Self Exploration

Many of us go through life skimming the surface of our identities. That is, we don’t truly dig deeply into our thoughts, feelings, desires and dreams. Part of the problem is that we’re always on the go. When to-do lists keep swelling, self-exploration takes a backseat. How can it not, when we barely find time for self-care? Specifically, self-exploration involves â€Å"taking a look at your own thoughts, feelings, behaviors and motivations and asking why. It’s looking for the roots of who we are — answers to all the questions we have about [ourselves],† according to Ryan Howes, Ph. D, psychologist, writer and professor in Pasadena, California. Having a deeper understanding of ourselves has many benefits. It â€Å"helps people understand and accept who they are and why they do what they do, which improves self-esteem, communication and relationships,† he said. ————————————————- Here, Howes discusses how he helps clients explore their own identities, the potential challenges that can hamper self-exploration and the strategies readers can try at home. The process of exploring yourself is a meticulous one and takes determination and focus to accomplish. It means becoming aware of what’s important to you and understanding yourself, i. e. your values, interests, aptitudes, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. It is also a way to gain knowledge of what is a good fit or match for your personality type. Before you can explore the world of work or a career, you must first understand yourself. Start by asking yourself questions: â€Å"What do I want to do? † â€Å" What are my goals, dreams and ambitions? † Self-exploration is looking inside yourself and concentrating and focusing on you, your needs, and your future†¦not mom’s, dad’s, or your friends. This is not to say that what others have to say isn’t important. On the contrary, hear them out, but ultimately this important decision is yours. After all, you know you better than anyone else, even mom. This process of self-exploration may seem a little lame, but this is the foundation that makes good decisions great! Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can make all the difference! If you take the time to know yourself, or at least evaluate yourself, you will have a truer sense of what’s good for you, or should I say, better for you. Many people never take into consideration whether the career/job they’ve chosen is something that they are going to enjoy doing, whether it’s going to meet their needs professionally and/or personally. Many are just glad to have a job that pays decent wages. Yes, finances are important, but ultimately it’s more important to be happy. If you are not satisfied in your job it will eventually affect your work, your level of commitment to the job, those you work for and even your personal life. If you enjoy what you are doing, believe in it and you know why you chose to do it, you will tend to be more committed to it, better at it, and you’ll work harder to do it well. This commitment, this strong work ethic is what aims us towards achieving greatness. If we are happy, we look towards the future with determination, ambition, and goals. If we are just getting by in our job, could care less about whether we get the job done or even whether we come to work at all, we tend to wallow in our misery. We do more looking back at what could have been or should have been, and can only see the future as more of the same dissatisfaction. Success requires taking an active role in the growth and development of our personal and professional life. One way to get started figuring out who you are and what you want in life is to begin by evaluating your academic exposure. Look at the courses you’ve taken: both the ones' you liked and disliked. Of the classes you liked, what did you enjoy most about the subject? What made you dislike some of the courses? Why didn’t that class appeal to you? Does the class provide you with something that you can develop into a career? Next, consider what’s really important to you; things you value, interests you may have, skills and abilities you possess. Take some time and think about what you might need in order to be happy and ultimately successful in your job/career. For example, a few things to consider might be salary, geographic location, job autonomy, work hours, and professional growth opportunities, to name a few. Which ones of these, and/or others, are most significant; things that would make an obvious difference in whether we would enjoy our job/career? If you don’t take the time to consider who you are and what you want, you won’t know what you are looking for. You need to be aware that no job/career is going to be perfect and meet all of your expectations. But if you at least think about which things are more vital to your happiness and aim for those, you can come pretty close to what you want. Think about the skills and abilities you may have that you would like to utilize in your chosen profession (i. e. leadership, helping others, mathematical ability, creativity, communication, etc. Which careers give you more of an opportunity to express yourself and be yourself? Many people make the mistake of assuming that they can and will do just about anything for the right amount of money. Well let me assure you that this is only partially true. In the beginning, the money may seem like enough to sustain your job satisfaction and happiness, but soon everyone realizes that money alone is only a temporary fix. If you donâ₠¬â„¢t really like what you are doing, or like where you work, you won’t be happy and the money won’t ever be enough. Another way to assess your interests might be to consider careers that you may have already been exposed to through friends, family members or previous part-time and summer jobs, and even volunteer opportunities or internships. Talk to any persons you can find who may be doing something you think that you want to do, or have thought about doing. Really pick their brains about why they chose that profession, what do they like or dislike about their jobs, what’s a typical day like on the job for them? This is called informational interviewing. Also, draw from your own experiences about what it may be like to work full-time. What kind of supervisor would you prefer; do you prefer flexible or set work hours; do you like being in a leadership role, etc.? The best way to answer some of these questions is through an internship or co-op. If you have not considered an internship or co-op before, please do. Cooperative education and internships add meaning to the academic experience. Both offer the student the opportunity to gain practical experience. At the same time students can identify career interests and goals and relate them to academic endeavors. Most people believe that you don’t need to be concerned about figuring out who you are and what you want to do until you’re just about ready to graduate. Yes, this is one way to do it, but why wait until the last minute. You may realize that what you thought you wanted to do really doesn’t appeal to you at all. Self-exploration should be done early and often, as early as your junior year in high school, and at least once a year thereafter. The sooner you start to think about your future, the better prepared you’ll be for it. If you didn’t go this route, it’s still not too late to catch up. Find a career counselor on your campus and get started. There is often a certain amount of fear that goes along with making decisions about one's future. D. J. Parson, an Appalachian State University sophomore, stated, â€Å"When I first arrived, I didn’t have any idea how to get started choosing a major, not to mention what I was going to do with that major when I finished school. After I met with a career counselor and discovered a few things about myself, for example, what motivates me, things started to click and I was able to move forward. D. J. is not alone in his dilemma. As a career counselor, I encounter numerous students who are confused about how to go about making effective career decisions. Many are paralyzed by the mere thought they have to make decisions themselves for the first time. Their parents or someone else has always performed this role and now it’s their turn. Students are generally all over the map when it comes to decision-making. Some student s want to do it all, while others aren’t sure they want to do anything. They haven’t found their passion. I once had a student tell me, â€Å" If I can’t figure out exactly what to do, I’ll just stay in school longer; there is always graduate school. † One thing to realize is that figuring out who you are and what you want takes time and a lot of effort on your part. Through examining what you’ve enjoyed doing, what things come easily or naturally to you, what gives you motivation, what peaks your interests etc. , you will begin to put the puzzle pieces together. Bit by bit you will see a pattern developing. Next, realize that you can do just about anything you want and you can do more than one thing; you just can’t do it all at once. If you like lots of things and can’t seem to eliminate any of them, then your task is to select which thing you would like to do first and move on to the next at a later time until you have accomplished all that you want. The most important thing to remember is that nothing is 100 percent guaranteed. Life is about change and career planning and self-exploration are lifelong processes. You don’t just make a decision today and expect that you’ll be completely satisfied with that choice for the rest of your life. You will grow, experience things and meet different people. As society grows and technology develops, so will your interests change, grow and redevelop. Expect it; that’s life! However, this doesn’t mean that the choices you make today are worthless. They too will play an important role in your future. You will be able to draw on these experiences to help you assess yourself later when you want to consider new options, goals, and dreams. Sometimes, the task of putting all the pieces together can be a bit overwhelming and you may need to seek assistance from more experienced and knowledgeable resources. Three sources I recommend are your career counselor, your academic advisor and the Internet. Your career counselor is the most experienced of the three sources. A career counselor will be able to offer you not only his/her expertise through one-on-one counseling and advising, but also many more tools to uncover your true self. Counselors can provide career-specific library resources such as books and videos about certain college majors, careers within those majors, and companies that seek to hire graduates of those majors. In addition, career counselors provide career interest testing such as the Strong Interest Inventory, the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, the Self Directed Search, and the Kuder Occupational Orientation. There are also computerized career guidance programs such as SIGIPLUS, DISCOVER, and Career Key. All of these indicators help gauge your personality and interests, and compare them with others who are already in the field. A career counselor will then sit down with you and interpret the test results. Looking at the similarities of interests in different fields and types of careers, your career counselor will be able to show you many different options beyond the obvious ones you may have never considered, or even thought existed. Your academic advisor is another important source to consult about college majors and courses, as well as jobs related to the field. An academic advisor can help guide you through your four years of undergraduate study and help you stay focused on the courses needed to fulfill the requirements of your selected major. Lastly, another wonderful resource is the Internet. It can be a bit overwhelming with the amount of information readily available at your fingertips. You can query an occupation on the Internet and end up with hundreds of pages of information to help you better understand that occupation and many others. You can research job openings, internships, co-ops, and even scholarships, grants and loans for college financial assistance, etc. Here are some helpful tips to remember: * Remember to begin your exploration by taking a good look at you. Accept the challenge to understand yourself and to like who you’ve become, or the person you aspire to be. * ————————————————- Ask yourself questions and take the time to find the real answers. Self discovery was a process I thought I had already been through. But when faced with the question, â€Å"Who am I? † it proved to be a lot harder to put into words than one would think. I believe that I have a good sense of who I am, but translating it into words was a struggle for me. I consider myself to be a very concrete thinker. So, the translation of who I am into words tended to come out as cold and rigid. Words like brash, concrete, smart, and loyal seemed like a big â€Å"thud† on paper. At first I thought, am I really that boring and cold? Which then brings to question, is this really who I am? The following is my best attempt to put myself into words. I’m going to attempt to lighten up those rigid words I came up with to describe me and try to explain why I chose these words. Hopefully these explanations will bring life to them. The first word is brash and is defined as â€Å"offensively bold. †    You can either like me or not. I am strong-willed individual who does not take disrespect from anyone. I can defend myself in most situations. I can most often times convince others that I am right. I know how to think critically and make sound decisions when others fail to. I believe the second and third words go together in explanation for me. The second word is concrete and when used as an adjective, is defined as, â€Å"capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary.    The third word is smart and, also, when used as an adjective, is defined as, â€Å"characterized by quickness and ease in learning. †    I have the ability to sort through the â€Å"fluff† and get to the facts so I can make a good decision or form a strong opinion. I can make others question their own opinions or beliefs by flooding them with facts and evidence. In this way I am very persuasive a nd convincing. The final word is loyal. It is used to describe people of â€Å"unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause. † When it comes to those I love, I†¦

Active Transport – Essay

Active transport: requires that a cell expend energy to move molecules across a membrane against the solute’s concentration gradient (the side where it is more concentrated) Feedback inhibition: Metabolic reaction is blocked by its products. A product acts as an inhibitor of one of the enzymes in the pathway to regulate metabolism. Centriole: a structure in an animal cell composed of microtubule triplets arranged in a 9+0 pattern. An animal usually has a pair of centrioles within each of its centrosomes. Chloroplasts: photosynthesizing organelles of all photosynthetic eukaryotes. Competitive inhibition: resembles the enzyme’s normal substrate and competes with the substrate for the active site on the enzyme. Countercurrent exchange: the transfer of a substance from a fluid or volume of air moving in one direction to another fluid or volume of air moving in the opposite direction Cytochrome system: The cytochrome system is found in the many cristae of mitochondria, which are tiny stalked particles found on its outer layer. Degradative: The reduction of a chemical Compound to one less complex, as by splitting off one or more groups. Degeneration Elucidate: to make clear Entropy: amount of disorder in a system Enzyme: protein that serves as a biological catalyst changing the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed into a different molecule in the process Enzyme Catalysis: lowers activation energy Exergonic reaction: reactions that yield products that are rich in potential energy. Energy is absorbed form the surroundings as the reaction. Energy is stored in the covalent bonds of the product molecules. Facilitated diffusion: Use of specific transport proteins to move substances down the concentration gradient. Type of passive transport, does not require energy. Rate depends on number of transport proteins. 1st law of Thermodynamics: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted. Glycocalyx: extracellular polymeric material (glycoprotein)[1] produced by some bacteria, epithelia and other cells. The slime on the outside of a fish is considered a glycocalyx Golgi apparatus: an organelle in eukaryotic cells consisting of stacks of membranous sacs that modify store and ship products of the endoplasmic reticulum. Spontaneous reactions: no input of net energy, release of energy. Hypertonic: a solution with a higher solute concentration than the cell Hypotonic: a solution with a solute concentration lower than that of the cell. Inhibitor: stop the binding of a substrate, competitively or noncompetitively, or through feedback-products. Isotonic: The solute concentration of a cell and the isotonic environment are equal. Light microscope: passes visible light through a specimen. Glass bends light to magnify image, living organism. 1000 times Lipid bilayer: fat molecules, hydrophilic heads face outward, exposed to water on both sides of the membrane. Hydrophilic heads point in, shielded from water. Selectively permeable polar or not. Lysosomes: contain digestive( hydrolytic) enzymes enclosed in a sack, break down things, recycling centers, damaged cells, destroys cells. Micrometer: 10-6 of a meter Microtubules: straight hollow tubes composed of globular proteins =called tubulins. Elongate by adding subunits consisting of tubulin pairs. Readily disassembled, provide rigidity and shape. Anchorage for organelles and as tracks for organelle movement within a cytoplasm. Mitochondria: Organelles that carry out cellular respiration in nearly al eukaryotic cells, convert the chemical energy of foods to chemical energy ATP: Mitochondrial density: The increase in mitochondrial density is associated with an increase in the duration one can perform endurance exercise and the ability to spare total body glycogen stores (Fittz et al. , 1975). Generally, more lipids are used to generate ATP as a result of the increased mitochondrial density in response to exercise Nucleolus (nucleoli): Building blocks of ribosomes and RBA messenger ribosomes to amino acid sequences in proteins. Oxidation (catalase): oxygen and other molecules, hydrogen peroxide is broken down with a catalase to create water and oxygen. Passive transport: the diffusion of a substance across a biological membrane. Oxygen, co2 in lungs. No energy needed. Peroxisomes: These are tiny circular membrane bound organelles containing a crystal core of enzymes (such as urate oxidase, peroxidase, D- amino oxidase and catalase, example- liver cells and kidney cells). These enzymes are required by peroxisomes in detoxification activity, i. . , in the metabolism or production of mitochondrial or cytosolic reactions. Peroxisomes are also related with beta- oxidation of fatty acids and thermogenesis like the mitochondria and also in degradation of the amino acids. Phagocytosis: â€Å"cellular eating: pinocytosis â€Å"cell drinking† Plasma membrane: individual proteins and phospholipid molecules can drift fluid. Tails in phospholipid, double bonds in unsaturated fatty acid tales-temperature. Surface has carbohydrates bonded to proteins and lipids in membrane. Cell identification, distinguish cells. Plasmodesmata: channels between adjacent plant cells, circulatory and communication system connecting the cell sin plant tissues. Receptor mediated endocytosis: highly specific, plasma membrane indents to form put lined with receptors that puck up particular molecule from surroundings, pinch to form vesicle. Ribosomes: cell organelle consisting of RNA and protein organized into two subunits and functioning as the site of protein synthesis in the cytoplasm. Scanning electron microscope: study detailed architecture of cell surfaces; surface hit with electrons deflects into device to video screen-three dimensional. Sugar vs pasta 8 micrometers Smoother er: network of interconnected tubules-synthesis of lipid, process drugs, detox enzymes-build resistance, stores calcium ions for contraction. Sodium potassium pump: sodium binds to pump, becomes phosphorylated cost of ATp conforms, translocate sodium ions across membrane, low affinity for sodium ions, diffuse. New conforms high affinity for potassium- bound dissociated and reforms to original formation. Transmission electron microscope: used to study the details of internal cell structure-laced with gold, electron beam electromagnets as lenses, bends beam magnify and focus. In the mitochondrial matrix in the mitochondria, cristae increase surface area- better atp production compartmentalization. Light, sun All in eukaryotic cells Ribosomes and centrioles

The Host Chapter 49: Interrogated

I killed Wes. My hands, scratched and bruised and painted with purple dust in the course of the frantic unloading, might as well have been painted red with his blood. Wes was dead, and it was as much my fault as if I'd pulled the trigger myself. All of us but five were gathered in the kitchen now that the truck was unloaded, eating some of the perishables we'd picked up on the final shopping trip-cheese and fresh bread with milk-and listening to Jeb and Doc as they explained everything to Jared, Ian, and Kyle. I sat a little space away from the others, my head in my hands, too numb with grief and guilt to ask questions the way they did. Jamie sat with me. He patted my back now and then. Wes was already buried in the dark grotto beside Walter. He had died four days ago, the night that Jared and Ian and I had sat watching the family in the park. I would never see my friend again, never hear his voice†¦ Tears splashed on the stone beneath me, and Jamie's pats increased in tempo. Andy and Paige were not here. They'd driven the truck and the van back to their hiding places. They would take the jeep from there to its usual rough garage, and then they'd have to walk the rest of the way home. They would be back before sunrise. Lily was not here. â€Å"She's not†¦ doing so well,† Jamie had murmured when he'd caught me scanning the room for her. I didn't want to know any more. I could imagine well enough. Aaron and Brandt were not here. Brandt now bore a smooth, pink, circular scar in the hollow space beneath his left collarbone. The bullet had missed his heart and lungs by a hair and then burrowed halfway through his shoulder blade trying to escape. Doc had used most of the Heal getting it out of him. Brandt was fine now. Wes's bullet had been better aimed. It had pierced his high olive-skinned forehead and blown out the back of his head. There was nothing Doc could have done, even if he'd been right there with them, a gallon of Heal at his disposal. Brandt, who now carried in a holster on his hip a boxy, heavy trophy from the encounter, was with Aaron. They were in the tunnel where we would have stored our spoils if it had not been occupied. If it was not being used as a prison again. As if losing Wes was not enough. It seemed hideously wrong to me that the numbers remained the same. Thirty-five living bodies, just like before I'd come to the caves. Wes and Walter were gone, but I was here. And now so was the Seeker. My Seeker. If I'd just gone straight to Tucson. If I had just stayed in San Diego. If I had just skipped this planet and gone somewhere entirely different. If I'd given myself as a Mother like anyone else would have after five or six planets. If, if, if†¦ If I had not come here, if I had not given the Seeker the clues she needed to follow, then Wes would be alive. It had taken her longer than me to figure them out, but when she did, she didn't have to pursue them with caution. She'd barreled through the desert in an all-terrain SUV, leaving bright new scars across the fragile desert landscape, each pass getting closer. They had to do something. They had to stop her. I had killed Wes. They still would have caught me in the first place, Wanda. I led them here, not you. I was too miserable to answer her. Besides, if we hadn't come here, Jamie would be dead. And maybe Jared, too. He would have died tonight, without you. Death on every side. Death everywhere I looked. Why did she have to follow me? I moaned to myself. I'm not hurting the other souls here, not really. I'm even saving some of their lives by being here, by keeping Doc from his doomed efforts. Why did she have to follow? Why did they keep her? Mel snarled. Why didn't they kill her right away? Or kill her slow-I don't care how! Why is she still alive? Fear fluttered in my stomach. The Seeker was alive; the Seeker was here. I shouldn't have been afraid of her. Of course, it made sense to be afraid that her disappearance would bring the other Seekers down on us. Everyone was afraid of that. Spying on the search for my body, the humans had seen how vocal she was about her convictions. She'd been trying to convince the other Seekers that there were humans hiding in this desert wasteland. None seemed to take her seriously. They had gone home; she was the only one who kept looking. But now she'd vanished in the middle of her search. That changed everything. Her vehicle had been moved far away, left in the desert on the other side of Tucson. It looked as though she'd disappeared in the same way it was believed I had: pieces of her bag left torn nearby, the snacks she'd carried with her chewed open and scattered. Would the other souls accept such a coincidence? We already knew they would not. Not entirely. They were looking. Would the search become more intense? But to be afraid of the Seeker herself†¦ That didn't make much sense. She was physically insignificant, probably smaller than Jamie. I was stronger and faster than she was. I was surrounded by friends and allies, and she, inside these caves at least, was all alone. Two guns, the rifle and her own Glock-the very gun Ian had once envied, the gun that had killed my friend Wes-were trained on her at every moment. Only one thing had kept her alive until now, and it couldn't save her for long. Jeb had thought I might want to talk to her. That was all. Now that I was back, she was condemned to die within hours whether I spoke to her or not. So why did I feel as though I was at the disadvantage? Why this strange premonition that she would be the one to walk away from our confrontation? I hadn't decided if I wanted to talk to her. At least, that was what I'd told Jeb. Without a doubt, I did not want to talk to her. I was terrified to ever see her face again-a face that, no matter how I tried, I could not imagine looking frightened. But if I told them I had no desire for conversation, Aaron would shoot her. It would be like I'd given him the order to fire. Like I'd pulled the trigger. Or worse, Doc would try to cut her out of the human body. I flinched away from the memory of the silver blood smeared all over the hands of my friend. Melanie twisted uneasily, trying to escape the torment in my head. Wanda? They're just going to shoot her. Don't panic. Should this comfort me? I couldn't avoid the imagined tableau. Aaron, the Seeker's gun in his hand; the Seeker's body slowly crumpling to the stone floor, the red blood pooling around her†¦ You don't have to watch. That wouldn't stop it from happening. Melanie's thoughts became a little frantic. But we want her to die. Right? She killed Wes! Besides, she can't stay alive. No matter what. She was right about everything, of course. It was true that there was no way the Seeker could stay alive. Imprisoned, she would work doggedly to escape. Freed, she would quickly be the death of all my family. It was true she had killed Wes. He was so young and so loved. His death left a burning agony in its wake. I understood the claim of human justice that demanded her life in return. It was also true that I wanted her to die. â€Å"Wanda? Wanda?† Jamie shook my arm. It took me a moment to realize that someone had called my name. Perhaps many times already. â€Å"Wanda?† Jeb's voice asked again. I looked up. He was standing over me. His face was expressionless, the blank facade that meant he was in the grip of some strong emotion. His poker face. â€Å"The boys want to know if you have any questions for the Seeker.† I put one hand to my forehead, trying to block the images there. â€Å"If I don't?† â€Å"They're ready to be done with guard duty. It's a hard time. They'd rather be with their friends right now.† I nodded. â€Å"Okay. I guess I'd better†¦ go and see her at once, then.† I shoved myself away from the wall and to my feet. My hands were shaking, so I clenched them into fists. You don't have any questions. I'll think of some. Why prolong the inevitable? I have no idea. You're trying to save her, Melanie accused, full of outrage. There's no way to do that. No. There isn't. And you want her dead anyway. So let them shoot her. I cringed. â€Å"You okay?† Jamie asked. I nodded, not trusting my voice enough to speak. â€Å"You don't have to,† Jeb told me, his eyes sharp on my face. â€Å"It's okay,† I whispered. Jamie's hand wrapped around mine, but I shook it off. â€Å"Stay here, Jamie.† â€Å"I'll come with you.† My voice was stronger now. â€Å"Oh, no, you will not.† We stared at each other for a moment, and for once I won the argument. He stuck his chin out stubbornly but slouched back against the wall. Ian, too, seemed inclined to follow me out of the kitchen, but I stopped him in his tracks with a single look. Jared watched me go with an unfathomable expression. â€Å"She's a complainer,† Jeb told me in a low voice as we walked back toward the hole. â€Å"Not quiet like you were. Always asking for more-food, water, pillows†¦ She threatens a lot, too. The Seekers will get you all!' That kinda thing. It's been hard on Brandt especially. She's pushed his temper right to the edge.† I nodded. This did not surprise me one bit. â€Å"She hasn't tried to escape, though. A lot of talk and no action. Once the guns come up, she backs right down.† I recoiled. â€Å"My guess is, she wants to live pretty dang bad,† Jeb murmured to himself. â€Å"Are you sure this is the†¦ safest place to keep her?† I asked as we started down the black, twisting tunnel. Jeb chuckled. â€Å"You didn't find your way out,† he reminded me. â€Å"Sometimes the best hiding place is the one that's in plain sight.† My answer was flat. â€Å"She's more motivated than I was.† â€Å"The boys're keepin' a sharp eye on her. Nothin' to worry about.† We were almost there. The tunnel turned back on itself in a sharp V. How many times had I rounded this corner, my hand tracing along the inside of the pointed switchback, just like this? I'd never traced along the outside wall. It was uneven, with jutting rocks that would leave bruises and cause me to trip. Staying on the inside was a shorter walk anyway. When they'd first showed me that the V was not a V but a Y-two branches forking off from another tunnel, the tunnel-I'd felt pretty stupid. Like Jeb said, hiding things in plain sight was sometimes the cleverest route. The times I'd been desperate enough to even consider escaping the caves, my mind had skipped right over this place in my speculations. This was the hole, the prison. In my head, it was the darkest, deepest well in the caves. This was where they'd buried me. Even Mel, sneakier than I was, had never dreamed that they'd held me captive just a few paces from the exit. It wasn't even the only exit. But the other was small and tight, a crawl space. I hadn't found that one because I'd walked into these caves standing upright. I hadn't been looking for that kind of tunnel. Besides, I'd never explored the edges of Doc's hospital; I'd avoided it from the beginning. The voice, familiar even though it seemed part of another life, interrupted my thoughts. â€Å"I wonder how you're still alive, eating like this. Ugh!† Something plastic clattered against the rocks. I could see the blue light as we rounded the last corner. â€Å"I didn't know humans had the patience to starve someone to death. That seems like too complex a plan for you shortsighted creatures to grasp.† Jeb chuckled. â€Å"Gotta say, I'm impressed with those boys. Surprised they held up this long.† We turned into the lit dead-end tunnel. Brandt and Aaron, both sitting as far as possible from the end of the tunnel where the Seeker paced, both with guns in their hands, sighed with relief when they saw us approaching. â€Å"Finally,† Brandt muttered. His face was etched in hard lines of grief. The Seeker halted in her pacing. I was surprised to see the conditions she was kept in. She was not stuffed into the tiny cramped hole, but comparatively free, stomping to and fro across the short width of the tunnel. On the floor, against the flat end of the tunnel, were a mat and a pillow. A plastic tray was tilted at an angle against the wall at about the midpoint of the cave; a few jicama roots lay scattered near it with a soup bowl. A little soup was splattered out from where that lay. This explained the clatter I'd just heard-she'd thrown her food. It looked as though she'd eaten most of it first, though. I stared at this relatively humane setup and felt an odd pain in my stomach. Who did we kill? Melanie muttered sullenly. This stung her, too. â€Å"You want a minute with her?† Brandt asked me, and the pain stabbed again. Had Brandt ever referred to me using a feminine pronoun? I wasn't surprised that Jeb had done this for the Seeker, but everyone else? â€Å"Yes,† I whispered. â€Å"Careful,† Aaron cautioned. â€Å"She's an angry little thing.† I nodded. The others stayed where they were. I walked down the tunnel alone. It was hard to lift my eyes, to meet the gaze that I could feel like cold fingers pressing against my face. The Seeker was glaring at me, a harsh sneer twisting her features. I'd never seen a soul use that expression before. â€Å"Well, hello there, Melanie,† she mocked me. â€Å"What took you so long to come visit?† I didn't answer. I walked toward her slowly, trying hard to believe that the hate coursing through my body really did not belong to me. â€Å"Did your little friends think I would talk to you? Spill all my secrets because you carry a gagged and lobotomized soul around in your head, reflecting through your eyes?† She laughed abrasively. I stopped two long strides away from her, my body tensed to run. She made no aggressive move toward me, but I could not relax my muscles. This was not like meeting the Seeker on the highway-I didn't have the usual sensation of safety that I felt around the gentle others of my kind. Again, the strange conviction that she would live long after I was gone swept through me. Don't be ridiculous. Ask her your questions. Have you come up with any? â€Å"So, what do you want? Did you request permission to kill me personally, Melanie?† the Seeker hissed. â€Å"They call me Wanda here,† I said. She flinched slightly when I opened my lips to speak, as if expecting me to shout. My low, even voice seemed to upset her more than the scream she anticipated. I examined her face while she glared at me with her bulging eyes. It was dirty, stained with purple dust and dried sweat. Other than that, there wasn't a mark on it. Again, this gave me an odd ache. â€Å"Wanda,† she repeated in a flat voice. â€Å"Well, what are you waiting for? Didn't they give you the okay? Were you planning to use your bare hands or my gun?† â€Å"I'm not here to kill you.† She smiled sourly. â€Å"To interrogate me, then? Where are your instruments of torture, human?† I cringed. â€Å"I won't hurt you.† Insecurity flickered across her face and then vanished behind her sneer. â€Å"What are they keeping me for, then? Do they think I can be tamed, like your pet soul?† â€Å"No. They just†¦ they didn't want to kill you until they had†¦ consulted me. In case I wanted to talk to you first.† Her lids lowered, narrowing her protruding eyes. â€Å"Do you have something to say?† I swallowed. â€Å"I was wondering†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I only had the same question I'd been unable to answer for myself. â€Å"Why? Why couldn't you let me be dead, like the rest of them? Why were you so determined to hunt me down? I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just wanted†¦ to go my own way.† She leaped up onto her toes, shoving her face toward mine. Someone moved behind me, but I couldn't hear more than that-she was shouting in my face. â€Å"Because I was right!† she shrieked. â€Å"More than right! Look at them all! A vile nest of killers, lurking in wait! Just like I thought, only so much worse! I knew you were out here with them! One of them! I told them there was danger! I told them!† She stopped, panting, and took a step back from me, staring over my shoulder. I didn't look away to see what had made her retreat. I assumed it had something to do with what Jeb had just told me-once the guns come up, she backs right down. I analyzed her expression for a moment as her heavy breathing slowed. â€Å"But they didn't listen to you. So you came for us alone.† The Seeker didn't answer. She took another step back from me, doubt twisting her expression. She looked oddly vulnerable for a second, as if my words had stripped away the shield she'd been hiding behind. â€Å"They'll look for you, but in the end, they never believed you at all, did they?† I said, watching as each word was confirmed in her desperate eyes. It made me very sure. â€Å"So they won't take the search further than that. When they don't find you, their interest will fade. We'll be careful, as usual. They won't find us.† Now I could see true fear in her eyes for the first time. The terrible-to her-knowledge that I was right. And I felt better for my nest of humans, my little family. I was right. They would be safe. Yet, incongruously, I didn't feel any better for myself. I had no more questions for the Seeker. When I walked away, she would die. Would they wait until I was far enough not to hear the shot? Was there anywhere in the caves that was far enough for that? I stared at her angry, fearful face, and I knew how deeply I hated her. How much I never wanted to see that face again for the rest of my lives. The hate that made it impossible for me to allow her to die. â€Å"I don't know how to save you,† I whispered, too low for the humans to hear. Why did that sound like a lie in my ears? â€Å"I can't think of a way.† â€Å"Why would you want to? You're one of them!† But a spasm of hope sparked in her eyes. Jeb was right. All the bluster, all the threats†¦ She wanted very much to stay alive. I nodded at her accusation, a little absently because I was thinking hard and fast. â€Å"But still me,† I murmured. â€Å"I don't want†¦ I don't want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  How to finish that sentence? I didn't want†¦ the Seeker to die? No. That wasn't true. I didn't want†¦ to hate the Seeker? To hate her so much that I wanted her to die. To have her die while I hated her. Almost as if she died because of my hate. If I truly did not want her death, would I be able to think of a way to save her? Was it my hate that was blocking an answer? Would I be responsible if she died? Are you insane? Melanie protested. She'd killed my friend, shot him dead in the desert, broken Lily's heart. She'd put my family in danger. As long as she lived, she was a danger to them. To Ian, to Jamie, to Jared. She would do everything in her power to see them all dead. That's more like it. Melanie approved of this train of thought. But if she dies, and I could have saved her if I'd wanted to†¦ who am I then? You have to be practical, Wanda. This is a war. Whose side are you on? You know the answer to that. I do. And that's who you are, Wanda. But†¦ but what if I could do both? What if I could save her life and keep everyone here safe at the same time? A heavy wave of nausea rolled in my stomach as I saw the answer I'd been trying to believe didn't exist. The only wall I'd ever built between Melanie and me crumbled to dust. No! Mel gasped. And then screamed, NO! The answer I must have known I would find. The answer that explained my strange premonition. Because I could save the Seeker. Of course I could. But it would cost me. A trade. What had Kyle said? A life for a life. The Seeker stared at me, her dark eyes full of venom.

What historically (historical facts) inspired Patrick Henry to write Essay

What historically (historical facts) inspired Patrick Henry to write the speech Give me liberty or give me death - Essay Example One of the reasons for popularity the speech and the folk hero status of its speaker emerges from his firebrand persona – he was not so much an intellectual as he was an impassioned leader of men. For example, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson – prominent founding fathers – were both prolific writers. A compilation of their work brings up a tally of close to hundred volumes. While Washington and Jefferson were also known for their engaging public addresses, it was their writing prowess that would remain as lasting legacy. Patrick Henry, on the other hand, was not part of the pre-independence political establishment in America. He was one among the masses. The popular appeal of the person and his words is attributable to this heritage of Patrick Henry. It is in this context that poet Lord Byron referred to Henry as ‘the forest-born Demosthenes’ (Eddlem, 1990). Henry Stephens Randall, a clergyman, was present during Patrick Henry’s speech. He gives a first-hand account of the atmosphere during the speech. His account is consistent with the widely held view of Patrick Henry being a firebrand orator and an inspirational public speaker. According to Randall, "Henry rose with an unearthly fire burning in his eye. He commenced somewhat calmly, but the smothered excitement began more and more to play upon his features and thrill in the tones of his voice.

The Profiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Profiling - Essay Example PrÐ µjudicÐ µ is a prÐ µmaturÐ µ judgmÐ µnt, no mattÐ µr what thÐ µ contÐ µxt. Body Many think of stÐ µrÐ µotyping as a stratÐ µgy pÐ µoplÐ µ usÐ µ to gÐ µnÐ µralizÐ µ a group of pÐ µoplÐ µ whÐ µn thÐ µy do not havÐ µ communication with or accuratÐ µ information about thÐ µ stÐ µrÐ µotypÐ µd group, for whatÐ µvÐ µr rÐ µason. It is my opinion that profiling would not Ð µxist without stÐ µrÐ µotyping, and that by combating stÐ µrÐ µotyping as a sort of lÐ µast common factor for which morÐ µ Ð µffÐ µctivÐ µ mÐ µans of communication can bÐ µ Ð µstablishÐ µd, pÐ µoplÐ µ will also bÐ µ Ð µngagÐ µd in combating a grÐ µatÐ µr sÐ µnsÐ µ of prÐ µjudicÐ µ. WÐ µ cannot paint all pÐ µoplÐ µ with thÐ µ samÐ µ brush. â€Å"What about thosÐ µ non-Arab, non-South Asians without black or brown skins who arÐ µ bombing apartmÐ µnt buildings, train stations and thÐ µatÐ µrs in Russia. ThÐ µy'vÐ µ takÐ µn down passÐ µngÐ µr jÐ µts, hi jackÐ µd schools and usÐ µd fÐ µmalÐ µ suicidÐ µ bombÐ µrs to a farÐ µ-thÐ µÃ µ-wÐ µll, killing hundrÐ µds and wounding thousands† (King, 2011). In thÐ µ US and UK, pÐ µoplÐ µ havÐ µ sÐ µÃ µn this sort of bigotry Ð µvÐ µr sincÐ µ 9/11, bÐ µing displayÐ µd towards Arabs.

Marketing Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Case Study - Essay Example The IKEA products are often referred as ‘start up furniture’ which is bought by the consumers for their first home. It is due to this reason that the company focuses on income level, age, education etc while targeting the market segment. The market has been segmented in the following manner: Segment Age Group Annual Income Level Psychology Education 1 18 - 25 >$ 34500 This particular age group has a tendency of being driven by social trends. They generally do not possess much knowledge about ethical trading. High school and College (education) 2 26 - 35 $34500 - $ 68000 This age group has knowledge related to ethical trading and they remain ready to purchase quality products by paying high prices. College and masters level (education) 3 36 - 65 >$ 69000 This age group purchases products in order to represent their self image in the peer group. Educational level does not have any influence on the purchasing behaviour of this particular age group. IKEA mainly targets the y oung group with lower income level (Business Today, 2013). The affordable price offerings increase the demand of the company’s products in the market. The college students those who belong to the young generation cover wide target market for the company as it mainly consists of those individuals who are planning to purchase furniture for 1st time. Another target segment set by IKEA on the basis of demography is the family life cycle. The company targets new families who require furniture for filling their houses but do not have high money to spend for this purpose. IKEA always provides quality products and services to these young families and they provide stores which are entirely environment friendly. The stores have specially designed playing area where the parents can keep their children at the time of shopping in order to complete it in a peaceful manner. The company targets those customers who want high value for their money invested and opt for quality products with com paratively cheap prices. Thus from the above table, target segments 1 and 2 are the target segments for IKEA. Answer 4 PESTEL Analysis Pestel analysis would help in the environmental scanning of IKEA (Lorat, 2009). Political The level of consumer taxation and corporate tax which is regulated by the political authorities of any particular country has an effect on the after-tax income of any corporation. The corporate tax rate has an impact on the profitability of the organization thereby affecting the after tax income as well. IKEA regional earnings are generally subjected to the regional tax laws. The corporate tax rate of any region has an impact on the business structure as well. The special business structure of the organization plays a vital role in the tax rate. IKEA business structure has a subsidiary model which instructs the subsidiaries of the company to abide by the regional tax rules and regulations. In addition to the corporate tax, the trade barriers such as tariff and quotas also have an effect on the businesses. The major reasons behind imposing tariffs and other trade barriers are: protecting the local employment, retaliation, national security etc. However imposition of tariff increases the prices of the products that are imported in the country. This benefits the local producers in place as they are not forced to raise the prices. In case of IKEA, their higher reliance on the local producers rather than import of the products decrease the extent of influence of tariff and other trade b

Global marketing strategy and product launch B&Q in Malaysia Essay

Global marketing strategy and product launch B&Q in Malaysia - Essay Example Current study reviews the potentials of B&Q, a well-known British firm, in the Malaysian market. The firm already operates in the international market. Still, up today the firm has not attempted to enter the Malaysian market. The successful operation of the firm in Chinese market has possibly caused the delay of such project. The stability, at least up to now, of the European market in which the firm is highly expanded, could be another reason for the avoidance of the firm to expand overseas. On the other hand, the review of the Malaysian market had led to the assumption that the particular market could highly benefit the performance of B&Q. The firm’s profits could be increased while the risks involved would be limited, at least taking into consideration the market’s current characteristics. A marketing plan has been developed for the potential expansion of B&Q in the Malaysian market. The requirements and the implications of the specific plan are analytically presente d. It is proved that the entrance of firm in the Malaysian market would have many prospects for success, especially if all phases of the plan were carefully monitored. 2. Background of the organization 2.1 Products B&Q has a wide range of products in regard to home and garden improvement. Currently, the products of the firm are estimated to 40,000 (B&Q Company website, Company Information 2012). 2.2 Market position B&Q is ‘the largest home improvement and garden centre retailer in UK’ (B&Q Company website, Company Information 2012). The firm was first established in 1969. Today, the firm is owned by Kingfisher plc, a major competitor in the context of the European’s home improvement industry; Kingfisher plc has also the third position in the global home improvement industry (B&Q Company website, Company Information 2012). In UK, the firm’s stores are estimated to 350 (B&Q Company website, Company Information 2012). For 2011, the firm’s profits were estimated to ‘?3.8 billion’ (B&Q Company website, Company Information 2012), making the organization one of the most powerful competitors in the home improvement industry worldwide. The firm is already well established in the global market with about 60 stores (B&Q Company website, Company Information 2012). The firm’s financial performance is presented in Figure 1 (Appendix). The firm’s performance in UK and France seems to be much higher compared to its performance internationally (Figure 2, Appendix). The expansion of the firm in Malaysia could enhance the performance of the organization in the context of the global market. 2.3 Organizational objectives and vision The organization’s key objective is ‘to help people create a home that they are proud of’

What You learned in this class Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

What You learned in this class - Assignment Example Graduate students should use MLA style to reference their assignments. Business letter is a portrait of a company, thus it has to look distinctive and present the high quality nature of the business. Business letters have a standard format and template. The most commonly used format is the block style with text in single space and double space between paragraphs. In addition, the letter must have the sender’s address, inside address, salutation, body text, signature block and an enclosure if there is one. Research paper writer must have the objective of focusing on the research topic. The outline of the research with the thesis statement is included in the paper. The research paper should have the introduction, body, discussion and conclusion. Movie review assists the learner in understanding the artistic creation work. In addition, movie review enables the learners to be creative and establish new and improved movies. In conclusion, a good paper should have an excellent format and grammar to enhance its presentation. Formatting the paper is important in business letter writing, research paper writing and establishing a movie review. Moreover, referencing and citing all sources used are vital in avoiding plagiarism

Debate .. Football industry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Debate .. Football industry - Assignment Example Therefore, the paper will seek to emphasize what the football industry is worth and the factors that have made to be considered as getting out of control. It will also look at some of the measures that have been put in place to reduce hooliganism in the football industry. According to Batile et al (2014), the football industry is a profitable global sport that attracts revenue amounting to an excess of 5.4 billion Euros every year. Match day, commercial and broadcasting revenues are the major sources of income that most football clubs use to collect revenues on a day to day basis. Match day revenues are derived mainly from gate receipts paid by fans and spectators, memberships and season tickets. On the other hand, broadcasting revenues accrue from international and domestic competitions such as UEFA while commercial revenues are mostly gotten from merchandising and sponsorships. This means that in the process of determining profitable clubs, all these sources of revenue are accounted for. Based on these revenue models, Real Madrid has been rated the most profitable club in the world today for the ninth consecutive time (Mughal, 2014). It has total revenue of 518.9 million Euros, with match day collections of 119, commercial 183.3 while commercial ha ving revenues totaling to 211.6 million Euros. Moreover, by analyzing the revenue generated by other top clubs in the football industry such as FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and arsenal, a clear picture of what the football industry is worth can be ascertained. FC Barcelona comes in second with total revenue amounting to 413.6 million sterling pounds. Broadcasting revenues accrued from domestic and international competitions were valued at 188.2 million Euros while commercial income totals to 176.8 million Euros (Mughal, 2014). Manchester United is

Say Yes by Tobias Wolff analyze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Say Yes by Tobias Wolff analyze - Essay Example When everybody congratulates Ann for having such a loving and caring husband, she is a bit unresponsive to them. When she put forward a question to which she already know the answer, the way in which he replies disturbs her. The story begins at dusk, a transition from light to dark, from white to black, from good to evil etc. The conversation is based on the discussion about interracial marriage. Ann’s husband is helping her to wash the dishes. She intentionally plunges into such a situation by asking him a question.† I am black, but still me, and we fall in love. Will you marry me? . Ann expects a confirmation from her husband while asking the question. But instead of using any emotional elements, he logically states the matter.† With all things considered it is a bad idea.† He seems to know more about African American culture. He doesn’t want to act against his cultural beliefs by marrying a white woman. It is to be noted that his love has a racial u ndertone in it. But the facts he loves his wife dearly. He is considerate in all deeds. But for Ann if there is love nothing will be an obstacle on the way to marriage. But for Ann’s Husband instead of being an endearing and thoughtful person, he gives prominence to culture and race. He says that because of the cultural difference they will fail to understand each other. The different symbols used by Tobias are so powerful that we should think that he is a racist. Ann believes so. But he wants to reject that statement before his wife and tries to convince her saying â€Å"I went to school with black. And lived on the same street with black and we have often gotten long just fine†, â€Å"they have their own language †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I like them talk...†. When the verbal battle was strong Ann do her duty without much care. Her husband again puts the vessels into the silver ware. Tobias writes about it â€Å"The water had gone a flat gray†. Wolfs again makes t hink that the husband can see the world only in two colors, black and white. The writer conveys indirectly that the husband is indifferent to African – Americans. Tobias mentions about a drop of blood that fell in the silver ware when Ann plunges her hand into that and cuts her finger. The drop of blood stands as a powerful symbol and reminds the readers that the race cannot be detected from that drop. A secure understanding of each other is a must for a powerful married life. From the beginning onward the readers know that there is no such deep relation between the husband the wife. Sometimes we think that the actions of the husband toward his wife are not because of such a well-built relation but because of compassion. He rushes to upstairs to take a band aid for her and is willing to do the rest of the house hold duties. But she never takes that into account that and still cling on to the same matter of dispute. But every time the husband tries to describe his absolute lov e for her by reflecting about the past years they spend happily. When he says he â€Å"knows† her, his throat tightened and could hardly breathe. These show the contrast between his beliefs about culture and race and his humanity. Towards the ending of the story Tobias consciously uses dark night to set the problem. The husband has no other means except giving her confirmation to her repeated question. The reason is obvious. They do not know each other. It takes the husband until the end of the story to

Project Closure Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Project Closure Plan - Essay Example The quality of system should aim to exceed the expectations of clients 13 The paper is aimed at describing the process of system development project management study for a proposed system design for the Steers Restaurant management staff to ease the operation of the business process within the company. The Steers Restaurant is also licensed to cook, serve and deliver food products. The Steers Restaurant and its chain of food stores have increased the choice of consumers to eat food at their favorite food take out joints, mostly the Steers Restaurants. Steers Restaurant is based on a quality management practice and years of experience in dealing with home cooked food products and beverages. Steers Restaurant is a limited liability company started in 2003 with the objective of dealing in foods and beverages and its delivery to consumers in a quality fashion. The company was started by its directors, using their own savings. The company wants to deliver high quality service to its clients via complete devotion to work by its business personnel and board of directors. The long-term goals set by the business are to outrival their competitors in the food provision and delivery industry via edging itself out using technological platforms. As a result it has led to a one stop purchase and delivery point that requires the use of an online based system to manage both the clients and management staff to promote better and fast service delivery for the company. This project document will explain the various modules entailed in the project management life cycle for developing the proposed system. The contents will highlight on the project charter, project, management plan cope statement, work breakdown structure, communication strategy and the risk management plan. The project charter highlights on the key elements of the system that can be used to convince the stakeholders to accept the idea of the system.

Evaluation of Some Energy Drinks Essay Example for Free

Evaluation of Some Energy Drinks Essay Abstract Energy drinks are beverages which contain chemical constituents that are said to improve physical and mental performance. Most of them primarily contain varying amounts of caffeine, guarana, ginseng and taurine. This study aims to provide a critical review regarding the adverse effects of excessive daily intake of energy drinks. Five commercially available energy drinks were used as the subject of the study. The average consumption of a certain component was compared to the serving size included in each product. It was found out that the consumption of the ingredients more than the recommended amounts per day may cause physiological side effects. There is no medical use for energy drinks, however several ingredients in some of these drinks have been found to be helpful in the medical perspective. Keyword(s): energy drinks 1. Introduction In the past decades, the beverage industry paved the way to the rise of caffeinated energy drinks in the market. Back in early 1960s, it first appeared in Europe and Asia in response to the consumers’ demand for a dietary supplement that would result in increased energy (Reissig et al., 2009). Basically, energy drinks refer to beverages that contain mainly caffeine, alongside other active constituents which includes varying amounts of guarana extract, taurine, vitamins, amino acids and herbal extracts. These purportedly provide benefits such as increased mental alertness, physical endurance, performance and stamina (Simon and Mosher, 2007; Babu et al. , 2008). Conversely, there is inadequate evidence that consumption of energy drinks can significantly improve both physical and mental performance (Scholey and Kennedy, 2004). The wide availability and distribution of energy drinks makes them readily accessible for purchase by adolescents. Market surveys indicate that 31% of those aged 12 to 17 are regular consumers of energy drinks, as are 34% of aged 18 to 24 (Simon and Mosher, 2007). Concerns have been raised regarding the effects of the ingredients present in energy drinks on children and adolescents. This study was conducted due to the core objective of making the public aware of the adverse effects of energy drinks, especially to children. Adverse reactions and toxicity from high-energy drinks mainly root from their caffeine content (Reissig et al. , 2009). The fatal dose of pure caffeine in adults is 5 to 10 grams when taken orally and 3. 5 grams by injection. In children, the fatal dose is much lower (Health Canada, 2000). Children who consume too much caffeine are at higher risk for behavioral effects, such as anxiety, mood changes and loss of attentiveness. A daily intake of less than 45 to 85 mg is recommended, depending on the child’s health condition (Health Canada, 2003). Based on a survey, it was found out that 42. 3% of the youth (ages 11 to 18) consumes energy drinks (O’Dea, 2003). At risk children having excessive daily intake of caffeine should be limited to no more than 2. 5 mg caffeine/kg body weight, and may need to avoid consuming energy beverages with higher caffeine content. Adolescents should limit caffeine consumption as well as intakes greater than 100 mg/day for reports says that it has been directly correlated with an increase in blood pressure (Savoca et al. , 2004). 2. Materials and Methods 2. 1 Research Design The research is focused on the components of energy drinks where five products were sampled namely Product A, B, C, D, and E. The researchers acquired a sample of each product. 2. 2 Sampling and Acquisition of Samples Products A, B, C, D, and E were randomly sampled. Fish bowl sampling was used where the names of these products were written on a piece of paper. Out of 7, 5 products of energy drink were picked from a bowl. Slovin’s formula was used and the margin of error was set to 20%. One out of seven is the probability of each to be chosen. The 5 energy drink products were acquired through purchase. 2. 3 Gathering of Information Each of the products underwent examining of the researchers. The composition information has been referred to for the determination of ingredients of each product. The data was listed and tabulated (Refer to Table 3. 1). This was done to compare their components and to determine which products share the same components. Nutrition information was also included. 2. 4Analysis of the Components The ingredients of products were analyzed through research. The researchers studied the primary and side effects of some of the ingredients. The average consumption of an average human of a certain component was compared to the serving size included in each product. 3. Results and Discussion PRODUCT A NUTRITION INFORMATION| SERVINGS PER PACK: 1 SERVING SIZE: 250mL| QUANTITY:| PER SERVING| PER 100mL| Energy| 140 cal| 14cal| Carbohydrates, Total| 34g| 14g|. Sugar| 33g| 13g| Sodium | 60mg| 24mg| Taurine| 1000mg| 400mg| Caffeine| 80mg| 32mg| Inositol| 25mg| 10mg| Ginseng Root Extract| 25mg| 10mg| Guarana Seed Extract| 25mg| 10mg| Niacin| 9mg| 3. 6mg| Pantothenic Acid| 3mg| 1. 2mg| Vitamin B6| 1mg| 0. 4mg| Vitamin B12| 2mcg| 0. 8mcg| Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sucrose, Glucose, Citric Acid, Glucuronolactone, Taurine, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Chloride, Natural Artificial Flavors, Caffeine, Caramel Color, Inositol, Guarana Seed Extract, Panax Ginseng (Root Extract), Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cyanocobalamin, Eu Energy Blend. Figure 1. Nutrition Information and Ingredients of Product A. PRODUCT B NUTRITION INFORMATION| SERVINGS PER PACK: 1 SERVING SIZE: 180mL| | PER 180mL (1 serving)| %RENI* or %U. S. -DRI**| Calories| 50Kcal| 2%| Total Fat| 0g| -| Sodium| 0g| -| Total Carbohydrate| 12. 5g| 10%*| Sugar| 12. 5g| -| Vitamin B1| 1. 2mg| 100%| Vitamin B2| 1. 7mg| 131%| Niacinamide| 20mg| 125%| Vitamin B6| 1. 9mg| 146%| Inositol| 50mg| -| Ginseng| 25mg| -| Royal Jelly| 100mg| -| Iron| 5mg| 42%| Taurine| 1000mg| -| Caffeine (anhydrous)| 50mg| -| *Recommended Energy and Nutrient Intakes fro Filipinos **U. S. – Dietary Reference Intake (used if no RENI). Ingredients: Sucrose, Taurine, Citric Acid, Nature-identical Flavors, Royal Jelly, Sodium Benzoate, Inositol, Caffeine, Ferric Pyrophosphate, Sucralose, Ginseng Extract (Panax), Mulitivitamins, Pure Water Figure 2. Nutrition Information and Ingredients of Product B. PRODUCT C NUTRITION INFORMATION| SERVINGS PER PACK: 1 SERVING SIZE: 330mL| | PER SERVING| %RENI*| Energy| 211Kcal| -| Carbohydrate| 54g| -| Vitamin B3| 10mg| 62%| Vitamin B6| 1. 3mg| 102%| VitaminB12| 1. 3mcg| 55%| Ginseng Extract| 9. 9mg| -| Inositol| 23mg| -| Taurine| 145mg| -| *%RENI are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavor, Maltodextrin, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Taurine, Potassium Sorbate, Caffeine, Sodium Benzoate, Allura Red(Colorant), Inositol, Calcium Disodium EDTA, Modified Food Starch, Panax Ginseng Extract, Niacinamide, Ascorbic Acid, Cyanocobalamin, (0. 1%) Pyridoxine Hydrochloride. Figure 3. Nutrition Information and Ingredients of Product C. PRODUCT D NUTRITION INFORMATION| SERVING SIZE: 1 SERVING SIZE: 150mL| | PER SERVING| %Daily Values*| Calories| 110| -| Total Fat| 0g| 0%| Sodium| 240mg| 10%| Total Carbohydrate| 26g| 9%| Sugars| 26g| -|. Protein| less than 1g| -| *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Ingredients: Taurine – 1,000 mg, Caffeine – 75 mg, Inositol – 50 mg, Lysine – 50 mg, Choline Bitartrate – 50 mg, Nicotinamide – 20 mg, Pyridoxine HCl (Vitamin B6) – 1. 3 mg, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) – 2. 4 mcg, Tartrazine C. I. 19140 (Yellow 5), Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Sugar and Artificially Flavoured. Figure 4. Nutrition Information and Ingredients of Product D. PRODUCT E NUTRITION INFORMATION| SERVING SIZE: ? 1. 5 SERVING SIZE: 8 fl. oz. (240mL)| | PER SERVING| %Daily Values*| Calories| 195| -| Total Fat| 3g| 1. 2%| Sodium| 49mg| 2%| Total Carbohydrates| 39g| 15%| Protein| 3g| 1. 2%| Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vit. B1)| 1. 35mg| 90%| Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vit. B6)| 1. 35mg| 68%| Niacinamide| 7mg| 37%| Vitamin B12| 0. 70mcg| 12%| Taurine| 105mg| -| Inositol| 16mg| -| *%Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Citric Acid, Flavoring, Sodium Citrate, Taurine, Caffeine, Sodium Benzoate, Tartrazine, Inositol, Ginseng Powder, Niacinamide (Vit. B3), Sunset Yellow, Thiamine HCl (Vit. B1), Pyridoxine HCl (Vit. B6), Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12). Figure 5. Nutrition Information and Ingredients of Product E. | PRODUCT| INGREDIENTS| A| B| C| D| E| Water/Carbonated Water| +| +| +| | +| Sucrose| +| +| +| +| +| Glucose| +| | | | | Citric Acid| +| +| +| +| +| Glucuronolactone| +| | | | | Taurine| +| +| +| +| +| Sodium Citrate| +| | +| | +| Sodium Chloride| +| | | | | Natural Flavors| +| +| | | | Artificial Flavors| +| | +| +| | Caffeine| +| +| +| +| +| Inositol| +| +| +| +| +| Guarana Seed Extract| +| | | | | Panax Ginseng| +| +| +| | +| Niacin (Vit. B3)| +| | +| +| +| Panthotenic Acid (Vit. B5)| +| | | | | Riboflavin (Vit. B2)| +| | | | | Pyroxidine HCL (Vit. B6)| +| | +| +| +| Cynocobalamin (Vit. B12)| +| | +| +| +|. Eu Energy Blend| +| | | | | Maltodextrin| | | +| | | Sodium Hexametaphosphate| | | +| | | Potassium Sorbate| | | +| | | Sodium Benzoate| | +| +| | +| Calcium Disodium EDTA| | | +| | | Modified Food Starch| | | +| | | Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C)| | | +| | | Lysine| | | | +| | Choline Bitartrate| | | | +| | Tartrazine| | | | +| +| Food Coloring| | Allura Red| | | +| | | Caramel Color| +| | | | | Sunset Yellow| | | | | +| Thiamine HCl (Vit. B1)| | | | | +| Ginseng powder| | | | | +| Ferric Pyrophosphate| | +| | | | Sucralose| | +| | | | Multivitamins| | +| | | | Table 3. 1. Common ingredients present among the energy beverages. Table 3. 1 shows the ingredients of products A, B, C, D, and E. Any formulated energy drink may contain the ingredients listed above. All 5 contain carbohydrates, particularly sucrose, and citric acid. Product C has the highest average quantity of carbohydrates which includes sugar, per serving with 54 g. It is followed by Product E with 39 g. , Product A with 34 g. , Product D with 26 g. , and Product B with 12. 5 g. , respectively. Product A, C, D, and E has Niacin, Pyroxidine Hydrochloride and Cyanocobalamin. Riboflavin is present in Product A while product E has Thiamine Hydrochloride. Vitamin B12, Cyanocobalamin, which is present in Product A, C, D, and E has quantities 2 mcg, 1. 3 mcg, 2. 4 mcg, 0. 70 mcg per serving respectively. In Vitamin B12 Dosing Guidelines for General Supplementation, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamin B12 for 14 years old and above is 2. 4 mcg daily. An intake of one serving of Product D could supply the daily need of the body of an average teenager and adult while product per serving is 0. 83 % of our body’s needs for B12 everyday (http://women. emedtv. com). The RDAs indicate the adequate intake of a body for a nutrient. Panax Ginseng is found to be present in Products A, B, C, and E. This ingredient is claimed to play a role on mental, physical and sexual performance. It is said that it could lower blood pressure and control blood glucose but there is no current scientific evidence yet on its efficacy (Ernst, 2002). Up to 3,000 mg day of supplemental taurine is safe as considered (http://www. mayoclinic. com). Taurine is an amino acid that may lower blood pressure where systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure in subjects with hypertension have been reduced by 6 grams of supplementary taurine every day (Kohashi et al., 1988). Taurine is present in Product A, B, C, D, and E. It is claimed to control hypertension yet there is insufficient evidence that it can significantly lower the risks of diabetes and epilepsy according to what it is claimed to be. The caffeine present in coffee and pharmaceutical drugs is said to be unhealthy. The caffeine naturally contained in a few herbs such as Yerba Mate, Guarana, Kola Nut, and Green Tea, is naturally occurring caffeine, also known as bio-caffeine and is non-addictive. Moreover, herbal teas are stimulants in nature due to other chemicals beside caffeine. These other stimulants found naturally occurring in herbs, i. e. mateine (found in Yerba Mate), have similar reaction on the body like caffeine does, but they are not addictive at all (http://dherbs. com/). All products were found out to contain caffeine. But among the other products, only Product A has guarana extract (1 gram of guarana is approximately 40 mg of caffeine). Canadian Guidelines recommend an intake of no more than 85 mg/day for people with ages ranging from 12 years old and above. In a research conducted by Warzak et al. (2010), the hours of sleep is negatively correlated with the amount of caffeine intake. Consumption of caffeine may also affect cognitive decline due to its association with a wide range of clinical variables (Ritchie, 2007). Caffeine may cause a persistent effect on the neurochemical system (Sobotka, 1989). Caffeine on children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was more effective than no treatment in declining impulsivity, aggression, and parents and teachers perceptions of childrens symptom severity, compared with Methylphenidate and Amphetamines (http://jad. sagepub. com/). Caffeine is a potent stimulant, thus it may reduce daytime tiredness and improve mental focus. However, researches are still a must regarding caffeines effects on the functioning of adolescents and adults with ADHD. 4. Conclusion After examining the ingredients of the energy drinks, the consumption of the ingredients more than the recommended amounts per day may cause physiological side effects. Caffeinated beverages, to be considered safe, must be limited of no more than the adequate intake of an average man, if a serving is formulated to be consumed once daily. Limited ingestion of these energy drinks most likely does not cause adverse effects. Energy drinks are composed mainly of carbohydrates and different ingredients like taurine, caffeine, and Panax Ginseng which are safe provided that it would be consumed in proper amounts. Caffeine, which is common to many energy drinks, was found out to decline some behavior impairments associated with ADHD such as aggression and impulsivity. References Reissig CJ, Strain EC, Griffiths RR. (2009), Caffeinated energy drinks a growing problem. Drug Alcohol Depend, 99:1–10. Simon, M. Mosher, J. Alcohol (2007), Energy Drinks and Youth: A Dangerous Mix. Marin Institute: Alcohol Industry Watchdog. (Online); Available at: http://www.marininstitute. org/alcopops/resources/ EnergyDrinkReport. pdf. Babu, K. M. , Church, R. J. Lewander, W. â€Å"Energy drinks: the new eye-opener for adolescents,† Clin Ped Emerg Med, Vol. 9, 2008, p. 35-42. Scholey AB, Kennedy DO. Cognitive and physiological effects of an energy drink: an evaluation of the whole drink and of glucose, caffeine and herbal flavouring fractions. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2004;176:320-30. ODea JA. Consumption of nutritional supplements among adolescents: usage and perceived benefits. Health Education Research 2003;18:98-107. Savoca MR, Evans CD, Wilson ME, Harshfield GA, Ludwig DA. The association of caffeinated beverages with blood pressure in adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2004;158:473-7. Health Canada. Straight Facts about Drugs and Drug Abuse, Ottawa, ON, 2000. (Online); Available at: http://www. hc-sc. gc. ca/hc-ps/alt_formats/hecs-sesc/pdf/pubs/adp-apd/straight_ facts-faits_mefaits/facts-faits-eng. pdf. Health Canada. Food and Nutrition – Caffeine and Your Health, March 2003. (Online); Available at: http://www. hc-sc. gc. ca/fn-an/securit/facts-faits/caffeine-eng. php. Kristi Monson, PharmD and Arthur Schoenstadt, MD. â€Å"Vitamin B12 Dosage†. (Online); Available at: http://women.emedtv. com/vitamin-b12/vitamin-b12-dosage. html. Ernst E. â€Å"The risk-benefit profile of commonly used herbal therapies: Ginkgo, St. Johns Wort, Ginseng, Echinacea, Saw Palmetto, and Kava. Ann†. Intern Med 2002;136:42-53. Katherine Zeratsky, R. D. , L. D. â€Å"Taurine is listed as an ingredient in many energy drinks. What is taurine? Is it safe? †. (Online); Available at: http://www. mayoclinic. com/health/taurine/AN01856. Kohashi, N. , Katori, R. â€Å"Decrease of urinary taurine in essential hypertension†. Prog. Clin. Bio. Med. 1983. 125, 73. William J. Warzak, PhD, Shelby Evans, PhD, Margaret T. Floress, PhD, Amy C. Gross, PhD and Sharon Stoolman, MD. â€Å"Caffeine Consumption in Young Children†. Munroe-Meyer Institute and the Department of Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. Received 2 April 2010. K. Ritchie, PhD,, I. Carriere, PhD, A. de Mendonca, MD, PhD, F. Portet, MD, PhD, J. F. Dartigues, MD, PhD, O. Rouaud, MD, P. Barberger-Gateau, MD, PhD and M. L. Ancelin, PhD. â€Å"The neuroprotective effects of caffeine†. Neurology August 7, 2007 vol. 69 no. 6 536-545. â€Å"Caffeine vs. Bio-Caffeine†. (Online); Available at: http://dherbs. com/articles/caffeine-bio-caffeine-304. html. Sobotka TJ: Neurobehavioral effects of prenatal caffeine. Ann NY Acad Sci 1989; 562:327-339. M. Roth Leon. â€Å"Effects of caffeine on cognitive, psychomotor, and affective performance of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder†. (Online); Available at: http://jad. sagepub. com/content/4/1/27. abstract. APPENDIX A Corresponding Labels of Different Energy Drinks Product| Energy Drink Product Name| A| Rockstarâ„ ¢| B| I-ONâ„ ¢| C| Stingâ„ ¢| D| Red Bullâ„ ¢| E| Cobraâ„ ¢| APPENDIX B Determining the Sample Size n=N1+Ne2 Where: n = sample size N = Population size e = margin of error n=71+7(0. 20)2 n=5. 46.

Social Networking Sites: The Youth Lifestyle

Social Networking Sites: The Youth Lifestyle The approach, which the researchers adopted for this research was Quantitative approach, investigated the association between the social networking sites and its impacts on youth with the help of descriptive research design. The data for this research was collected through the self-administered questionnaires, which have been filled by generation Y of Pakistan who uses such Social Networking websites. Three different tests were applied including regression, covariance and correlation for analysis. Findings suggest that the positive significant correlation found between Mental Stress and Physical Stress, and Physical Stress and Co Curricular activities, Ease and Online Communication, Ease and Learning Perspective, Online Relationship and Offline Relationship. While the results of covariance and regression had revealed significant predictors (exogenous) as the influencing factors on the use of SNS and its impact. Man is a social animal. Human beings cannot live without social activities, as they want to interact, share and learn which brings changes in them and in their lives. There are different mediums to interact and share like some people likes to interact by calling their loved ones, some write letters to each other, some like to meet face-to-face and mow most of the people go for internet as a medium to share as its the latest ,easy and affordable way . In recent time, people are attracted towards the new medium to interact i.e. Social Networking Sites. Social networking is the combination of two words. The first one is social which means that human society and the other word is networking which means the act of meeting new people in a business or social context. History of social networking is very old but the new shape of social networking in this era is a service focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relation among peoples. It is just a kind of social structure, in which people love to interact and communicate with their love ones. (ezinearticles) For youngsters internetworking is almost social networking. From last few years, a large number of populations is diverting from their duties and works to internet; some people use it for their project; some of them use it for online gaming. But majority are using it for social networking just to interact with their friends, relatives, some people are using for making a relationship and many of them using it just for fun but the social networking has some positive and negative impact. (ezinearticles) Social Networking Sites offers people to make new profiles, post pictures, play games and interact with their relatives and friends. Social Networking Sites offers allure due to which people divert from their works and other things, which in return increase stresses in their lifestyle. Being a form of virtual community Social Networking Sites are a great arena, which provides its users to connect, communicate, share information and maintain social relationships among social circles of the people. Finin et al. (2005, p. 419) define a social network as: An explicit representation of the relationship between individuals and groups in the community. Social Networking Sites are also been defined as: An online space that allows people to connect, share, communicate, establish or maintain connection with others. (Cain, 2008) Social Networking Sites are well-liked nowadays. Except from texting and calling, Social Networking Sites are one of the popular and easy ways to keep in touch with a person. Communication is very imperative to keep the friendship and the closeness of people. If you have not communicated within the day, within the week, within the month and within the year, it will have an effect on the closeness. Social Networking Sites are the easy and best way to communicate to those people. It is an excellent way of communicating with the people we recognize. We can also have the possibility of meeting new friends. They can be from within our country, or even from dissimilar parts of the world. These websites help us cooperate with people from distant places. We mail them; we make conversation with them, and even play games with them. Social Networking Websites recommend people to stay in touch, exchange contact information, send immediate message, and stay up to date of friends activities and what they are doing. In a similar fashion as blogs, SNS allow individuals to present themselves to other users using a variety of formats, including text and video. Just like chatting services, SNS incorporate a list of other users with whom individuals share a connection. But unlike any other web service, SNS allow individuals to make visible their list of connections to others and to traverse their social networks (boyd Ellison, 2007). Social Networking Sites have a tendency to share some conservative features. For the most part, individual users are encouraged to make profiles enclosing a variety of information about them. Users can frequently upload snaps of themselves to their profiles, post blog access for others to read, search for other users with comparable interests, and gather and share lists of associates. In addition, user profiles often have a segment dedicated to comments from friends and other users. To guard user privacy, social networks usually have controls that allow users to decide who can view their profile, contact them, add them to their list of contacts, and so on. In life of todays youth, virtual communities known as Social Networking Sites play a vital role. According to a research, more than 90% of teenagers have access to Internet and more than half use Social Networking Sites. (Moreno, Stoep, al, 2009) 1.1 Statement of the Problem Todays generation is swamped with various Social Networking Sites on the Internet such as Orkut, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. These Social Networking Sites are providing centralized virtual world with the attractive opportunities to avail the facilities provided by them such as making friends, chatting, sharing pictures, videos etc. Excessive use of these networking sites is affecting social lifestyle of the peoples. (oclc.org) The current study focused on impact of Social Networking Sites on youth life, further researchers have focused on the lifestyle of the youth of Pakistan due to extensive use of these sites. 1.2 Purpose The purpose of doing this research was: To understand the changing behavior of youth towards login up the accounts on Social Networking Sites. To evaluate the affects of Social Networking Sites on the lifestyle of the Pakistani youth. 1.3 Research Questions What factors influence the youth to use Social Networking Sites? What are the impacts of Social Networking Sites on the youth? What are the future prospects of Social Networking Sites for the youth? 1.4 Significance This study is helpful for the young generation to be aware of the impact of using Social Networking Sites on their life. Through this research, Law enforcement agencies will get aware about the positive and negative impacts of Social Networking Sites on youth. 1.5 Limitation As researcher its difficult for students to invest finance in the research and most importantly researcher found shortage of time in skimming or composing a draft as they are indulge in other academic activities as well. One of the limitations is the burning issue of power breakdowns and during the work researcher becomes the victim of it. 1.6 Operational Definition of Key Terms Social Networking Site: online community that connects people Youth: teenagers or adolescents of nation belonging to age group of 5 to 25 years Impact: reasons or factors that changes an individual set patterns of life 1.7 Summary This chapter discussed the background to the study by describing the context, the problem statement, and the rationale of the study among other details. It also highlighted the methods of investigating and defined important concepts. The next chapter will review the literature germane to the study. Chapter II Literature Review Networking is a way of communication of the 21st century. It comprises of specific grouping of the individuals e.g. Communities or neighborhoods. The most popular way of social networking is online networking. There are several Social Networking Sites, which have fascinated millions of web browsers such social networking websites include Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Orkut. These websites entirely revolutionized the face of social networking. Social Networking Sites involves a signing up to the site or creating an account which leads to the further steps of creating a profile page which includes the information about the individuals leading to the other applications like photos videos comments etc bounded by the security/privacy settings which can be viewed by everyone in the virtual world. This trend of social networking is new which has been increased in the past decade and is continue to increase with the fast pace. Actually, it all began in 1995, when some early networking sites started. One of the first of such sites was Classmates.com. This site was meant to connect old classmates. Another site called sixdegrees.com became very popular in 1997. This site focused on indirect bind between people. This site allowed users to design their profile and they could mail messages to other user on their friends list. Users were able to network with members who had similar interests. However, the actual explosion in the social networking came after 2004. Many networking sites were commercialized in this time. (ezinearticles) Social network websites allow individuals to interact, share and learn with the people of their interest and help them remain connected. Number of visits to the Social Networking Sites such as Facebook, myspace indicates its popularity in youth. (Cain, 20 08) Communication occur between people when there is an exchange in information in when communicative pattern where the sharing not simply for pleasure-seeking but in order to keep the other person with them to share in return (Boyd and Heer, 2006). Communication is very vital to uphold the friendship and the closeness of people. If you havent communicated within the day, within the week, within the month and within the year it will affect the closeness. Social Networking Sites is the best way to communicate to those person you do not see often, person you cannot mingle with everyday, and person who is outside the country or beyond your reach. You can stay in touch through Social Networking Sites and never miss the important happening of the person you are most concern. There are varieties of reasons why everyone are into Social Networking Sites. People are into Social Networking Sites because they want to keep conversant on the latest happening on the person they are concern, also because they want to stay linked to the person they do not see every day. People are into Social Networking Sites because they want to be having company, to relax and enjoy after their hard hours in school and in the office. People are into Social Networking Sites because of the services and attribute the Social Networking Sites are providing to the user. People similar to journal and with the internet they wanted to share their lives more openly. Initially called web-logs, these personal journals have highly developed. Some personal journals still exist, while other blogs talk about a specific niche or interest. Related to blogs, there is a micro journal of what is occurring right now. These sites can contribute to what is going on in an individual life or can be the information the individual would like to share. Major news events are now breaking online via Microblogs. The best-known Microblog is Twitter. (ezinearticles) Social Networking Sites are now commonly known as the platform for sharing the information. Such information may be shared in the form of photo sharing. It has now become so easy to send pictures by single link. Users tag their photos with keywords linked to the image and allow people to comment on them. Most popular photo sharing sites are Flicker and Picasa. Youtube is the video sharing site that approximately everyone has seen. People can also share videos online to their families and friends. Users can enjoy making comments on those videos that can be searched through keywords added on the sites for searching those videos. Other than these reason people also prefer these sites because they want to relax and be free for a while from all the pressures in the world. People engage in Social Networking Sites mostly for entertainment, for fun and for games. Watching movies, playing at the arcades and family computer are not that entertaining as they used to be many years back. People nowadays are addicted on games online. People would rather stay at home and play games on the internet, would rather watch videos and listen to audios online. Peoples interest is changing so with the mean of entertainment. The entertainment that these sites provide is an influential factor that cannot be neglected. Another influence seems to be the convenience these websites provides to the users by managing their presence while staying at home and keeping up with their daily routine. Different researches have been conducted in order to ascertain the advantages or the benefits these sites provided to its users by these social networking websites. Like (Cain, 2008) found that; Social Networking Sites such as Facebook and other Social Networking Sites require just a valid email address to become a member, thus easy way of joining with lots of attractive features that attract people to join Social Networking Sites. In addition, the past users are already enjoying their features so they are spreading its use resulting in day-by-day increased members on Social Networking Sites. Social Networking Sites are playing an important role in shaping attitude of todays youth. It is also influencing the social lives of people as they are now spending most of their times in browsing Social Networking Sites. It is influencing social lives in the form of identity exploration and resulting in increase interaction among people. (Moreno, Stoep, al, 2009) Moving back to the concept of self, the identity theory defines it as the set of constructed role exhibit the degree to which people explore themselves in some particular societal roles. (Leary M, Cox C, Shah J, et al., 2008) Social Networking Sites provides a platform to individuals to express themselves freely and make them feel connected with the globe. Studies support SNSs within an organizational setting as these sites enable organizations to communicate effectively and keep in touch with each other personal and professional updates as SNSs features self-presentation, i.e., Presentation of self publically but from no w, onwards SNSs have provided their users with the facility of privacy settings so that they can control their self-presentation. This is one of the features, which have encouraged the concept of identity-exploration, as individuals are now feeling free to present their self. Online Social Networks like Facebook, Bebo, Orkut, and myspace has promoted the factors self-identity and self-expression etc which in turn has inculcated in the mind of individuals that they need to interact or login their preferable social communities on daily basis. Thus, are making SNSs as a compulsory component of their lives. Because of such enforcement people now feel their lives incomplete without SNSs and assumes to be something missing even if they are not logged for a day. There are variety of ways individual can present themselves through SNS such as through text and video they can explore themselves as they want and to whom they want to share. (boyd Ellison, 2007). The impact of excessive use social networking sites has generated incompatible results. Based on earlier researcher data from General Social Survey, they find that various ways of surfing internet are differentially associates to social linkups. While nonsocial users of the Internet do not vary drastically in the internet networking size. Social user of internet are spending extensive time on surfing internet has more social attachment than nonusers do. This indicates that heavy users on internet communicate and attach online with people whom they also get in touch offline and these user sustain some of their social ties entirely through online communication. These finding demonstrate for distinguish analyses of usage of internet and impacts on the personal connectivity. (Leary M, Cox C, Shah J, et al. 2008) The invention of internet networking had made possibility for every people to get in touch with each other without having physically interaction. Old means of communication had replaced with the modern means and people feel satisfy and comfortable in interacting online mean of communication and it enabled people to stay connected even though they are situated in different and far places. Online connection has eliminated the time which otherwise spent the time in travelling thats why people feel enthusiastic in interacting online. The foremost chief mode of communication is the internet that permits people to create new social contacts as well as to uphold existing ones. Currently internet entirely replaces the traditional media and sources of offline communication. This shows that people willingly shift from offline network to the online one. (Boyd, d. m., Ellison, N. 2007) Furthermore, the researchers finding demonstrate that size of online network keeps on the same, only the behavior and practices of people communicate changes. Personality characteristics have a great impact in online and offline communication, (Rice Markey, 2009; Saunders Chester, 2008). Social Networking Sites have been described as the relationship facilitator as these sites are facilitating interactions; interaction brings people closer resulting in strong relationships (Cain, 2008). These relationships can later help in different aspects of life such as in finding jobs, meeting school colleagues, strengthens friendships, increase job opportunities through number of contacts. Some significant benefits of Social Networking Sites are that it helps youth in finding their school or college friends with whom there connection was lost. It also gives the benefits of staying in touch at any time and sharing memorable moments in form of pictures and videos. These are some reasons which make the Social Networking Sites appealing. (Cain, 2008) As mentioned before social networking is now becoming the addiction. Every teenager has an account and they login daily to check new updates. They spends hours checking new updates until they understands that they has more important things to do like school works they have missed doing because of signing in into a social network service. Some people are enthusiastic to spend more time being online on these social network services than to spend time studying and working up on school works. This is unpleasant to hear because with all the advantages social networking can provide, there are also disadvantages, like this, that can be or give bad impact to people who exercise them. In educational institutions, achievement is measured by academic performance, or how fine a student meets up standards set out by their educational institution. As career competition grows everyday in the working world, the importance of students doing well in school has caught the attention of parents, legislators and government education departments alike. The youth in use social networking sites as a means of interaction, mingling, and for purely entertainment purposes. Students exercise the Internet almost every day, and they use the Internet mainly for entertainment. These websites concern are stuck in these critical factors: the sites are attracting many teens, some of whom are not making good choices or many parents are not paying attention to what their children are posting on the sites. Some teens connect in insecure or irresponsible activities that comprise: unsafe exposà © of personal information, addiction-spending extreme amount of time online, resulting in lack of healthy commitment in major areas of life, such as academics, that become a serious problem in student life. Not only do social networking sites affect ones academic performance negatively, they are also causes of damage in a students chances of being well-off in the future. Social networking in middle and high school can turn into harm to education. Attention and status is the most important for which most of teens tend to misuse social networking sites and use them for gathering and meeting new people as an alternative of using the precious time for educational purposes. It tends to become a disturbance to these teens; they tend to pay more concentration to these sites instead of the teachers. (Yu Angela Yan, 2010) These sites are reasons of distractions, which escort to their low grades; whoever has social networking web site accounts have the same opinion that social networking sites affect ones academic performance adversely. It can be indirect that usage social networking sites can spoil and be an obstacle to students academic careers. Social networking sites are therefore, adversely affecting ones performance in school. Students are so much addicted of these sites that they even dont realize that they are wasting countless time in those sites. Although the users of old media exist teens of this generation is now preferring the new medium for any reason to the old medium but are also connected with the olds. Today teens are too connected with these new medium of communication and using the internet become necessary. (Yu Angela Yan, 2010) There are many effects on using social networking sites such as time consumption, people who used net just to check their mails now using it for entertain themselves, the use of net are increase day by day, and people divert from physical relations to online relations, their social attraction are being less and their interaction with friends and relation through online are going to be increase daily. The confident level of a children and youngsters are increase through social sites, they can say anything about anyone on any topic easily because they have a perception that no one can punish them or give a reward on their action. They get satisfy easily from social networking sites, and can learn more things easily from others through these sites. They use these sites to build their online image among others by making their profiles on facebook, twitter, orkut, hi5 etc. Putting their pictures and tell others about their life styles and other things so that people get to know about them easily. (Yu Angela Yan, 2010) As the influence of using social networking website is increasing among youth so is the negative impact, which is a serious issue of concern. Some of the major negative impacts of Social Networking Sites include the fact that youth spend most of their time staying online and try to be available on the Social Networking Sites, which eventually make them waste their precious time. The young age of a person is considered the age where one is fully active and has a capability to keep him engaged in various physical activities but instead of spending time in healthy activities youth spend their time sitting on one place doing no exercise and make them lazy. Other negative impacts of these websites are the security risks. Websites like these have all the personal information of the user, which can be misused by others through hacking the account. Cheats and frauds nevertheless are one of the most dangerous and sensitive impact of these websites. On the ground of society behavior these websites makes the people go towards individualism instead which void the social moral and cultural values. Faking things gets promotion through these websites, furthermore, these websites has promoted the hatred among the people on the name of freedom of speech and views. Most of the business considers Social Networking Sites as a way of effective advertising and business, the administrations of these websites instead of paying attention towards making these websites as safe to make beyond the reach of hackers, they are emphasizing on e-marketing to earn their profits. (inkingrey) Past researches indicated that Social Networking Sites is also a place where people disclose their personal information to a general public and that can become a risky matter when the information is misused by strangers or unknown people. Thus, publically displayed information i.e. Personal is dangerous to be opened for everyone; it is referred to as risk behavior. Teenagers can avoid or eliminate such risk behaviors by eliminating risk behavior references and by setting profile settings to private as it will allow owners to set their profile information within a protection wall, thus decreases the hazards of Social Networking Sites risk behaviors and provides a complete protection. (Moreno, Stoep, al, 2009) The main criticism on Social Networking Sites are that the youth may open themselves in front of general public which may include strangers who can search them easily and can misuse their personal information which are commonly revealed by Social Networking Sites users. (Cain, 2008) Social Networking Sites are such platform that brings people publically along with their personal information. Thus enables public to intervene in others information so the four characteristics of mediated public are defined as persistence, search-ability, reliability and invisible audience. Conversations, pictures and videos remain linked for years and the common people have access to them even when the user attitude has been matured. (Cain, 2008) There are many controversies about the use of Social Networking Sites as it poses risks such as privacy, safety and revealing personal information to the world. Press has also focused on the negative consequences of Social Networking Sites such as they quoted many cases related to college students who suffered negative outcomes because of the problematic activities in which they were engaged at Social Networking Sites as their private informations were exposed to public easily which is putting their identity at risk. (Cain, 2008) Students have been expelled from their classes mostly because of risky postings on Facebook and some of the students were harassed and faced uninvited guests at their home. Many institutions have implemented restrictions on use of Social Networking Sites in order to deal and avoid disadvantages of Social Networking Sites to protect university image. (Cain, 2008) As per present, there is a huge population of youngsters who holds a profile over these social networking websites. The term of Social Networking Sites has become extremely common in every house. The talks or chit chat of a peer group does not gets completed without having a conversation regarding social networking websites which is a clear fact that these days it has become a daily routine all over the world to go through Social Networking Sites. No one knows what the future holds for social networking websites but because of current and increasing popularity of these websites, one can easily predict the bright and strong future of these websites. Social Networking Sites will become more important in the future holding more applications to make the life of individual more convenient. The social networking websites will become more customized by understanding the interest of the user based on their behavior. After analyzing the research work of different researchers we can conclude that Social Networking Sites have both positive and negative effects on the personality and lifestyle of youth. By doing further research, which we will be, conducting in future will help us to find out the relation of dependent and independent variable. Chapter III Methodology 3.0 Introduction In this chapter, the methodology implemented throughout this research was explained. Through methodology, the logical relationships among variables indentified which helped in interpreting the data and made the research more authentic. This chapter covered the population details, the sampling techniques and procedures, and the method of data collection. The research focused on the impact of social networking sites on the life style of youth. The independent variables identified were the factors that influences youth to use Social Networking Sites and the use of Social Networking Sites as the dependent variable which these factors had its impact on. The underlying most influencing factors that attracted youth to use such sites identified were peer pressure, identity control, entertainment, ease of use of social networking sites, online communication, subjective norm and the learning. On the other hand, the variables that are identified as the impact on the lifestyles of youth by using social networking sites were academic performance, extracurricular activities, mental and physical stress, online and offline relationships, confidence and satisfaction in interaction and personal desires respectively. SNS Model for the present research the factor and impact variables 3.1 Hypotheses H1: Job opportunity, making new or find old friends, and maintaining social gatherings factors influence youth to use Social Networking Sites. H2: Social Networking Sites diversify the virtual societal gathering. H3: Social Networking Sites affect the physical curricular activities and physical gatherings of the youth. 3.2 Research Method The methods available for the researchers are qualitative, quantitative and mixed research in social and educational researches. In this research, quantitative research method is adapted. Quantitative research is a research involving the use of structured questions where the response options have been predetermined and a large number of respondents are involved. By definition, measurement must be objective, quantitative and statistically valid. Simply put, it is about numbers, objective hard data. (http://uk.geocities.com). The reason to choose this method was that quantitative research would quantify the variations identified in this research, which then will give unbiased, accurate and better result. 3.3 Research Design In this research, descriptive study was used. Descriptive study is a scientific method, which involves observing and describing the behaviour of subject without influencing it in any way. Descriptive study creates the associations between the independent and dependent variables. The aim of this research was to determine the association between the social networking sites and its impacts on youth. 3.4 Population and Sample size The population of this research was the youth of Pakistan who uses social networking sites in their daily lives. Generation Y was the target sample (the age between 18-28), the reason to choose this target was that according to Paw Research Centres survey among 87% of the youngsters, 67% uses internet for using social networking sites which is the most likely age group to use significantly the social networking sites. Participants selected randomly and through the email from the sample size of 200 individuals for this research. 3.5 Data collection techniques The collection of data had done through survey method in which the research instrument was questionnaire. An