Is social media eroding our sense of ommunity

The claim â€Å"social media is eroding our sense of community' is as complex and ambiguous as the term community itself, in both its understanding of the notion and its fluidity as a concept. Social media has the both the potential to perpetuate the erosion of our sense of community, and equally to influence and extend a less secular sense of community. The local and traditional sense of community is diminishing through our ever-increasing interaction with social media that now shapes how we now interact and communicate with others – but has it forever changed the traditional sense of ‘help thy neighbor?Logic suggests that, in this context, to erode is not solely to diminish but rather to change. With the proliferation of positive social movements, community engagement tools and online access to education, social media also gives us scope to increase the sphere of our influence. It would be dogmatic to state that social media does not have the capacity to provide a pos itive and more global context to our sense and understanding of community. While this concept is changing; social media is simply a symptom of this, not the cause.There is the potential for it to perpetuate the short-comings of a more isolated ND globalizes society but it also has the power to enhance our connectedness and ignite a better understanding of humanity and equality. Which way it goes will be determined by how we, as a society, use it. Community is a fluid, every changing concept that has a perpetual relationship with society and its values as a whole. As society changes, so the concept of community is also changing.In an ever turning world, society evolves through changing values and views that flow through into how we interact and are influenced by norms and ideas (Turner B S (deed) 2011: 83). For the repose of this paper one finds it imperative, not only to define a traditional place centered definition of community, but also to consider how this definition has evolved to now be centered around the meaning that human beings have inter-twined with community rather than simply the functional structure of community.The debate about the balance between individual interest and the common good for all is well documented in literature about community through the ages. Before the sass's social theorists such as Mercer (1956) and others discussed the concept of a community as group of citizens residing in a region or location, for a particular era and who share a common set of social structures and cultural behaviors. Neal, (1981) went further and described the concept as those attributes combined that ‘show an awareness of their uniqueness and separate identity as a group' (Neal, S.Deed. 1981 : 27). Perhaps with changes in glance of autonomy and the collective in modern society, more importance is moving toward that of the individual. Recognition of these tensions by scholars has, in part, led to the discourse on community studies that encompasses ore than a functionalist or formalist concept of community as a physical locality. Like any other social construct, community has a symbolic dimension as well (Cohen 1985: 8). For the purposes of describing and examining social media as online communities this distinction is of paramount importance.Western culture, which is mainly seen as individualist (Vaughan G & Hog M 2010: 320), recognizes a concept of community that is the sum of more than its social function or formalist nature. The environment, the terrain, the industry of a community all define or frame the notion of a community. The human element imparts the meaning to our communities. Cohen (1985) outlines that a constructional view of community ‘is symbolically constructed as a conglomerate of normative codes and values that provide members with a sense of identity (Cohen, 1985 p 8).This definition emphasizes meaning over structure and highlights that the underpinning constant in our idea of community is the meaning both individuals and society in general perceive it to be – and not its physical state. As Cohen (1985) states it is ‘not whether it's structural limits have withstood the onslaught of social change, but whether its members are able to infuse TTS culture with validity and to construct a symbolic community which provides meaning and identity (Cohen, 1985: 9)'.Community as a concept is determined by the perspective of society and its culture at a certain point on the time and space continuum. Community like love is where you find it, and most importantly, it has many forms, one Just as vital the last or the next, erosion is inept in describing it's continuously changing and manifold nature. Traditional communities have always evolved through cycles of development as new technologies and services that have been introduced.The arrival of electricity, the railways and the telephone have all impacted on the way we perceive community and the way we as individuals interact wit hin it. It is interesting to note that studies on community and social change, particularly those articulated by Ferdinand Townies (1887) and George Simmer (1887), during the height of European modernity, outlined that while an understanding of community was still mainly bound in locale they also commented on the degree to which the forms of the 19th century social existence reflected those changing notions of the value of the collective social experience'.At the time communities become more connected and urban, peasant societies were declining and city life was seen as exemplifying the decay of oral culture, traditional morality and family ties but not necessarily as causing it Cones, S. Deed. 1999: 277). Social media as both a by-product of and an accelerator of social change must logically be seen as more than eroding our sense of community but rather changing with it and helping it to evolve.In western culture, a more individualist and autonomous drive is emerging and social med ia is perpetuating this drive. Whether this change in itself is erosion is to be left o the philosophers and ethicists of the social sciences to debate, the facts are that with change comes some sort of diminishing of some factors but not without the enhancement or even creation of others. In the modern age, the necessity for physical involvement with those geographically close to you is clearly diminished.An evolutionary process where the space and distance between those you converse with and interact with socially has decreased, especially in the 21st century where demands on an individual's time have increased with seemingly less and less time that isn't occupied by work or ‘life maintenance'. This has led to a tension between lost opportunities for face-to-face communication and the ever broadening horizons accessible through social media.Clearly one can see this has the potential to challenge society's views about the impact of social media on our traditional understandin g of community. It is likely that Sociologist will seek to measure the ways it could change our construct of community rather than examining how it has changed our notions in the hopes of minimizing the negative impacts of how we are using social media (Keen, A. 2012: 99) Furthermore it has been evidenced that it is wrought face to face interacting that we learn how to treat others, read others and interact peacefully with others, particularly as children. Vaughan G & Hog M 2010: 333-334) Any decline in face-to-face communication and interaction will mean there is a risk that a general lack of empathy and understanding will evolve in western society, but only if our culture continues to have a secular rather than a global push. (Christensen & Elevation, 2001: 477) Also maintaining some level of face to face interaction and learning, especially in young children could mitigate the risk of such an outcome.In addition pursuing an understanding and interaction with differing others, a s trong and aslant ideal within our culture, while still giving prevalence to our face to face interaction will have a balanced outcome on society. The amplification of the scope of our interaction is possibly the most amazing element of change that social media has exemplified and perpetuated. Through our ability to connect globally in real time, we now have not only a greater scope of influence and access to information and education but also increased connection with boundless numbers of individuals in similar circumstances (CГartГrescue, L. 10). Clearly these are all huge enhancements to our sense of community, not only does it enhance our connectedness with others it also enhances the potential for direct action by citizens – either for political reasons or to marshal support for local and international issues of importance – environmental, human rights and economic development. Recent movements such as the world wide action to stop the destruction of palm o il forests in Malaysia, that were organized through online channels (anon, 2010), or the use of mobile phones to stream videos of violence against citizens in the uprising of theArab Spring show the power of modern communications in a connected world. (Fuchs C. 2012: 109) These causes have achieved increased international reach and therefore greater support through social media. Moreover, traditional locale oriented communities were somewhat limited in their capacity for inclusion of every individual, because it implied uniformity of a citizen – the values and behaviors expected by the majority marginal's the lives of those who were, or felt, different. People were ostracizes and made to feel less worthy or deviant if they didn't meet the communities ‘expectations'.Christensen, K. & Elevation, D. 2001: 41 5) Communities online allow for freedom of the individual, particularly giving power for those that don't fit the standard model in their current locale to connect wit h like- minded people across the globe, in a way that encourages variety and allows creativity to flourish and people to access ideas and norms from many, varied societies. Access to so much has been amplified through our increased connectedness that has emerged through social media, from access to other individuals and their ideas to more varied social groupings and formal education.Greater access to information, education and ideas increases the opportunity for many and it is through this lens that it can be seen that social media has the ability to enhance social equality. Individuals no longer need to be so isolated – there are kindred spirits actively seeking connection through social media channels -feelings of helplessness or futility in trying to fit or change the way things are can be moderated and sometimes eliminated. Social media channels open up the possibility of free and uncensored discussion about thoughts and feelings. Social Edie can also enable new alliance s and support networks to emerge and flourish.We don't have to feel helpless about how to change things any more, now we can share our feelings and thoughts on any subject, freely and openly. Our capacity to connect to like-mind others, especially as counter to those who would suppress the truth, and provide a voice citizens to speak the truth openly and marshal support for difference – in thinking and believing is enormous (anon, 2010). The pressing questions for current researchers in the social sciences will include how to further remote the enhancement of connectedness and sharing of ideas and views while still maintaining a level of face to face communication and learning.Western society must embrace social media as a way to enhance a changed sense of community – both its values and the styles of community involvement – getting left behind is the only sure fire way to segregate, as opposed to mesh these two forms of community(Froth, M. Deed. 2011: 304). Wes tern societies sense of community has changed this is undeniable, it has not however simply eroded nor has social media been the instigator or catalyst of this. It has contributed to both the disintegration of he traditional, locale orientated and quite secular communities and the enhancement of a more global and connected community.It has in its own way extended current communities and given access to arrange of empowering tools for the individual and the group, it has the ability to broaden the horizons for all with access to it and to enforce empathy and equality. But only if we as intelligent, complex and power wielding human beings integrate and impart meaning and importance on both our locale and online communities. While embracing its empowering ability we must be aware of its complexity and effect on traditional incepts and learning.We have the power to use social media for good and not for evil.

Trouble River Essays - Clay County, Iowa, Dewey Readmore Books

Trouble River Essays - Clay County, Iowa, Dewey Readmore Books Trouble River Trouble River Author: Betsy Byars It was a cool summer evening, and Dewey's grandmother sat in her rocking chair on the porch. She was thinking to herself its getting dark I better call that boy in. So she got up form her chair and called Deweeee Deweeee. There was no answer so she decided to go get him herself. She walked down to the woods edge and called for him once again. Dewey answered, then Dewey and his dog came running back up the hill. Then together then they walked back to the house. When in the house Dewey's grandmother asked him what he was doing down there in the woods. He reluctantly told her he was building a raft cause he knew she would disagree with him doing that. That night Dewey was planning on sneaking out to work on his raft. So later that night he walked over to the door pulled up the bar, and went out to the river. From the river he had a clear view of the house. While down at the river he kept making sure he was keeping an eye on the door, since it wasn't barred shut. Then after a little time passed Dewey noticed there was a man slowly creeping up to the house. Dewey could see it was an Indian. So Dewey and his dog ran up the hill, and tried to creep up to the house. When the Indian was about to open the door, Dewey knew he couldn't let the Indian get inside. So Dewey and his dog went running up to the house. Dewey's dog bit the Indian and hung on to his skin the Indian shook him wildly till he fell off. The Indian whacked the dog on the back of his leg with his hatchet then the Indian ran away. Dewey ran inside and got his grandmother telling her that he had seen an Indian. She said there is never just one Indian there is always a group. She said they were gonna die if they didn't get out of there. So Dewey said I have an idea instead of staying here and getting scalped lets go down to the river and ride my raft down river. We can get out at the Dargans house then we can wait there and meet up with his ma and pa before they come back from the city. She was very hesitant but she finally agreed they got all their important possessions and set out for the river. When she got to the bank she was surprised how small the boat was. So they got aboard and Dewey started paddeling away from the bank. They both knew it would be a long time till they got to the Dargans place so they sat down and started on their way. The next day in the late afternoon they decided to stop and get off the raft to take a rest. So Dewey pushed the raft to the side till they struck bottom. Then they got out and put a blanket down where they sat and ate a meal of cornmeal and water. After a long nap, they got up and were ready to board the boat when they heard a wolf coming form the brush. It wasn't just one it was a pack. So Dewey picked up the gun fired one shot then ran to the boat. Once they were both on the boat they started back on their trip. Then the next morning they saw the Dargans chimney standing high on the hill. After pulling themselves to shore Dewey ran up to the house but when he got there, there was nothing but a pile of ashes. The house had been burned to the ground all that was left was the stone fireplace. So Dewey ran back to the raft and told his grandmother that the Indians had already gotten to them and burned down the house. So they decided to ride the rest of the river out to Hunter City. The next morning Dewey awoke and heard a strange noise his grandmother heard it to. They both knew there was a bunch of rapids upahead. Then once they hit the turn they

RFK Rhetoric Essay

RFK Rhetoric Essay Taylor NobleLitwin-32/14/14RFK EssayReverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) played an active role in the civil rights movement until he was tragically shot and killed on April 4th, 1968. On his way to Indianapolis, presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy (RFK) heard the news and had to deliver it to the audience without having them riot. Robert Kennedy's speech effectively persuaded his audience to act peacefully by specifying what happened to MLK, what MLK would not have wanted for his country, and what he and MLK wanted for the future of the country.The opening address about the death of Martin Luther King allows RFK to receive his audience's attention and keep them calm. In the beginning of his speech RFK states, "Ladies and GentlemenMartin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis Tennessee." The attention-grabbing sentence reveals what happens and brings an outburst of shocks to the crowd.Later RFK goes on to praise Martin Luther King and how, "[He] dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings." RFK's praise of Martin Luther King allows the audience to reminisce and think about the good things MLK did for the country as well as the cause of efforts he died for. This helps calm the crowd down.Kennedy's reveals Martin Luther King's attitude towards violence, ethnic hatred, and the future of the United States and what he would not have wanted. RFK repeatedly uses the word "can" to show the choices he is offering to the country. He says, "You can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge." This shows that the audience gets a choice on what they can do about violence, one being positive and one being negative. He then leaves a negative consequence...

Avenge vs. Revenge

Avenge vs. Revenge â€Å"Avenge† vs. â€Å"Revenge† â€Å"Avenge† vs. â€Å"Revenge† By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between avenge and revenge? They can be used interchangeably as verbs, though avenge is more common and revenge is used more often as a noun. Both avenge and revenge, which share the Anglo-French root venger, meaning â€Å"to avenge† (ultimately from Latin vindicare, whence also vindicate and vindication), mean â€Å"to take vengeance, to retaliate for a wrong.† (The former is slightly more exalted in tone than the latter, implying righteous retribution rather than mere payback.) Unlike revenge, however, avenge is not used in noun form to mean â€Å"vengeance, retaliation.† In addition, one who avenges is an avenger, but there is no parallel form based on revenge. Venge, an obsolete variant, is the basis of the noun vengeance, which has a literal meaning nearly synonymous with revenge (as with avenge and the verb revenge, vengeance has a more elevated connotation than the noun revenge), but in the idiomatic phrase â€Å"with a vengeance,† it means â€Å"excessively† or â€Å"vehemently.† The adjective vengeful (and the adverb vengefully and the noun vengefulness, meaning â€Å"the quality of feeling vengeful†) also stems from the archaic form. One can also be said to be revengeful, and to act revengefully or to feel revengefulness, but these are needless variants of the simpler forms described above. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Wether, Weather, Whether"Replacement for" and "replacement of"Neither... or?

POSNER TERMS 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

POSNER TERMS 2 - Essay Example For example, such teachings reduce the element of disruptive behaviors in students. Moreover, societal goals also help in creating a peaceful environment in schools by teaching students the way to become a productive part of society. My personal experience of studying social elements in curriculum has had a very dynamic influence on my overall personality. For example, they helped me live in society in a constructive manner. Similarly, they helped me learn the norms and values of living in a society. 2. Administrative Goal Administrative goals refer to the concept of maintaining and improving the administrative approach of organizations. These goals include compensation and management of teachers, implementation of employee safety programs, scheduling of buses, maintenance of buildings, ensuring maximum student and teacher attendance, and all such matters. The role of administrative goals in education is also very positive as they make students aware of the importance of managing thi ngs properly. Of course, students have to become administrators and leaders at homes and at work at some time in future, so they should have some knowledge regarding management of tasks in an effective manner. My personal experience regarding study of administrative goals in education is also very good. ... talk about the cognitive domain with regard to Bloom’s Taxonomy, we can say that it is an important element of success for a student because it directly deals with the writing objectives. It helps students gain knowledge and apply it in different circumstances of life. It also helps students in analyzing things from different perspectives, as well as in evaluating decisions based on surrounding elements. The role of bloom’s taxonomy in education is very influential as it promotes the process of thinking in education which is a key part of writing objectives. It focuses on evaluating and analyzing things, rather than just keeping the facts in mind. My personal experience regarding applicability of bloom’s taxonomy to writing objectives is very positive. For example, I learned the way to put my thoughts on paper after complete analysis and evaluation of thoughts. 4. Cognitive Domain Cognitive domain reflects the intellectual abilities of a person. They deal with th inking, remembering, and putting practice the learned concepts based on personal judgment and knowledge. This domain includes recognition of facts, understanding of procedural patterns, and development of intellectual skills. The role of cognitive domain in education is very influential because it deals learning and applying which arte two of the most critical elements of education. This domain improves the ability of students to learn, recall, and rationalize things. My personal experience is that cognitive domain helps in achieving success in educational, as well as in personal life. This domain helps me in reasoning and justifying the value of ideas based on surrounding circumstances. Similarly, this domain also helps me in troubleshooting, as well as in recognizing realistic facts in reasoning.

Careers Service In The New Quasi-Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Careers Service In The New Quasi-Market - Essay Example Within this context, the growth of the new Connexions Service is seriously examined. It is argued that it contains basic design flaws, from which a number of troubles have stemmed. It is concluded that while career direction has an imperative involvement to make in strategies to address communal exclusion, this ought to be secondary to its role in supporting individual sequence and growth inside the societal structures to which addition is being sought (Watts, A.G. 1981, 24-35). This study highlights the models of career management practice for adolescent people in the UK have been built on a partnership among, on the one hand, stipulation made within schools and colleges, and on the other, the exterior role provided by the Careers Service, now the Connexions Service. Lots of countries have had only one of these forms of stipulation. We have had the merits of both, by the characteristic advantages that every of them brings. Furthermore, this study challenge in the UK is to build on this model, to expand a authentically all-age career management service. This is not going backwards: it is driving towards a up-to-the-minute future, building on all that we have achieved. No doubt, In Scotland and Wales, this is what they are doing. In England, we were perched to do so too. In the OECD Career management policy assessment, the UK emerged as one of the world-leaders. But in England, we are at danger of conceding this position by throwing away one of the interior strengths of our system. And we are doing it so not by plan, but by default (Roberts, K. 1971). The enterprise model is still in process. But it has been considerably eroded. Now, with the long-delayed publication of the adolescence Matters Green Paper and the End to End Review of Careers learning and management, it is gravely at risk. From a career guidance viewpoint, the key features of the Green Paper are eight-fold: - Career management is subsumed inside a general concept of 'information, suggestion and direction' (IAG), which covers choices relating not only to learning and work but also to spare time, health, dealings, smoking, alcohol and drugs. - A clear difference is drawn among 'universal IAG' and 'targeted support'. - The main liability for 'universal IAG' is allocated, via local authorities, to schools and colleges, in teamwork through children's trusts. - There is support for schools and colleges to agree limited arrangements on a joint basis; but they will reserve the right to make their own preparations, subject to meeting excellence standards (Andrews, D. 2000). - Moreover, schools/colleges and children's trusts can, if they wish, pay money for in services from Connexions or further providers. - Connexions are efficiently to vanish as a national service, although a few local services will remain, and local authorities are confident to hold the Connexions brand. - Consideration is to be specified to new arrangements for

The practices of Human Resource Management in the organization Research Paper

The practices of Human Resource Management in the organization - Research Paper Example Methods of study For this study, the HR department was explored in detail in terms of understanding its core activities, practices and its position in overall organizational setup. This was done through personal interviews conducted with HR personnel as well as managers in other departments like finance, technology, operations and facilities. These questions were aimed at understanding the goals and objectives of HR team and their relationship with organizational objectives. In a top-down approach the general information related to HR function was gathered in a manner that paved way to put forth questions to assess the effectiveness of these practices as well as the HR function. Interviews: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with managers from core departments within the organization, which included the HR, technology, operations, facilities and finance teams. These interviews were semi-structured to allow further inquiry based on the responses from managers, which was extremely helpful to obtain individual insight and experiences related to contribution and involvement of HR personnel Questionnaire: Based on the responses from the interviews, a small questionnaire was prepared to assess the effectiveness of HR practices and their impact on overall employee wellbeing and progress. The questionnaires were graded on Likert scale, in which respondents graded their experience on a scale from 1 to 5. The responses to these questions will help in eliciting objective as well as subjective information that will highlight overall performance and effectiveness of HR function. 3. Findings: Findings from both interviews and questionnaires were interpreted in terms of basic HR functions. i). Acquisition: Interview with the HR manager highlighted the role of HR in... From this research it is clear that the human resource management plays a significant role in sustaining organizational performance through acquisition, motivation, maintenance and development of human resources of the organization. These goals are accomplished through specific policies, procedures and practices framed by the HR function. In order to successfully accomplish these goals, the HR function has to be actively involved in strategic planning processes with all other departments, as well as oversee implementation of these policies and procedures. For this, it is important that HR personnel work closely with other departments/functions at the ground level in order to assess the effectiveness of HR-related strategies and identify the issues and gaps. Based on the study conducted in the IT firm explained in present context, HR department plays similar role at strategic level; however, its involvement has to be intensified at implementation level by partnering with each departme nt. The HR department’s role has to be extended from strategic planning level to implementation process in order to accomplish organizational goals with respect to human resources, such as improved employee motivation, commitment, morale and continuous learning and developmental opportunities. Though the HR is already involved in accomplishing these goals, its practices have to be modified to achieve better and long-lasting outcomes related to these goals.