Outline how legislation, policies and procedures relating to heath Essay Example for Free

Outline how legislation, policies and procedures relating to heath EssayThe Health and precaution at work act is a go of legislation that is responsible for convering totally health and unspoiledty in britain. However, the health and galosh handler at individual establishments ar responsible for take a stylusing protrude the act and making veritable everything is in cohearance with the piece of legislation. HASAWA influences health and social care in m whatever different ways such as the vindication it now gives to employers and employees, before this piece of legislation was made people had no legal protection whilst they were at work. HASAWA influences health and social as it tells the possesser of a business, or establishment, what they motive to be doing to key out sure they are working in accordance to the legislation. Everyone has the duty to comply with the act, this includes employers, employees, trainees, self employed, manufacturers, suppliers ect. This legislation nourishments people safe as it provides people with the instuctions to make their establishments safe for themselves and their employees. HASAWA tells owners to carry out a find assessment which points out the hazards that need to be changed and/or fixed.An example of legislation influencing a health and care setting is The manual of arms Handling Operations regualtion. MHOR is always thought to be the last resort, and only if there is a guess of injury. Legislation tells emplyers and employees how to move and handle things enchantly and when it is and isnt appropriate to move and handle things. Employers essential carry out risk assessments before opening a business to find if there are any faults or dangers to the customers or employees. There must be a health and safety policy write specifically for that setting and someone must be employed to be in charge of health and safety. Everything in the establishment must be insured incase accidents expire. Employees m ust take responsibility of your own and other peoples health andsafety and non do anything that could cause someones health and safety to be dumbfound at risk. This influences the setting as it keeps people working or entering the setting safe and gives them the appropriate instructions to keep them as safe as possible. It keeps people safe as it provides instructions and regulations that must be followed to keep everyone safe, and if everyone follows these regulations and instructions then their safety and health w minatory be safe. Food Safety Act 1990The Food Safety Act 1990 is a frame for all food legislation in Britain. Responsibilities for food businesses include Ensuring you do not include anything in food or remove anything from food making it a hazard to the health of people consuming it. Advertising food in a way that isnt misleading or false. The food safety act influences health in some different ways, it gives environmental health the right to inspect the quality of food, the status it is prepared and the place it is served and if it is not up to standard they have the power to close the establishment, in extreme cases. Before the establishment is unkindly down they are served a notice of improvement or be temporaraly closed until the standards are butt up. Without the Food Safety Act food would be able to be served to you in any conditon, and if you became ill from that food you could not retain any shape of compensation because there is no legislation sexual relation the establishment how to cook, prepare and serve food safely.Employers and employees must make sure food is safe to eat, make sure they male parentt add, remove or treat food in a way that makes it harmful to eat, make sure the quality of the food is the same as it is advertised or anticipate by the customer, Keep track of where the food was bought, if unsafe food is discovered it needs to be instal down and removed and tell people why the food has been recalled. There must be hand mute at all sinks and hands must be washed before spot food, after touching food, after using the toilet, after touching animals, after touching your own skin and hair, after sneeze or coughing and after touching raw food.Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 RIDDOR is the piece of legislation that states all injuries, diseases, illnesses need to be shrouded to either the health and safety executive orthe local council. RIDDOR is put in place so that health and safety executives so-and-so look at where the risks occur and can take steps to prevent them. There are of course only certain injuries and dangerous occuurences that need to be reported, things such as violence at work, gas leaks, injuries that have occured during work or in the work place. RIDDOR also benefits people who have been wound at work and want compensation, health and safety executives follow up on the case and evaluate if the acdicent was because of the emplo yee being put at risk or if they didnt follow procedure. The employers responsibility is to maintain the safety of their employees customers and they have the responsibility to report if an employee or customer has been injured whilst at work or in the establishment. Without RIDDOR, injuries caused in the workplace could not be claimed upon and the hazard could not be found and removed, if the hazard isnt removed then people will be continuously be getting injured. The incidents need to be written in an accident book and should inlude the date and measure of injury, the name of the worker, a description of the accident, action taken and the result.Slips, Trips, FallsSlips, trips and falls are the most gross causes of major injuries in the work place. Most trips are caused by uneven or un-maintained floors, and slips are unremarkably cased by wet floors. However, slips, trips and falls can be prevented if the right preventions and procedures are put into place and followed. The e mployers responsibilities are to make sure the floors serface is even and maintained, decreasing the risk of trips, all obstructions in hallways and on floors are removed and stored properly, this also decreases the risk of trips. All spillages should be immediately cleaned up using the appropriate method, normally a cloth or mop, and a wet floor sign should be appointed if needed, this decreases the risk of slips. Staffs responsibilities are to wear safe and sensible footwear which have good grip, and they must also keep their work stations clear and tidy, also both staff and service users have the responsibility to report obstructions and spillages if not recognised. The policy put in place ifluences health and care as it prevents the risks of slips, trips and falls, without it there would be no procedures to influence staff to remove the risks, such asobsticles that may cause trips. If staff, employees and the service users dont follow the policies put in place then the risks of accidents will be raised, and if an accident does occur and they havent followed the procedures they were responsible to follow then they cant claim any form of compensation.

Life Is Easier Essay Example for Free

Life Is Easier EssayLiving today is more(prenominal) comfortable and easier than when your grandparents were children. Use circumstantial reasons and examples to support your answer. Recently, my grandparents often recall how difficult their lives were when they were young, claiming that my generation has much easier lives than they had. I agree with them. In fact, feel today is much more comfortable and easier than it was in my grandparents youth for some reasons. First, technology has made modern-day life much more comfortable than in the past. During my grandparents time, life was rough and hard because all the report was done without any modern tool, so they had to do their laundry by hand, walked from one place to another(prenominal) by feet. Furthermore, there was limited in entertainment choices in the past. They could at best listen to the piano tuner or perhaps watch a black-and-white movie for pleasure. Today, however, living has become a separate easier thanks t o technological developments. We launder our clothes with washing machine, uses buses, subways, or cars to move around.We also enjoy lieu theater systems, DVDs, and video games. Technology has definitely improved our lives. In addition, people today stick out more unoccupied time than they did before. People no longer have to work very long hours identical my grandparents did. Since my grandparents were farmers, they had to work in the rice field all day long even without resting on weekends. In contrast, many people today, including my parents, simply work from nine to five on weekdays and take weekends off.They therefore have much free time than my grandparents did, so they can spend more time on leisure activities. They go to the movies, go to the gym, or take trips. All these activities have positive affect on their select of living. In conclusion, people today have more comfortable and easier lives than in the past. This is the results of technological developments and the extra leisure time available. These factors will make our live even more comfortable in the future.

Case Study on Adolescent Sexual Abuse Essay Example for Free

miscue Study on Adolescent cozy Abuse EssayElias is a five year oldish Mexican American male who has recently been referred to the community counseling center due to the exposure of inner holler by his stepfather. Elias was a client of this community center approximately 18 months earlier. Elias had been referred for poor appetite control and hyperactivity. At that time he was diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Dis guild ( minimal brain damage). He besides met with the agency psychiatrist who had prescribe Elias Focalin. His cased was closed after only a few sessions due to the familys inconsistency and withdrawal from services. At this point in time Elias has been attending his sessions with his mother and impair brother. Stepfathers whereabouts ar unknown and he has not had any contact with the family since the abuse was exposed. Elias has returned to taking Focalin, since he failed to continue taking his practice of medicine after withdrawing from services. However, there look at been no changes noted in his behaviour since he has begun to take the medication. The psychiatrist believes that this may be due to the low dosage he has prescribed Elias and because of such, the psychiatrist has opted to slowly increase the dosage and closely monitor any changes.The clinician notes that Elias is extremely hyperactive and exhibits stripped-down impulse control. Other than his mettlesome levels of restlessness, Elias shows no observable signs or symptoms of reaction to the versed abuse. When clinician has attempted to function with Elias about the abuse or his feelings about the abuse, Elias has changed the subject or ignored the clinician all together. Mother states that she has spy no changes in his deportment since the abuse was discovered.Practice Effectiveness QuestionsThe special population in password is children, the tender problems in focus are sexual abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity cark (ADHD), which s uperstars the prey client group to be children who defend experienced sexual abuse and eat been diagnosed with ADHD. Our client is Elias who is a child, who has experienced sexual abuse and is diagnosed with ADHD. For the purposes of this discussion our practice effectiveness questions are1) What are effective interventions for children who have been sexually abused? and 2) What are effective interventions for children who have been diagnosed with ADHD? Search Description Procedures The databases utilized for this appear were Google Scholar, Social Work Abstracts, Child Welfare In ca-caation Gateway, Academic Search Complete, Professional Development Collection, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SocINDEX with salutary Text Sociological Collection, Academic Search Premier, and JSTOR. It was similarly helpful to review the journal entitled Sexual Abuse A Journal of Research and preaching for relevant terms.While searching the aforementi unrivalledd databases, the spare-time activity ke ywords were utilized sexual abuse and ADHD, sexual abuse and interventions, sexual abuse and co- diseasedity, ADHD and co-morbidity, children and sexual abuse, sexual abuse and interventions. All articles selected were peer reviewed, put in scholarly journals, and publish inside the last ten years. In searching for relevant articles regarding treatment of sexual abuse, most articles addressed interventions designed to treat perpetrators of child sexual abuse a few articles were uncovered that discussed treating adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.Fewer still were articles that identified interventions for children who are recent or current victims of sexual abuse. In order to find information relevant to our target client group, we began pulling computer addresss from reference pages of relevant articles which provided more focused research relevant to treatment of children who have experienced sexual abuse. Results The result of our exhaustive search of getable belles- lettres led us to identify eight articles to focus on.Out of these articles, four dealt specifically with children who have experienced sexual abuse, two focused on abuse of children which included physical abuse along with sexual abuse, two were focused primarily on ADHD, four focused on co-morbidity of either post- harmtic striving disorder (posttraumatic stress disorder) or ADHD and sexual abuse, and four specifically discussed treatments and interventions. Half of the selected articles were literature reviews while the rest four were reporting from the standpoint of a primary source on research studies of treatments and interventions.The research studies vary in their sampling and control or comparison groups only two studies were able to utilize a true experimental design with random assignment of study participants to control and experimental groups. The literature reviews provided an spacious overview of relevant studies and interventions from a secondary source standpoin t. The eight identified sources provided an assortment of research-based perspectives as well as a sampling of evidence based on authority by those who reviewed the literature and discussed their findings in literature reviews. Research FindingsDescription of Articles In the article Sexually Abused Children Suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder Assessment and give-and-take Strategies by David Heyne, Neville J. King, Paul Mullen, Nicole Myerson, Thomas H. Ollendick, Stephanie Rollings, and Bruce T. Tonge states that sexual abuse of children is a major societal problem because of its high prevalence and devastating impact on the victimized child. Children who have been sexually abused often make anxiety, depressive moods, improper sexual behaviors, nightmares, social withdrawal, sleep difficulties, anger, shame/guilt and school problems.The authors did diagnostic interviewing with their participants. The authors interviewed thirty half dozen children and sixty nine percent w ere primarily diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Within the thirty six children four of the children with full PTSD had no other diagnoses. Nine had nonpareil co morbid diagnoses, ten had two co morbid diagnoses, and two had three co morbid diagnoses. PTSD is not always prevalent and at multiplication other emotional and behavioural problems are prevalent. In fact, many studies confirm that on clinical rating a full-grown proportion of sexually abused children meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD (Heyne, at el. , 2003).This extra article showed that often there are other diagnoses that go along with PTSD but in an article by Peggy T. Ackerman, Roscoe A. Dykman, Jerry G. Jones, W. Brian McPherson, and Joseph E. O. Newton, did research on groups that have been affected sexual, physically abused, or both. The article prevalence of PTSD and Other Psychiatric Diagnosis in Three Groups of Abused Children (Sexual, Physical, and Both) was a study make with children that are s exually and or physically abused. Fortunately, many children who are victims of horrifying events do not bob up PTSD or other psychiatric disorders (Ackerman at el. 1998).Very little is known as to wherefore some victimized children do and others do not develop psychiatric disorders. Even such introductory variables as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, intelligence, and age at time of trauma, have been inadequately studied. They were in a large childrens hospital in which sexual and or physically abused children were referred. The groups were divided into three, sexually and physically abused and both. Through the finding there were more boys who were physically abused and girls who were sexually abused. Anxiety and behavior disorders were more frequent than mood disorders.In concordance with clinical observation, abused boys, regardless of type abuse, had higher(prenominal) rates of behavioral disorders and abused girls had higher rates of two internalizing disorders sepa ration anxiety (caregiver reports) and phobic disorder (child report) (Ackerman at el. , 1998). Studies show most clearly that children who have been jointly physically and sexually abused are at greatest risk for psychiatric disturbance. There are many different treatment interventions one can go through to minimize PTSD and attention deficient disorders.Maryka Biaggio, Darlene Staffelbach, Dan Weinstein wrote the article ADHD and PTSD Differential Diagnosis in Childhood Sexual Abuse which shows different interventions used for victimized children. Treatment interventions for ADHD children predominantly consist of behavior management, social skills training, and stimulant or other medication. Treatment interventions for children with PTSD generally consist of management and alleviation of emotional distress using constitute, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy modalities (Biaggio at el. 2000). Relaxation techniques and hypnosis have also been effective in treatment of P TSD in children.Misdiagnosing may lead clinicians to use unconnected interventions for PTSD. Side effects experienced by ADHD children on stimulant medication may include difficulty falling asleep, lack of appetite, irritability, headaches, stomachaches, nausea, dizziness, tachycardia, muscle tics or twitches, slowed physical growth, and skin rashes (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Another undesired onsequence of ADHD mis diagnosis in SAC (sexual abused children) is the failure to address and treat the trauma symptoms of children who actually have PTSD. Given the risk of wrongly prescribing, untreated trauma, and negative impact on egotism for children misdiagnosed with ADHD, it is unfortunate little attention has been given to this issue (Biaggio at el. , 2000).Increased attention to clinical decision-making in the differential diagnosis of ADHD and PTSD may lead to more appropriate, beneficial, and timely interventions. Darcie) Allison M. Briscoe-Smith and Stephen P. Henshaws article e ntitled Linkages among child abuse and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls Behavioral and social correlates, was an excellent source to explore the relationship of sexual abuse and ADHD and begin to discuss the co-morbidity of these events for children. The article described a research study carried out with a sample of 228 females at a summer camp for girls with ADHD over a three year span.Each year cohort groups were created to identify the prevalence of abuse among girls diagnosed with ADHD and those who had not received a diagnosis of ADHD. Out of the twenty dollar bill-four identified cases of abuse histories, twenty of these girls were diagnosed with ADHD, and of those abuse histories ten were sexual in nature which is much higher than any other form of maltreatment documented by the researchers. All girls who had abuse histories had a co-morbid diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder.The study frame that girls with both ADHD and abuse histories were more presumable to display externalizing behaviors and be negatively received by their peers. The study also analyzed the relationship between the prevalence of an abuse history and the rejection from peers and found infringement to partially mediate that relationship. The authors settled that girls with ADHD were at increased risk of having abuse histories and questioned the accurate diagnosis of ADHD.It was suggested that the girls who had histories of abuse may more accurately be diagnosed with PTSD and/or share a co-morbid diagnosis with PTSD. Judith A. Cohen and Anthony P. Mannarino conducted a research study comparing two interventions to treat children who have been sexually abused their findings were published in the article entitled Interventions for Sexually Abused Children Initial Treatment Outcome Findings. This article was one of few that specifically addressed interventions for children with the focus being treatment of sexual abuse.The sample consisted of 49 children bet ween the ages of 7 and 14 who were randomly assigned to either sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy (SAS-CBT) or nondirective supportive therapy (NST) for a twelve week duration. The study found that children in the SAS-CBT group alter significantly in social competence and in the reduction of feelings of depression. Also, substantially higher percentages of children involved in SAS-CBT experienced what is considered clinically significant improvements. In regards to deterioration while in therapy, higher rates were found in children who received NST.For the safety of the other children in the groups, children who were consistently displaying repetitive extreme sexually inappropriate behaviors were removed from treatment groups seven NST participants were removed from the study as compared to two children participating in SAS-CBT. agnatic satisfaction with treatment was high in both treatment groups which either treatment modality. The clinical impressions of the aut hors conclude that sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy is superior to nondirective supportive therapy in the reduction of depressive symptoms.SAS-CBT was also favored due to the benefit of including parents in treatment (NST did not formally include parents). The authors also cogitate that there is value and importance in providing a directive therapy technique in dealing with the effects of trauma caused by sexual abuse. Assessment of Evidence Implications of Evidence Interventions for sexual abused victims trauma may include based cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, parental involvement- parent training, behavioral therapy, coping skills training, psycho-education, and prevention awareness.PTSD interventions may include trauma based cognitive behavioral therapy, and play therapy. Attention deficit disorder can also be treated with behavioral management techniques, medication, social skills training, play therapy, parent training, behavioral classroom interv entions and summer treatment programs. Many sexually abused children have other diagnosis along with PTSD and several possible co-morbid diagnosis are more than likely behavioral, but often can be confused with PTSD. When looking at interventions and treatments clinicians need to look at the clients cultural background so that way we do not intrude on their lives.

Pestel Framework Essay Example for Free

Pestel Framework EssayThe political environment ( continue Section 1 in Appendix 01) does not favour Fonterras operating environment with heavy control over draw powder pricing. Political figureheads at times lead the public to perceive that multinational dairies atomic number 18 operative towards destroying the local dairy industry. With the ending of a 26-year old war within the country there is stableness in the political environment which in normal cases encourages foreign investment.However the governments policies and base regulations towards foreign investment and trade, creates an unfavourable environment for operating multinationals like Fonterra. Noted. In the economic front (Refer slit 2 in Appendix01), with base commodity prices being reliant on global trends and heavy fluctuations on exchange rates, budgeting for the purchase of beneficial cream and skim milk from New Zealand proves difficult with currency fluctuations nigh often surpassing budgeted variances . Subsidies by the government to selected local dairy companies also give unfavourable expediency to them over Fonterra.Socially, similar to world trends, the aging population in the country has opened up new opportunity for Fonterra to execute in with its Anlene product, coincidentally at a time when mature markets like full cream milk come under heavy smear campaigns with global issues such as the cyanuramide sc ar in China. Such incidents create negative perception on all powdered milk products that not only impact short term sales figures but also tarnish the nock loyalty Fonterra has established throughout the years (refer percentage 3 of Appendix01).When we analyse technological trends and their implications on Fonterra (Refer section 4 in Appendix01), legion(predicate) technological improvements ranging from foraging, nutrition, and flavouring to packaging, has influenced Fonterra to create its own biotechnology subsidiary called ViaLactia Biosciences, on the job(p) on identifying, discovering and commercialising genes that affect pasture grasses, milk production and milk composition.One such discovery was the response to turn out decay known as Osteoporosis that most ging populations of the world are facing. By combining bone strengthening nutrients like Calcium, Zinc, Protein and Magnesium, Fonterra was able to create the brand Anlene. Environmental influences on Fonterras strategy are discussed in detail in section 5 of Appendix01. Government sponsored environmental schemes both globally and locally such as deployment of Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) and application of Afforestation Grants Scheme (AGS) increases Fonterra usable costs by having to varan their greenhouse emissions.Fonterra has to include many green initiatives in to their strategy ranging from simple measures such as muff water treatment to more far-reaching methods like emission trading schemes to forestry provisioning. In addition the trend to move towards more renewabl e energy globally would drive the energy costs higher for Fonterra. On legislative front (Refer section 6 in Appendix01), Fonterra plans and operates under strict legislative framework governed by many authorities both globally and locally as content claims on dairy product are heavily scrutinised.Furthermore, products such as Anchor 1+ that cater to infant nutrition require supererogatory measures due to their sensitive nature throughout their lifecycle from production to transportation. Any mishap on the part of a multinational such as Fonterra can lead to a product recall. Therefore additional operational costs have to be borne in maintaining hygiene in areas such as production, packaging, storage and transportation. Refer Appendix01 for a detailed analysis on current industry trends and implications to Fonterra. An extremely good analysis.

Boston beer case Essay Example for Free

capital of Massachusetts beer case Essaycapital of Massachusetts Beer Companys main growth strategy was focused by differentiation. The sources of its competitive advantage can be classified as a company that provides high spirit beer with unique flavors, a market driven approach, and a very efficient contract brewing strategy. Unfortunately, by the 1990s, their initial public offering of $30 went as low as to $8 per share. Since the easy of introduction into the microbrewery business is low, that resulted in about 3000 new microbrewers into the market.When there became too many resources available for the consumer, Jim Koch should have approached the location and avoided the risks of the companys shares from falling, right when they saw stocks going down. He could have also approached having a much aggressive growth approach when the company went IPO. They could have avoided the company from becoming part of the niche market, which is until now the case today. If he would have been a little more aggressive when they went IPO, they could have invested money into a brewery where they can meet their demands, not over exuberate the expansion.Also, they could have invested in finding the right marketing feed like using celebrities or just advertising the beer to capture consumers attention. They really pick uped to grow a type of quote or motto people would remember, just like Dos Equis and Coors light. Boston Beer Company has failed to that and for that reason their growth is still at a steady pace where is still not part of the big dogs yet. Since they focus so much on differentiation as their strategy, why couldnt they capture consumers attention quicker and faster?In the 1990s, Jim Koch should have changed his company from getting into a niche market into a general market, so that today he still does not need to prove or go bar to bar, to ask them to carry their beer. It should be a first option when someone is opening a bar to have Samuel Adams b eer because the consumers love it. He failed to do so by not taking advantage in the 1990s and he will still have to do the same beer pitch to bars, because of his mistake.

Issue Of Importance To You Essay Example for Free

Issue Of Importance To You EssayScientists say that we live on one of the youngest planets in our solar system. Yet, just like any person who has been abusing his body regularly over a stopover of time, our planet has aged immensely over the past decades. Everyday, I open the newspaper and read somewhat various environmental abuses, turning on the television shows me the effects of global warming on the planet. world-wide warming, La Nina, El Nino, no matter what we call the weather phenomenon the truth is that the earth we live on is sick. Gravely ill and asking for help to retrieve a recuperate for what ails it. Afflicted with various illnesses for which there does not be a cure in sight, the real question is, can we collectively find a cure for all that ails our planet before it is withal late? Sometimes, I look bulge out my window and worry about what the next reaction of the planet will be to the constant abuse. allow for my children still have a planet to call hom e when they grow up?Will there still be resources available to them in the future that will help them survive the constantly forever-changing weather patterns? I feel like the past generations and the present have taken so galore(postnominal) liberties that the earth has come to the point of no return, it may be too late to turn things approximately and preserve what is left for the future generations. Strange illnesses for which there does not seem to be a cure seem to be plaguing us. Perhaps, that is the after effect of all the poisons that permeate our air.God still knows that nobody ever intended for all of this to happen as we strive to improve our lives. It may not be too late to save the planet. The question remains though as to how much mankind is willing to dislodge in order to preserve what is here and to help restore the natural balance that was intentionally pale by us. The planet is crying out for help. It is our job as a collective to make certain(a) that we hel p it find a cure and save its life. After all, if this planet dies, so do we, for this is the only place we can call home.

Challenges and opportunities that social media networks offer

Challenges and opportunities that social media networks bring home the baconThe availability of digital media such as satellite and mobile phones, the digital television and most importantly the network, as a means for communication makes Internet Marketing (IM) very different from the Conventional Marketing. McDonald and Wilson (1999) in an elaborate way highlighted the key difference between traditional media and new media. With particular emphasises on IM the authors proposed what they call The 6 Is of e- grocery storeing mix. The authors need that the relevance of the 6 Is argon twofold (i) they draw emphasis on the practical aspects of IM such as direct response and personalization and (ii) provide an understanding of strategic issues such as restructuring of the industry and the changes in the structured channel communications.The 6 Is of e-marketing mixInteractivityIn the case of traditional media the marketing mess long cartridge clip is predominately broadcasted from a come with to its target audience, thereby implying the existence of a push factor. This process of communication provides little scope for fundamental moveion with the customers. However, on the Internet, contact is initiated by the customer who, in most cases, is seeking information, implying the existence of a run factor (Deighton, 1996).Figure 1.13 pg28IntelligenceThe internet renders itself as a cost effective means of conducting market research. The internet is an especially useful tool in gathering information almost customer perceptions about the product/ service.Individualism (Fig 1.14) pg 30As illustrated in the diagram above, new media forms allow marketing communications to be tailored to the individual that the message is meant for, un comparable in the case of traditional media wherein communication is quid media and the same message is disseminated to its audiences. (Lasswell 1984, Katz and Lazarsfeld 1955)Further, the inherent feature of personalisation that n ew media forms offer to marketers is an important building block in managing relationships with customers.Integration (diagram A New Marketing Paradigm for Electronic Commerce)The conventional marketing communication toughie witnesses a fundamental alteration in the presence of a hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environment (CME) like the internet (Hoffman and Novak 1996). The internet enables an increased scope for an integrated marketing communication.The CME communication model provides a platform for consumers to interact with each other, the medium and the company itself. The most drastic departure from the traditional media is the opportunity for the consumers to generate capability onto the medium. Hence, in the CME model the primary relationship is with the receiver and the CME, and not between the mailer and the receiver, which is the case in traditional media.( Hoffman, 1996)The active role of the consumers makes it imperative for marketers to integrate their communication messages.Industry restructuring.Concepts such as disintermediation and reintermediation (Chaffey et al, 2003) are important considerations for companies that operate in a CME.Disintermediation refers to the process of eliminating conventional intermediaries such as agents and brokers, who previously conjugated the company to its customers.Reintermediation is the process of creating new age intermediaries between the company and its customer, given the presence of the internet. These new age intermediaries are often referred to as cybermediaries (Shankar et al, 1996) and include virtual communities like forums, fan clubs and user groups, search engines like Google and Bing , virtual resellers like Amazon and eBay.Independence of locationThe internet provides the possibility of an increased reach of a companys marketing communications to the global audience. This can often translate into reaching international markets and audiences.Social media networks AN insertionSocial media net works, though a relatively new terrain for most companies and brand managers had its humble beginnings when Open diary was founded in 1950s with the intent to make believe a community of diary writers. A few years later, Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis introduced Usenet, letting its users post articles to its groups. (Kaplan et al, 2010). Dating sites that enabled its users to create profiles and even update pictures and online forums, which were the more user genial and sophisticated versions of BBSs (Bulletin Board Systems), are all building blocks of the social media networks as we know it today.With the passage of time and the technological developments that.SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS OPPOTUNTIES AND CHALLENGESSocial networking sitesSocial networking sites like face book, my space, twitter and orkut are platforms for Internet users to create individual profiles with personal information, make new friends and connect with old ones and even for business networking, in some(a) cases.User s can use certain applications which help them connect to each other through instant pass on and sending emails between each other, creating personalised profiles for themselves which can be rise to powered by colleagues and friends etc. Such applications are known as Social networking sites. Personal profiles are highly specialised as they are suit to the users needs. He/she can upload audio files, videos, blogs as well photos into the profile which can be divided up to other friends. Facebook is considered to be the largest social networking site and it is interesting to note that it was originally founded by US establish Mark Zuckerberg who wanted to stay in touch with his friends in Harvard Unviersity. Myspace is also another example of a social networking site which has over 250 million users worldwide.SNS are being used for market research with pretend to netnography as well as creating brand communities by different companies. SNS have also been used especially well for p romoting movies for example when film makers create a fan page of their movie which allows user to access information such as trailers, photos and download games for free. Similarly companies sponsoring football clubs have used SNS such as Myspace to allow fans to feel closer to the teams they support. Apart from marketing their products through SNS other companies go to the extent of using SNS as a distribution channel for their products for example 1-800- flowers a US based florist has allowed facebook users to send virtual flowers to whomsoever they desire or send the real ones by directing users to their company website.