take advantage of IT in order to work with the different transactions related with HRM, particularly recruitment, selection and hiring. On the other hand, the study of Kin Tong (2009) enables to show some of the possible risks or hindrances in the success of e-recruitment implementation in an organization. Using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Perceived Privacy Risk (PPR), Performance Expectancy (PE), Application-Specific Self-Efficacy (ASSE) and Perceived Stress (PS) as key external factors, the author analyzes the perceptions and behaviours of the jobseekers towards the e-recruitment adoption in Malaysia. The result shows few key determinants to the adoption of technology. Many studies show that the acceptance of the technology, perceived risk and acceptance and job pressure of both employees (HR and IT department of companies) and the applicants are the major issues and challenges which affect the success of implementation of e-recruitment system. First, according to Lin Stansinskaya (2002) the lack of knowledge of e-recruitment of the HR community as well as the limited commitment of senior managers towards the system can greatly affect the quantity and quality of the candidates using the application (3). In addition, like any other application of the Internet, its users are concerned with the issue of confidentiality of important personal information. As a result, it hinders the openness of the applicants or candidates to use e-recruitment system (Kerrin Kettley 2003). On the other hand, Lin Stasinskaya (2004) imposed that companies are somewhat reluctant in using e-recruitment because of the issues regarding the accuracy, verifiability and accou ntability of the information about the applicants, which might limit the diversity among applicants. In addition, Lin Stasinskaya further argue that lack of personal interactions in the process of online employment applications can cause limitations in communication flow between the candidates and the employers, which lead to the frustration on the part of the candidates and the missed opportunities for the employer to gather more important information. Above all, the study of Stanton (1999) shows that e-recruitment can cause threat towards equal opportunity, because it may hamper the efforts of the organization in promoting diversity in their workforce. This is because; according to Sharf (2000) there are still vital differences in the percentage of households which possess Internet access within the poor community and disabled people. Even though, there are different researches which focus on the advantages and disadvantages of e-recruitment for organizations and individual career hunters, thus, there are numbers of research which mainly focus on the case of Malaysia, UK and the United States, there are few, if none, which focus on the case of Pakistan. This is very important because, it is vital to investigate further the impact of technology gap in the effectiveness of e-recruitment towards organizations and candidates for employment. Questions and Hypotheses: The study intended to answer the question: What are the barriers to implement e-recruitment or online recruitment system in Pakistan? And, how can these barriers can be overcome? In line with this, the study will work on the following assumptions: User acceptance of technology can lead to loss of money and resources and failure of e-recruitment system in Pakistan; Perceived risk and perceived acceptance can affect the decisions of organizations in Pakistani in deciding about implementation of e-recruitment; and Job pressure towards the staffs can affect the success of e-recruitment inside the organization. Aims and Objectives: The main aim of the study is to explore the different factors that can affect or influence the successful implementation of e-recruitment tools in Pakistani organizations. In line with this, the following will be the objectives of the study: To analyze the readiness of Pakistani business environment in implementation of e-recruitment systems in different organizations; To identify the different issues faced by hiring managers in Pakistan; To analyze how e-recruitment system can solve the problems and issues in recruitment process in Pakistan; and To recommend different processes and procedures on successful implementation of e-recruitment system in Pakistan. Methods Chosen This study will gather both textual and numerical data from the selected population of respondents. Thus, it will employ qualitative and quantitative method. With this, survey interview and questionnaire will be used in order to gather primary information. Questionnaire will be delivered and conducted towards the respondents with the supervision of the researcher, in order to prevent disadvantage of self-administered questionnaire. On the other hand, due to financial and time aspect, interview will be conducted via phone. Generally, this study will be descriptive in nature. This will focus on analyzing the current problem by focusing on the responses of the respondents. According to Creswell (1994), it will focus on presenting facts about the nature and status of a given situation as it exists during the time of the study, therefore, it will be helpful in analyzing the connections and practices that exists, beliefs that are ongoing, effects that are being felt and even trends that ar e being developed (Best 1970). As a result, it can help in order to describe the present or existing conditions and conditions based on the perceptions and opinions of the respondents of the study (Creswell, 1994). In general, descriptive studies not only focus on supply of knowledge regarding the different variabilities and regularities, but also stimulate the investigators to focus on the definition of master terms in unequivocal manner (Vallier, 1973, 217). In addition, this study will examine and explore the problems and questions by taking cross section of it one time using cross-sectional study (Rubin Babbie, 2009). With this, it can offer great advantage and benefits towards the researcher, because the research can be taken or implemented in a short period of time. Furthermore, because the topic, problems and questions associated with the study does not demand long-time observations and analysis, this method is of great use. In addition, case study will be used in the study . Case study are considered as set in temporal, geographical, organizational, institutional and other context which enable boundaries to be drawn around the said case, thus it can be defined by individuals and groups that are involved, together with their roles and functions in the case (Cohen, Manion Morrison, 2003, 182). Data Collection Methods Survey questionnaire and interview will be implemented. The name of the respondents to join the research will be chosen in random manner. The names of the entire population of the selected case will be listed in strips of paper, and then will be drawn. A total of 60 employees will be selected to answer the questionnaire administered by the researcher. Because the researcher believes that he/she will be taking working times of the respondents, the questionnaire will be employ closed questions. This is the type of question which all of the possible answers are identified and the respondents are asked to choose one of the answers. This was chosen because it will be beneficial both for the respondents and the researcher. It is easier to administer, easier and quicker to record the respondents and easier to code. In addition, its major disadvantages, which are the inability to raise new issues, will be complemented by the interview process. Out of the 60 employees, 10 will be selected in order to undergo interview. Unlike the survey questionnaire, the interview will employ open questions in order to raise new important issues regarding the problem of the study. The schedule of the interview will be dependent towards the availability of the respondents. Because of financial and time issues, phone interview will be implemented. Analysis Data analysis will be done in two ways: mathematical and document analysis. In document analysis, different information gathered from past literatures, articles, studies as well as annual reports and newspaper articles about the case will be analyzed, which will be used in order to support the mathematical result of the study, together with the interview result. On the other hand, the answers by the respondents in the survey questionnaires will be encoded in the SPSS, a statistical computer application, which will help the researcher to easily analyze the result of the survey. The following are the statistical formulas to be used: Percentage to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire. n % = x 100 ; n number of responses N N total number of respondents Weighted Mean f1x1 + f2x2 + f3x3 + f4x4 + f5x5 x = -; xt where: f weight given to each response x number of responses xt total number of responses Quality Issues: Reliability, Validity and Generasability of Intended Work: The concerns of the researcher upon the collection of data focus on the means of measuring the instruments: validity and reliability of the instrument used. Reliability pertains on the estimation of internal consistency which pertains on the level to which the sum of scores from a given set of items correspondents to the scores that would be obtained from a parallel set, which include the equal number of items which measure the same phenomenon. On the other hand, validity pertains on the estimate of the extent to which the data measure what is intended to be measure (Brewer Ware 2002). Thus, in order to maintain validity of the instruments to be used in the study, initial survey of 5 respondents will be done, they will not be included in the final data gathering procedure. The participants will be asked regarding the different parts of the questionnaire which needed changes. Thus, with accordance to their demands, the questionnaire will be changed in order to ensure that it will be easily understood and answered by the future respondents. Sample Frame The primary data will be gathered from the IT and HRM department of PTCL. A total of 50 respondents are targeted in this study, which include HR officers, IT staffs and newly hired employees (hired via the e-recruitment process). The names of the respondents will be chosen in random selection manner, which will help in order to prevent bias from the personal opinion and perception of the researcher towards the respondents. The name of the entire population of the said three groups will be listed in strips of paper and will be drawn by the researcher; this process is called the lottery. Ethical Issues The probable ethical issues in the study are informed consent and confidentiality. First, it is important to consider that right to privacy follows from the assumption that autonomous individuals have to right to make decisions regarding their lives, together with the information and data that are related to it. Therefore, it is the decision of the respondents if he or she will want to participate in the study. Even though the use of informed consent will be helpful, it is not considered as a panacea for the ethical problems. Therefore, this research will inform the participants of the study ahead of time, regarding the different information and aspects of the study, which will help in order for them to be informed, thus clarify future misconceptions and misunderstanding (Kitchener, 2000). Another important issue is confidentiality, this pertains not just towards the actual use of the data, but also in the process of gathering of data how the interview questions and survey questions are constructed. The researcher will not disclose personal information of the respondents, thus, the information gathered from the respondents will be used solely for the assessment. Benefits of the Study The proposed study will be very beneficial towards different types of organization, particularly, to those from the telecommunication industry. Overall, this will be helpful in analyzing and evaluating the different factors that are related to he e-recruitment process, particularly its advantages and disadvantages, which can help the most important resource in any business human resource. Limitations of the Study The main limitation of this paper focuses on the time that the author will spend in analyzing the case. Due to this, it had affected the methodologies, approaches and tools to be used in order to gather primary and secondary data. Consequently, this will have an impact towards the results and findings of the study. Primarily, this study will be limited to one organization. It is important to consider that each and every organization, in different sector or industry is unique in their own way, due to the different internal and external factors affect the organization. This is particularly important in the case of e-recruitment, because it will have to focus on the economic, social, technological and policy aspect of the macro-environment setting of the company. Conclusion Just like all of the countries in the world, Pakistan had been affected, and is continuously being affected by the Internet and globalization. Thus, it also affects how people seek jobs for money and daily living, and how companies look for useful people in order to achieve their organization goals and objectives. It can be applied in the case of PTCL, wherein the company strive for the better in order to improve their human resource management process, to catch the biggest fishes in the sea of pool of striving candidates.

Holdens Fear in The Catchter in the Rye :: essays research papers

In The Catcher in the Rye Holden fears growing up he will get uncomfortable when talking about adult situations, he would avoid seeing people just to avoid an adult predicament. Whether it will be a confrontation with his sister, or talking about a racy book with an adult he always seems to get timid. He is not quite yet ready for adulthood. This is something he needs to get ready for soon. He is 16 going on 17 and before he knows it he will be a grown up and will have to support himself and have a steady job. That involves communication. Holden will do absurd things just to avoid an uncomfortable situation even if it is his own sister whom he trusts more than anyone else. He searches for most of his afternoon for his sister and finally tracks her down. He has not seen her in a long time and he will have to tell her that he had gotten kicked out of Pency. Fearing what she might think or say, putting Holden in an uncomfortable position, made Holden leave when he could have been a little late for his date with Sally Hayes. Sally would have been reasonable if he was not there on time for seeing his sister whom Holden has not seen since he left for school. You do not just spend all afternoon searching for someone or something and once you find them or it leave, it just does not make any sense. Holden is becoming a man and the thought of sex should not scare him. He should be able to uphold conversations with them, even if the topic is racy. You both are grownups and it is human nature, it is natural and it is nothing to feel embarrassed or ashamed to talk about. While he is at the train station talking to the nuns about the play Romeo and Juliet he gets real uncomfortable. He said ?It feels weird talking to nuns about a book that gets pretty sexy at points.? Holden is now a young adult and should be able to talk about a book that contains that. The sexy parts we not even a part of the conversation just the thought of the book made him uneasy. He really likes to avoid discussions that contain sex. Holden truly fears growing up he would be close to someone he loves and just leave because he is afraid.

Relationship Building as Means for Prevention of Behavior Problems in S

Many children come to school with behavior problems that impede their learning and disrupt the the learning of other children. As early as preschool as many as twenty-five percent of children demonstrate problematic behaviors which place them at risk for future negative school experiences (Conroy, M., Sutherland, K., Haydon, T., Stormont, M., & Harmon, J, 2009). These children exhibit aggression, defiance, bullying of others, poor work habits, and acting out in class. Overtime these behaviors become chronic for some students and cyclical patterns of poor behavior, reactionary discipline, failed relationships with staff and peers, low self-esteem, and poor academic performance plague these children. Many teachers feel frustrated as they spend the majority of their classroom management time on the same few children each day. This ongoing anger and frustration further isolates these students from their teachers. Attempts to teach expectations and proper school behaviors fail. These stud ent frequently become problem students each year. Over the course of several years these students begin to see themselves as failures and actively begin self-sabotaging behaviors leading to a permanent loss of academic achievement of a lifetime of low self-esteem. Many children with severe behavior problems have significant emotional trauma, serious emotional losses, and deficits in social skills. These problems never offically diagnosed or professionally treated despite their effects on the children. Children with chronically challenging behavior frequently come with a history of abuse or neglect. They often come from homes with significant instability or a chaotic environment. Often their parents have histories of drug abuse or mental illness. Acco... ...ocial Interactions in Head Start Classrooms and Early Reading, Mathematics, and Approaches to Learning. School Psychology Review, 40(1), 39-56. Conroy, M., Sutherland, K., Haydon, T., Stormont, M., & Harmon, J. (2009). Preventing and Ameliorating Young Children's Chronic Problem Behaviors: An Ecological Classroom-Based Approach. Psychology In The Schools, 46(1), 3-17. Gest, S. D., & Gest, J. M. (2005). Reading Tutoring for Students at Academic and Behavioral Risk: Effects on Time-On-Task in the Classroom. Education & Treatment Of Children (ETC), 28(1), 25-47. Matheson, A., & Shriver, M. D. (2005). Training Teachers to Give Effective Commands: Effects on Student Compliance and Academic Behaviors. School Psychology Review, 34(2), 202-219. Sitler, H. (2009). Teaching with Awareness: The Hidden Effects of Trauma on Learning. Clearing House, 82(3), 119-123.

Identity forming in adolescents Essay

We may understand this age group if we look at its place on the growth sequence of Erik Erikson. Notice how it is right next to the adult stage, the last step before being an adult. This is a time for adolescents to decide about their future line of work and think about starting their own families in a few years. One of the first things they must do is to start making their own decisions. For example, adolescents can begin to decide what to buy with their own money or who will be their friend. To do this they must put a little distance between themselves and their parents. This does not mean that parents cannot continue to look after them’ or help them when needed. Parents should, as much as possible, let them learn from the results of their actions. Adolescents also need to be around other adults, both male and female. These can be relatives, neighbors, or teachers. Of course, they should be positive role models. Teenagers can learn from them about things like how to fix the car, getting along with others, or ideas for future jobs. Finally, adoles ¬cents want to spend time alone. They might be planning the things they can do or will buy when they grow up. Identity forming may be an emotional turbulent phase of life in adolescents, due in part to the physical and mental changes they are experiencing. Adolescence is a stage, which is associated with considerable changes in self. Erik Erikson (1968) recognized adolescence as a major life stage for identity formation, and individual development within a social context. He argued that adolescents must receive community acceptance for their behavior. Erikson also spoke of the role of intergenerational socialization where society must provide for a mutual trustworthiness to assure self-chosen values and interests. Achieving a sense of identity is a fundamental task for adolescents. The clear sense of personal identity constitutes an aspect of optimal psychological functioning (Erikson, 1968). Adolescents face a range of developmental issues. Havighurst (1952) suggested that two important areas included work and relationships. Levinson (1978) focused on changing relationships and on exploration, while Erikson (1968) commented on intimacy and commitment to goals. Super (1963) indicated that exploring and crystallizing vocational choice are important to older adolescents and young adults. What seems evident is that older adolescents and young adults enter transitions with the goal of becoming independently functioning adults, as they strive to meet evolving personal and career related needs. Rapid and escalating changes in labor market and post-secondary educational opportunities mean that adolescents now are confronted with the challenge of meeting their personal and career needs when neither can offer certainty or a sense of personal control. According to Erikson, there are eight stages of human development. Each of the stage focuses on a different conflict that needs to be solved in order to develop successfully into the next stages of life. The idea is that if one stage is not resolved, one might have a difficulty to deal with the succeeding stages and the failure will come back at some point later in life. Puberty marks the beginning of stage five, identity versus role confusion. This stage occurs between ages twelve to eighteen. Erikson defined this stage as the time when adolescents develop a sense of self. They tend to question who they are and what they want to do with their lives. They will associate all of their experiences and differentiate their various roles up until that moment – dependent child, autonomy, initiative and achievement – into a secure individuality. If unresolved past crises have followed them into stage five, they will experience identity as role confusion. In other words, they will have no idea of who they are or what they would like to be. Peter Pan, the fairytale story of the childlike individual who refused to grow up, is a perfect example of this role confusion. These individuals are constantly searching to fill their emotional needs through relationships with others. Just as Peter Pan looked to Wendy for affection and nurturance, these individuals do the same because they lack self-soothing skills. This is what we sometimes call â€Å"low emotional quotients. † They often have very low self-confidence and they fear exploring new things and meeting new people. All of the child’s experiences were carried up to this transitional stage. The attachment and bonding that the infant learned in infancy during stage one provides security that is needed in this stage to be able to relate to the opposite sex. The ability to set boundaries and say no from stage two provides the structure needed to establish sexual boundaries. The sexual exploration experienced by the child during stage three and the reaction of parents will help determine a positive or negative self-perception regarding the body as good or bad. Stage four taught the youngster social and educational skills in grade school which will now determine the attitude towards future academic education and the social path to follow. Any of the previous tasks that were difficult to master will now affect the transition into adolescence. Since this is an awkward time of life, peer approval becomes even more important because it rests on the child’s entire self-esteem when being judged by others. Physical development occurs during this period when males experience voice changes, acne, and baby fat. Girls experience emotional difficulties and are most conscious of their body image. It is during this time that girls will develop eating disorders because they tend to be so critical of their bodies. This period is very similar to stage two when the young child learned how to say â€Å"no†. Rebelling is a large part of the adolescent’s life at this time when feelings of insecurity surface. During stage five â€Å"puppy love† occurs and everyone talks about who is dating whom. If the adolescent has had difficulty with trust and self-esteem issues prior to this stage, he may feel too shy to go steady and may isolate from others. This a time when adolescents have difficulty coping with everyday problems. If earlier tasks were successfully mastered then there will be little difficulty in coping with new problems that will arise. Peer Pressure During adolescence, it is more likely that an individual has trouble in deciding what to do with his life and what to do to â€Å"fit in† and be considered â€Å"cool†. One may act and think as if an adult but is not really considered as one in a real adult’s world. They will try so hard to separate themselves and be considered different from children but will somehow have difficulty proving it to people. Peer pressure comes in when an adolescent tries so hard to do what others do to make him feel like he belongs to a certain group. The feeling of belongingness is very important to an adolescent during this stage as it somehow gives him an identity derived from the group where he belongs. This identity may be â€Å"elite†, â€Å"intelligent†, â€Å"rebel†, â€Å"notorious†, â€Å"cool†, â€Å"popular† and so on. The image an adolescent exudes is as important as if that is what only matters. One may do things upon urging and taunting of his peers. Peer pressure may push one to do irrational things just to be able to be accepted by his colleagues. One episode of Nip Tuck about Matt circumcising himself – when his surgeon father would not do it – is an example of this. Another example is the latest craze among youths in South Korea. Since image and appearance plays a very important part in an adolescent’s life, one may go to extremes such as plastic surgery. Having bigger eyes is every girl’s dream in South Korea. Teenagers as young as 14 are doing it, and eye jobs have become a favorite high school graduation gift from proud parents (Ko 2002). Substance Abuse Puberty is the most critical stage in one’s life. This is the stage where adolescents sometimes withdraw from the family and turn to substance abuse to avoid the pain that accompanies the stress and anxiety that they experience. According to the Adolescent substance abuse knowledge base (1999): The primary factors that seem to affect increased or decreased drug use among teens are perceived risk, perceived social approval, and perceived availability. The more risky or less accepted a drug is thought to be; the less likely it will be used by teens. Perceived availability is often associated with overall social approval, and so, a drug that is readily available is considered socially acceptable and will likely increase in use. While these seem like common sense factors, how these perceptions are created is harder to understand. Parents may not realize just how easy it is for youths to get illicit drugs. They may not realize how young children are when they begin to experiment with alcohol and drugs. Statistics can alert parents to the need to communicate with their children about the dangers of substance abuse and help them develop strategies to cope with peer pressure. In the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), approximately 13 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 reported past month use of cigarettes, and more than 4 percent reported smoking daily during the past month of the same year. This is equivalent to approximately 3 million past month smokers, including almost 1 million daily smokers among youths. Approximately 16 percent of youths had used alcohol within the past month, including 10 percent reporting binge use – had five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least 1 day in the past 30 days. Three percent reporting heavy alcohol use – had five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of five or more days in the past 30 days. The proportion translates to almost 4 million past month alcohol users, including almost 2. 5 million binge alcohol users, and 0. 6 million heavy alcohol users among youths. Media Influences There are so many television commercials nowadays showing an underage TV character commenting about drinking beer, using condoms, picking out cigarette brands and so on. Most of the parents change the channel when a character joked about â€Å"smoking a joint† or having a â€Å"one-night stand† when their child is around. Television, music, and advertisements flood children and youth with messages that may go against what that they have heard at home and school. Some messages teach children that alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs are dangerous; other messages make drugs and alcohol look cool and make you â€Å"fit in† in the society. Of the many factors influencing adolescents to begin, or not to begin smoking, drinking, and having sexual intercourse, a prominent and likely one is information conveyed via mass media. Despite restrictions on some mass media advertising for tobacco products or alcoholic beverages, even condom brands, young audiences still encounter substantial media content related to those across virtually all media channels. Society and social scientists alike have long assumed that there are direct effects, perhaps powerful effects, of media messages on individuals. Lay people and researchers make this assumption because it is intuitively reasonable: persuasive media messages surely influence youth. One thing that parents can do is to use messages from the media – TV, music, and ads – to talk with their children about tough issues like alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. Talking during commercials can help promote a positive relationship between parents and their children. In many ways, these moments may be more effective than long, planned discussions – when these young adults are likely to tune out. The media’s influence on everyone, particularly on adolescents, is great. However, when properly guided by the parents, this particularly difficult stage of forming identity among youths may be lessened, as they understand how things are seen in the adult world and in another perspective other than theirs. CONCLUSION Developmentally, the young people were trying to meet personal and emotional needs, while in a state of flux and uncertainty in identity forming. It was apparent that a lack of progress in one area could have a negative influence on the other areas. Parental guidance, understanding and nurturing is of utmost importance on this most critical stage of a person’s life. In general, Erickson’s Theory of Human Development is widely accepted and plays a major role in all human and psychological development studies and theories. The best advice is to use the theory as a framework or map for understanding and identifying what issues or conflicts unresolved lead to current behavior and preparing for the stages to come. References Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base. (1999). Retrieved on November 29, 2006 from http://www. adolescent-substance-abuse. com/. â€Å"Erikson, Erik. † (2001). Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia. â€Å"Personal Identity. † (2001). Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia. Erikson, Erik H. (1963). Childhood and Society (2nd ed. ) New York: Norton. Erikson, Erik. H. (1968). Identity youth and crisis. New York: W. W. Norton. Havighurst, R. J. (1952). Developmental tasks and education. New York: David McKay. Health and Human Services. (2001). HHS Report Shows Drug Use Rates Stable, Youth Tobacco Use Declines. United States Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved on December 1, 2006 from http://www. hhs. gov/news/press/2001pres/20011004a. html. Ko, Chisu (2002). Peer Pressure Plastics. TIME Asia magazine. Retrieved on November 29, 2006 from http://www. time. com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501020805-332098,00. html Levinson, D. (1978). The seasons of a man’s life. New York: Ballantine. Meyer, William J. (2001). â€Å"Developmental Psychology. † Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia Super, D. E. (1963). Career development: Essays in vocational development. New York: College Entrance Examination Board.