Human Resource management of Fire & Rescue service Essay

Human Resource management of Fire & Rescue service - Essay Example gic HR then was Karen Palframan, says that the Service has to transition from a traditional paradigm of service delivery to one which is dovetailed to the service risks of the audience that they serve. She says they need to be adept at operating their equipment, particularly for geriatric populations, and other groups which pose greater vulnerability. Prevention of fires and dealing with high jeopardy situations must also be addressed adequately. She further shares that this is a hallmark for the FRS (The Chief Fire Officers Association, 2006) Human Resource Management, or simply HRM, is considered as an integral component of the operations of any enterprise. HRM may be used as an effectual strategic approach of managing people to achieve the objectives set by the organisation. Guest and Peccei (1994) and Schwind, Das & Wagar (1999) state that an essential means to business vitality lies in the effectiveness of human resource management. HRM focuses on recruiting, screening, managing the performance of, and rewarding employees (Stone, 2002). Developing career opportunities; equipping employees with competencies; enhancing their current capacities; doing purposeful performance management; motivating employees; promoting safety; and ensuring the accuracy of job responsibilities are just some of the roles the HRM play. All of these practises are to be viewed as unified, and in aggregate have a beneficial effect upon employees and the enterprise as a while (Morrison, 1996; Schwind, Das & Wagar, 1999). This synergy, is generated when the combined HRM practises enrich the organisations workforce, and when such empowerment is reflected in increased productivity (Stone, 2002; Yeung & Berman, 1997). Organisations are more likely to enjoy success when HR practises are synergistic and relevant. In order to achieve this, Bowen and Ostroff (2004) suggested that the bundled HRM practises be implemented to stir motivation among employees, compelling them to elicit desirable,

External Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry Essay Example for Free

External Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry Essay Economic †¢ Market analysis by Insight Research predicts that telecommunications-industry revenue will reach $1.2 trillion by the end of next year, and grow by a compounded rate of 5.9 percent to $1.6 trillion by 2010. †¢ Telecommunication remains an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industrys revenue has been placed at just under 3% of the gross world product. †¢ Mobile phones have had a significant impact on telephone networks. Mobile phone subscriptions now outnumber fixed-line subscriptions in many markets. Sales of mobile phones in 2005 totaled 816. 6 million with that figure being almost equally shared amongst the markets of Asia/Pacific (204 m), Western Europe (164 m), CEMEA (Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa) (153.5 m), North America (148 m) and Latin America (102 m) †¢ In terms of new subscriptions over the five years from 1999, Africa has outpaced other markets with 58.2% growth †¢ Size matters in telecom. It is an expensive business; contenders need to be large enough and produce sufficient cash flow to absorb the costs of expanding networks and services that become obsolete seemingly overnight. Transmission systems need to be replaced as frequently as every two years. Big companies that own extensive networks especially local networks that stretch directly into customers homes and businesses are less reliant on interconnecting with other companies to get calls and data to their final destinations. By contrast, smaller players must pay for interconnect more often to finish the job. For little operators hoping to grow big some day, the financial challenges of keeping up with rapid technological change and depreciation can be monumental. †¢ During the late 1990s, the telecommunications industry experienced very rapid growth and massive investment in transmission capacity. Eventually this caused supply to significantly exceed demand, resulting in much lower prices for transmission capacity. The excess capacity and additional competition led to either declining revenues or slowing revenue growth, which has led to consolidation within the industry, as many companies merged or left the industry. Socio-Cultural †¢ Telecommunication is an important part of many modern societies. Good telecommunication infrastructure is widely acknowledged as important for economic success in the modern world on micro- and macroeconomic scale. †¢ On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunication to help build global empires, this is self-evident in the business of online retailer Amazon.com but even the conventional retailer Wal-Mart has benefited from superior telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors. In modern Western society, home owners often use their telephone to organize many home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladeshs Narshingdi district, isolated villagers use cell phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange a better price for their goods. In Cote dIvoire coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly variations in cof fee prices and sell at the best price. †¢ On the macroeconomic scale, in 2001, Lars-Hendrik Rà ¶ller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth. Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view the relationship as causal. †¢ However from any perspective the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure are undeniable and, for this reason, there is increasing worry about the digital divide. A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly one-third of countries have less than 1 mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have less than 1 fixed line subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of countries have less than 1 in 20 people with Internet access. †¢ The September 11 attack reinforces the need for robust, interconnected networks that have a high probability of survival in the event of natural or man-made disaster. That argues for a consolidated base of carriers operating with agreed-upon disaster protocols Technological †¢ The largest sector of the telecommunications industry continues to be made up of wired telecommunications carriers. Establishments in this sector mainly provide telephone service via wires and cables that connect customers’ premises to central offices maintained by telecommunications companies. The central offices contain switching equipment that routes content to its final destination or to another switching center that determines the most efficient route for the content to take. While voice used to be the main type of data transmitted over the wires, wired telecommunications service now includes the transmission of all types of graphic, video, and electronic data mainly over the Internet. †¢ These new services have been made possible through the use of digital technologies that provide much more efficient use of the telecommunications networks. One major technology breaks digital signals into packets during transmission. Networks of computerized switching equipment, called packet switched networks, route the packets. Packets may take separate paths to their destination and may share the paths with packets from other users. At the destination, the packets are reassembled, and the transmission is complete. Because packet switching considers alternate routes, and allows multiple transmissions to share the same route, it results in a more efficient use of telecommunications capacity as packets are routed along less congested routes. †¢ One way wired carriers are expanding their bandwidth is by replacing copper wires with fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable, which transmits light signals along glass strands, permits faster, higher capacity transmissions than tra ditional copper wire lines. In some areas, carriers are extending fiber optic cable to residential customers, enabling them to offer cable television, video-on-demand, high-speed Internet, and conventional telephone communications over a single line. However, the high cost of extending fiber to homes has slowed deployment. In most areas, wired carriers are instead leveraging existing copper lines that connect most residential customers with a central office, to provide digital subscriber lines (DSL) Internet service. Technologies in development will further boost the speeds available through a DSL connection. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers, many of which are subsidiaries of the wired carriers, transmit voice, graphics, data, and Internet access through the transmission of signals over networks of radio towers. The signal is transmitted through an antenna into the wire line network. Other wireless services include beeper and paging services. Because wireless devices require no wire line connection, they are popular with customers who need to communicate as they travel residents of areas with inadequate wire line service, and those who simply desire the convenience of portable communications. Increasing numbers of con sumers are choosing to replace their home landlines with wireless phones. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data transmission and better Internet access that should make them competitive with wire line carriers. One technology is called third generation (3G) wireless access. With this technology, wireless carriers plan to sell music, videos, and other exclusive content that can be downloaded and played on phones designed for 3G technologies. Wireless carriers are developing the next generation of technologies that will surpass 3G with even faster data transmission. Another technology is called â€Å"fixed wireless service,† which involves connecting the telephone and/or Internet wiring system in a home or business to an antenna, instead of a telephone line. The replacement of landlines with cellular service should become increasingly common because advances in wireless systems will provide data transmission speeds comparable to broadband landline systems. †¢ Changes in technology and regulation now allow cable television providers to compete directly with telephone companies. An important change has been the rapid increase in two-way communications capacity. Conventional pay television services provided communications only from the distributor to the customer. These services could not provide effective communications from the customer back to other points in the system, due to signal interference and the limited capacity of conventional cable systems. As cable operators implement new technologies to reduce signal interference and increase the capacity of their distribution systems by installing fiber optic cables and improved data compression, some pay television systems now offer two-way telecommunications services, such as video-on-demand and high-speed Internet access. Cable companies are also increasing their share of the telephone communications market both through their network of conventional phone lines in some areas and their growing ability to use high-speed Internet access to provide VoIP (voice over Internet protocol). †¢ VoIP is sometimes called Internet telephony, because it uses the Internet to transmit phone calls. While conventional phone networks use packet switching to break up a call onto multiple shared lines between central offices, VoIP extends this process to the phone. A VoIP phone will break the conversation into digital packets and transmit those packets over a high-speed Internet connection. Cable companies are using the technology to offer phone services without building a conventional phone network. Wireline providers’ high-speed Internet connections also can be used for VoIP and cellular phones are being developed that use VoIP to make calls using local wireless Internet connections. All of the major sectors of the telecommunications industry are or will increasingly use VoIP. Demographic †¢ The telecommunications industry offers steady, year-round employment. Overtime sometimes is required, especially during emergencies such as floods or hurricanes when employees may need to report to work with little notice. †¢ Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations account for 1 in 4 telecommunications jobs. Telecommunications line installers and repairers, one of the largest occupations, work in a variety of places, both indoors and outdoors, and in all kinds of weather. Their work involves lifting, climbing, reaching, stooping, crouching, and crawling. They must work in high places such as rooftops and telephone poles, or below ground when working with buried lines. Their jobs bring them into proximity with electrical wires and circuits, so they must take precautions to avoid shocks. These workers must wear safety equipment when entering manholes, and test for the presence of gas before going underground. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers, generally work indoors—most often in a telecommunication company’s central office or a customer’s place of business. They may have to stand for long periods; climb ladders; and do some reaching, stooping, and light lifting. Adherence to safety precautions is essential to guard against work injuries such as minor burns and electrical shock. †¢ Most communications equipment operators, such as telephone operators, work at video display terminals in pleasant, well-lighted, air-conditioned surroundings. If the worksite is not well designed, however, operators may experience eye strain and back discomfort. The rapid pace of the job and close supervision may cause stress. Some workplaces have introduced innovative practices among their operators to reduce job-related stress. †¢ The number of disabling injuries in telephone communications, the principal sector of the telecommunications industry, has been well below the average for all industries in past years. †¢ The telecommunications industry offers employment in jobs requiring a variety of skills and training. Many jobs require at least a high school diploma or an associate degree in addition to on-the-job training. Other jobs require particular skills that may take several years of experience to learn completely. For some managerial and professional jobs, employers require a college education. †¢ Due to the rapid introduction of new technologies and services, the telecommunications industry is among the most rapidly changing in the economy. This means workers must keep their job skills up to date. From managers to communications equipment operators, increased knowledge of both computer hardware and software is of paramount importance. Several major companies and the telecommunications unions have created a Web site that provides free training for employees, enabling them to keep their knowledge current and helping them to advance. Telecommunications industry employers now look for workers with knowledge of and skills in computer programming and software design; voice telephone technology, known as telephony; laser and fiber optic technology; wireless technology; and data compression. Political/Legal †¢ Telecommunications Act: Enacted by the U.S. Congress on February 1, 1996, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the laws main purpose was to stimulate competition in the United States telecom sector. †¢ FCC controls the wireless spectrum allocations among the various broadcasters and service providers. This allocation is through a competitive auction at high cost to service providers, which result in an increase of debt burden of these companies, eventually trickling down to consumers. †¢ FCC as a watchdog regulates that there be no monopoly of a single player in the telecom market. Mergers and consolidation among companies is closely watched and evaluated before being allowed Porters 5 Forces Analysis 1. Threat of New Entrants No surprise, in the capital-intensive telecom industry the biggest barrier-to-entry is access to finance. To cover high fixed costs, serious contenders typically require a lot of cash. When capital markets are generous, the threat of competitive entrants escalates. When financing opportunities are less readily available, the pace of entry slows. Meanwhile, ownership of a telecom license can represent a huge barrier to entry. In the US, for instance, fledgling telecom operators must still apply to the Federal Communications Commission to receive regulatory approval and licensing. There is also a finite amount of good radio spectrum that lends itself to mobile voice and data applications. In addition, it is important to remember that solid operating skills and management experience is fairly scarce, making entry even more difficult. 2. Power of Suppliers At first glance, it might look like telecom equipment suppliers have considerable bargaining power over telecom operators. Indeed, without high-tech broadband switching equipment, fiber-optic cables, mobile handsets and billing software, telecom operators would not be able to do the job of transmitting voice and data from place to place. But there are actually a large number of large equipment makers around. Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia, Alcatel, Ericsson, Tellabs are just a few of the supplier names. There are enough vendors, arguably, to dilute bargaining power. The limited pool of talented managers and engineers, especially those well versed in the latest technologies, places companies in a weak position in terms of hiring and salaries. 3. Power of Buyers With increased choice of telecom products and services, the bargaining power of buyers is rising. Lets face it; telephone and data services do not much vary regardless of which companies are selling them. For the most part, basic services are treated as a commodity. This translates into customers seeking low prices from companies that offer reliable service. At the same time, buyer power can vary somewhat among market segments. Customers can be as small as individual residential users like you or me, or be as big as an ISP like America Online or a large university. While switching costs are relatively low for residential telecom customers, they can get higher for larger business customers, especially those that rely more on customized products and services. 4. Availability of Substitutes Products and services from non-traditional telecom industries pose serious substitution threats. Cable TV and satellite operators now compete for buyers. The cable guys, with their own direct lines into homes, offer broadband Internet services, and satellite links can substitute for high-speed business networking needs. Railways and energy utility companies are laying miles of high-capacity telecom network alongside their own track and pipeline assets. Just as worrying for telecom operators is the Internet: it is becoming a viable vehicle for cut-rate voice calls. Delivered by ISPs not telecom operators Internet telephony could take a big bite out of telecom companies core voice revenues. 5. Competitive Rivalry Competition is cut throat. The wave of industry de-regulation together with the receptive capital markets of the late 1990s paved the way for a rush of new entrants. New technology is prompting a raft of substitute services. Nearly everybody already pays for phone services, so all competitors now must lure customers with lower prices and more exciting services. This tends to drive industry profitability down. In addition to low profits, the telecom industry suffers from high exit barriers, mainly due to its specialized equipment. Networks and billing systems cannot really be used for much else, and their swift obsolescence makes liquidation pretty difficult.

A Guide on Search Engines :: Technology Computers Internet Essays

A Guide on Search Engines Hello and welcome. My name is Jane, and I'm reporting to you live from Hollywood. I am sporting a lovely plum-colored sequence dress compliments of Bergdorf, and the jewelry I am seen wearing are from Tiffany & Co. Well ladies and gentlemen, enough about my lovely attire. The moment we've all been waiting for has come. Finally, movie critics from around the United States have gathered to criticize or glorify the upcoming movie, Search Engines. With the success this movie is supposed to receive, sequels are already being talked about. These types of movies cost millions of dollars every year to produce and maintain. As of today, the movie has generated millions of dollars through sponsored advertisements, and the owners of the production companies hope to sell even more ads in the upcoming months. Business in this type of industry is high. Every time you blink, another person is sending in their scripts to the production company, hoping their script gets chosen for review. There was some bribery reported earlier in the week, as top companies pushed their scripts ahead of the average person by paying the reviewers. This brings us back to the time when actual hard copies of encyclopedias competed to be the number one best seller. Since these encyclopedia space taker-uppers are being replaced by the coming of age search engines, competition for the highest grossing movie is becoming dangerously fierce. So much foul play occurs when scripts and company domination are at stake ladies and gentlemen. Today I'm going to interview some of the biggest names in the WWW, or whole wide world. Here with me today is Golden-Globe winner Ask Jeeves. Jeeves can always be picked out of a crowd because he always wears such early 90s clothing attire, including a bow tie and high waters. As you may or may not know, Ask Jeeves won his award through his portrayal of a money-hungry CEO of a top advertising company. He is rated by movie critics as one the top 5 actors in the entire world. His role in Search Engines seems to be unlike any he has ever done before. This is so uncharacteristic of Ask Jeeves because he is so versatile and diverse, seemingly able to conquer and answer to any challenge set before him.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Essay -- Frankenstein Literature Dopplega

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is widely hailed as literature’s greatest gothic novel, as well as its first science fiction work. Written by a young woman in answer to a challenge from a circle of male authors (which included her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley), the tale is drawn from her personal experiences as well as from the writings of other authors. The monster in the story is a multifaceted symbol for humanity’s fears, representing unchecked technology and the un-mothered child, among other things. As a representative of these fears, the monster itself may be described as a doppleganger. The word doppleganger is taken from the German dopplegà ¤nger, meaning â€Å"double goer.† It appears as a reflection of a person, an apparition resembling a living being. When it appears, it is often taken as a portent of death, as it was by Elizabeth I when she saw a pale vision of herself lying still upon her deathbed soon before she died (Encyclopedia Mythica, 1). On a larger scale, Frankenstein’s monster could be described as a doppleganger of humanity, personifying our fear of ourselves and of our capabilities. One classic example of a doppleganger is the reflected image seen in a window at night, sometimes mistaken for a prowler. Frankenstein’s monster acts the part of this apparition when he appears to Frankenstein in his new bride’s window on her wedding night after killing her. The doppleganger that is the monster takes on many forms in terms of what it represents. One of these is the fear of science and its role in relation to God. As scientific advancements were made in the field of medicine, questions arose as to whether or not man should try to perform acts that only God was previously capable of performing. This moral issue is initially ignored by Frankenstein, overshadowed by his zeal for accomplishing his impossible feat of reanimation. After he animates the creature and shuns it for its horrible appearance, it acts on its impulses for revenge. As the story progresses, Frankenstein realizes that he should have thought more carefully before acting, and the repercussions of his dark deed eventually lead him on a self-destructive quest to ultimately attempt to annihilate his own creation. By trying to ascend past his place in God’s universe, Frankenstein, in the end, destroys himself and all that he ever loved.... ...etheus, Adam) and destructor (Satan) of life. (Desert Aine 2, 1-2) Frankenstein and his abominable creation are two characters inexorably linked with eachother, as father and son, as inventor and invention, and even as reflections of eachother. Their conflict deals with themes of the morality of science and the fears of child birth, and their characters are drawn from a wealth of experience and reading. Shelley’s doppleganger of mankind is like a twisted vision of reality; based in some sense on reality but wildly taken out of proportion, the monster is so inhuman that it cannot reconcile itself with its master or the world of humanity. Its tragic story serves as a warning of what mankind could become as well as a reflection of Shelley’s own personal demons, and her creation has changed the face of literature. Bibliography: Desert Aine 1. 3/13/1999. 3/14/1999. http://www.desert-fairy.com/birth.shtml Desert Aine 2. 3/13/1999. 3/14/1999. http://www.desert-fairy.com/franken.shtml Encyclopedia Mythica. 3/14/1999. http://pantheon.org/mythica/articles/d/doppleganger.html Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley, her Life, her Fiction, her Monsters. New York: Routledge. 1988.

Bad Effects of Electronics Gadget Essay

Gadgets like portable games can have a negative impact on an individual’s health. Technology is an integral part of our day-to-day lives. People all over the world rely on it for things like communication, organization and employment. Not a day goes by when you don’t encounter someone talking on his cell phone, tapping away on a laptop or listening to an MP3 player. While this technology is impressive, there are certain drawbacks in areas like health, public safety and education that should be addressed. Being aware of these dangers can help diminish or reverse these drawbacks. Car Accidents * There is no question that cell phones have become a staple of modern society. Even young children use them, much to the chagrin of their parents or teachers. A common belief is that cell phones can cause adverse effects like brain cancer. However, a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that this is not true. Regardless, there are other hazards. According to the WHO, mobile phones are a serious problem when driving, increasing reaction time between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds. This short span of time can make a world of difference when avoiding a collision. They further state drivers on a phone have trouble judging speed and staying in their lanes. Even hands-free headsets pose a distraction. The WHO concludes that drivers who talk on their cell phones are four times more likely to get in an accident. Hearing Problems * According to the website Healthy Hearing, one-third of teenagers own an MP3 player, such as an iPod. Dr. Craig Kasper, Director of Audiology at the New York Otolaryngology Group, warns that these devices can cause ear damage if used improperly. If the volume is too high or if the individual listens for a long time, hearing damage can happen. Also, earbuds are more dangerous than regular headphones. Healthy Hearing recommends that listeners keep the volume below 70 percent and limit listening time to between 60 and 90 minutes. If you want to listen indefinitely, turn the volume down to 50 percent Physical Injury and Obesity * Hand-held video game consoles are very popular in the developed world. While they can be entertaining, excessive play can be detrimental. One problem is video game addiction, which can be disruptive to a person’s psychological health. Other reported issues include seizures, neck pain, wrist pain and repetitive strain injury. Prolonged use also contributes to a sedentary lifestyle, resulting in obesity. Academic Impact * Text slang, such as â€Å"ur† instead of â€Å"you’re† is commonly used through cell phone texting. However, a recent study shows that kids and teens are actually letting these obscure abbreviations seep into their normal writing. A recent study by Pew Internet in 2008 revealed that 50 percent of students use informal slang in their assignments. Furthermore, 38 percent admit they have used abbreviations in their schoolwork like â€Å"LOL†, which stands for â€Å"laugh out loud†. Additionally, 25 percent say that they use emoticons such as â€Å"smiley faces† in formal writing. The problem has become so apparent that some U.S. politicians are concerned that the English language and sentence structure is being twisted, negatively affecting students’ learning. The Disadvantages of Gadgets on Students Modern technologies like television and computers provide identifiable educational advantages, such as greater access to information and more compelling presentations of that information. Over-use of technology, though, especially such gadgets as cell phones, iPods and video games, presents a whole range of problems which may interfere with a student’s ability to learn and attend to lessons. 1. Social Networking 2. Students who use their computers or cell phones to participate in social networking sites may post material considered inappropriate by school authorities. They may also develop an unfavorable reputation based on those pictures or comments. Pictures of misbehavior can adversely affect their chances of getting into the university of their choice or of getting a job. Addictions * It is easy to become addicted to gaming, texting, talking on the phone or socializing online. Some students may attempt to do this in class, which disrupts their learning, and at home it detracts from study time. Kids putting in long hours on their gadgets will give less attention to assignments and may be irritable when they are away from their gadgets. They might also sleep less, which can slow down their thinking the next day. Creativity * In the past, children and young people filled up their free time by reading books, socializing, or engaging in active, creative play. A fixation on gadgets reduces participation in of all these, especially the aspect of creativity. Digital worlds can be vast, but they are always structured, not requiring the imagination and inventiveness of unstructured play. Some children become less creative and less able to entertain themselves. Health * Persistent use of high-tech gadgetry can lead to a slew of health problems for young and old alike. A sedentary lifestyle discourages exercise and encourages obesity. The back-lit screens used for computers, iPhones and video games can cause eye problems. Walking around everywhere with music blaring directly into your ears brings on headaches and hearing difficulties. The net effect of all these things, plus the pressure of immediate responses to everything, can become stressful. The Negative Impacts of exposure of electronic devices and gadgets to children These advantages may not be obvious or observed in short period of times. However there are some impacts on the usage of the electronic devices and gadgets games. According to the sources from a survey of Kaiser Family Foundation, children are spending an average of more than 7 hours per day on the electronic device which includes television, electronic games, internet and some mobile devices. These data show that, kids today are easily used up more than 50 hours weekly, which means the time consume is more than working hours of an adult, if we take an average of 8 hour per days for 6 working days. Surveys showed that these young kids know how to play with the smart-phone, make a mobile phone calls and even open internet browsers on their own without any aid. However, on the same survey found that there are lesser kids on the same age range know how to tie a shoelace without help or swim unaided. A concern on children may be fluent in technical driven skillset rather than real-life practical skills. The devices and games tend to keep the children out of touch of reality. It is important to children to spend some time for outdoor activity with family and friends. The times spent on the devices may curb some outdoor activities. When the children play violent games for a long period of time, they are tends to be more aggressive, and they are more prone to confront their elderly and teachers. This may not be a good sign, and may let the children easily involved in fighting and verbally scolding with peers. If children spend too much time on the devices, this may affect their studies and school achievements. The more time the spend they are more crazy after the devices and affects their concentration and focus in their school works. The addiction of games may also make them get used to the sedentary lifestyles, and develop unhealthy lifestyle and poor time management and poor eating habits. Abstract Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. W.H.O. has defined adolescents as individuals aged between in 10-19 years. It is the most fertile and most vulnerable segment. Time management is of paramount importance, especially for the overall growth and development of adolescence. The study was conducted on 400 students in the age group of 10-19 years showed that adolescents spend more of the time in personal cleanliness, playing games and watching television. They did not spend any time meditation or remembering God, moral teachings, caring for old persons, and family, patriotic and national values. There is an imperative need to have a strong need based action programme at the level of – Family/Parents/Teachers in schools & community for guiding the adolescent regarding proper time management. Introduction Management means getting things done with optimal resources. It has been a very important tool in the present world to solve any problem to achieve any success or to have the maximum benefits after putting in minimum inputs. In the modern era time is very precious and its proper management of time is the key to success. Recently it has become even more important and complicated after the introduction of modern scientific techniques, gadgets, especially computers. Adolescence is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood. W.H.O. has defined adolescents as individuals aged between in 10-19 years. Not gold but men can make a Nation great & strong† and adolescent is the largest and most rapidly expanding segment of our country. It is the most fertile and most vulnerable segment. Need less to point out that time management is of paramount importance, especially for the overall growth and development of adolescence in our country. Children Spending Time with Gadgets Gadgets have taken the much cherished time and space which was meant for the parents. Children are hooked on to the gadgets and they have no time for other pursuits. Parents also regularly bring new gadgets for their children in keeping with the peer pressure and giving in to the demands. Should we pamper our children with gadgets? How to curb this menace? Read on. My son loves video games. He always wants the latest games as soon as possible. There is also a lot of peer pressure for him to get these gadgets. I feel I am spoiling him by getting him the gadgets he wants. Should I give in to him when he comes up with something new that he just must have? Today, children are a demanding lot. Every day there are more and more exciting gadgets to acquire. Mobile phones, video games, I pods, computers, music systems, there are newer models available by the day. Sometimes, by the time you get around purchasing something, it is already obsolete. In this scenario, how much should we pamper our children? Why Children Tend to Spend More Time with Gadgets? At the outset, as a working mother, you are probably already erring on the side of indulgence. Working mothers tend to feel guilty about their absence from home and are more likely to give in to their children’s demands. Giving in is also easier, since with a dual income, a home with working parents tends to have greater disposable income. Your son’s wants might not seem difficult initially, but be aware that as he grows, the things he craves will get bigger and more expensive. Should Working Mothers Get Gadgets for Kids? You need to ask yourself if your son really needs the new gadget he craves. Will the amount you spend on it make you uncomfortable? You will know in your gut whether your child should have the latest version of a video game. If you decide against buying the new gadget, you need to talk to him about why he should not have it. Compare the cost of that gadget to a poor man’s income. Put its cost into perspective for him. Ask him to buy it out of his own savings! How to Handle Peer Pressure in Case of Purchasing Gadgets? If it is peer pressure that is making him desire this new item, you need to have a long, hard look at his friends. It is natural that your son will have a need to be liked by his peers and fall in with their behaviour patterns. Ideally, his group should have a positive influence on him and should have values similar to his own. He should choose his friends wisely. It is very tough to stand up to peers. Your son will need your affection and guidance. It has been observed that those children who have either low self-esteem or low confidence are more likely to succumb to peer pressure. Therefore you need to build on his own confidence. It is extremely helpful if he develops personal interests outside of the group. How Does the Usage of Gadgets Affect Children? Sometime, we as parents fail to notice the impact the gadgets have on the development of the child. The child gets hooked on to the gadgets and hardly has time for other things in life. He fails to pursue his interests. Suddenly when these gadgets are taken away from them, they feel restless and irritated. Gadgets bring about behavioural changes in the child. The child prefers to be lonely but with his gadget. So what is the solution? Do we give in to the demands? How to Monitor Child’s Gadget Usage? It is high time now to monitor your child before it is too late. Giving in to demands sometimes is okay but there needs to be a good reason for it. The child should be monitored for the hours spent on gadgets and a time should be fixed for this. Giving in to peer pressure should also be avoided.The best option for you as a parent is to talk to him a lot so as to prevent him from feeling isolated. You could also encourage him make new friends. Let him enjoy the beauty and marvels of nature by taking him out on a picnic or for trekking. All of this takes time and patience. So just take it easy. You can prefer the above ways to make sure that the child is spending less time with gadgets. You can also introduce him to other things. Get him involved and interested in hobby classes so that his attention is diverted and his time is spent fruitfully. With that aspect in mind an attempt was made to carry out a cross section study through the medium of schools, in the adolescents. They were si mply asked questions to describe their daily work schedule in relation to their life style and various routine activities If you’re like many mothers of tweens or teens, you probably often find yourself gazing at the faces of your beloved children — as those faces are bathed in the flickering light of the television or the cool glow of the computer. Observing their glassy-eyed stares, it’s hard not to wonder (and worry), What is this screen time doing to their development? We’ve all heard the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics: just one to two hours a day of â€Å"quality† electronic entertainment for children over 2. Yeah, right. In 2010, a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that most adolescents spend an average of 25 to 30 hours per week watching TV and using computers. And while half of parents surveyed in a 2010 study said they always or often set limits on screen time, 18 percent of their kids really disagreed. â€Å"It’s getting more complicated to measure how much screen time kids are getting,† notes Lisa Guernsey, author of Into the Minds of Babes, a book about children’s use of electronic media. â€Å"We’re no longer talking about the TV in the den that parents can turn off. These days, many teens and tweens have smartphones, laptops, tablets, and iPods that they carry with them.† When you add up the total time kids spend on their electronic devices, you arrive at a truly staggering number: The average American between the ages of 8 and 18 spends more than seven hours a day looking at a screen of some kind, reports a Kaiser Family Foundation study. â€Å"When we conducted a similar survey five years before, we thought children’s screen time couldn’t rise any higher,† says Donald F. Roberts, Ph.D., a Stanford University communications professor who coauthored the study. â€Å"But it just keeps going up and up.† Scientists are now beginning to tease out the effects of all this electronic engagement. Too much screen time may be linked to an increased incidence of risky behaviors, and more social network activity seems to correspond to mood problems among teens. But there’s good news, too. Moderate computer use may be associated with the development of some cognitive and social skills. Here, a closer look at the cons and then the pros of screen time.

Trials of in the South During the Civil War essays

Trials of in the South During the Civil War essays These are a few documents that describe a small portion of history that we as a people use to look into the past to get a glimpse of what experiences people of that time period had to experience and some of the trials and tribulation that people had to endure. Black Codes enacted in the South These codes were laws that white southerners put into place to try to maintain their way of life as it was before the civil war. These laws were a vital part of history describing the restrictions that were put on the blacks. The Black codes talked about in Reading the American Past, were codes that were enacted in the state of Mississippi, there were codes, laws, enacted in nearly every southern state. The Mississippi Black codes their were made up of Acts and Sections: Act to Confer Civil Rights on Freedman, and for other Purposes-11 Sections Act to Regulate the Relation of Master and Apprentice, as Relates to Freedman, Free Negroes, and Mulattoes-10 Sections Act to Amend the Vagrant Laws of the State-8 Sections. There were 28 sections of the Black codes to restrict the freedom and opportunities of the southern blacks. The Black codes are documents that give clear and concise understanding of history to the time period of the Reconstruction. This concise understanding gives all that study and read these codes a clear picture of how American society was for the whites and the blacks. The whole thought process to enact such codes were biased to the white southerners, with these codes the southern plantation owners still had a hold on the now free blacks. Elias Hill: Testimony before Congressional Committee Investigating the Ku Klux Klan, 1871, Elias Hill was a black minister in York County, South Carolina, who testified before a congressional committee in 1871 about the Ku Klux Klan's aims and methods of operation. Elias was deemed as a credible witness due to his outstanding stature within...

Defining the Middle Ages

Defining the Middle Ages One of the most frequently asked questions about medieval history is, When did the Middle Ages start and end? The answer to this simple question is more complicated than you might think. There is currently no true consensus among historians, authors, and educators for the precise dates- or even the general dates- that mark the beginning and end of the medieval era. The most common time frame is approximately 500-1500 C.E., but you will often see different dates of significance marking the eras parameters. The reasons for this imprecision become a little more clear when one considers that the Middle Ages as a period of study has evolved over centuries of scholarship. Once a Dark Age, then a romantic era and an Age of Faith, medieval times were approached by historians in the 20th century as a complex, multifaceted era, and many scholars found new and intriguing topics to pursue. Every view of the Middle Ages had its own defining characteristics, which in turn had its own turning points and associated dates. This state of affairs offers the scholar or enthusiast the opportunity to define the Middle Ages in the manner that best suits his own personal approach to the era. Unfortunately, it also leaves the newcomer to medieval studies with a certain amount of confusion. Stuck in the Middle The phrase Middle Ages has its origins in the fifteenth century. Scholars of the time- primarily in Italy- were caught up in an exciting movement of art and philosophy, and they saw themselves embarking on a new age that revived the long-lost culture of classical Greece and Rome. The time that intervened between the ancient world and their own was a middle age and, sadly, one they disparaged and from which they disassociated themselves. Eventually the term and its associated adjective, medieval, caught on. Yet, if the period of time the term covered was ever explicitly defined, the chosen dates were never unassailable. It may seem reasonable to end the era at the point where scholars began to see themselves in a different light; however, this would assume they were justified in their view. From our vantage point of considerable hindsight, we can see that this was not necessarily the case. The movement that outwardly characterized this period was in reality limited to the artistic elite (as well as to, for the most part, Italy). The political and  material culture  of the world around them had not radically changed from that of the centuries preceding their own. And despite the attitude of its participants, the  Italian Renaissance  did not spontaneously burst forth from  nowhere but was instead a product of the preceding 1,000 years of intellectual and artistic history. From a broad historical perspective, the Renaissance cannot be clearly separated from the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, thanks to the work of historians such as  Jacob Burkhardt  and Voltaire, the Renaissance was considered a distinct time period for many years. Yet recent scholarship has blurred the distinction between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It has now become much more important to comprehend the Italian Renaissance as an artistic and literary movement, and to see the succeeding movements it influenced in northern Europe and Britain for what they were, instead of lumping them all together in an imprecise and misleading age. Although the origin of the term middle ages may no longer hold the weight it once did, the idea of the medieval era as existing in the middle still has validity. It is now quite common to view the Middle Ages as that period of time between the ancient world and the early modern age. Unfortunately, the dates at which that first era ends and the later era begins are by no means clear. It may be more productive to define the medieval era in terms of its most significant and unique characteristics, and then identify the turning points and their associated dates. This leaves us with a variety of options for defining the Middle Ages. Empires Once, when political history defined the boundaries of the past, the date span of 476 to 1453 was generally considered the time frame of the medieval era. The reason: each date marked the fall of an empire. In 476 C.E., the  Western Roman Empire officially came to an end  when the Germanic warrior  Odoacer  deposed and exiled the last emperor,  Romulus Augustus. Instead of taking the title of  emperor  or acknowledging anyone else as such, Odoacer chose the title King of Italy, and the  western empire  was no more. This event is no longer considered the definitive end of the Roman empire. In fact, whether Rome fell, dissolved, or evolved is still a matter for debate. Although at its height the empire spanned territory from Britain to Egypt, even at its most expansive the Roman  bureaucracy  neither encompassed nor controlled most of what was to become Europe. These lands, some of which were virgin territory, would be occupied by peoples that the Romans considered barbarians, and their genetic and cultural descendants would have just as much impact on the formation of western civilization as the survivors of Rome. The study of the Roman Empire  is  important in understanding medieval Europe, but even if the date of its fall could be irrefutably determined, its status as a defining factor no longer holds the influence it once had. In 1453 C.E., the  Eastern Roman Empire  came to an end when its  captial  city of Constantinople fell to invading Turks. Unlike the western terminus, this date is not contested, even though the Byzantine Empire had shrunk through the centuries and, at the time of the fall of Constantinople, had consisted of little more than the great city itself for more than two hundred years. However, as significant as Byzantium is to medieval studies, to view it as a  defining  factor is misleading. At its  height, the eastern empire encompassed even less of present-day Europe than had the western empire. Furthermore, while Byzantine civilization influenced the course of western culture and politics, the empire remained quite deliberately separate from the tumultuous, unstable, dynamic societies that grew, foundered, merged and ​​warred  in the west. The choice of Empires as a defining characteristic of medieval studies has one other significant flaw: throughout the course of the Middle Ages, no  true  empire encompassed a significant portion of Europe for any substantial length of time.  Charlemagne  succeeded in uniting large portions of modern-day France and Germany, but the nation he built broke into factions only two generations after his death.  The Holy Roman Empire  has been called neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire, and its emperors certainly did not have the kind of control over its lands that Charlemagne achieved. Yet the fall of empires lingers in our perception of the Middle Ages. One cannot help but notice how close the dates 476 and 1453 are to 500 and 1500. Christendom Throughout the medieval  era  only one institution came close to uniting all of Europe, though it was not so much a political empire as a spiritual one. That union was attempted by the Catholic Church, and the geopolitical entity it influenced was known as Christendom. While the exact extent of the Churchs political power and influence on the material culture of medieval Europe has been and continues to be debated, there is no denying that it had a significant impact on international events and personal lifestyles throughout the era. It is for this reason that the Catholic Church has validity as a defining factor of the Middle Ages. The rise, establishment, and ultimate fracturing of Catholicism as the single most influential religion in  Western  Europe offers several significant dates to use as  start- and end-points for the era. In 306 C.E.,  Constantine  was proclaimed Caesar and became co-ruler of the Roman Empire. In 312 he converted to Christianity, the once-illegal religion now became favored over all others. (After his death, it would become the official religion of the empire.) Virtually overnight, an underground cult became the religion of the Establishment, forcing the once-radical Christian philosophers to rethink their attitudes toward the Empire. In 325, Constantine called the  Council of Nicaea, the first  ecumenical council  of the Catholic Church. This convocation of bishops from all over the known world was an important step in building the organized institution that would have so much influence over the next 1,200 years. These events make the year 325, or at the very least the early fourth century, a viable starting point for the Christian Middle Ages. However, another event holds equal or greater weight in the minds of some scholars: the accession to the papal throne of  Gregory the Great  in 590. Gregory was instrumental in establishing the medieval papacy as a strong socio-political force, and many believe that without his efforts the Catholic Church would never have achieved the power and influence it wielded throughout medieval times. In 1517 C.E.  Martin Luther  posted 95 theses criticizing the Catholic Church. In 1521 he was excommunicated, and he appeared before the  Diet of Worms  to defend his actions. The attempts to reform ecclesiastical practices from within the institution were futile; ultimately, the  Protestant Reformation  split the Western Church irrevocably. The Reformation was not a peaceful one, and religious wars ensued throughout much of Europe. These culminated in the  Thirty Years War  that ended with the  Peace of Westphalia  in 1648. When equating medieval with the rise and fall of Christendom, the latter date is sometimes viewed as the end of the Middle Ages by those who prefer an all-inclusive view of the era. However, the sixteenth-century events that heralded the beginning of the end of Catholicisms pervasive presence in Europe are more  frequently  regarded as the eras terminus. Europe The field of medieval studies is by its very nature eurocentric. This does not mean that medievalists deny or ignore the significance of events that took place outside of what is today Europe during the medieval era. But the entire concept of a medieval era is a European one. The term Middle Ages was first used by European scholars during the  Italian Renaissance  to describe their own history, and as the study of the era has evolved, that focus has remained fundamentally the same. As more research has been conducted in previously unexplored areas, a wider recognition of the importance of the lands outside Europe in shaping the modern world has evolved. While other specialists study the histories of non-European lands from varying perspectives, medievalists generally approach them with regard to how they affected  European  history. It is an aspect of medieval studies that has always characterized the field. Because the medieval era is so inextricably linked to the geographical entity we now call Europe, it is entirely valid to associate a definition of the Middle Ages with a significant stage in the development of that entity. But this presents us with a variety of challenges. Europe is not a separate  geological  continent; it is part of a larger land mass properly called Eurasia. Throughout history, its boundaries shifted all too often, and they are still shifting today. It was not commonly recognized as a distinct geographical entity  during  the Middle Ages; the lands we now call Europe were more frequently considered Christendom. Throughout the Middle Ages, there was no single political force that controlled all of the  continent. With these limitations, it becomes increasingly difficult to define the parameters of a broad historical age associated with what we now call Europe. But perhaps this very lack of characteristic features can help us with our definition. When the Roman Empire was at its height, it consisted primarily of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean. By the time  Columbus  made his historic voyage to the New World, the Old World stretched from Italy to Scandinavia, and from Britain to the Balkans and beyond. No longer was Europe the wild, untamed frontier, populated by barbarian, frequently migratory cultures. It was now civilized (though still often in turmoil), with generally stable governments, established centers of commerce and learning, and the dominant presence of Christianity. Thus, the medieval era might be considered the period of time during which Europe  became  a geopolitical entity. The fall of the  Roman Empire (c. 476) can still be considered a turning point in the development of Europes identity. However, the time when the migrations of Germanic tribes into Roman territory began to effect significant changes in the empires cohesiveness (the 2nd century C.E.) could be considered the genesis of Europe. A common terminus is the late 15th  century when westward   exploration  into the new world initiated a new awareness in Europeans of their old world. The 15th century also saw significant turning points for regions within Europe: In 1453, the end of the  Hundred Years War  signalled the unification of France; in 1485, Britain saw the end of the Wars of the Roses and the beginning of an extensive peace; in 1492, the Moors were driven from Spain, the Jews were expelled, and Catholic unity prevailed. Changes were taking place everywhere, and as individual nations established modern identities, so too did Europe appear to take on a cohesive identity of its own. Learn more about the early, high and late middle ages.