Expatriate Adjustment of Spouses and Expatriate Managers Case Study - 42

Expatriate Adjustment of Spouses and Expatriate Managers - Case Study Example There were times when she used to cry and we tried to support her during that time and be close to her†¦it was difficult for all of us† (Andreason, 2008). The problem, in my opinion, despite the pressures of children getting by in a foreign country, zeroes down on the language barrier (Andreason, 2008). The problems could have been handled by taking beginner and proficiency courses in the individual languages before they left home. As Andreason (2008 p. 382) points out, another problem is the perceived lack or presence of organizational support. For some expatriates and repatriates, the countries they were situated in could make or break their stay, resources, and performance. One British male says, â€Å"the expat thing, they help you how to find a house†¦sort out the bits and the balls as it is daunting and very time consuming to do it in a different language†¦compensation, additional support one receives, housing agencies and a trip home every year† (Andreason, 2008). It is in itself an opportunity. But in its absence, the person suffers as shown in another expatriate who says â€Å"...Little support in making the transition. No formal program to...put you in an apartment, orient you in the city†¦that was irresponsible† (Andreason, 2008). How to solve this before the expatriates left home was to familiarize themselves with the terms and conditions of the job (Andreason, 2008). If all these services were not provided by the host countries and companies, they would have contracted companies providing such to avoid frustrations when they arrived. Andreason (2008) concurs that cultural bias could be another problem with expatriates. In Germany, for example, the model of the male being the bread-winner for the family is quite predominant. In this case, any female expatriate would expect perceptions about them with respect to organizational support or the work-family conflict to be biased in a German context before even moving to the country.  

Hospitality Organizations for Self-Service Technology Assignment

Hospitality Organizations for Self-Service Technology - Assignment Example Notably, the population of the study included 216 employees who work in three participating hospitality organizations during April 2006 (Lema, 2009). All the participants in the population were volunteers while the participating organizations offered diverse workforce in the food, beverage, entertainment, and lodging industry (Lema, 2009). Specifically, the sample participants included employees working in three participating hospitality organizations during April 2006. The sample participants included 71 supervisors, 141 non-supervisors, 111 females, and 101 males (Lema, 2009). The original sample size included 216 employees while the final sample size included the position, gender, and ethnicity of 212 participants (Lema, 2009). Ideally, the study clearly described the sampling method by selecting the demographic variables that define the study. Indeed, the sampling method defined the position, gender, and ethnicity of participating employees in the hospitality industry. The sampling method defined the period for the study and classified the participants into supervisors and non-supervisors (Lema, 2009). It also defined the proportion for gender into 48% males and 52% females (Lema, 2009). Ultimately, it classified the sample into ethnic groups including African American, American Indian, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Paciï ¬ c Islander (Lema, 2009). Ideally, the sampling method was adequate for this study in that it addressed all the demographic variables that influenced the results for the study. The researches study on the factors that inï ¬â€šuence employee readiness to engage in and support self-directed processes used various instruments, which included Oddi Continuing Learning Inventory (OCLI) and Generalized Self-Efï ¬ cacy Scale (GSE) (Lema, 2009). Most specifically, the GSE instrument sought to assess self-beliefs of personal capabilities of the employee while the OCLI instrument sought to assess employees’ levels of self-directed learning

Customer Relationship Management In Hospitality Industries Tourism Essay

Customer Relationship Management In Hospitality Industries Tourism Essay Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, has many perspectives and definitions that illustrate its fundamental thrust, that of trying to present a holistic strategy for managing customer relationships by getting to know the customers and their needs better, communicating with them more effectively and trying to fulfil these needs (Payne, 2005, Pp. 1 2). Because CRM is about getting to know customers and their needs better, it is about implementing specific Information and Communication technology projects within an organisation to process organisational data to deliver knowledge about customers and their needs. It is now possible for organisations to implement more effective and sophisticated technology solutions for processing customer related data because computers are now far more powerful and cheaper compared to what they used to be, with a vastly increased storage capacity. In addition, businesses and organisations can now store vast amounts of data about their customers on co mputerised systems that can communicate more effectively with individuals and other computer systems using technologies for the Internet. Companies in all sectors, including the hospitality and tourism sector, now routinely engage their customers on the World Wide Web and process customer data to deliver more useful products and services at competitive rates (Gretzel, 2010, Pp. 1 48 63 72). Thus, CRM presents opportunities leading to higher profitability and superior competitive advantage (Roberts, 2005, Pp. 315 316). It is important for modern hospitality organisations to try to increase customer occupancy rates and customer experience in a tough and rapidly changing business environment that presents intense competition (Minghetti, 2003, Pp. 141 143). Thus, managers associated with the hospitality sector, including the hotels and tourism sector must have a deep knowledge of customers needs, behaviours, and preferences to offer services that deliver value to create customer retention, value and loyalty. In addition, it is important to try to communicate effectively with customers in a timely manner and to encourage them to engage in a dialogue with an organisation that can benefit everyone. Thus, customer-centric information systems are important for the hospitality industry, which must use these systems to develop effective relationships with customers to serve them better, encourage them to use more offerings from an organisation and to get to know about their needs in order to satisfy them an d to retain them. It is important to understand that customers are the lifeblood of an organisation and without customers, there will be no revenues and no organisation. Customers who are not satisfied or fulfilled leave to benefit from others who can offer more and this means that efforts directed towards trying to maintain effective customer relationships are now essential for all organisations, including those operating within the hospitality and tourism sectors. It is far more expensive to try to get a new customer than it is to retain and to earn from an existing customer (Buttle, 1996, Pp. 155). The collection and use of customer information, its effective analysis and use for delivering to customers are now more important than ever before (Minghetti, 2003, Pp. 1 2). To understand better the importance of CRM in hospitality industries, it makes sense to try to carry out an in-depth investigation into the topic of discussion from the perspectives of customers, managers and other stakeholders, including employees, from within the context of a place with established hospitality industry that has achieved a reputation for excellence around the world. Edinburgh, in Scotland is a suitable location for such an investigation, not only because the author of this dissertation studies nearby, but also because in addition to being the United Kingdoms favourite domestic holiday destination, Edinburgh is now a world renowned destination for its festivals, events and conferences (Susan, 2008, Scotland A World Class Product). Susan (2008, Scotland A World Class Product) goes further to state that Edinburgh is the most favourite city in the United Kingdom to hold a conference and the demand for rooms for guests is fast outstripping supply. Edinburgh is at the forefront of hospitality and tourism in terms of innovation and quality and the hospitality sector in this city employs 31,000 people, which is nine percent of the workforce (Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, 2010, Edinburgh Tourism Framework for Growth 2007-15). According to the previously mentioned publication, Edinburgh won the Guardian / Observer Travel Award as the UK best city for seven consecutive years and tourism generates more than  £ 1.7 billion expenditure in this city. Efforts are ongoing to maintain Edinburgh as a competitive tourism destination of world class and to try to expand on its potential. Thus, it makes sense to try to examine how the hospitality industry in Edinburgh uses CRM to attract customers and to deliver more to Edinbu rgh and its tourists. The research presented in this dissertation attempts to examine the importance of CRM for the hospitality industry in Edinburgh by presenting a review of selected literature, a customer survey, insights from senior managers and executives from the hospitality and tourism industry in Edinburgh and opinions from those who have the real ground-level knowledge, the employees working within the hospitality sector. 1.1 A Discussion of the Problem for Research Marketing is important for the hospitality industry and for marketing for a successful hospitality organisation should touch the customer (Buttle, 1996, Pp. 155 157). The hospitality product is highly personalised with a substantial intangible content judged on experience. Relationship marketing is important for hospitality because the hospitality market with its ongoing and periodic demand in the face of competition presents a greater need for relational efforts and an understanding of the needs of customers. A need for the personal touch exists in hospitality and information technology provides opportunities for using information about customers to deliver the personal touch in novel ways. However, it is important to deliver correctly the CRM effort, based on the right information analytics and using the right channels to make a positive impact for the customer and the hospitality organisation. Despite the fact, that CRM has continued to present a promise of effecting improvements in corporate profitability, performance, customer retention and customer satisfaction, the proper implementation of CRM in an organisation is essential for success (Van Bentum, 2005, Pp. 28). CRM literature not only reports successes, it also reports a large number of failures in situations when well thought ought CRM solutions were not implemented correctly to impact the customer and to benefit an organisation. Thus, it is important to try to find out how the hospitality industry in Edinburgh is effectively making use of CRM in its efforts to compete with destinations from the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the world. It is far easier to articulate CRM than it is to implement it (Dickinson, 1999, Pp. 11 12). Today, the hospitality industry needs exceptional marketing that has the capacity for delivering the long-term customer who profits the business over time to emerge as a business partner. Thus, it is important to know the right way for CRM in hospitality and to get to know how the winners are making use of this new marketing reality for hospitality. For the small business operator in the hospitality sector, a customer information database that has evolved over time is likely to serve well using personal computers and internet connectivity if business continuity persists. However, for a large luxury hotel chain, resort or hotels involved with hosting and arranging conferences, the equation becomes more complex. In the present day and age, the design of CRM system emphasises linking knowledge management in organisations with CRM to try to enhance operational and strategic efficiencies (Xu, 2005 , Pp. 955 956). Thus, hospitality organisations and businesses must not only try to use CRM implementations effectively, but it must also be ensured that the right CRM implementation is serving an organisation by capturing the right data to perform the right analysis to present the most useful of results. With the passage of time, the lifestyles and preferences of customers change, customers become more demanding, new customers become involved with organisations and the business environment places new demands on businesses. Thus, it is not possible to say that knowledge acquisition for CRM in hospitality will be a once only exercise that will not be required on a continuous basis. A requirement exists for understanding CRM implementations, processes, practices and techniques with a view for making projections for the future to benefit most from this essential and important component of hospitality marketing. 1.2 Rationale for the Study It is important to consider the fundamental reason or reasons serving to account for something, or a statement of reasons when contemplating a research study because such an approach serves to elucidate, the aims of a research project or that which is required to be researched. For this dissertation, rationale for undertaking research into CRM in hospitality industries in Edinburgh is important because this influences the thrust of research into the topic of discussion. Clearly, an understanding of CRM and its implementation is not only of importance to the researcher who intends to make a career in the hospitality management, but it is also important for Edinburgh, Scotland and all destinations with an interest in enlarging and enhancing hospitality and tourism industries. Thus, a research project involving CRM in hospitality will benefit the industry and the place where the research is carried out to present new insights into what hospitality management should aim for in the future. Many of the more successful and ambitious hospitality establishments from around the world have practices in place to manage customer relationships (Lo, 2010, Pp. 139 156) and (Pechruttanamunee, 2008, Pp. 134 142). Not only is it likely that the more traditional forms of CRM will continue to play an important role in the evolution and success of hospitality organizations, but it is also likely that eCRM, which is made possible by advances in computer and communicatio n technologies, will present a new global meaning to marketing for hospitality at a destination. Thus, the right way to deliver, manage and to drive the CRM effort in hospitality will make the difference and is worth researching in depth. 1.3 Significance of the Study An examination of literature available in learned journals and books on the subject suggests that a very large body of published literature is available for CRM in organisations and the number of published research studies on CRM in hospitality is increasing. However, although a keen interest exists in Edinburgh and Scotland for promoting and further enhancing the hard won competitive advantage in hospitality and tourism for this city, little is available in terms of what role CRM plays in hospitality industries in Scotland and how better, more effective CRM strategies may be implemented for greater success. Thus, it is likely that this study will not only serve to add to the knowledge about CRM in hospitality, but it will also serve to highlight and to emphasise the importance of CRM in the hospitality industries of Edinburgh and Scotland. It is very likely that an effort to examine CRM practices and implementations in the hospitality industry in Edinburgh will present new insights and ideas that will be use to all with an interest in the management of hospitality and tourism. 1.4 Purpose and Research Questions The following research questions are of interest in the research presented for this dissertation: What is the thrust of CRM strategies in the hospitality industries of Edinburgh? What impact has CRM made on the hospitality industries in Edinburgh and is it possible to improve or to innovate further? What are the critical factors that influence deployment, development, planning and implementation of CRM in the hospitality industry in Edinburgh? What role does technology play in the delivery and implementation of CRM in the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? How has CRM shaped the corporate culture and vision for the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? What rewards has CRM presented to the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? How has CRM influenced the design and delivery of competitive and superior services for the hospitality sector in Edinburgh? What essential framework for the implementation of CRM has emerged in the hospitality sector for Edinburgh? What is the alignment that characterises CRM success for hospitality industries and businesses in Edinburgh? A literature review that attempts to examine and to present relevant perspectives on the importance of CRM in hospitality industries is in the next chapter. Chapter 2 Review of Relevant Literature and Research In the tourism and hospitality industries in general and the hotel industry in particular, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) becomes important as travellers become more price sensitive, less brand loyal and more sophisticated (Sigala, 2005, Pp. 391 392). In the present day and age, information technologies have made it possible for shoppers to make instant comparisons between hospitality and tourism offerings on websites and this means that it is important to implement CRM efforts to ret to retain customers and to provide them with better than what the competitors offer. The hotel industry around the world in particular is experiencing increased globalisation, competition, higher customer turnover, growing customer acquisition costs and rising customer expectations not only because the financial recession and competition but also because prospective customers can quickly make comparisons. Depending on the nature of hospitality business in which an organisation is involved, proc esses for automated data collection and analysis for influencing engagement with the customers are possible. Ryals (2001, Pp. 531 535) states that CRM in hospitality and service industries is important because efforts directed towards trying to enhance customer relationships pay in terms of offsetting high customer acquisition costs for those customers that use certain types of service offerings frequently. After covering acquisition costs, a stream of profit flows emerges for the previously mentioned customer and the longer a customer stays with a hospitality firm, the higher the profit. Thus, CRM helps to offset acquisition costs and to generate higher profits. In addition, the return from CRM increases even further when satisfied customers refer other potential customers who add to the bottom line for an organisation. Because efforts to develop a relationship with customers have generally positive effects on customers, a relationship with a hospitality organisation has a value for customers who associate with a brand to become price insensitive. The impact of efforts to enhance CRM in hospitality organisations are likely to result in the following (Ryals, 2001, Pp. 535): Long-term retention of selected customers Gathering and integrating information on customers An emphasis on data mining and analysis of customer data An emphasis on customer segmentation in terms of lifetime value Identification and micro-segmentation of markets for types of offerings Efforts towards enhanced customer value creation An emphasis on the delivery of customer value through channels optimised for serving various market segments A shift in emphasis from management of product portfolios to the management of portfolios of customers, resulting in efforts directed towards optimising an organisation to serve better customer segments Sigala (2005, Pp. 409 410) goes further to suggest that profound change in service marketing, including marketing for hospitality and tourism, demands that an emphasis exist for customer retention, customisation of products and customer focused processes that incorporate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for collecting and processing customer data. Processed data is required to deliver customer insights, superior customer relationships and design of superior products and services. The previously mentioned author suggests an integration of ICT, knowledge management and CRM for hotels and the hospitality industry. However, CRM can and does exist in small hospitality and tourism establishments without the implementation of elaborate ICT applications, and it is important to try to have a good fit between the CRM implementation and the business. It is important to understand that with a good fit, the integrated CRM system will present opportunities for improving staff skil ls, competencies, the working environment and services in addition to enhancing customer relationships. The advent of e-commerce has meant that online intermediaries on the web present a threat to hospitality operators because although such intermediaries do present opportunities to customers to select after comparing a number of offerings, they do not always correctly depict the true value of offerings (OConner, 2004, Pp. 474 476). By implementing CRM efforts, hospitality establishments are in direct contact with customers and they can try to sell the value of their offerings to customers with a personal touch that is missing with online intermediaries. To illustrate the point, it is possible to suggest that by mailing a hotel magazine to selected customers who qualify, it will be possible for a hotel to keep customers informed about developments and at the same time to offer new or discounted products to try to maintain and enhance customer interest. In the age of Internet and the World Wide Web, post visit presentations, including magazines or other advertising literature from hosp itality establishments will neither be expensive to deliver nor late in a fast changing world full of new developments. CRM in the hospitality industry has the potential for reducing marketing expenditure and for increasing sales, but it is important to ensure that potential data-ownership dilemmas are in control so that CRM can work optimally at the brand level (OConner, 2004, Pp. 480 481). Effective data mining using artificial intelligence and sophisticated statistical techniques for data analysis on warehoused data is important for CRM, especially for the large hospitality organisations. However, the previously mentioned author suggests that the regional proliferation of Internet and interest in web-based interactions determines how effective eCRM will be when focusing on a region. The developed world with a more prolific proliferation of the Internet is far more suited to eCRM compared to regions in the developing world with limited access to ICT. In addition, large multinatio nal hotel chains must practice and present effective knowledge sharing for international hotel joint ventures (Magnini, 2008, Pp. 249 252). Hence, clearly CRM implementations in hospitality present both risks and opportunities. OConner (2004, Pp. 482) states that the hospitality industry spends millions of dollars on information technology acquisitions every year, but not much published material exists about the management of acquired information technology resources. According to Ozgener (2006, Pp. 1356 1358), senior management commitment and adequate budgets are important for CRM implementations in the hospitality industries. CRM implementations in the small and medium hospitality firms are likely to feel the effects of innovation quality, customer relations, communication-distribution infrastructure and business dynamics. Business dynamics, which refers to change imposed on businesses due to economic, social, technological and environmental change, is important for CRM because it is such change that demands new offerings from businesses to retain customers in the face of competition. Although the smaller hospitality firms will have less to spend on CRM, they are likely to be more interested in having CRM systems because existing customers are far more important to the smaller businesses compared to the larger ones. Thus, within the context of the hospitality industries existing in a city or a region, CRM implementation within small and large h ospitality businesses may vary, depending on the peculiarities of the place. The previously mentioned, together with barriers for the implementation of CRM in hospitality, is likely to be something that will be worth investigating in the small-scale research project for the importance of CRM in Edinburgh. In addition, the more important goals for implementing CRM in hospitality are also worth investigating because the relative reasons for an interest in CRM are likely to differ. It is possible to use CRM systems in hospitality firms for decreasing costs, sustaining competitive advantage, improving customer services, improving customer retention, acquiring new customers or for increasing profits. However, the relative priority reasons for CRM implementation may vary from firm to firm. Oronsky (2007, Pp. 944) suggests that CRM implementations in hospitality industries are not just limited to hotels, resorts, airlines or travel agencies because it is possible for restaurants to benefit from such implementations and a strategic thrust for CRM. The previously mentioned author suggests that chain restaurants and independent full-service restaurants may benefit from information technology and CRM implementations that effectively use IT for engaging customers and better understanding their needs. Within the restaurant sector, information technology has made an impact on the dining experience of customers and the way in which meals are prepared, even though according to the previously mentioned authors, some researchers suggest that the hospitality industry is not technology oriented. However, it is clear that if information technology for implementing CRM systems can benefit large hotel chains, then there is no reason why the same technology cannot benefit chain restaura nts. Oronsky (2007, Pp. 942) states that within the restaurant industry, information technology has the potential for minimising costs, providing support for superior employee and revenue management, enabling analysis of customer preferences and optimising menus for target costs that will appeal more to customers. Thus, despite reservations expressed by some researchers about hospitality not being a technology industry, other researchers suggest that it is likely that more than 50% of the change that will have an impact food service within the hospitality sector will involve technology influences. Thus, it is clear that a potential exists for using information technology and CRM systems within the food service sector in hospitality organisations. According to Oronsky (2007, Pp. 944), customer feedback and analysis of customer needs is as important for restaurants as it is for any other hospitality operation. Like hotels, airlines and tour operators, restaurants too can engage customers using websites and receive comments, feedback, suggestions or survey results presented on the web. For large restaurant chains, it is possible to implement systems for deciding about how well menu items are doing across the entire chain, and it is possible to enhance customer relationships by using imaginative ways, including deal offerings, special promotions, joint offerings with other businesses or offerings related to food events, etc. Thus, clearly technology facilitates information management, knowledge management and engagement with the customer even in the food service sector. In the business environment that prevails today, CRM is as important for airlines as it is for other hospitality industries because serving and having the customer counts and influences the bottom line (Cheng, 2008, Pp. 487 490). CRM is likely to make a difference for airlines in their effort to retain and attract the frequent flyers because relationship marketing emphasises maintaining long-lasting relationships with customers and a significant proportion of airline customers, even during the tough economic times, are business travellers who fly more frequently than tourists do. Thus, it is clear that the character of airline service offers many opportunities for practicing the relationship marketing approach and many airlines do maintain frequent flyer databases that are useful for deciding about customer requirements and for engaging the customer. Because airline operations present a substantial dependence on computers and information technology for reservation systems, schedulin g and maintenance activities, it is quite possible to incorporate effectively CRM implementations as an addition to existing information technology support systems. For airline CRM that delivers results, it is important to ascertain what keeps customers loyal to airlines and how airlines can respond better to offerings presented by competitors (Cheng, 2008, Pp. 488 489). Loyal customers do appreciate rewards for patronage by loyal customers if airlines present competitively priced offerings that are comparable in quality to offerings from competitors. Although, it is very likely that the touch, the thoughtfulness, benefits and the effort will count in CRM for airlines, customers must be satisfied with the price for quality and type of service offerings. Thus, enrolling customers in frequent flyer programs is not a guarantee of customer loyalty because service quality and service recovery policies in case of service disruption are important for frequent flyers. Clearly, a frequent flyer is likely to prefer an airline that checks them into a decent hotel and presents meals instead of leaving them to wait it out in a departure lounge if a substant ial flight delay persists. A balance must exist between rewards for frequent flyers with the care that airlines can offer to such customers who must constantly be on the move to attend to important business matters. In the present day and age, the digital market on the World Wide Web made possible by the Internet is important for airlines, and it is important that airlines lean closer to their customers to try to cut off agents and other intermediaries. In addition, the previously mentioned author suggests that airlines need to emphasise customer orientation, domain expertise, interpersonal relationships, service recovery performance and the judicious use of information technology to make an impact with customers that will result in superior relationship quality. From a customer perspective, domain orientation or the quality of offerings made by an airline and the quality of its employees are of the greatest importance to customers and this means that it is important to tune the CRM system for presenting superior offerings that benefit customers most. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The chapter, which follows, presents a discussion about the methodology for this dissertation. Chapter 3 Methodology / Methods Used 3.1 Research Approach for the Thesis 3.2 Preparation of a Literature Review Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Discussion A discussion about the conclusions derived from the results of the literature review and the interviews are in the next chapter. Chapter 6 Conclusion, Recommendations and Suggestions for Further Work Appendix A (This page intentionally left blank)

Fashsion Statement :: essays research papers

Fashion Statement There are many reasons why we choose to wear a particular article or style of clothing. Many of us consider our choice in clothing as an extension of our identity; while many others pick items from their wardrobe that reflect their current mood. There are also many times when we choose to dress a certain way in anticipation of being in a particular social setting. When someone decides what to wear they need to keep in mind what messages will they be sending to the gazing eyes. Sometimes we forget or don’t realize, that we are sending both true and false message through our clothes. I am a calm, casual, musician however my clothes do not reflect this. To start, I am wearing skateboard shoes, fat toe-end and fat tongue, rather bulky. They are black except for the gum sole, and the logo on the tongue is golden. The golden logo is hidden by the cuffs of my black, neatly creased Dickies work pants. My pants fit nicely, not tight and not baggy. Holding my pants up is a black casual clamp belt, about an inch tall, with a small rectangular silver buckle. My belt is occasionally being revealed by my un-tucked, youth large, blue, button-up, collared t-shirt. The shirt is a basic plaid design, with a thin vertical line for every thick horizontal line and visa versa. Resting on parts of my shoulders and back is my surfer, guitarist length (about 8 inches long), brown, wavy hair parted down the center. Lastly, sitting backwards on my head, are my sleek, solid black Spy sunglasses. Spy is a company that makes sunglasses for the surfer, coastal alike. These clothes were not acquired in any special way, nothing more or less ordinary than anyone else. I tend to shop at stores that sell surf and skate brand clothing. These brands include Billabong, Quicksilver, Split, Osiris, Dickies, and many similar brands. Stores that sell these brands are found almost everywhere, but I tend to spend most of money at Tilly’s and Chick’s. When others decide what outfit to wear, they are making a statement on how they feel or how they would like to feel. For example, they may wear clothes that make them feel sexy, strong, smart, professional, relaxed, or powerful. The ways I feel in my clothes are relaxed and casual. I don’t feel either over or under dressed for any particular occasion.

Article About Advantage Phone in School

According to a 2008 study by the Pew Research Center, 75 percent of teenagers ages 12 to 17 own a mobile phone and use that phone for daily communication through talking and text messaging. Although mobile phones may be a distraction in schools, there are many advantages to teenagers keeping and using their mobile phones–among them a number of educational and informational smartphone applications and the ability to pinpoint a missing teenager's location via GPS tracking.One of the biggest advantages to a teenager having a mobile phone is the ability to call an emergency service in case of an accident or a towing service in case of a tire blowout while driving. According to the 2008 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 75 percent of Americans claim to have used their mobile phones in emergency situations. Emergency agencies also support the use of mobile phones during an emergency by urging people to add the letters ICE (for â€Å"in case of emergency†) in front o f certain names in their mobile phone directory to designate who should be called in case of an emergency.Many new phones also include GPS location technology, allowing parents to pinpoint the location of their teens or to locate lost or stolen phones. Smartphones allow teenagers to keep in touch not only with their friends, but also with family members, schools and emergency services. Facebook and other social media applications allow for instant updates on a teenager's status, and mobile phones have revolutionized long-distance communication by including long-distance calling options in their service plans.The ability to send instant text messages is an added advantage, though it should be avoided while driving. According to the Pew Research Center's 2008 study, an estimated 88 percent of teenage mobile phones users use their phones to connect through text messaging. Smartphones enable teenagers and college students alike to download course lectures, lesson plans and other applica tions designed to aid in education.Many applications provide books in digital format, much like a Kindle, while other applications, such as the USA Today or the New York Times app, condense every aspect of the print newspaper so it fits in the palm of a teenager's hand. In addition, a number of informational and educational podcasts, as well as classes recorded in podcast format, are available for instant download to most smartphones. main idea 1. Cell Phones as an Aid in Emergency Situations * ability to call an emergency service in case of an accident or a towing service include GPS location technology, allowing parents to pinpoint the location of their teens or to locate lost or stolen phones. 2. Cell Phones as a Means to Connect * allow teenagers to keep in touch not only with their friends, but also with family members, schools and emergency services. 3. Cell Phones as Wellness and Educational Tools * enable teenagers and college students alike to download course lectures, less on plans and other applications designed to aid in education.

Child aimed reviews in the media Essay

My review is aimed generally at teenagers, the ‘Top Of The Pops’ article is based at early teenagers, although it is obvious that children of a younger age will read it. The purpose of the reviews are purely to entertain, but also to promote the band. This is done by using emotive and persuasive language. When i looked at real reviews from ‘Top Of The Pops’ i noticed that every review that was printed was in the favour of the band, using strong adjectives like ‘energetic’, and ‘deep’ in the bands favor. Whereas the review from ‘Kerrang’ (a magazine for teenagers who’s style of music is not mainstream) showed strong adjectives against the band such as ‘Nothing inspirational’. The reviews are aimed at teenagers but regarding the fact that younger people than teenagers are bound to read the magazine, this is because younger children want to look, and seem older. The article aimed at the ‘Times’ supplement is aimed at an age significantly higher than that of both reviews this is around the age of eighteen plus. The purpose of the article is one to entertain, and two to inform about the history of the band (Coldplay). When i looked at an example of an article from the times supplement it became clear that the in-house style had a very concentrated taste of music and they would be very particular about the things they would say about a band. I tried to make this clear in my piece by adding quotes and opinions from NME such as â€Å"The ideal debut album. Very Nick Drake. Very English†. The formality of the reviews in comparison with the article show big differences. The reviews use colloquialisms such as â€Å"same old†, â€Å"basically† and â€Å"might as well†. I think this is to create a relaxed atmosphere e. g. â€Å"Stand back Westlife†¦.. Pheobus Apollo is in town†. as the piece is aimed at teenagers and teenagers will understand a less formal format, and relaxed style of language. The review uses mild jokes to also create a relaxed atmosphere The review uses some incomplete sentences, for example â€Å"Great to finally see some good Brit rock again† whereas the article only uses incomplete sentences in quotes/statements for example † Very Nick. Very English†. The main text does not uses incomplete sentences. Both of the reviews use personal pronouns, for example in kerrang â€Å"you might as well†. In the article from the times supplement use less personal pronouns to keep up the formality of the piece, also to make the article more formal i wrote in the third person. Because i thought the review was to entertain (and to inform) i used exclamative sentences and declarative sentences, with the article i used predominantly declarative sentences as it was all basically informing. The reviews use proper nouns like band names; Blink 182, Finch, and Staind, when assuming that the reader will already know the band names, they also use personal pronouns to get this effect. This is to create a relationship with the reader, the reader will feel involved in the text because they will recognise the references to bands and this makes it exclusive. The times article uses proper nouns but assumes that the reader will have to have some of it explained for example â€Å"Coldplay released their first elf funded EP Safety†. The article also makes lots of references to time; dates, months and years. This is used to provide the impression that the writer has researched properly. The layout of the review is based on the reviews that i have looked at in Top Of The Pops and Kerrang, they were all in columns, but this has no relevance to linguistic language features. Both pieces use a lot of Jargon that is within the lexical field of music (in general) and bands. From the review this included â€Å"two chord, punk, Westlife, Finch, and album†. From the article the words include â€Å"acoustic, guitar, EP, Grammys, and charts†. The difference here between the two pieces is that the reviews assumes that the reader already knows the lexis, but the article gives extra information for the reader. Regarding this both articles do use brackets (to provide additional information). I carried out a smog test on the reviews article so i could compare the reading age and level of each piece. I found that both the reviews have a reading age of fourteen which suggests that the language used is relatively simple and easy. The article’s reading age was at the older age of eighteen, this indicates that the words used (and the language in general) is much more sophisticated than that of the review.

French Passive Constructions

French Passive Constructions Passive constructions are those in which a verbs action is performed on the subject, rather than the subject performing the action as in active (normal) constructions. The passive voice is the most common French passive construction, but there are a couple of others to watch out for as well. Other French Passive Constructions Passive Infinitive: Even though the French infinitive translates as to verb, the French infinitive sometimes needs to be preceded by a preposition. This is the case with the passive infinitive, which is commonly used with indefinite and negative words, such as Il ny a rien manger - Theres nothing to eat.Passive Reflexive: In the passive reflexive construction, a normally non-reflexive verb is used reflexively in order to express the passive nature of the action, as in Ça se voit - Thats obvious.Reflexive Causative: The reflexive causative (se faire infinitive) indicates something that happens to the subject, either per someone elses implied action or wish or unintentionally. Passive Reflexive in Detail In French (and English) it is preferable to avoid the passive voice. French has numerous constructions which are commonly used in place of the passive voice, one of which is the passive reflexive. The French passive reflexive is used in place of the passive voice in order to avoid naming the agent of a verb. The passive reflexive is formed with a noun or pronoun, then the reflexive pronoun se, and finally the appropriate verb conjugation (third-person singular or plural). In essence, this construction uses a non-reflexive verb reflexively in order to demonstrate the passive nature of the action. The literal translation of the French passive reflexive (something does something to itself) is strange to English ears, but its important to recognize this construction and understand what it actually means. Ça se voit. - Thats obvious.Ça saperà §oit peine. - Its hardly noticeable.Cela ne se dit pas. -  That isnt said.Ce livre se lit souvent. - This book is often read.Comment se prononce ce mot  ?  - How is this word pronounced?Comment à §a sà ©crit  ? (informal) - How is that spelled?Un homme sest rencontrà © hier. - A man was found yesterday.Un coup de tonnerre sest entendu. - A crash of thunder was heard.Les mà »res ne se vendent pas ici. - Blackberries are not sold here.Ce produit devrait sutiliser quotidiennement. - This product should be used daily.