ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution)

 

a.)         ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) acts as a technique and process between disagreeing parties in order to come to an agreement between one and other. In recent years ADR has increasingly been accepted by both the general public and the legal profession as some courts require both parties to result to ADR of some type usually mediation before going ahead and presenting the case to be tried. There are many benefits to using ADR; however there are also disadvantages to using ADR as well. Some of the advantages of ADR include: being able to have more control over the particular issue in which involves the people that are being affected by this issue, this then leads to being less costly as opposed to presenting this issue to the courts which would then cost both parties money as they have to find a lawyer to help resolve their case. Also, ADR is less time consuming as there is less of a delay with ADR because there are fewer procedural and scheduling delays because the issues are being controlled by both parties. Also, ADR is less distractive to a corporation’s directors, managers, as well as their employees as they don’t have to go through a process of preparing to testify as well as preparing information. However, some of the disadvantages of ADR include: ADR does not have full disclosure, as a mediator cannot ensure that the information that has been revealed by both parties are relevant. The court system does provide both parties with safeguards and rules in order to ensure that each party has a fair hearing. Unlike ADR, this technique has few rules and procedures which would not be able to provide the proper assurance to either side compared to the court system. ADR includes many techniques such as: mediation, negotiation, and arbitration.

 

      Mediation involves bringing in a neutral third party that is properly trained, in which this individual would help assist both parties to reach a mutual agreement. The mediator does not make decisions for both parties; the mediator is responsible for facilitating the discussion in order to make sure that each party has an equal opportunity to express their side in regards to the particular issue. Also the mediator identifies the problems and solutions to the issue encouraging a settlement between parties as well as finding different ways that both parties can try and compromise. Mediation is most commonly used in family disputes.  In a case like this a mediator comes in to try and help both parties by coming up with various solutions in which both parties can use in order to help resolve the problem.

 

     Negotiation on the other hand, involves both parties or their representatives are able to meet and discuss the problem with the common goal to try and come up with an agreement in order to resolve the issue. For example, I know some teachers are more then willing to negotiate with the students to try and extend a due date for a particular assignment because they know and understand that the due date of their assignment is on a week that’s really busy for them for all their other classes. Therefore, the teachers are willing to come to an agreement with the students to extend the due date of the assignment and postpone it to a later date.

 

      Arbitration on the other hand is a more formal compared to both negotiation and mediation, where this is where a third party member is voted by both parties to come in and make a final decision between both parties. For example, in terms of your job you may have a dispute with your co-worker, at this point your boss may come in to make a decision between the issue between you and your co-worker and make the final decision about which co-worker was at fault in regards to the issue. To conclude, the difference between ADR and litigation is litigation deals with the courts taking care and making a decision between two parties; Whereas ADR involves a process for both parties to use in order to come with an agreement without having to take the dispute to the courts where it is a longer and more expensive process.  

 

b.)          After researching information about ADR it poses a question in my mind where I wonder why people take issues to the courts if ADR is a much faster and cheaper process to go through. I have learned that based on this question even though yes ADR is a much cheaper and faster process to go through, it’s not necessarily the best way to go about resolving an issue as opposed to bringing the dispute to the courts (litigation). My reason behind that is because the courts have more power to relevant information, also the courts can ensure a fair process, where ADR doesn’t necessarily ensure both parties to go through a fair process. In addition, the courts follow precedent cases (stare decisis) where there are public records of previous disputes or decisions. Last but not least, by taking disputes to the courts, you know that the resolution that is made to the problem is enforceable because the judge is responsible for the laws that are set out as conduct for society.  

 

c.)          As a result to ADR, if I was ever faced with a situation where I felt like I wasn’t successful in using the various different problems to help resolve a dispute such as: mediation, negotiation and arbitration, then I would then take further action and bring the particular dispute to the courts where I know that the situation will be resolved. Even though this process may take longer and is more costly, if you know that there is no solution to your problem between both parties after trying to use various different processes, then that is when both parties need to present the dispute to the courts for further action.   

 

How do you think social media will change in the future? What other trends would you add to the mix? Are they any specific technologies that you think will gain popularity or emerge?

In my opinion, I feel like the use of social media has constantly been changing from time to time. I remember when I was in elementary school and everyone would be using MSN and MySpace as a form of communication to try and communicate to their friends. As soon as Facebook had been introduced, everyone started to focus their attention more so on Facebook, causing social media sites like MSN and MySpace to be obsolete where very few people are using those sites.  Thus, I feel like social media will change in the future by the introduction of new social media sites being introduced to the public. As of right now everyone is hung up over using Facebook and Twitter, however who knows what the next innovation may be in regards to a newer version of sites like these. Furthermore, I feel like trends such as interviews being done over social media sites like Skype, will continue to increase as people are finding it to be more convenient in terms of their busy schedules as opposed to physically being at the interview face to face. Last but not least, I feel like technologies like the iPad will continue to emerge, causing other technologies like the lab top to eventually be obsolete just like how VHS systems are obsolete and people are turning to their Blu- ray systems as well as their DVD players. Also, the iPad is much easier for people to carry around with as opposed to lugging around a laptop and it also looks more professional in terms of the business sector. As technology continues to change, so should business in order to remain in tune with the media.  

Do you think that social media has the potential to bring about real social change?

In my opinion, I strongly feel like the use of social media has brought real social change in terms of today’s day and age. My reasoning behind this is because if you think about it, the way that people are communicating in today’s day and age is completely different in comparison to people back in the day where there was no such thing as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. Social media can bring out both positive and negative aspects regarding social change. In terms of the positive aspect, businesses are finding new ways to market their products through these various different social media sites to try and get potential consumers aware of their product. For example, Nike does a great way of advertising their company as they provide consumers with their own group on Facebook, posting pictures of their products as well as updating their statuses to inform consumers of their latest products. In addition, Facebook allows users to post their comments on the site that way businesses are constantly being informed as to the needs and wants of consumers. In addition, companies like Nike use YouTube as a way to commercialize there product on TV by updating the latest Nike advertisement through posting their commercials on YouTube. However, the negative aspect that social media has is that by making these site available to people, it ignores people being able to actually communicate to one and other face to face as opposed to over the web. These sites make people become less personable when it comes down to dealing with people since they rely so much on these social media tools by avoiding face to face confrontation. Overall, I feel like the use of Social media will continue bringing real social change regardless if their is either negative or positive aspects associated with the use of social media.    

Do you believe that Social Media has increased the quality of news and information or decreased it?

My response to “Do you believe that Social Media has increased the quality of news and information or decreased it?” 

In my opinion, I strongly believe that the use of Social Media has increased the quality of news and information rather than decrease it. My reasoning behind this is because since technology continues to increase from time to time, the way that people are communicating to one and other has gradually changed, where people are now able to access the internet from wherever they may be due to the use of Wi-Fi. Also, people are now getting internet hooked up to their cell phones where they can communicate to their friends, family, coworkers etc, not only through texting but also through Facebook messaging as well as Twitter. This allows people to stay connected with the news no matter where they are and no matter what source they may retrieve this information from. An example of how world news can travel so quickly to people is the death of Michael Jackson, where most people had found this information out through their friends and family recent statuses on either Facebook or Twitter. Thus, this quality of information seems more reliable to believe as opposed to reading local news up in a celebrity magazine, because sometimes you never know if that information is falsely being publicized or not. If you think about it, before the main source of finding out about world news was through television, where now you can access the news online and are able to receive the exact same information. My final thought about social media increasing the quality of news and information, is that with new technology becoming available to users, the way that people communicate back and forth to one and other is going to increase, which then increases the quality and information of news as people are finding various different ways to find information from.      

    

Is Social Media a Fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

     Social media is a category of online media where people are talking, participating, sharing, networking, and bookmarking online. Based on what I know about what social media actually is, I feel that social media is the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution rather than being a fad. Social media is here to stay. Throughout the years social media has changed the way people interact with one another through technology. For example, back in the day there were no such things as cell phones or computers. People would contact each other by telephone (landline) or by letter writing. In today’s day and age, people rarely write personal letters for communication. Instead people use internet by having their own email address for communication. University/College professors use computers to contact their students by emailing those regarding upcoming assignments, tests, notes etc. This is a great way for both the students and professors to stay in contact with one and other as it is much easier to remain in contact through email as opposed to setting up an appointment to meet face to face. It is much quicker and easier to email the other person as opposed to trying to figure out what day and time works best for both the student and professor to meet, to discuss questions or problems a student may have with an assignment or course requirement.

 In addition, technology continues to grow as there are many different ways for people to stay in contact with one another. Some of these ways include: Skype, Facebook, Twitter, MSN, YouTube etc. In order to keep up with today’s society one must make sure that they keep informed with the various different ways that people are finding to communicate to each other. As calling overseas is very expensive, Skype allows people, no matter where they are in the world to see and speak to each other through a webcam at a fraction of the cost. Thus, Skype saves people money while keeping in constant touch whether with their love ones or business communication.

Facebook is another form of communication in which people can stay in contact with each other. Some important facts about Facebook include: Facebook having over more than 800 active users, more than 50% of active users long onto Facebook in any given day, average users are connected to 80 community pages, groups, and events. Also, Facebook plays a huge role in terms of today’s social media as every month more than 500 million people either use an app for Facebook or experience a Facebook platform on other websites. Thus, according to these statistics you can see that the use of technology continues to grow as our society evolves. Facebook allows users to put as much or as little information as they want on their Facebook page. This page can be viewed by a range of people online. Facebook can be used for personal or business usage. Facebook allows users to be able to post pictures of themselves, message people, comment on other people’s photos, and categorize certain people based on their relationship with other users such as: your family, close friends, work friends etc. Facebook allows people to join certain groups and keep in contact with those members that are a part of that group, as well as being a part of an event in which a friend can invite you to. Someone who has a Facebook account is providing their personal information to the world as Facebook is a large networking system. Personal information may include: your phone number if you wish to put your number in it, where you work, what year you were born, what school you currently attend, what program you are taking, where you were from and where you currently live etc. Even though Facebook is a great way for people to communicate, what you post on your personal page could potentially be viewed by many more people then you intended. Thus, you must be careful as to what you post on your Facebook account. Last but not least, I feel that people should embrace social media in a positive way as it really is incredible to know and be able to understand the various different ways that people can stay connected to one and other just through one device system.