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Este trabajo hablara sobre el desenvolvimiento del Comercio Electronico evidencia en los tiempos actuales, que comprende un instrumento cuyo crecimiento es impresionante, sobre los cuales es necesario tomar control que resguarde el desarrollo de la actividad Comercial que alli se efectua. El interes que surja y se establezcan parametros controladores en beneficio de quienes forman parte de la actividad; es decir, tanto demandantes como comerciantes de bienes y servicios, asi como de los agentes recaudadores de impuestos a la actividad comercial quienes determinan como usuarios las necesidades reales han de tomarse en cuenta para orientar el diseno de la plataforma tecnologica sobre la cual opera estas actividades destinadas al Comercio, aun cuando los fabricantes de las tecnologias han dado muestras fehacientes del perfeccionamiento en cuanto operatividad; sin embargo, en la actualidad se ha incrementado en el ciberespacio (escenario de la actividad comercial), un gran numero de fraudes que van en detrimento de quienes operan comercialmente a traves de este medio, aun cuando el espacio de la operacion es virtual, los delitos o fraudes que ocurren en el son reales.

DESARROLLO

En la actualidad la informatizacion se ha implantado en casi todos los paises. Tanto en la organizacion y administracion de empresas y administraciones publicas como en la investigacion cientifica, en la produccion industrial o en el estudio, e incluso en el ocio, el uso de la informatica es en ocasiones indispensable y hasta conveniente. Sin embargo, junto a las incuestionables ventajas que presenta comienzan a surgir algunas facetas negativas, como por ejemplo, lo que ya se conoce como “criminalidad informatica”.

El espectacular desarrollo de la tecnologia informatica ha abierto las puertas a nuevas posibilidades de delincuencia antes impensables. La manipulacion fraudulenta de los ordenadores con animo de lucro, la destruccion de programas o datos y el acceso y la utilizacion indebida de la informacion que puede afectar la esfera de la privacidad, son algunos de los procedimientos relacionados con el procesamiento electronico de datos mediante los cuales es posible obtener grandes beneficios economicos o causar importantes danos materiales o morales. Pero no solo la cuantia de los perjuicios asi ocasionados es a menudo infinitamente superior a la que es usual en la delincuencia tradicional, sino que tambien son mucho mas elevadas las posibilidades que no lleguen a descubrirse. Se trata de una delincuencia de especialistas capaces muchas veces de borrar toda huella de los hechos.

En este sentido, la informatica puede ser el objeto del ataque o el medio para cometer otros delitos. La informatica reune unas caracteristicas que la convierten en un medio idoneo para la comision de muy distintas modalidades delictivas, en especial de caracter patrimonial (estafas, apropiaciones indebidas, etc.). La idoneidad proviene, basicamente, de la gran cantidad de datos que se acumulan, con la consiguiente facilidad de acceso a ellos y la relativamente facil manipulacion de esos datos.

La importancia reciente de los sistemas de datos, por su gran incidencia en la marcha de las empresas, tanto publicas como privadas, los ha transformado en un objeto cuyo ataque provoca un perjuicio enorme, que va mucho mas alla del valor material de los objetos destruidos. A ello se une que estos ataques son relativamente faciles de realizar, con resultados altamente satisfactorios y al mismo tiempo procuran a los autores una probabilidad bastante alta de alcanzar los objetivos sin ser descubiertos.

El estudio de los distintos metodos de destruccion y/o violacion del hardware y el software es necesario en orden a determinar cual sera la direccion que debera seguir la proteccion juridica de los sistemas informaticos, ya que solo conociendo el mecanismo de estos metodos es posible encontrar las similitudes y diferencias que existen entre ellos. De este modo se pueden conocer los problemas que es necesario soslayar para conseguir una proteccion juridica eficaz sin caer en la casuistica.

En consecuencia, la legislacion sobre proteccion de los sistemas informaticos ha de perseguir acercarse lo mas posible a los distintos medios de proteccion ya existentes, creando una nueva regulacion solo en aquellos aspectos en los que, en base a las peculiaridades del objeto de proteccion, sea imprescindible.

Si se tiene en cuenta que los sistemas informaticos, pueden entregar datos e informaciones sobre miles de personas, naturales y juridicas, en aspectos tan fundamentales para el normal desarrollo y funcionamiento de diversas actividades como bancarias, financieras, tributarias, provisionales y de identificacion de las personas. Y si a ello se agrega que existen Bancos de Datos, empresas o entidades dedicadas a proporcionar, si se desea, cualquier informacion, sea de caracter personal o sobre materias de las mas diversas disciplinas a un Estado o particulares; se comprendera que estan en juego o podrian llegar a estarlo de modo dramatico, algunos valores colectivos y los consiguientes bienes juridicos que el ordenamiento juridico-institucional debe proteger.

No es la amenaza potencial de la computadora sobre el individuo lo que provoca desvelo, sino la utilizacion real por el hombre de los sistemas de informacion con fines de espionaje.

No son los grandes sistemas de informacion los que afectan la vida privada sino la manipulacion o el consentimiento de ello, por parte de individuos poco conscientes e irresponsables de los datos que dichos sistemas contienen.

La humanidad no esta frente al peligro de la informatica sino frente a la posibilidad real de que individuos o grupos sin escrupulos, con aspiraciones de obtener el poder que la informacion puede conferirles, la utilicen para satisfacer sus propios intereses, a expensas de las libertades individuales y en detrimento de las personas. Asimismo, la amenaza futura sera directamente proporcional a los adelantos de las tecnologias informaticas.

La proteccion de los sistemas informaticos puede abordarse tanto desde una perspectiva penal como de una perspectiva civil o comercial, e incluso de derecho administrativo. Estas distintas medidas de proteccion no tienen porque ser excluyentes unas de otras, sino que, por el contrario, estas deben estar estrechamente vinculadas. Por eso, dadas las caracteristicas de esta problematica solo a traves de una proteccion global, desde los distintos sectores del ordenamiento juridico, es posible alcanzar una cierta eficacia en la defensa de los ataques a los sistemas informaticos.

Objetivo General:

Acceder a un conjunto de nociones, conceptos e informaciones diversas, que permita la exploracion de la realidad del comportamiento de la actividad comercial dentro de la Red, midiendo el efecto que tal actividad ejerce en la sociedad y en forma individual y en especial, cuando son objeto de fraudes en la realizacion de las actividades; a traves de una metodologia seleccionada y asi entender los origenes, causa y consecuencias del fraude electronico, y los delitos y abusos que ocurren en la Internet.

Objetivos:
Determinar las condiciones necesarias para el establecimiento de la actividad comercial en red, que permita una actividad segura, sin riesgos desde el punto de vista juridico.
Conocer las variables dependientes e interdependientes que inciden en el proceso de la comercializacion on line, que permita de deteccion y lucha contra los delitos electronicos.
Conocer el impacto que tienen en la sociedad y en el individuo el manejo y la ejecucion de actividades de tipo comercial a traves de la red.
Evaluar y entender la tecnologia utilizada en la plataforma operativa, software y hardware como medio de ejecucion, para la comprension del delito electronico.
CONCLUSION

Despues de haber comprender las particularidades reales del problema, su entorno, dimension, asi como el conocimiento holistico de los demas elementos evidenciados en el marco teorico concluir con aproximacion a un tema de gran interes y de preocupacion, se puede senalar que dado el caracter transnacional de los delitos informatico cometidos esto implica actividades criminales que no se contemplan en las figuras tradicionales como robos, hurtos, falsificaciones, estafa, sabotaje, etc. Sin embargo, debe destacarse que el uso de las tecnicas informaticas ha creado nuevas posibilidades del uso indebido de computadoras lo que ha propiciado a su vez la necesidad de regulacion por parte del derecho.

Universidad Iberoamericana

UNIBE

Administracion de empresas

Jonathan Sanchez

Mat. 10-0476

Introduccion a la TIC
2ndo Parcial

Jonathan Antonio Sanchez Pena

Primera terraza del arroyo num. 37, cuesta Hermosa 2 arroyo hondo.

Tel. 809-567-4704, Cel. 809-917-1231

Personal:

Fecha de nac: 24 de oct del 1990

Nacionalidad: Dominicana

Cedula: 001-1861213-4

Educacion:

Colegio San Judas Tadeo

Universidad Unibe

Administracion de empresas 2do semestre

Idiomas:

Espanol

Ingles

Experiencia Laboral:

Hotel Jaragua

Campamento Comatillo/ monitor

Plaza Lama/ vendedor

Referencias:

Piroska Ordehi: 809.986.4556

Gianfranco Torino: 809-532-6161

INDICE

Pag.1……………………………………………………………………………………….. Introduccion

Pag.2-5 ………………………………………………………………………………….

Desarrollo

Pag. 6 …………………………………………………………………………………….. Conclusion

Pag.7 …………………………………………………………………………………….. Internetgrafia

INTERNETGRAFIA

http://www.myownbusiness.org/espanol/s9/

http://www.seic.gov.do/baseConocimiento/TLCEEUU%20DRCAFTA/Texto%20del%20Tratado%20en%20Espanol/Capitulo%2014.%20Comercio%20Electronico/DR-CAFTA%20Capitulo%2014.%20Comercio%20Electronico.pdf

Building on porter’s value chain model (1985), design management creates value at three different levels: management of design activities, integration of design function into all business processes and decisions to the design vision within the company vision and strategy (Sinha, 2002).

What is Design?

“Design is a process of seeking to optimise consumer satisfaction and company profitability through the creative use of major design elements (performance, quality, durability, appearance and cost) in connection with products, environments, information and corporate identity” (P Kotler, GA Rath, 1984).

It involves a wide range of professions in which products, graphics, services, interiors and architecture all take part. Design is a problem solving, systematic, creative and a coordinating activity (Borja de Mozota, 1998). It is a creative and management process.

Design is a process that has four essential characteristics (Walsh et al, 1992). The 4C’s –

Creativity: the creation of something new
Complexity: decisions on large number of parameters and variables
Compromise: Balancing multiples and conflicting requirements
Choice: making choices between many possible solutions to a problem at all levels

Why is Design Important?

Design enhances products, communication, environment and corporate identity. Design objective is to create high satisfaction for target customers and profits for the enterprise. It is an important strategic tool in firm’s unending search for a sustainable competitive advantage.

“Design seeks to discover and assess structural, organisational, functional, expressive and economic relationships with the task of enhancing global sustainability, environmental protection, giving benefits and freedom to entire human community, supporting cultural diversity despite the globalisation of world.” (Borja de Mozota, 2003). Designers play an important role in how companies use information, how product information is documented and communicated (Lawson 1990, vossoughi 1998, French 1994). Design involves finding and identifying problems as much as solving them (Lawson, p.136, 1994).

What is Design Management?

Peter Gorb, 1990 defines design management as “the effective deployment of the design resources available to a company by line managers in order to help the company achieve its objectives”. Design management involves managing the creative process within the corporation and managing the company according to design principles. it is about managing the processes of innovation and design.

“Design management analyzes the diverse elements necessary for the successful integration of design as an essential component of design strategy” (Gianfranco Zaccai).

Importance of design management pg 68

“Creativity is a process which results in a novel work that is accepted as tenable or useful or satisfying by a group at some point in time” (Stein 1956). Creativity has been considered as a type of problem solving (Matlin, 2002). Puccio, 1997 illustrated that creativity contributes to effective leadership and discovering new and better ways of solving problems, the effective use of human resources and the rapid growth of competition in the business.

Design is regarded as a creative process. The process has five phases, each having a different objective and corresponds to the production of visual outputs. (Borja de Mozota, 2003) These design phases are identical no matter what the design project is.

PHASES OBJECTIVE VISUAL OUTPUTS

0. Investigating Idea Brief

1. Research Concept Visual concept

2. Exploration Choice of style Rough of ideas, Sketches, Rough

of presentations

3. Development Prototype detail Technical drawings, Functional model, 3-D mock up for visual correctness

4. Realization Test Documents of execution,

Prototype

5. Evaluation Production Illustration of the product

The design process (Borja de Mozota, 2003)

In preliminary phase, the idea is generated and the problem is identified which can be solved by the design. In phase 1, the designer analyzes the positioning of product and discovers the technical and functional parameters of the project. In phase 2, the designer makes rough sketches of different possibilities using all his creative resources for the clients. Selection is made between different solutions which are to be developed in phase 3. In phase 3, the selected solution is formally represented in three dimensions. The model is used for various tests and the final model is then adopted ending the creative process. In phase 4, the designer works on realization of a prototype for the project. This requires the collaboration of different departments. In phase 5, tests are launched in three different directions: technical control, calculation test, and marketing evaluation.

FCUK

French connection, also known as fcuk, founded in 1972 by Stephen Marks was designed to create fashionable clothing aimed at a broad target market. French Connection offers a fashion-forward clothing range with a quirky spin on design, priding itself on quality and affordable prices. Fcuk represents French Connection United Kingdom, and is the casual French Connection clothing range; it has developed into a brand name which is highly renowned and an acronym that relates to the French Connection logo. The French Connection brand operates in the fashion-orientated high street retail market offering a fashion-forward range of quality products at affordable prices. Customers, typically aged 18-35, appreciate that the brand is at the leading edge of high street fashion and offers quality and style in its products. The design teams are based in London and products are manufactured in specialist facilities in Europe and Asia (Fcuk.com, 2009). French Connections’ operations cover several distribution channels, from their own retail outlets, wholesalers in North America, franchises, mail order, to concession stores in a variety of department stores such as Selfridges. French Connection is now one of the most recognisable fashion brands on the high street with a global reach, operating in over 30 countries, with over 1,000 stockist’s worldwide (fcuk.com, 2009). In February 2001, French Connection paid ?23 million pounds sterling to its US joint venture partner ‘Best of All Clothing’ who had been operating the 24 French Connection stores before the buyout. Now French Connection holds complete independent ownership.

Product/service offering

The company design ranges of products for both men and women from underwear to outerwear, casual wear to suits, denim, accessories and children’s wear. French Connection has expanded into new markets at a phenomenal rate and the product range is now hugely diversified. The company began by selling clothing to the men’s and women’s market, originating as a fashionable clothing range, and has now extended its brand in recent years to include fashion accessories, make-up, toiletries, even condoms and not forgetting more recently alcoholic drinks. Brand licensing plays an important part of the company’s strategic plans for expansion with licensing deals revenue. The company has developed into a brand licensing company rather than solely a fashion retailer. The brand had even expanded into radio, with the launch of FCUK FM. The core plan behind the idea is to target 18- to 35 year old to the brand in the future. Fcuk follows a specific pattern to achieve its organisation goals. FCUK advertised “Scent to bed” in publications, print ads in magazines that included cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Maxim and FHM whose readerships were primarily consisted of girls in their early and middle teenage years. Fcuk remained convinced that the campaign was right for its target market. Focus remains to produce fashion-forward products to build on the success of the ladies’ wear ranges (Fcuk.com, FY09 presentation).

USPs

French connections controversial ad campaigns with the “fcuk fashion” developed the brand’s bold, and witty attitude that has made customers think; with a desire to be innovative, distinctive and yet be affordable and accessible. Their adverts are not like the usual fashion advertising, they leave it open to interpretation of the customer. Fcuk witnessed a sudden fall in late 1980s, but it became one of the hottest brands in England in late 1990s and early 2000s, thanks to its controversial marketing campaign and subsequent rebranding. FCUK has always adopted out of the way advertising and selling techniques, for example their logo FCUK, or the eye catching visuals on the high streets. ‘Accessories such as hats, sunglasses, backpacks, fragrances and the company’s new cosmetics line complement the brand’s fashion’ (Plunkett 2009). The fcuk logo works as a unique selling point for the brand and separates it from its competitors. Also the exclusive designs, customer satisfaction and service provided by the employees are the unique selling points of the brand. French connection has become synonymous with style and fashion. It strives to maintain the brand credibility and its uniqueness in the market. Innovation and creativity are the characteristic of the designs and the company blends high quality with exciting ideas as well as affordability.

Multi -Channel Strategy

Apart from the store network such as mail order and the internet the company uses a number of other lucrative channels. With e-tailing, French Connection realised how important their online business is, where they were adamant to win the rights to fcuk.com. In addition to these varied channels deployed, French Connection also grants licenses to retailers worldwide in order to expand their business into new markets. French Connection is aware of the volatility of expanding into new markets. Therefore they are more cautious and get involved with their licensees to follow progress.

FCUK and the Market

French Connection operates as a multiple specialist fashion retailer, competing against the likes of Zara, H&M, Top Shop, Miss Selfridge, Next, River Island and Warehouse. This industry is highly competitive with numerous international brands fighting in the segment. As like all other fashion retailers FCUK has monitored the progress of the Spanish clothing brand Zara. Due to Zara’s lean production and efficient logistics, it has taken over a huge share of the market. To compete with them, the design and production teams at FCUK now only commit to less than sixty percent before the launch of the season .The company acknowledges that speed-to-market is crucial in order to give customers what they want, when they want, at the price they want. It sells its products at higher price points than the likes of Zara and H&M. However daring its marketing may have been, French Connection’s clothes were in reality considerably less interesting than those stocked at faster-growing rivals Zara and H&M, and the truth finally caught up with the company in 2004. That year, sales began to slow significantly, encouraging the company finally to drop the FCUK slogan from its advertising. That tactic failed to arrest the decline in performance. In May 2009, French Connection announced that like-for-like sales in the UK and Europe rose by 2% during the 3 months ending 16th May, thanks to a strong performance in the women wear sector. Total retail sales in the UK and Europe were up by 8% over the period. French Connection said that women wear had continued to show growth, but that menswear remained difficult (mintel.com).

Read Supply chain report.

http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/what_is_strategy.htm

Conclusion

French Connection has set a personality to its brand, which is exciting and original; this is considered to be exceptional with the number of different brands in the high street. The key to their success is a combination of their stylish clothing range, affordable pricing, merchandising, and controversial advertising. As the brand is continuously innovating itself, they aim to create more fashionable clothing ranges by taking the opinion from important people in the fashion industry. The advertising will remain innovative and creative but will focus more on the clothes itself; creating a unique look that is distinctively, French connection. The brand celebrates individual fashion whilst constantly developing products, market and future goals to expand

Publicado: Sabado, 14 de febrero de 2009 a las 06:00

Las escuelas de negocios replantean la ensenanza de valores tras la crisis y los fraudes recientes; la actual debacle economica es la primera que protagonizan los graduados de estos programas.

expansion

Estafas como la de Bernard Madoff revigorizaron la discusion. (Foto: Jorge Garaiz)Estafas como la de Bernard Madoff revigorizaron la discusion. (Foto: Jorge Garaiz)

ARTICULOS RELACIONADOS

IPADE e ITAM, los mejores MBA en 2009
La escuela de negocios de la Universidad Panamericana corona de nuevo el ranking de Expansion.

MBA de Harvard lidera ranking global
6 escuelas de EU, 3 inglesas y una espanola son la mas prestigiadas en la lista 2009 de Expansion.

Los mejores MBA de Mexico 2008
El IPADE es la mejor opcion para estudiar una Maestria en Administracion de Negocios en el pais

Los mejores MBA globales 2008
El Master de Stanford es el ganador del ranking de Expansion 2008 y Harvard le pisa los talones

OTROS ENLACES

enfoques
Testimonios y tips

enfoques
17 opciones en Mexico

Por: Gustavo Stok y Marco Appel

BUENOS AIRES/BRUSELAS — La crisis puso en evidencia las carencias de muchos ejecutivos y de su formacion. Mientras asimilan el dano a su imagen, las escuelas de negocios empiezan a debatir y ensayan cambios en sus programas y metodos de ensenanza.

La sucesion de escandalos financieros, desde las acusaciones al CEO de Lehman Brothers, Richard Fuld Jr, por el presunto ocultamiento de informacion sobre el estado financiero del banco, hasta la estafa por unos 50,000 MDD de Bernard Madoff, ex presidente del Nasdaq, revigorizo una discusion que no es nueva.

“Esta reflexion sobre la importancia de la etica, del gobierno corporativo y de la responsabilidad social ya nos la hemos hecho cuando se produjo la debacle de Enron y las puntocom. Pero no fue suficiente: al cabo de unos anos, volvimos a las andadas”, dice Joan Fontrodona, director del departamento de Etica de la IESE Business School, la escuela de direccion de la Universidad de Navarra, en Barcelona.

No obstante, el gran cambio para las escuelas de negocios es que, a diferencia de lo que sucedia hace casi una decada, esta discusion sobre la etica ejecutiva ya no constituye un mero ejercicio intelectual reflejado en casos de analisis. Ahora, encontrar respuestas es una necesidad imperiosa para limitar los danos a la imagen de los centros de estudios.

Esa necesidad fue uno de los motores que impulsaron a mas de 250 decanos de escuelas de negocios de todo el mundo a reunirse por primera vez el 6 de diciembre pasado en la sede de las Naciones Unidas, en Nueva York, para discutir como pueden ensenar a las nuevas generaciones de lideres corporativos el valor global de la responsabilidad social.

El Global Forum for Responsible Management Education tiene su origen en una iniciativa de varias escuelas que arranco en 2007, cuando la crisis financiera ya era un hecho. “Inclusion y economia global sustentable son palabras nuevas en las escuelas de negocios; hay que volverlas habituales”, dijo en aquel encuentro Angel Cabrera, presidente de la Thunderbird School of Global Management y titular de la fuerza de tarea internacional que delineo los principios eticos que se difundieron en esa reunion.

Cambios en marcha

A fines de noviembre pasado, Harvard publico una profunda investigacion sobre cual es el futuro de los MBA y de la educacion ejecutiva. El informe, en el que participaron 30 decanos de las escuelas mas prestigiosas del mundo, pone sobre la mesa tres cuestiones que los centros de estudios deberian incluir en sus programas para hacer frente a los desafios actuales: globalizacion, ensenanza experimental y desarrollo del liderazgo.

Este ultimo item es, precisamente, uno de los deficits que dejo mas en evidencia la crisis. Los especialistas sostienen que, en los ultimos anos, buena parte de los MBA giro hacia un tipo de educacion calificada en el ambito cuantitativo, pero sin una buena formacion en las llamadas ‘habilidades blandas’. ?Resultado? Carencia de lideres con capacidad para gestionar, comunicar y solucionar problemas mas alla de sus funciones.

A esto se sumo la tendencia creciente a formar directivos cuya exclusiva preocupacion pasa por otorgar beneficios a los accionistas, y lograr para si mismos los jugosos incentivos. “Con la crisis actual hemos quebrado tambien una idea acerca del objetivo de las escuelas de negocios”, dijo Edward Freeman, profesor de Etica de la Darden School of Business, de la Universidad de Virginia, en un panel, el pasado 24 de septiembre. “Lo que hacen es capacitar a los estudiantes para convertirlos en especialistas funcionales, pero por lo que deberian estar preocupadas, antes que nada, es por entender como formar lideres que generen valor para los consumidores, proveedores, trabajadores, la comunidad y tambien para los inversionistas. Esos elementos van unidos, no separados. Si yo fuera profesor de Finanzas, me sentiria humillado porque da la impresion que hicimos mal las cosas”.

Las escuelas de negocios estadounidenses que vieron salir a sus egresados de Lehman, Merril Lynch y otras firmas en crisis, no accedieron a las solicitudes de entrevista formuladas por Expansion. Harvard no respondio los pedidos, en NYU Stern senalaron que tenian “otras prioridades urgentes que atender” y desde Wharton invitaron a consultar el analisis realizado sobre el origen de la crisis financiera en su pagina de internet.

Etica y catarsis

En America Latina, las principales escuelas de negocios creen que los ajustes en sus programas y metodos de ensenanza no seran tan profundos como los que se esperan en EU. ?La razon? “(en America Latina) la preocupacion por temas eticos ya habia sido consistente en los ultimos anos”, dice Leonidas Montes, profesor de Economia, Instituciones e Ideas Politicas y Etica de los Negocios de la Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, en Santiago de Chile.

En todo caso, en tiempos de crisis, la apuesta pasa por fortalecer las discusiones de corte formativo, de etica y balance de vida. En Mexico, el IPADE, que siempre se ha enfocado en los valores, lo esta haciendo mediante el analisis de casos emblematicos. Uno de ellos es el de Vicente, un financiero egresado de esta escuela, de 32 anos, con voracidad por el dinero, que duerme poco, toma medicamentos y esta distanciado de su esposa y amigos. “Todo eso conforma una problematica oculta, de la que no se habla con los jefes. A veces porque los mismos jefes son ‘Vicentes’ que tienen a cargo a otros ‘Vicentes’. La crisis economica es consecuencia de esos individualismos, de los problemas de personas y grupos de personas… y a ese tipo de gente se le ha formado en las escuelas de negocios”, dice Carlos Alejandro Armenta Pico, profesor de Etica del IPADE. Ademas de Vicente, esta institucion trabaja con otros casos paradigmaticos, como el de un ejecutivo enredado en un sistema que premia al que trabaja 16 horas por dia, entre otros ejemplos.

En Argentina, el IAE Business School, en tanto, incluyo en su oferta una serie de seminarios utilizados para catarsis de los ejecutivos. “En tiempos de crisis, los tres grandes ejes tematicos de las escuelas de negocios debieran ser valores eticos, gobierno corporativo y, el mas importante, como motivar a la gente en situaciones como la crisis”, dice Jose Maria Corrales, profesor y director del area academica de Sistemas de Direccion y Control del IAE, en Buenos Aires. “La escuela (…es) tambien el ambito para que altos directivos hagan una suerte de catarsis, compartir experiencias. Hay mucha inquietud, mucha desazon, y eso esta generando una alta demanda en los seminarios”.

Los especialistas advierten que esto tendra efectos globales. “Los MBA no tendran la misma influencia si se les ve como boletos automaticos a ciertos empleos”, comenta Philippe Haspeslagh, decano de la Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, en Belgica. En tanto, para el argentino Claudio Fernandez Araoz, socio de la firma de cazatalentos Egon Zehnder Internacional, una de las consecuencias pasara por imponer criterios mas rigurosos de seleccion del personal. “La demanda de los MBA no deberia disminuir, si bien las companias tendran que ser mucho mas cuidadosas y selectivas en sus contrataciones”, dice.

Avaricia y falta de etica, ausencia de liderazgo e individualismo. La crisis dejo al desnudo las carencias de muchos ejecutivos y, por extension, de su formacion. “Nos guste o no, las escuelas de negocios nos veremos afectadas (…) Eso si, es probable que, en primer termino, se observe mas hacia las escuelas estadounidenses, mas enfocadas en finanzas”, comenta Camino de Paz, directora ejecutiva de programas MBA de la IE-Instituto de Empresa Business School, en Espana.

Las escuelas europeas, incluso, esperan que crezca el interes por estudiar en Europa por sobre EU. A Katia Munoz Serrano le ofrecieron una beca para estudiar un MBA en Boston, “pero lo rechace porque culturalmente no encontraba valor agregado en Estados Unidos”, dice. Ella escogio la Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School porque era la unica que tenia un enfoque en la Responsabilidad Social Corporativa.

Las escuelas europeas confian en que casos como este se multipliquen e intentan marcar distancias con las estadounidenses. “Hay una gran diferencia entre las escuelas que orientan sus MBA a una ensenanza mas amplia del management, y las otras que llamamos ‘fabricas de MBA’, que estan dirigidas a (satisfacer) a Wall Street o Londres: mas de 60% de los estudiantes de MBA estan trabajando en el sector financiero”, senala Haspeslagh, de la Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.

“El prestigio de nuestras escuelas podria verse un poco menos danado que el de las estadounidenses, y aunque todavia es muy pronto para determinar si mas candidatos latinoamericanos van a volver la vista a las escuelas europeas, si el debate y la polemica sobre los valores crecen, es posible que haya mas interesados en Latinoamerica por nuestras escuelas”, preve Camino de Paz, de la IE.

Barcelona and London both attract a lot of immigrants from different places around the world.

Barcelona and London both attract a lot of immigrants from different places around the world. This foreign population is distributed in different boroughs of the cities, but there are boroughs where the immigrant population is more important and visible than in others. This is the case in El Raval, in Barcelona, and Camden, in London.

However, it seems that the integration of this immigrant population as turned out to be more difficult in El Raval than in Camden, with its population being ghettoised.

Although the history of both boroughs has a lot of similarities and both were marked by recent mass immigration, it seems that different elements, such as history and culture and also the differences between the origins and types of immigrants, as well as their urban developments, led to different types of models in El Raval and in Camden.

The two boroughs of Camden and El Raval, could at first glance be thought as similar places. Indeed they have a number of similarities. Both can be described as multicultural, and popular places, where one can hear all sorts of languages from all over the world, and see faces and clothes representing all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and cultures.

The immigration has been in both boroughs a big part of the local history, reflected in the current proportion of immigrants. According to El Pais of 13th June 2003, the percentage of immigrants in El Raval, in 2003, was 47%, which makes El Raval the borough with the highest proportion of immigrants in Barcelona. In Camden, according to a census carried out in 2001(ONS, 2001 census), the proportion of immigrants is very similar, reaching approximately 47,8 % of the population of the borough. In both boroughs these immigrants have brought with them their cultures and traditions, and they have opened shops and restaurants selling products coming from their country of origin, and other businesses in relation to their status of immigrants as shops offering Internet access as well as cheap international calls. All these elements make them very colourful places, and a curiosity to the eye of the passer-by.

But the similarity between the two boroughs does not only lie in their current appearance, but also in their history. Indeed both were at the beginning at the periphery of the city. El Raval was, until the 14th century, outside of the walls that were surrounding the city of Barcelona. It was an open field, with a few isolated houses and there was only a very small town gathered around a monastery. The main activity was agriculture. It was then integrated inside the walls of the city but remained a marginalized part of the city where structures that were not wanted in the centre of the city were built, such as hospitals or charities. It then changed with the industrialisation, which brought the first wave of immigrants from the rest of Catalonia. The main activity in the area was the textile industry. New waves of immigration arrived at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, bringing immigrants from outside Spain.

The next transformation of the area arrived when after the civil war and the beginning of the dictatorship, new housing plans led to more accommodation being built in the periphery of the now extended city, with cheaper rents, leading to a lot of people to leave El Raval and moving to the outskirts of the city. The industries also moved to the periphery of the city. The borough emptied and started its degradation process (Sargatal 2001).

Camden enjoyed a similar history, going from open fields out of the city to a highly industrialised place, with the flourishing of the transport industry and the construction of the canal and of train stations (Withebead 1999: 37). The building of railways and the canal brought the first big wave of immigrants, at the beginning of the 19th century : the Irish. Other waves followed including the Greek Cypriots in the 1930’s (Denford and Woodford 2003: 14). Another big industry was the Gilbey’s company, first selling wine from South Africa and then expanding to sell all sorts of wine and spirits (Withebead 1999: 60). But this industrial era was ended after the 1st World War. One of the main reasons for that was that the roads and lorries provided cheaper and faster transportation, than the canals and rails. The industries little by little deserted Camden and the people started to leave the borough, as happened in El Raval, to follow the companies and find work (Withebead 1999: 130).

Both boroughs therefore went from being very popular and labour oriented to being emptied and left to degradation. They both were revived afterwards, although through different means. They both had more immigrants coming to settle there, from all over the world. In the case of El Raval, the improvements started after the end of the dictatorship, whereas in Camden the improvements started back in the 70’s with the opening of the Camden lock market which really kick started the revival of the area.

But as we are going to see in the following sections, although both areas have been the place of important migration, they did not evolve in the same way, and while Camden Town look like a mosaic of people with different styles, religions, backgrounds and colours, the integration of the different ethnic groups seems more difficult in El Raval.

First of all, we saw above that the proportion of immigrants in both boroughs was almost identical, but there is a difference in the way the various ethnic groups are represented and the proportion of each of these groups. Indeed in El Raval, there seems to be big predominant groups of immigrants such as the Moroccan (25,39%), the Filipinos (25,06%), or the Indians, Pakistani and Bangladeshi (17,10%) (Sargatal 2001). Then in smaller proportions comes the Dominican population, and finally people from different countries of the European Union. The fact that they are big groups of immigrants means that there are more chances that they form communities, stay together, and do not mix with other present populations. Especially so, as the biggest communities come from very different cultures, and are for a big part Muslims, which implies different religious habits, but also different ways of dealing with the family and especially with women. Indeed the Muslim women are scarcely seen in El Raval, and when they do go in the streets, it is to do some shopping but not to discuss or meet friends, as would do women from other cultures, as the Dominicans or even the native Catalan population (Sargatal 2001). In Spain, the Catholic religion is still quite strong compared to other European countries. This fact as well as the long history between Spain and the Mores, between the Catholics and the Muslims, might be significant when trying to explain the intolerance that is generally stronger towards the Muslims, and more particularly the Moroccans. Indeed they are perceived as very different and unwilling to adapt to the local tradition and culture (Gonzalez Enriquez 2002).

Some fear that the loss of religiousness that is threatening Spain might help loosing the roots of the culture and help the Muslims to impose their religion and their culture (Capel 2001). Integration for Muslims seems harder, as they not only are victims of more prejudices, but probably have more prejudices themselves against the local culture.

In Camden the population seems more diversified. The biggest immigrant group, according to the 2001, is the group of non-British or Irish white people. Even though this is a big group (33,5%), this also represents a lot of different countries and cultures. The second group is the Bangladeshi (13,4%) and the third one the Africans (12,6%) (ONS, 2001 census). Then comes a lot of different groups from all over the world, with biggest proportions from Ireland, India, China and the Caribbean. This first shows that there are no big ethnic groups as in the Raval, which might ease the living together of all theses communities, and lead to a more heterogeneous population. This also shows that the biggest group is actually made of people from other Western countries which means that the cultures are less different, and therefore it is easier for these people to integrate themselves in this new country.

This difference in the composition of the immigrant population also means differences in the reasons of their presence in their new country, and differences in the classes of people. Indeed, as we saw above, El Raval has a higher proportion of immigrants coming from developing countries. This means that the immigrants might have a higher proportion of people with a lack of education, or professional skills and with a lack of money. Indeed, even if it is now changing with the process of gentrification, El Raval has been for some time the cheapest borough of Barcelona therefore attracting the people with less money, who then moved on to other parts of the city when they could afford it (Sargatal 2001). The lack of education, the unemployment, and the poverty is likely to make the integration in a new country more difficult. The lack of education means that it is maybe more difficult to understand the culture or the language of the new country, making it also difficult for the parents to follow what their children are doing at school. The teenagers living in this environment of unemployment and poverty, might turn to delinquency as a form of rebellion against this society in which their future seems uncertain.

In Camden as we have seen, there is a lower proportion of people coming from developing countries. Therefore, the chances of unemployment, poverty or lack of education are lower, although existent. Moreover, the unemployment is far lower in England than in Spain. Indeed, unemployment in England is 4,7%, whereas Spain had a 10,2% of unemployment in 2004. This means that the people coming to England and therefore to Camden will have more chances and opportunities of finding a job, which facilitates the integration in the new country. Also, Camden is not the cheapest borough of London. Cheaper accommodations can be found in other boroughs like Barking. This is therefore not the place of landing of destitute people when they arrive in London, as seems to be El Raval.

Finally, the two boroughs’ recent history has evolved differently. In El Raval, the process of gentrification has begun very recently. The renovation of El Raval, and the attraction of higher classes of the population, as well as younger and more dynamic and educated immigrants, might turn it into an attractive and central borough of Barcelona. (Sargatal 2001). So far there has been only housing plans, and renovations of social structures, but no real plan of developing the businesses, or the tourism. Indeed according to David Harvey (1989 : 77), postmodernism urbanisation is characterised by a market-oriented urbanisation, but in El Raval, there seems to have been no such developments, which might help marginalize the population. There are some local businesses. El Raval has seen the creation of a lot of shops run by immigrants for their own communities, as Muslim butchers, or grocery stores offering products from the Caribbean. There are also shops offering international phone calls or Internet services. But rather than helping the social cohesion, this type of businesses is rather isolating each of the ethnic groups which are present in El Raval. The shops seem to be exclusive and not to be welcoming the other communities. They are a place where each community can gather with its fellow citizens, but there is no interaction between the different communities (Sargatal 2001). There are no businesses that might bring new capitals into the borough and attract more middle-class people.

Camden’s case is in that respect totally different. First of all, even if these kind of shops run by immigrants exist, such as those run by Greek Cypriots or Indians, they do not sell exclusively products from their countries of origins. They are groceries, selling all sorts of first necessity products, and products from their home countries as well as from other countries represented in the area. But most importantly, the development of the borough in the last 30 years has been based on its market cultures. Indeed Camden is well known for its different markets. The first of its current markets was the Camden Lock Market, opened in 1973 (Withebead 1999: 137). It quickly attracted all sorts of artists and craftspeople, which would create their work during the week and sell them at weekends, renting one of the cheap stalls available at the market. The area started to be revived, attracted all kind of people, with different backgrounds, styles, religions, and origins. Not only did the area started to attract capitals because of the business carried out in the markets, but the artistic and musical scene began to flourish. It became an entertaining place were people not only came to shop but to meet and enjoy walking around amongst the variety of original products offered on the market. This probably worked as a way to bring social cohesion, as spectacle and entertainment is a great means of social control (Harvey 1989 : 88). Indeed the streets of Camden are a spectacle, as well as being colourful they have been the sight for an original expression of creativity : a number of shops are adorned by giant fibre-glass figures in relation with the merchandise sold or the brand name: giant boots, chairs or fishes can be seen on the walls of shops (Withebead 1999:140). Camden has also attracted a lot of companies from the media sector, such as TV channels (Withebead 1999: 150)

Indeed in Camden all sorts of people are brought together by the market. A lot of young professionals choose to live there, for different reasons, as its bohemian character, its centrality or the fact that it is still cheaper than other places. Tourists from all over the world are coming to visit the market. In Camden, the multicultural society does not mean only people coming from different countries but also people with different styles, different backgrounds. All styles can be found in Camden, from gothic and rock people to hippies. With this display of differences, the tolerance seems to become natural. As one of the locals puts it, “it is impossible not to be tolerant, because of all the nationalities, religions, sexualities and subcultures present”( Vestregaard Skot Poulsen and Dlugosch Sonne 2004: 8).

Although appearing to be similar boroughs, with both a big proportion of immigrants, Camden and El Raval have in fact had a different recent history and have evolved differently, resulting in two colourful and multicultural but different boroughs.

While El Raval is made up by big communities that seem to stay quite closed and not to mix with the rest of the population of the borough, Camden has enjoyed a more diversified immigration. The multicultural population of Camden is not composed by big communities, but rather by individuals coming from a lot of different backgrounds, immigrating in an already dynamic borough which has built its identity around its market.

Bibliography

Capel, I. “Inmigrantes extranjeros en Espana. El derecho a la movilidad y los conflictos de la adaptacion : grandes expectivas y duras realidades”.Scripta Nova 81 (2001).

Denford S. and F. P. Woodford (eds) (2003) Streets of Camden Town : a survey of streets, buildings and former residents in a part of Camden. London : Camden History Society.

Gonzalez Enriquez, C. “La convivencia con los inmigrantes en la provincia de Barcelona.” La Factoria 18 (2002).

Harvey, D. (1989) The Condition of Postmodernity. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.

Pererios. “Los inmigrantes censados ya suponen la mitad de la poblacion del Raval”. El Pais 13th June 2003.

Sargatal, A.“Gentrificacion e inmigracion en los centros historicos: el caso del Raval en Barcelona”. Scripta Nova 94 (2001).

Vestregaard Skot Poulsen, L. and J. Dlugosch Sonne. “Authenticity and New Trends in Markets in Aarhus, Paris and London.” Kontur 4 (2004) : 3-13.

Whitebead, J. (1999) The Growth of Camden Town AD 1800-2000, London : J. Whitehead.

“2001 Census : Key Statistics for London Borough of Camden” (2003), Office for National Statistics < http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/ navigation/council-and-democracy/about-the-council/camden-statistics/census-2001/>

http://www.metcareers.co.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=126

http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/20888/0/desempleo/europa/marzo2005/

What is So Good About Clubbing?
Introduction

Hyder (1995) has argued that clubbing is one of the major forms of youth consumption and experience in towns and cities across the UK. Clubbing is so popular among the young that it is now a billion pound industry which is growing all the time, and which is indulged in by both employed and unemployed alike. Many youngsters spend their time counting the hours to Friday night when they can start dancing the weekend away, with an increasing number also becoming involved with soft drug taking.

This assignment will investigate the growing tendency for many young people to plan their lives around the clubbing scene. It will look at a number of studies on this to try and ascertain why young people feel the need to live their lives in this way and to attempt to find an answer to the question “What is so good about clubbing?”

Youth Subcultures

Traditionally, sociologists regarded youth as the transition stage between childhood and adulthood. This is the generally accepted functionalist view of youth. Youth provides a link between the transmitted values of childhood and the changing values of adulthood. Eisenstadt (1956) maintained that young people dealt with this conflict through different dress styles and value sets. This helped them to deal with the transition in distinguishing themselves from their parents and at the same time it provided them with their own standards by which they would live their lives. However, functionalists did not deal with separate groups of young people, rather they saw this process as a function of everyone making that transition. Because these problems are faced by each succeeding generation of young people it leads to the development of a distinctive youth culture (Moore, 1996).

The Marxist approach however, stresses the content of youth culture and the difference in social backgrounds. Cohen (1972) undertook one of the earliest Marxist studies into what he referred to as youth subcultures. While this study was restricted to youths in East London much of what he had to say has been drawn on time and again by people working in both sociology and in cultural studies. Cohen believed that in order to truly understand youth subcultures they needed to be examined both in their immediate context and in the wider context.

Lea and Young (1984) maintain that youth subcultures reflect a multiplicity of groups that are not entirely divorced from the wider society, rather they reflect what is going on at a wider level.

The Macro/Micro and Clubbing

What is going on in the world affects how youth subcultures develop. In contemporary Britain there is a far more individualist and hedonistic attitude than at any other time since the Second World War. This hedonism or pleasure for pleasure’s sake is reflected in the increasing number of young people whose lives revolve around clubbing. Thus Cohen was right when he said that in order to understand youth subcultures one had to examine the local (micro) context and the wider (macro) context.

Increasingly clubbing is seen by many theorists as a response to and consequence of city life. Skelton and Valentine (1998) interviewed three young people who visited different clubs. The researchers found that some young people often indulged in marijuana and alcohol before visiting a club, to put them in the right mood. Ecstasy is often used in certain strands of clubbing (Saunders, 1995). The researchers found that many young people felt the need to be part of a group in a narrow context rather than a stranger in the outside world and many of them would take soft drugs in order to do this. Parker (2003) undertook a study on young people, clubbing and drug taking, in three venues in the North West of England. The first was a city centre club with a large lesbian and gay customer base, another was situated on the edge of the city and played different types of dance music, the third was originally an out of town leisure centre but now hosted different hardcore rave type events. The study was interested in young people’s safety but concentrated on those youngsters who danced and used drugs. The study sought to understand ways of researching an illegal activity on a large-scale, and in semi-private settings such as night clubs. Drug taking was common and some youngsters would be clubbing all weekend.

Other studies have found that the practices of clubbing involve their own norms and rules such as competence in movement and dancing (Crossley, 1995). Clubbers develop their own norms and rules as a means of resistance. Herman and Ott (2003) found that clubbing, and particularly rave clubs, were both sites and means of resistance for those young people who were feeling alienated from mainstream society. Although Brewster and Broughton (2000) have noted that while clubbing is good, a rave is an idealized form of clubbing because its proponents believe they are beginning something new. Herman and Ott (2003) found that clubbing, to some extent involved a loss of self as boundaries between individuals were fragmented or overcome and the clubbers became as one community. They also found that this communal sense was enhanced by the taking of ecstasy – a particular favourite of the rave clubs – because it was not just a drug, rather it raised consciousness among those who took it.

Jackson (2003) maintains that clubbing is an important social experience that deserves further explanation. As we saw earlier clubbing has its rules of movement and dance, thus clubbing is a very physical experience and this makes it an embodied experience and thus and important source of social knowledge. Clubbing is uniquely related to the city, it is part of the city at night and as Alvarez (1996) argues this is a time when the city comes alive – clubbing is an important part of that life:

Night in the city is time out – time for leisure and intimacy, family and lovers, hobbies and pastimes, reading and music and television. It is also the time for excitement and celebration: theatres, movies, concerts and party–going, wining, dining, dancing and gambling. For people who hold down boring or unsatisfactory jobs, night is the time when they feel they lead their real lives (Alvarez, 1996, p.295).

It is upon this understanding of the city and the night that clubbing is built. Clubbing makes young people feel alive it is therefore an integral part of their ‘real’ lives. Jackson (2003) maintains that contrary to much popular thinking, clubbing is not confined to youth and youth subcultures – rather it is part of the wider social mileu in which these things have their existence. Parker’s (2003)^[1] study also suggested that this might be the case as in the initial survey research some clubbers were in their fifties which can hardly be described as young. Jackson (2003) argues that having a wider age range shows the historical aspect of clubbing and how it may have changed over time.

The change from clubs as private, late night drinking establishments to places where entertainment was on the agenda and marijuana and ecstasy later became key elements of this scene, is what interested promoters in the marketability of the clubbing scene as a mainstream leisure pursuit (Jackson, 2003).

Conclusion

Clearly clubbing can no longer be regarded as the preserve of youth sub cultures, rather it is something that is enjoyed by a variety of groups, each of whom find something that appeals to them and is an enjoyable part of their experience. It is arguably the case that clubbing can have the effect of making a person part of an elite group. On the other hand, clubs are such that they can also provide space to individuals who are tired of the lack of this in the busy cities in which they live. Clubbing allows people to let their hair down and to indulge in alcohol, illicit soft drugs, and dancing. Clubs are a place where you can meet others or be by yourself and it is this universality of experience that makes clubbing good for a large number of people.

Bibliography

Alvarez, A. 1996, Night: An Exploration of Night Life, Night Language, Sleep and Dreams, London: Vintage.

Brewster, B., & Broughten, F. 2000. Last night a dj saved my life: the history of the disc jockey. New York: Grove Press.

Cohen, P 1972 Sub-Cultural Conflict and Working Class Community Working Papers in Cultural Studies No.2 University of Birmingham

Crossley, N. 1995 ‘Body techniques, agency and intercorporeality: on Goffman’s Relations in Public‘, Sociology 29, 1:133-49.

Eisenstadt, S 1956 From Generation to Generation New York, Free Press

Herman, B and Ott, B 2003 “ Mixed Messages: Resistance and Reappropriation in Rave Culture” Western Journal of Communication Vol 67 2003

Hyder, K. 1995 ‘Ecstasy’s deadly cocktails’, Observer, 13 August: 10

Jackson, P 2003 Inside Clubbing: The Art of Being Human New York, Berg

Lea, J and Young, J 1984 What is to be Done About Law and Order Harmondsworth, Penguin

Moore, S 1996 Investigating Crime and Deviance London, Collins Educational

Parker, H 2003 Dancing on Drugs The Sociological Review

Saunders, N. 1993 E for Ecstasy, London: Neal’s Yard Press.

–1995 Ecstasy and the Dance Culture, London: Neal’s Yard Press.

Skelton, T and Valentine, G eds 1998 Cool Places: Geographies of Youth Cultures London, Routledge.

A critical evaluation of the work of Phil Cohen in relation to our understanding of youth subcultures

According to Cohen (1972), the redevelopment of London’s working-class neighbourhoods which favoured social elites or the gentry resulted in the marginalization of working class residents, loss of community and deterioration of collective power in the East End. Thus, there was a breakdown of socio-cultural interaction and dynamics that led to the development of youth subcultures. The objective of this paper is to examine Cohen’s perspective on the impact of rapid development in London to development in the 1950’s which prompted the subcultures. These subcultures became a critical channel for socialization and political action but also created distance with mainstream society that led to conflict and alienation (Fiske et al, 2009). Cohen’s (1972) perspectives, which were based on his examinations of the impact of London’s 1950’s redevelopment highlights how public policies can have such a profound effect on individual and social order and perception. Today, many cities, not only London are dealing with an influx of migration which has significantly increased intercultural interactions. Though these trends have the potential to enrich society, there is also the challenge of having to deal with increased conflict and greater competition which often threatens already marginalized populations the most.

In the 1950’s, the city managers of London launched a rapid development project designed to revitalize the capital which still was not able to recover from the damages of the Second World War. This urban renewal project was designed to attract new residents as well as revitalize key areas of the city for trade and commerce. Many of the areas that were targeted for redevelopments were already resided in by working-class families who were then moved to what Cohen describes as fringe neighbourhoods. The areas were settled into by migrants who redesigned the areas according to their individual cultural and social backgrounds. This created a divide between neighbourhoods: the new development was for the social elite, young professionals and affluent immigrants and the suburbs which housed the relocated residents were typically known to be run-down and underdeveloped areas. As the discrepancy of quality of life became apparent to authorities, the city planning authorities sought mitigate the situation by launching the development of high-rise housing projects specifically for working-class families. City administrators also endeavoured to attract back original residents through encouraging participation in new industries and trade and commerce channels.

However, Cohen believes that the effort further marginalized these populations and increased the social and economic challenges of urban life. Cohen also gives particular attention to what he calls the collapse of “matrilocal residence”, a term which he uses to refer to the tendency of nuclear family extensions to reside in close proximity to each other. This further limits the capacity of families and individuals to sustain social ties and support systems which in turn is associated with the breakdown of shared values, mores and standards of conduct. Cohen also believes that the redevelopment created unprecedented economic and social stress among the working class. He points out that post-World War II, many family enterprises, traditionally the backbone of local trade and industries, were facing severe competition from industries and at the same time, labour and experts were being channelled to these industries from traditional family enterprises. There was even a campaign for the latter: it was deemed nationalistic to support the growth on these large-scale private industries that suffered from the war. At the same time, there was also an effort to promote the modernization project as a national development agenda, to reposition the country as the leader of trade and commerce in Europe. The publicity is said to have severely hampered labour supply among community industries creating the notion of labour aristocracy.

The population that was most affected by these trends were new entrants to the labour market. The transition between the working environment of their parents and the working conditions brought on by the redevelopment were significant according to Cohen because they required not only the accommodation of new labour conditional but also a new social, economic and political order in very short period of time. To cope with the stress of these developments, according to Cohen, these populations created subculture groups to have a sense of identity and social reference. From this perspective, Cohen characterizes subcultures symbolic structures, not actually representing the individuals who make up the groups, representing a lifestyle or social perspective that does not fully conform to mainstream society. Identification of these subcultures can be made through a set of social subsystems which include their manner of dress, the music that is associated with them, the language or lexicon used, and the rituals and customs that are coupled with membership or identity.

According to a report developed by the World Bank (2009), the typical stress of community living are multiplies in urban settings because of the intensification of competition for resources, spaces and opportunities. At the same time, Rothwell (2003) points out that in time of stress, individuals need greater social reinforcement to be able to have a sense of security and belongingness. In the case illustrated by Cohen (1972) of London’s redevelopment in the 1950’s, he suggests that the economic, social and political challenges that the working class of the era had to deal with contributed to the increase of urban stress and the breakdown of traditional support systems which in turn created the platform for the development of subcultures. Similarly, Majhanovich (2002) points out that the development of subordinate organizations is an indication that there are populations feel under-represented or unrecognized without necessarily becoming a functional organization. Thus, their organization is a means of collecting power for representation or just recognition. This also support’s Cohen’s (1972) assertion that subcultures are symbolic organizations, where membership is often individually defined and association can be only conceptual.

Cohen’s definition of subcultures can be challenging but studying the examples that he provides is a great resource in understanding his perspective. Some of the challenges in his definition lie in his characterization of the phenomenon as symbolical rather than a collective of individuals. Another area of difficulty is the mechanism how youth membership in subcultures actually delays adulthood. Based on Cohen’s perspective, there is a suggestion is that there is almost a combative relationship between subcultures and mainstream society. This can be particularly apparent in view of his characterizations of subcultures as having Mohawks or being active in counter-culture movements. New research is more liberal, if not democratic, in its view of subcultures, noting that any group that creates an association with a particular mode of life or belief system that does not fully conform to social precepts can be considered as a subculture (Neuliep, 2006). However, this should be seen in the context of contemporary society were diversity is more widely recognized and is being lobbied for in all sectors and levels of society.

Though Cohen’s paper is supposedly limited to 1950’s working class London, he makes significant extensions from this population to include lower and middle class families. Essentially, Cohen’s main distinction is between what he considers the elite and what he considers as ordinary people. It seems that Cohen is grouping them together primarily because they did not have ready access to the areas that were eyed for redevelopment which implies that the population criteria used by Cohen was not based on socio-economic level but rather a geographic one. This raises some concern regarding the demographic and psychographic homogeneity of these groups. In turn, this may have an implication on the conclusions made by Cohen on the social and psychological impact of the redevelopment project. However, this may not have an impact on his theories regarding the development of subcultures but will challenge the rationale he proposes for their initiation which he generally attributed to socio-economic stress. In parallel studies developed by contemporary researchers such as Rothwell (2003) and Neuliep (2006) regarding the development of sub-cultural ethnic groups, they point out that motivations are more socio-politically oriented.

Analysis of the Cohen texts also shows some deficiency in the evidence that he provides for his arguments. These are not to the degree that one questions the authenticity of his assertions but some of his more emotive ideas could benefit from statistics or corollary studies to support the assertion that the 1950’s redevelopment in London is a primary reason for the rise in subcultures that developed in subsequent years. However, it should also be recognized that since the text is already dated and thus, contemporary readers may not be able to readily relate holistically to the social conditions and context that are being discussed. Both Majhanovich (2002) and Fiske and associates (2009) point out that these generational divides can have a significant impact on how conditions are perceived and ultimately, how relationships and correlations are going to be recognized. It is also this rationale that Cohen (1972) believes is the reason why some subcultures were constructed and perceived to be anti-establishment or to be non-conformist. It can also be one of the reasons why the subcultures are being associated with youth cultural and political movements: young members of a society, when thrust into social independence, have to navigate to orientation inculcated to them by authorities whose experience is based on an antecedent social context and may develop a sense of incongruity. At the same time, because younger populations may have less social investments and responsibilities, there is greater freedom for self-expression and in developing subcultures.

Moreover, because growth and development are future-oriented and create social stress, younger members of a society who have yet to establish themselves are more vulnerable to its impact. According to Essess and associates (2001), perceptions of competition, identity and social roles are often issues that become critical to an individual’s self valuation and thus, the need for affirmative social memberships. Cohen (1972) acknowledges the rationale for city planners for the redevelopment initiative but points out that they were remiss in mitigating its negative impacts. Worse, the efforts to reverse the resulting problems only increased the problems by the displaced working class families. Essentially, planners were not able to consider how the new social conditions can impact relationships, associations and identification of affected populations. Thus, these groups were not only further marginalized but were not equipped with access to traditional social groups to communicate their concerns or to lobby for action. In the article developed by Mueller (2005), peripheral populations are often sacrificed in the name of growth and development, however without the extension of the benefits of growth and development to these populations, quality of life cannot be raised. At the same time, the growth of disparities in social, economic and political status can be a source of conflict can then impede long-term growth and development goals.

Cohen’s (1972) analysis of the impact of redevelopment of London in the 1950’s marks a greater awareness of the impact of public policies to social, economic and political dynamics that will prevail. Though the motives behind the redevelopment undoubtedly was motivated by the desire to improve the quality of life of all citizenry, Cohen’s makes a valid point in citing that he efforts contributed to the urban stress that working class families were already dealing with. However, the research would have definitely benefitted from more extensive empirical evidence or the corroboration of parallel studies on the development of subcultures. In conclusion, Cohen’s paper provides critical insights on the impact of urban redevelopment to various populations, the changes in stress that can occur, and the responsibility of planners in ensuring that programs benefit the public as a whole and not just a few. In today’s context of ever-increasing cultural and socially diversity, subcultures will likely grow. In the context of its publication, there is no doubt that Cohen provided critical insights into the issue of not only youth culture and politics but also urban, growth and development concerns as well. The challenge now is not so much to control these developments but to be able to recognize such trends as a part of the growing diversity of modern societies and how to utilize them support growth and development.

References:
Cohen, P. (1972). ‘Subcultural conflict & working class community’ in Gelder, K., (Ed) 2nd edition (2005) The subcultures reader, London: Routledge.
Cox, B. and Ephross, P.H (1998). Ethnicity and Social Work Practice. New York: Oxford University Press.
Esses, V., J. Dovidio, L. Jackson and T. Armstrong (2001). The Immigration Dilemma: The Role of Perceived Group Competition, Ethnic Prejudice and National Identity. Journal of Social Issues 57, 3: 389-412
Fiske, A. P., Thomsen, L. and Thein, S. M. (2009). Differently embodying different relationships. European Journal of Social Psychology, Volume 39: 1294-1297
Majhanovich, S. (2002). Conflicting visions, competing expectations: Control and de-skilling of education–a perspective from Ontario. McGill Journal of Education, April. Retrieved March 22, 2010 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3965/is_200204/ai_n9030852
Mueller, A. (2005). What’s Wrong With Economic Growth? Mises Daily, August 10. Retrieved March 22, 2010, from http://mises.org/story/1877
Neuliep, J. W. (2006). Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rothwell, J. D. (2003). In the Company of Others: An Introduction to Communication. London: McGraw-Hill Humanities
World Bank (2009). Poverty, Growth, and Inequality. PovertyNet. Retrieved March 22, 2010, from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPGI/0,,contentMDK:20263370~menuPK:342777~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:342771,00.html

Youth Attitude ParentsYouth’s Attitudes Are Getting Worse

The world nowadays is really putting the young ones in front of all other generation. Almost all of the product and services provided in the market are targeted to the youth. That all really makes the young ones self-centered and feel that their needs are the most important, resulting in the inconsideration of the thing surrounding them. Because of this their attitudes have become worse and worst every year. But there are still ways that parents and youth itself can do in order to prevent their attitudes becoming worse, it will be discussed in this research paper.

“Children are illustrated as an arrow in the bow of an archer” said a magazine (Watchtower, 2007). It is like an arrow being aimed to the target by the archer. The question arise is whether the arrow can reach the target or not. There are several factors that will determine it such as the skill of the archer, the surrounding which is the wind, and also the circumstance of the arrow itself. The same things also apply for the children.

In this illustration the archer is picturing the parents themselves and the arrow being aimed to the target is picturing the children being shaped or trained by the parents into certain type of people. Furthermore the factors that will determine whether parents will be successfully shaping or training the children are the skill of parents, the surrounding where the children are living in and the condition of the children itself whether they want to accept the training given by the parents seriously or not.

In raising the children parents are holding the most important role, because during the child formative years parents are the closest friends the child can have. And even after the child has grown up parents still can be the closest friends. So first of all parents need to set a good example for the children because this will be a great lesson for the children themselves. There are several ways in which parents can be a good example in training the children such as they need to do whatever they have said or promise.

For instance is when the parents set a rule for the child stating that the child have to put back the toys after playing or else he will be punished. So when the parents see the kid does not put back the toys after playing, parents have to take action by punishing the kid. If the parents fail to do this the next time the child play with the toys he will just do not want to put it back because he knows that the parents will not punish him. And this thing can keep going on even to a bigger matter in the family since children are influenced largely by what they see than what they hear.

Secondly the parents need to work hand in hand in raising the children. Not only the wife or husband will do it by herself or himself such as “in many homes around the world, men view child training as chiefly woman’s work” (The Secret of Family Happiness 1996, p. 51). It is true that most of the child rearing works will be done by the wives since husbands need to work hard in order to provide living for the family, but it is still possible for fathers to spend time with the wives in giving training for the children. When both parents are cooperative in training their children it will make the task easier to do and children also can see that both of their parents are really taking care of them and none of them is more important than the other.

In a good family, every member will be able to communicate freely to each other. So the third skill that a father and mother need to have is to be a good listener, which is one part of communication. It will be very easy for every one of us to talk all the time and expect other people to listen to us. This can happen in the family as well, most of the parents like to talk either in giving instructions or disciplines but when the children express themselves parents will not want to listen to them because in parents’ mind they might start to think that their sons or daughters are trying to be smarter and maybe will start to rebel to the parents. On the other hand, parents might not be able to listen to their children just because they life are too busy with the works and therefore they will not have the time to have a good communication with the children.

In this case, parents do well to ask themselves ‘Am I a good listener? Am I ready to spare a little of my time to listen to my children?’ If the answer to these questions are ‘Yes’ then the relation in the family will become stronger since the children will have a freer feeling to communicate with their parents. Open communication will be very useful for the parents because with this they will be able to know more about their children, for example is when the son or daughter is facing a problem, he or she will not feel hesitate to talk about their problem to the parents, and with this also parents can help their son or daughter to solve their problem.

The next factor that will determine whether parents will be successfully shaping or training the children is the surrounding where the children are living in. Back to the illustration of the archer, an arrow is more likely to hit the target if the archer aims and releases it in calm conditions. Similarly, children are more likely to turn up as the parents want if parents create a peaceful home environment. But how can the parents create a peaceful environment in the house? Again, in order to create a peaceful home condition it starts from the parents. Husband and wife need to maintain a strong marriage relationship.

If the marriage relationship has loosened it will be difficult for them to maintain a peaceful home condition since arguments and fights will surely occur. It is not surprising to see the reports that most of the children involved in law breaking come from a broken family where the parents have divorced from their early age or parents that always involved in arguments. Parents’ arguments will really have a great effect to the future life of the kids; some of the kids might feel really terrified when the parents’ argument has really reached its peak where it could involve the use of vulgar words and even hitting of one’s mate. Following these things when the children have grown up they will be likely to be fierce and like to use violence in solving their problems. In contrast of it, one article in the internet said that children who grow up in a stable, two-parent family have the best prospects for achieving income security as adults (The Heritage Foundation, 2007).

Another thing that has great effect in children’s surrounding is the mass media, such as magazines, radio, music, television, and internet. Due to the economic situation that is getting harder, most of the parents both father and mother are working full time in order to support the needs of their family. This condition forces parents to spend more time in their works and lesser to their children, therefore leaving their children alone at home accompanied by the mass media such as mentioned above. Internet and other mass media are bringing the outside world and its influences into the children without leaving the house.

Even these media can bring positive influence to the children like providing useful information, education, and entertainment. Yet there are also many negative influences that it can bring to the children from the things contained in these mass media, such as the use of drugs, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and other violent acts (Dunning, 2004). Many of these things have been unrealized being brought into the house and as the children are watching it they will try to imitate the person that they idolize including the lifestyle of these idols. So when parents are leaving their children with equipment like television, internet, and magazines, they are actually giving their children into the trap of bad influence that can lead to a change in their attitudes.

The case above is the surrounding when the children are raised in the family, which is only the beginning stage. Later on, as the children are growing up older they certainly will start to go to school, tuition classes, and college. This stage will bring further danger for the children attitudes. All of us have known that the attitudes of children nowadays are very different from the past twenty years. So even though parents have tried very hard in training their children to have a good attitude, children are still not immune to the influence from their peers and are exposed to all the bad effects introduced by their friends.

It certainly very hard for the children to resist such bad influences from their friends since peer pressure is very strong. For example is about the use of vulgar language, every parent surely does not want their children to speak vulgar language and therefore teaches their children from early age that vulgar language is not appropriate to be used. At home children might hear and get to know about vulgar language when they watch television program, yet because of the advice from their parents they will remember that it is not good to use such language.

But the problem will start when the kids going to school. They will hear all their friends’ conversation filled with vulgar words, and be tempted to use it. If they do not use it their friends will certainly notice their difference and start nagging them saying that they are not cool if they do not use vulgar words in the conversation. Finally, due to the peer pressure, children that have been trained by their parents will start to use vulgar words because they do not wan to be left by their associates.

So what can parents do in order to make sure that the environment that their children are living in will not bring a contradiction result to whatever they have planned for the children? First, parents should make sure that whatever they have taught to the children are really take root in their heart and mind. But how can parents know whether the children really take into their hearts and minds whatever the parents have taught them? Again, parental skills are very important such as discussed above. Skillful parents will be able to draw whatever in the children’s mind by having a conversation with their children, and from the conversation that they are having, parents should be able to tell whether the children really take whatever their parents have taught them seriously or not.

Secondly, parents must spare their time for the kids despite of how busy they are with their works. In the beginning it will be very hard to try to spend time with the kids since the economic condition is not very good and this condition is really forcing both father and mother has to work full time in order to fulfill the needs of the family. But if they really want to raise their children successfully, parents have to do some sacrifice such as the mother can just work part time so that she can spend more time with the children.

Parents can spend their time with the children in many ways, for example is by talking with them about their day and what problems are they facing out there whether personally or with their friends. But sadly many times also children will not be able to share the problem they are facing with the parents because they are too busy with work and after they come back from work they already too tired to hear another problem coming from their sons or daughters.

Another way where parents can spend their time with their children is by doing activities together with the children such as cooking for mother and daughter, repairing things for father and son, playing music, games, etc. It is very good for a family to do things together because if children are left to their own things, they will feel so bored and lonely and finally they will turn to their friends so that they can do the activities which sometimes can bring bad effects to our own children. And if parents can do activities with their children they will have a closer relation with their children since children will take them not as mere parents only but also as their friends.

The last one where parents can spend their time with their children is by monitoring the things that they are doing. But to monitor the children does not mean that parents have to be always on the side of the children wherever they go and whatever they do. Because if parents do this, the youths will feel that they do not have their privacy and feeling as if they are still small children. Parents can monitor their children by just at least knowing that their children are being responsible towards the freedom that the parents give to them and that they are on the right track of life.

Thirdly, parents should create a peaceful atmosphere in the house. Children that are raised in a peaceful and caring family condition are more likely to have better self-esteem when they have grown up and mixing into the society. On the other hand, children that are raised in an unhappy, fearful family will most likely to grow up with low self-esteem and will have more problems than children that are raised in a peaceful and caring family (Raising Children Network, 2007).

Yet, in some occasion parents can lose control of themselves when one of their sons or daughter make a mistake, but instead of losing control and to punish the child bitterly, parents do well by remembering that the last time they might have made the same mistake too. By doing so, parents will become more thoughtful in giving punishment to the child.

The last factor that will determine whether parents will be successfully shaping or training the children is the condition of the children itself whether they want to accept the training given by the parents seriously or not. Going back to the illustration about the archer, even if the archer is a very skillful archer, he is still unlikely to hit the target if the arrow condition has become bent or warped. So in the family life also, even if the parents have tried very hard to train their children in the way that they want it to be and they have applied the things mentioned above, it will be unlikely for them to achieve it if the children themselves do not want to take it into their heart and apply it in their life.

Many times parents will try to straighten the bent arrow, so to speak, by striving to reajust children’s wrong thinking. But in the end, children will have to make their own decision as to whether they want to be shaped by the parents or be shaped by the world conditions where the attitudes of the youth have become worse day by day. In some countries for example, they have made it the law that when a child has reached certain age (seventeen or eighteen years old) they will have a right to choose their own course of life.

This condition has lead to many broken hearts for the parents because when their child still stay together with them, he or she seems to be contended with the law and regulations given by the parents. But the minute he or she has reached the appointed age, he turns out to be very contradictive to the life that parents have been expecting from him.

In conclusion, the attitudes of the youth have become worse nowadays. One of the causes of this condition is because of the world really puts the youth as its main attention. Due to that, there will be no way that can be done in order to change this worsening condition as a whole. But as a small part of it, which is in family scope this condition can be prevented. In order to achieve it, parents play a very big role.

As an archer that is aiming the arrow to the target, there are three factors that will determine whether parents will be successfully shaping or training the children first is the skill of parents, secondly the surrounding where the children are living in, and lastly the condition of the children itself whether they want to accept the training given by the parents seriously or not. If parents are striving to apply the skills mentioned above, they might be able to successfully direct their children in the right course.

References

Dunning, Lisa, 2004, Negative Effects of Mass Media Influences on Your Children, viewed 8 November 2007,

Raising Children Network, Ltd., 2007, Families that work well, viewed 14 November 2007,

The Heritage Foundation, 2007, How Broken Families Rob Children of Their Chances for Future Prosperity, viewed 8 November 2007,

The Secret of Family Happiness, 1996, Watchtower Bible and Track Society of New York, Inc., USA.

Watchtower, 2007, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., USA.

You are what you eat is a phrase a lot of people use. Im not sure who came up with that phrase but it is very true. Food is a big part of what bring people together here in Yap. Most gathering on island during celebration looks colorful because of all the variety of local food, including fruits and vegetables. The people of Yap are friendly and they have the habit of offering food and drinks to visitor that comes to their place. It is very offending if the visitors do not except the food that was offered to them. Nowadays people would still offer food to visitors but what they have is not healthy food. Most are ashamed of eating to eat healthy food; a can of tuna is better than crabs. This attitude also transfers to all a lot of children, most would rather have luncheon meat, hotdogs, corn beef, or even turkey tail in as their food rather than fish, crab or clam. So, In addition, most of the foods eaten here in Yap are store bought food because it is that is fast and easy to eat. It may taste good and it is easy to make, but is modern food good for us? When ask an individual they would tell you that it is not. When an individual is asked, he or she would say it is not good, but what is said and what is done are two totally different stories. What they say and what they do is two totally different stories. How we eat and what we eat shows people how we were raised and what kind of person we would turn out to be. A person People who watches what they eat and does exercise is are more likely to be healthy. A person eating junk food who sleeps a lot and does no exercise would probably be obese and more likely to be diabetic.

In the real world, it is not easy for a child children to stick with a healthy diet because what they see they copy. Parents who mix sugar in their drinks have children that also do the same thing. It is also the same with alcoholic parent their children are more likely to be alcoholic. It is up to the parents or the person taking care of the child to play a big role in not only making healthy choices for children and teaching children to make healthy choices for themselves. Before children likes to swim, play tag with other children or even jump rope but nowadays you hardly see children doing that. Most children spend their time playing games or watching television and eating junk food. The advertisements on television does not help children to eat better. What the children sees on TV to them looks delicious and appetizing, so they would pester their parents to get it for them. If parents or the person taking care of the child is a lenient one, the child would get what they he or she wants. The hospital can also help with the support and information the parents and caregivers needs to make healthy choices while instilling healthy eating habits in children that will last a lifetime. Health providers should help the communities to understand the consequence of eating imported food.

Long before the foreigner came, people teach by showing examples and explaining things. The old teaches the young what is good to eat and how to go about fixing it. No one worries about gaining weight having cardiac problem or even having high blood pressure. People only eat local food and they live long and stay healthy. Today our way of leaving is declining because of all this easy to get food from the store. We have doctors, nurses and scientists telling us how to manage our lives. They also tell us to go back to the way we used to eat, which is good but hard because most of us grow up with modern food or imported food. When people attend a celebration or even a small gathering, food is one of the things people like to share but instead of eating local food, they would eat imported food (“Needs Assessment for Micronesian Health Care in Hawai’i” 13). Today with people coming back from school with all this idea in their head on how to better help the people of Yap States. They go around saying people should not do this or do that because of too much sugar, instead of showing and saying that they can eat this kind of food, but not all the time. Even in the hospital, nurses sometimes give wrong information to inpatients, especially to diabetic once. Some nurses would tell the patient not to eat certain local food because it contains sugar. In reality the patient can eat the food because it is local, but not all the time.

One of the things that help people in Yap long time ago to stay healthy is exercise. Everything Yapese people do is a certain kind of exercise. Even going from places to places people either walk or go by canoe. Getting firewood is also not an easy task but the women also do this kind of work. They cut and gather two to three baskets of firewood for their own house. The women go to taro patches clean and harvest the taro which is not an easy job. Sometimes harvesting taro for the family a women would do that two to three times a week with one to two basket of taro. Sometimes they would climb up or look under the coconut tree for leaves to cut and weave it into basket for the taro. They also do gardening and most of the time the males do not help. They cut small trees, vines pull up grass or weeds and they even burn down big trees so that they can plant seeds underneath. They would carry the taro home and also cook it. They take care of cooking for the whole family, cleaning the house, and taking care of the children with the help of the young girls if the family has any. The ladies do not have that much free time to hang out with their neighbors because almost everything around the house they are responsible for. Girls have the responsibilities to help their mother’s with the chores around the house. This paragraph needs to be written in the past tense as it is a discussion of the past

As for the men fishing is one of the things they do for their families and relatives. They would either go spear fishing, netting, using lines or trolling by boat. Trolling and line fishing is more relaxing then netting and spear fishing. Netting and spear fishing is one kind of fishing that deals with swimming or diving around in the water. For the women only few of them goes fishing for their families but the rest do not. The men also have the responsibility to build houses for his family or help his extended families with their houses. Sometimes, the men would help with preparing the garden. If the men are not fishing they are building canoe or teaching young boys how to build things. Most of the time, the men are the once who climb coconut tree to get coconut for the family and they also climb and harvest betel nut to chew. The boys help with the climbing and sometimes the girls if the family does not have boys. Past experience also

The pacific island countries are in a state of transition. Pacific island people are changing very fast from a lifestyle which is very healthy, with farming, fishing, walking and gardening, to a less healthy lifestyle where food and goods are purchased and not produced locally, people use cars, and generally there is less physical exercise. The increased migration from villages’ areas to towns and cities has also meant a big change to the pacific way of life. Today people do not have enough exercise they spend most of their time watching television and when they want to go somewhere they go by car. Climbing coconut is another way of exercising which few people are still doing it. The taro patches is over grown with weeds because people are too lazy or do not care to clean them. People have the tendency eat and lay down to rest or sleep claiming that the food they just eat need to digest. Other people would jag around the lagoon and comes back and eat whatever they want. The only exercise most people do is to walk from the house to their car.

Parents have the tendency to over feed their children and by doing this they create a problem. First they start introducing food to the baby when they are a few months old because to them the baby is not having enough food with breastfeeding. Second is when the baby is a toddler, the parents would spoon feed the toddler to the point that the toddler with start to refuse the food and the parents would force the child to eat all the food in the plate. Right at that minute the parents create a problem, forcing the child to eat more than the child’s body needs. Too Yapese a fat child is considered healthy and a slime or skinny child is considering sickly and needs to fatten up. Health worker should encourage and explain to the parents that babies should only stick to breastfeeding for the next six months. After the six months, when feeding the baby they should not over feed them. When the baby is full the parents should stop feeding. By doing this the parents help the child to eat only what their body needs not what they think their body needs. It is also good to start giving local food to your child and not store bought baby food. Also, the parents or caretaker should stay away from giving coconut milk to new born it is full of fats. The doctors, nurses, and health worker should advice this people to stay away from coconut milk. Even though Yapese people believe that giving coconut milk to babies is very healthy and also feeding them that young is good for the mother and babies.

Healthy people long ago only drink plain water and coconuts. Those are the two kinds of drink that they drink and it is good for them. Plain water or coconut without ice and it is not cold. Today people bought soft drink from the store and other things to mix with their water including sugar. They even bought alcohol like beer and other beverages to also drink. People do not have time to look for coconut and if they do they harvest them to sell not to drink at the house. Coconuts are turning into copra because only few people would drink them. For those that they want to drink they spend money looking for them and buying them. Coconuts are getting very expansive to buy nowadays. So, parents mix their children’s drink or by them juice from the store and send them to school. Some even buy soft drink for their kids because to them it is cheaper than buying coconut. According to Maria Laaken, one of my colleagues at the hospital “children nowadays won’t drink plain water because it does not taste good and they don’t want to be different from the other kids. At the same time the parents don’t want to deal with all complains early in the morning before going to school.”

Yap is well known for having many good healthy local foods. It is the people who made bad choices when it comes to food. All ever the island you will see variety of local food including vegetables and at the same time some of the stores also sell local food and vegetables. It is easy and possible to grow them because Yapese people also own land. It should be foreign people or people from other places who should have problem with their diet not Yapese. Instead foreign people go around looking for all the local food and the Yapese goes look for all the imported food. Most taro patches here in Yap are overgrown with grass or weeds because people like to eat white rice. Inside most ice-box of people here in Yap is full of turkey tails and chicken, it is hard to find fish. Overweight in the Pacific Professor Susan Cassels claim that all of the foods that the people in the Federal States of Micronesia like to eat are foods that are easy to get or easy to make and it is affordable or a lot cheaper. One of those foods is turkey tails and turkey tail to the people in the United States is not food because to them it is fertilizer. To the Yapese it is one of the cheapest and tasty foods because of all the grease and fats.

Increase availability of money and people is expose to imported foods have result in people not eating the right kind of food, and increase consumption, with diets high in sugar and fats and often low in fiber, vitamins and minerals. A reduction in physical activity, fishing, walking, gardening has led to an increase in obesity in both adults and children. The exercise researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. Dr. Timothy S. Church, the reason the population is getting obese and overweight is because of lack of physical activities at work, and those jobs that makes people to do physical labor are all gone. A high rate of smoking and increasing consumption of alcohol makes the situation worse. The eating habit of people here in Yap contributes to most of the diseases that the people of Yap encounter. Because of foreign influence and people wanting to be Americanize or modernize they would go to a lot of trouble to eat imported food. Before people hardly get sick and when they do it is not life threatening. People do not have problem with their sugar level or have high blood pressure. Consumption of imported food contributes to a lot of people dying in Yap. All the non-communicable disease in Yap can be stop or prevented by going back to the way we leave. We eat only local food either from these or from the land and this sickness will leave our people and also our island (Jackson 88).

There are many non-communicable diseases here in Yap. One of them is diabetic, also known as having problem with your sugar level. Diabetes develops when the body does not make enough insulin or is not able to use insulin effectively, or both. There are two types of diabetic, I and II. Diabetic type I it is believe that a person is born with that type of non-communicable diseases or it is passed from mother to child. As for the other type, type II diabetic a person gets it latter in life. In 2006 to 2007 there was a survey done on Yap Proper and it shows that in general 23% of the people are diabetic and 35% are hypertension (Ichiho, Yurow, and Lifang 16). People with diabetes can lead a normal healthy life. Diabetes is manageable by eating the right food, exercise and sometimes medication. Medication that the patient is taking does not cure the patient but only help to prolong the patient’s life. All people with diabetes and hypertension that need advice about diabetes and hypertension management can ask help from a doctor or nurse.

The population of Yap Island has significant burdens of obesity and overweight, hypertension, and diabetes. Obesity and overweight appear in children as young as two years of age and skyrocket between ages 15 and 25 years in both males and females. Following the development of obesity, both males and females begin to experience hypertension and diabetes within 10 years. (Durand 163)

It is suspected that this non-communicable disease happens because of all the imported food the people eat and drink. To prevent people from having diabetic people needs to go back to the way they live. Go back to eating local food from the sea and food from the land. Compare to the United States the Federal States of Micronesia has 20% more diabetic people (“Needs Assessment for Micronesian Health Care in Hawai’i” 28).

The other non-communicable disease is hypertension. There are two types of hypertension. One is Primary Hypertension and that is the most common form, accounting for majority of cases in Yap. Second is Secondary Hypertension and it occurs as a result of many factors one example is kidney disease. No one knows the cause of hypertension the only thing they know is the contributing factor and they are ageing, smoking, eating food with to much salt in it, being overweight or obese, drinking a lot of alcohol, not enough exercise, stress to name a few. To prevent people from having hypertension they should maintain a healthy weight because being over weight contributes to have high blood pressure. The other thing is people should get regular exercise because being physically active makes the person less likely to have high blood pressure. It those not mean you have to ran around the track or being in a marathon. It just means that people needs to move a bit like wash dishes, cooking local food, gardeningaˆ¦etc.

Many people in Yap are dying because of what they put in their mouth. Most dead is because of the amount of food people eat and also what kind of food they eat. The lifestyle of the people in Yap contributes to a lot of problem that people are facing getting fat and obese are two other health problem that the people of Yap encounter. Some end up with amputate limb because of uncontrolled eating ways others noncompliant once are dying each day. According to Jackson, “the bad news about these diseases is that they are now killing Micronesians fastaˆ¦ at least one person dies every second day from cardiovascular diseases – in other words one person every other day eats themselves to death!” Diabetes and hypertension has increase in proportion in our islands. In 2010 alone there are 847 diabetes and hypertension patients total that comes in for visits (“Yap State Statistical Yearbook” 148). This means that people in our island can and has suffer from complications from diabetes and hypertension such as blindness, amputations and kidney failure. After having one of these conditions the individual will pass away eventually.

There are a lot of things the hospital can do to help the people of Yap States to eat healthy and live long but that is up to the people to be willing to except the advice given to them. The doctors, nurses and health workers can only do so much but it is all depend on each individual. The doctors, nurses, and health worker can show people what would happen if they will not listen to their advice but if the individual is close minded than this really nothing the hospital can do. One solution is to keep to the traditional ways of living, eating and exercising including dancing. The people must also keep in mind that not only eating healthy food would save them but also exercises help. They also need to teach and encourage the public that eating healthy starts when people are young. They should not wait until it is too late. Because having a heart attack is not a laughing matter once a person gets it there gone. Unlike strokes and heart failure they will still see tomorrow but still they can also go anytime. Even kidney failure, having that is a drain on the families of the patient. The people should go back and start planting their garden again that is if they want to live long. They should also start cleaning their taro patches and planting taro. Be aware of diabetes and hypertension and what is going on about these diseases. People have to have protective measures to prevent the incidence of having hypertension and diabetes. Every year in Yap women and men’s week are held to help doctors to detect any diseases and sickness that the people of Yap might have. It is held every year but it is really up to the people of Yap State to want to do it. Announcement goes out by radio, television and even flyer to encourage people to join. One should change one’s lifestyle, so that one is more active and is able to either prevent hypertension and diabetes or, if suffering, learn to cope up with it. Having these kind of diseases is hard because there is no turning back once a person has it they have it for life. So, it is really up to the individual to decide what is better for them and their kids. Too either gets sick and dies young or lives long and have a healthy life.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams? By reference to relevant theory show how can the disadvantages be reduced or avoided

Firstly I would like to do the introduction of groups and team working, secondly i will outline some advantages and disadvantages of working in teams, finally i will put some theories to show how disadvantages can be reduced or avoided.

A team is a group of individuals who work together to produce products or deliver services for which they are mutually accountable. (Mohram, Cohen& Mohrman,1995) Team working is a system where production is organised into large units of work and a group of employees work together in order to meet shared objectives, a team of people work on lager tasksteam members will need to be multi-skilled, well trained and motivated by more than the piece-rate rewards received. (John Wolinski& Gwen Coates, 2004)

According to Fidler’s typology of work groups, he suggested groups could be classified acording to the nature and intensity of interaction necessary for task accomplishment. (Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) There is interacting groups, the members are interdependent, and cooperation and coordination is needed to complete the group task; there is co-acting groups, whereas members work together on a common goal but do so relatively independently; and there is counteracting groups, which individuals work together for the purpose of negotiating and reconciling conflicting demands and objectives. (Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005)

The structure of a group reflects the basis of group identity, according to Meridith Belbin, members of a group should based on a mixture of observation,personality, and ability data. (Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005)

Group norms is important during team working, norm is a rule which governs the behaviour of group members.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) Norms in the workplace directly related to performance by dictating acceptable levels of quality and quantity. (Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005)It also determines attitudes toward timekeeping, absenteeism and standards of personal appearance. (Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) In a more general form of norms are the 4 aspect suggested by Guirdham in 1995, they are Fairness, Reciprocity, Reasonableness, and Role expectations.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005)

Synergy is where the activities of two or more components when brought together creates more value than do the activities in individuals.(Dave Hall, Rob Jones& Carlo Raffo, 2004) The common sense view of committees is that they take a great deal of time to produce poor quality decisions, however, in most conditions groups outperform even the best member in the team, this phenomenon has been termed synergy.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) The benefit of synergy is that discussion in groups generates more alternatives than individuals, it tends to eliminate inferior contributions, errors are more easily to be point out, and it supports creative thinking or there will be more creative ideas.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) There might be a negative synergy when the total group output is less than the combined individual efforts.(Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004) If a team have unequal distribution whereas one of the team member contributes more than the others, there will be tensions, conflicts, and problems between the members, and it would also effect the existed privity of team working.(Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004) There is a probability to the happening of social loafing. Social loafing where individual effort decreases as the number of members within the team increases. (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004)

Cohesiveness is the complex of forces giving rise to the perceptions by members of a group identity.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) Cohesive groups may result in greater interaction between members, group members mutually help each other, it make the members feel more belonged and trusted within the group.(Mullins, 2007) Cohesive group members are good at communicating and working together, therefore their production can be better than the less cohesive groups.(Mullins, 2007) Although a cohesive group is note necessarily an effective group.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) Cohesive groups do not like to be bound by group norms, it could generate exclusion effects on the team members, they are likely to prescribe ‘pro-social behaviours’ and ‘organizational citizenship’.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) Strong cohesive groups may develop a critical or even hostile attitude towards people who are non-member of their group.(Mullins, 2007) They also present potential disadvantages for management, the higher level of output is not guaranteed for cohesive groups.(Mullins, 2007) Further more, there may be a fall in output, with the high level of cohesiveness and attention to social activities.(Mullins, 2007)

The characteristics of an effective work group is the high commitment to the achievement of tasks, there is a clear understanding of what the group work is, group members need to understand of the roles of themselves in the team, free and open communication between members in group and trusting between team members.(Dave Hall, Rob Jones& Carlo Raffo, 2004) Ideas are shared in the team, group members should be helping each other by offering constructive criticisms and suggestions.(Dave Hall, Rob Jones& Carlo Raffo, 2004) The group members should be motivated to be able to have creations and complete their work in satisfaction in order to achieve its group targets or even develop further.

Reflexivity is the ability of a team to reflect critically on the way it solves tasks or members relate to one another.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) It may involve some uncomfortable or socially difficult challenges amongst group members.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) Michael West(1996) defines ” this essential ingredient of group process as ‘ the extent to which group members overtly reflect upon the group’s objectives, strategies and processes, and adapt them to current or antiquated … Circumstances’” (Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) Reflexivity may be separated in to two factors, Task and Social.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) Reflexive task processes indicates the reflection on group objectives, group strategies, group processes and environment.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) While the reflection of indications to reflexivity on the social dimension of group life includes, social support, conflict resolution, member development and team climate.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) Therefore non-reflexive groups are not as effective as reflexive groups by failing the emphasis part of a process.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005)

Despite, there many disadvantages are related to team working or working in groups. There are some theories which can help to reduce or avoid disadvantages affecting team working. There is a theory which is developed by J. Richard Hackman (1983, 1987, 1990, cited in Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004), it focus on the guidelines that should be pursued to help teams function in their full potential. The first suggestion in the guideline is the task itself need to be ensured which is suitable for the team; secondly is that the team should be recognised as such by its own members and other people in the organisation; thirdly the team need to have clear authority over the working tasks, in other words, they should not be suspicioused by management and other people on their working tasks.(1983, 1987, 1990, cited in Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004) In fourth order, it is crucial that the structure and general culture of the team should be accepted as like the importance to group norms which reflects in team working.(1983, 1987, 1990, cited in Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004) Fifthly in the guidelines that the organisation must support the team as far as possible, the organisation’s policies and systems should also reflects of support to obtain group’s needs.(1983, 1987, 1990, cited in Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004) Lastly from the guidelines, expert coaching and feedbacks should be provided to the teams when they are in need of it and when team members are ready to receive it or more of it.(1983, 1987, 1990, cited in Buchanan and Huczynski, 2004)

In social identity theory, the basic motivational prospection is the need for self-esteem.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) An individual’s self-evaluation implicates the group membership, it means that when people perceive positive distinctiveness in other groups they can do one of the three thing, join the outgroup; to change their own perception of negative distinctiveness into positive distinctiveness by redefining the components of that status comparison; thirdly, when the status dimension is a valued resource, the tactics will lead to conflict between two teams.(Robin Fincham & Peter Rhodes, 2005) The solution to intergroup conflict lies in contriving conditions in which shared goals can be perceived, this is based on the assumption that superordinate goals will create a superordinate group.

References:

l Buchanan, D. & Huczynski, A., 2004.Organisational behaviour: an introductory text.5th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

l Mullins, L. J., 2007.Management and organisational behaviour.8th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

l Robin Fincham (eds). (2005). Principles of Organizational Behaviour. New York, United states: Oxford University Press.

l Ian Chanbers and Dave Gray (eds). (2004). Business Studies. Edinburgh Gate,Harlow,Essex: Pearson Education.

l John Wolinski (eds). (2004). AQA AS Business Studies. London: Philip Allan.

Today’s employees are working in a highly turbulent and competitive business and working environment. As a result majority of employees work life become so complex. Due to this work life complexity and current world economical condition leads employees to work long hours or do multiple jobs. With the expansion of global business and technology, employees of the global firms need to maintain continues contact with their colleagues or customers who operate within 8 or 10 different time zones away. This means that many employees work within the global firms need to be standby during 24 hours. Moreover cutting edge technology allows employees to perform their work at home or any other place. In fact most of today’s world married employees are part of a dual-career couples This makes increasingly difficult for married employees to find time to fulfil commitment to home, spouse, children, parents and friends. Therefore, due to these reasons work life tent to be interfere with family life. This is called work family conflict.

Since this work family conflict leads to create negative consequences such as increased absenteeism, increased turnover, diminishing performances, etc; it is important to have a good understanding about this work family conflict in organisational context. Therefore in today’s organisations, work place environment is being modified to minimise work family conflict and to establish a balance between work and family life. This mostly include offering flexible work schedule, relocated assistance, adoption assistance, provide training for managers to assist employees in dealing work/family conflicts, focus on employees actual performance rather “face time”, casual day programme, etc. Conduct these types of programmes within the organisations is important since its tent to reduce mainly work/family conflicts, job dissatisfaction, and stress related problems. But on the other hand it may be difficult to assess the direct positive impacts of these programmes have on work performances of the employees.

Work and Family Life- reciprocal effects article is mainly focus on foresaid work/family conflict. All arguments of this article are base on several research findings done by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and other relative studies. According to article it is been proved that 25 and 40 percent of employees indicate that their jobs interferes with family life to some extent. Furthermore base on the research done by Australian Institute of Family Studies found that 28% of women and 40% of men believe that work life interferes with home life. At the same manner 35% women and 28% of men believe that their partners work life interferes with home life. But out of all respondents only few men and women believe that the family life interfere with their work life.

This result of the survey shows the impact of family life to the employees working life. These factors increase the real need of work/family life balancing in order to gain employees performances. Most of the middle age employees(30-49) believe that work life interfere with family life with the complexity of work and family life that they are experiencing at that age such as child care, high peek career demand, etc.

Courses for work/family conflicts

When analysing work/family conflict it can be identify few major factors associated with it. One factor is employee’s job situation. As a result of job related factors such as downsizing, additional task allocation, challenging assignments, and strategies of participation, job insecurity and frequent relocations have brought an increased workload which stimulates tension and course to create a true conflict between employees work and family life. Another main factor highlighted in this article is employees working hours. According to the research findings, 23 percent of women and 66 percent of men were working more than 41 hours per week. This hour of work is tent to affect the degree of impact to create work/family conflict. Research finding indicate that 60 percent of men and women are preferred to work fewer hours than they currently work as a result of work interfere with home life.

In fact job position of the organisation also determine the level of work interfere with family life. Employees in higher job positions tend to work longer hours, under pressure with higher responsibilities and job tasks. This leads to create high stress to the employees. This stress leads to negative sequences such as unsatisfactory behaviours at job: delays, absenteeism, lack of motivation and reduced level of performance.

On the family life, presence of children’s can also tend to complex this work/family conflict and will act as obstacle for work family balancing process. One factor which tend to determine the level of work interfere with family life is age levels of children’s of married employees. This varies for fathers and mothers. According to this article, youngest children’s have a great impact to the level of work/family conflict of mothers where as the younger children’s have greater impact for fathers in creating conflict between work and family. Partners work schedule and conditions have greater impact in determining level of work/family conflict as a result of increasing level of dual careers of families. Therefore this leads to determine the happiness of family life bas on the job situations experiencing by the employees.

According to the research findings; out of fulltime working couples with children under 18, 47 percent fathers and 41 percent of mothers strongly believe that their work life is interfere with family life. Moreover mothers who work for part time is less likely to feel that their work life tend to interfere with family life since they have much more time in balancing work and family life. In fact more men than women tend to believe that their work life interferes with family life as a result of working long hours. On the other hand, there is high tendency to exist high work/family life for lone mothers than couple families since all responsibilities fall on the one parent.

When considering courses for work/family conflict many researches and studies argue that many employees tend to believe, work life more interfere with family life rather than family life interfere with work life. Moreover many studies highlighted that employees are better in managing potential disruptions occur from family life into work rather than managing work disruptions affect to family life. According to the research findings (Australian family life course study); only few employees were believe that family life interfere with work life. (Out of full time employees, 11 percent men and 13 percent women and 0 percent of part-time working women) Therefore it can be noted that work life begin to interfere for family life, when job responsibilities and problems begin to interfere in accomplishing family related obligations.

Outcomes of work/family conflict

As foresaid, it can be distinguish two types of work-family conflict: work interferes with family life and family interfere with work life. Therefore these two types of conflict are adverse consequences for several outcomes for employees.

Stress

Stress can be identifying as one of main outcome of work-family life conflict. Most of the employees tend to suffer from this stress as a result of failing to have a better balance between family and work life. Therefore we can find that there is high correlation between work/family conflicts with employee stress. Most of the researches conduct various types of researches to identify this relationship. Many authors define Stress as an interaction between the factors that leads to stress (stressors) and level of individual response towards it (strain). http://icssea.ppiukm.org/paper/PSI-97.pdf Lot of employees are subjected to have an anxiety, low work motivation, low job satisfaction, pressure and burnout as a result of high work responsibilities, long working hours, job insecurity, high competition, unmet family obligations, etc. Since all foresaid factors are the reasons for work family conflict most researchers has been identify that the work/family conflict as a main source to have stress and pressure. According to the Australian Family Course study, 43% percent men and 53% percent women often felt tired and run down their job tasks. From this research findings researches have been identify a positive relationship with work interfering with work and stress which influence employee’s well being. (Case)

Job dissatisfaction

Job dissatisfaction is associated with the degree of employees feeling towards their job. Negative feelings towards the job can leads to create low level of job satisfaction and this course to have high employee turnover, low performance, high absenteeism, etc. In order to identify the relationship between work/family conflict and job dissatisfaction, several researches had been done. These research findings always tend to highlight a negative relationship between work/family conflict and job satisfaction. As foresaid, stress, anxiety and high pressure are some of main outcome of work/family conflict. Therefore due to all these factors, leads to create low level of job satisfaction. According to the model proposed by Kopelman (1983), explain the relationship between factors like work conflict, family conflict, job satisfaction, family satisfaction and life satisfaction. This model argue that the factors such as work conflict and family conflict leads to create inter role conflict by employees and this inter role conflict, influence employees job and work satisfaction. Ultimately this both job and work satisfaction affect to life satisfaction. http://psasir.upm.edu.my/3101/1/Associations_of_Work-Family_Conflict,_Job_Satisfaction,_Family_Satisfaction.pdf

This level of satisfaction is a crucial factor for any organisation, since it’s highly connected with employee turnover, absenteeism, performance level and productivity of the organisation. Therefore it is extremely important to assist employees o maintain a well balance work and family life.

According to the research conduct by Department of Social Psychology and Methodology of Behaviour Sciences, University of Granada, Spain; has been identify that the relationship between work/family life and general job satisfaction is stronger in women than men. Moreover it found that general role of women in a family has a significant moderate effect on the association between work/family conflict and general job satisfaction of women.

http://www.academicjournals.org/ajbm/PDF/pdf2010/4July/Calvo-Salguero%20et%20al.pdf