Language development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Language development - Essay Example Language development in a child is more than just learning to say " dada", "baba", or mama". They have to develop the ability to listen, understand and speak to others. This site explains the different stages in toddlers first years to the subsequent years. Language development involves good vision and auditory skills. . The technique involved in taking a more active role in the child's language development is by talking more often to the child about everyday activities like brushing teeth, drinking milk, etc. keeping eye contact and speaking clearly to a child with a comfortable distance. Stressing on syllables is important and listening to what the child says. If a child has problem in pronouncing some words instead of pointing mistakes repeat the words and sentences. Reading is another technique to improve language development in a child. Eventually it helps a child in writing as well. This site also explains the activities that can help language development in a child like singing songs, making faces, picture books, nursery rhymes, matching games etc.It also explains the importance of cognitive, social, and emotional development. . Language via the Internet: Language development is the task of preparing a language to serve as a tool of literacy and education. Any natural language is already a suitable tool for oral communication. The prophets of doom emerge every time a new technology influences language. It happened in the 15 the century when printing was introduced, then again when the telephone was introduced in 19 th century, and when broadcasting came in the 20 th century: and they gathered again when Internet writing broke several of and spelling, says Crystal. Internet is allowing us to explore... The human languages are known as natural language, artificial languages , constructed languages (individual groups have constructed for practical, experimental, personal or ideological reasons), formal languages, and the programming languages.Language development is the task of preparing a language to serve as a tool of literacy and education. Any natural language is already a suitable tool for oral communication. The prophets of doom emerge every time a new technology influences language. It happened in the 15 the century when printing was introduced, then again when the telephone was introduced in 19 th century, and when broadcasting came in the 20 th century: and they gathered again when Internet writing broke several of and spelling, says Crystal. Internet is allowing us to explore once more. Crystall concludes that a surprisingly small number of new words have been spawned while texting, blogging and other forms have given radical opportunities to develop new stylistic rules. He believes that the new forms of interaction seen in the Internet are far more important than changes in vocabulary, grammar, and spelling. Finally, as the internet becomes more linguistically varied, it also extends a hand to minority languages and it speakers. It helps speakers of minority language to maintain virtual contact through email, chat and instant messaging environments. The recent technologies like email and text messaging will transform language in a way that certain words might become obsolete.

Ethnic Market Essay Example for Free

Ethnic Market Essay With mounting western influence and focus on revival of traditional Indian fashion elements, diversity in India sees many faces. To maintain the dignity of the culture and to provide a platform to small Indian brands, future group initiated ethnocentrism concept by opening ethnicity store in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This initiative has provided new format insights to organized retailers to expand their horizons in highly volatile Indian consumer oriented market. A new format has always been a challenge to any retailer to sustain into the market. In the changing face of market, to regain preference of consumers towards nationalized brands, can be looked from a confronting angle. This created an anxiety in the mind of researchers and inspired them to undergo the research to understand the ethnicity concept. Ethnicity format is studied based on the first ethnicity store set up in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat and glimpses are taken from the second and third store set up in Mumbai and Pune respectively. Research is secondary followed by primary in nature. This paper gives insights into the overall set up of ethnicity format that includes differentiating Criterias of ethnicity in comparison to regular retail formats based on observation at the store. Questionnaire based survey is also performed to get opinion on ethnicity store and paper gives insights into preferential category for purchase for future developments Consumers have given a very good response to the new concept. Along with shopping, experiences of consumers with the format have given a lasting impact on their mind-set. Further Raja market, Rani Market, Thoda aur market are found attractive to consumers and have gained good preference of consumers followed by Sona-chandi market Chota India and Ghar aangan market. The insights into concept development and suggested potential extended formats of ethnicity may readily work as a pillar to stand into the market for new retailers. Keywords: Ethnicity, Ethnocentrism, Organized Retail, Nationalized brands. Introduction Indian fashion industry is moving towards westernization due to high level of acceptance of foreign brands by the consumers. Due to this ,western brands are getting a wider platform than the ethnic brands across the country. As a result, national/ethnic products are even overlooked by consumers and time may come that such products may disappear from the market. To protect the Indian heritage, Future group took up the maiden initiative to provide a space to Indian products and brands under its own name and fame Future Group, Indias leading business house with strong presence in retail sector, launched a new retail format, family lifestyle store Ethnicity, in Ahmadabad to market ethnic brands and products of India in 2008. This chain is a major family format developed after the launch of *Professor, G. H. Patel Post Graduate Institute of Business Management, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar. **Assistant Professor, N. R. Institute of Business Management (GLS-MBA), Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad. Pacific Business Review International 2 highly successful family formats like Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, and Home Town. The new store format that has been billed as Everything Indian, seeks to promote ethnic brands, ranging from ethnic and fusion wear, Jewellery, handicrafts, home decor, beauty products to accessories and gifts. Thus ethnicity showcases a large number of small Indian brands under one roof. Ethnicity besides promoting the culture of ethnic products, provide a modern platform to augment the presence of the retailers into the industry. Research Objectives †¢ †¢ †¢ To understand the concept of ethnicity as a new retail format To understand differentiating factors of ethnicity store in comparison to the modern retail stores. To understand the consumers preference towards the new format. Scope of the Study The study has explored the concept of ethnicity. In includes understanding of the theme and concept development, merchandise development and differentiation criteria of format in comparison to existing formats. Further to understand acceptance of the new format, consumers preference towards the offerings has also been analyzed Data Collection Sources Secondary data sources have been used to understand the concept the ethnicity. Information has been taken from leaflet provided by ethnicity store of Ahmedabad, and Company website to get insights into ethnicity store of Pune and Mumbai. Articles kept on the websites are also used at the launch of ethnicity. Primary data has been collected through questionnaire to know consumers preference towards the new format. Respondents were the consumers of Ahmedabad who visited ethnicity store. Sample of 100 respondents was administered out of which 94 responses identified as valid sample for the study. Literature Review Ethnic origin has been defined as a group of people who share a common descent, a sense of collective identity and usually a shared cultural heritage and tradition (Crysdale and Bettie, 1973). Ethnicity implies common customs, values, and attitudes within a group of people who are bound by a common cultural identification. Because values reflect a standard or criterion that people use in the guidance of behavior, they act as a norm for ethnic consumer behavior and an influence on many consumption motives. Ethnic Marketing Ethnic marketing is an important aspect of lifestyle marketing, a strategy that tailors a companys products and services towards the customers lifestyles. According to Technopak Analysis, the current market of sarees and ethnic wear stands at Rs 31,000 crore and is projected to grow at 10 per cent to reach Rs 45,000 crore in 2014. Views expressing rationale towards ethnic marketing Mr. Arvind Singhal, chairman of management consulting and retail specialist firm Technopak Advisors (201011) said, Overall apparel category spends are rising, with special focus on ethnic wear brands, where many new brands have emerged as market heroes. They sensed the vacuum in the market, ease of entry, and attracted women the most interesting target consumer, which places the Indian ethnic wear market at Rs. 56,800 Crore, growing at 9% annually. Govind Shrikhande, customer care associate and managing director, Shoppers Stop said Branded ethnic Volume 5 Issue 5 (November 2012) wear is one of the top selling categories in our stores. For the past few years this segment has seen double digit growth, Mr. Gaurav Mahajan, CEO, Westside, a Tata group company said ,Indian ethnic wear is an integral part of our customer promise. We widened the Westside range and introduced Zuba, which offers silks and authentic handlooms. This autumn will see the launch of two more brands, Mr. Rakesh Biyani, joint managing director, Future Group said ,There is a significant rise in demand for womens ethnic clothing. There is a big gap between the opportunity and what is being delivered today by organized players. This gap identification generated a lead to cover the untapped ethnic market and future group took up the initiative to establish ethnicity store as a revolution in the existing apparel format. Concept development of Ethnicity Store by Future Group. Store Design Future Group has launched the first of a chain of stores aimed at retailing Indian wear in 2008 in Ahmedabad city. It is the branded Ethnicity store that keeps the a range of ethnic and fusion wear, jewelry, handicrafts, home decor, beauty products and accessories and gifts. All the products are India inspired. The store is having a spread over an area of 25,000 to 30,000 sq. ft. Store Objective The apparel labeled as traditional and indoor clothing a decade ago, has laid the foundation for todays contemporary Indian ethnic chic. Ethnicity proudly follows the Indian values of being sensitive to Ahmedabad city, environment and community. It provides a platform to bring together traditional or ethnic 3 retailers and consumers. It recreates the know-how of a traditional ethnic market in a modern retail format and is an aggregator of the multi-faceted ethnic merchandise and traditional selling practices. It revives and rejuvenates anything and everything that is Indian. It aims to truly open out the urban ethnic market and redefine the scale of ethnic merchandising. Ethnic-Theme Positioning at the Store The concept Ethnicity is not limited to ethnic clothing but it is a destination to get the unique experience. The key differentiator for Ethnicity lies in its 360-degree shopping experience. Ethnicitys store design reflects a distinctly ethnic character visual merchandising tools include artifacts, paintings and decor pieces from Rajasthan, Orissa and Gujarat. Visual merchandising at ethnicity is like the synopsis of a story book. Ethnicity has gone the Desi way (Highly traditional) to become attractive and communicative. It is vital to not only be a differentiated retailer but also to draw out the true essence of the products. Branding in ethnic wear has been led by region of origin of the product like Benaresi sarees, Lucknowi kurta, Kutchchi Bandhani. The store is colorfully designed and the flashiness gives it an ambience of luxury and festivity. Atmosphere at Ethincity Store Atmospheric at ethnicity store is a reflection of Indian heritage. Instead of halogen lights, everywhere light is reflected by lanterns. Instead of room freshener or perfumes, a raw fragrant of essential oil from flowers known as attar is used to mesmerizes the entrant and bring them to the Indian culture. All the racks for display of merchandise are developed from wooden and outside decoration is of handicraft, which gives a reflection of Indian art. Instead of having all the racks or shelves for display, few of the merchandise is displayed on cot. Store assistants are dressed in ethnic kurtas for refreshments, Coconut water is served in a lorry (Cart) which gives a flavor of typical Indian culture, on the road serving. Pacific Business Review International 4 Use of multi colors, art and fancy designs, air fragrance and traditional lightings give all time festival feeling experience. market. Chosen name for the market is based on arterial language of India. With the theme of ethnocentrism, the collection represents only Indian brands in all the merchandise. Merchandise at Ethnicity Store All the offerings are divided into a Niche name of Overall Analysis of Ethnicity Store Table 1 Store Sections Generic category name Ethnic name at ethnicity store Women’s wear category Rani market-everything ethnic for women Men’s wear category Raja market-everything ethnic for men Kid’s wear category Chota India market Jewellery/ accessories Sona –chandi market- ethnic Jewellery Home accessories Ghar –aangan- ethnic ideas for your home Stationary/medical items Thoda aur- ethnic accessories and more Source: http://www. indiaretailing. com/organising-ethnic-retail. asp Data Analysis Regular formats of organized retail stores have their specific offerings. While ethnicity store has differentiated the same to give a new experience to the consumers. Based on observation at ethnicity store, the following comparison has been made to derive the differentiation criteria Table 2 Comparative Analysis: Organized Regular Retail Format V/s. Ethnicity Format Parameter Organized Retail Organized retailOutlet outlet Theme A move culture Objective To give exposure to western To give platform to Indian brands culture dynamics and appeal to ethnocentrism Size of the outlet Large size Comparatively small size Structure Vertical departmentation Horizontal departmentation. Availability of brands Global brands Only Indian brands Atmospheric Exclusive halogen lights lantern /yellow lights towards Ethnicity Store Ethnicity store western A move towards Indian legacy Volume 5 Issue 5 (November 2012) 5 Decoration No additional decoration Fully decorated with colors, lamps, handicraft ,puppets etc. -looks like all time festival Music Western songs Indian instrumental Fragrance Room fresheners Raw fragrant of essential oil from flowers known as attar Shelves Racks Along with racks Traditional village themed cots with four legs Merchandise division Products are separate Gender wise product bundling. Apparel gets displayed in one section, accessories other section, footwear another section and so on e. g. Raja market includes apparel ,accessories ,footwear addressing men. Rani market includes apparel, accessories, footwear for women Merchandise name English names Traditional Indian names Store assistant’s dressing Western formal wear Traditional Indian kurta Packaging Plastic printed bags Paper bags with traditional look Merchandise Western outfits western designs and indo- Indian traditional embroidery work outfits with Shoes Mojaris and chappals Indo-western painting Handicraft Cosmetic products. Natural ayurvedic products and aromatherapy Perfumes Incense stick, fragrances Light chandelier Candles and Lantern Artificial jewellery Stone work, Kundan jewellery Refreshments Food court with multi cuisine Small push cart/lorry with coconut water Deliverable Shopping Experience attar, natural Source: Primary data collection through observation Analysis of Consumers Preference Towards Ethnicity Store: Consumers survey has been performed to get insights into their experience towards the format with the help of questionnaire. Respondents were the consumers who visited the ethnicity store. Pacific Business Review International 6 Figure 1 Consumers Preference towards the Market based Merchandise at Ethnicity Store with Mean Rank ( where 1 is least and 5 is maximum) 0 1 2 3 4 5 4. 25 Raja Market 4. 02 Rani Market 2. 80 Chota India 3. 20 Sona Chandi Ghar Aangan 2. 05 4. 15 Thoda aur Source: Primary data collection through questionnaire Consumers preference towards the ethnic theme based markets is analyzed to know the preferred market. This analysis is aimed at developing the market to increase the preference †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Consumers are highly satisfied with Raja Market offerings followed by Rani market and thoda aur market. New introductions in thoda aur market like lamps, candle and fragrances, ayurvedic products etc have grabbed attention of people which gives a lead to introduce more unique and Indian traditional items. Sona chandi market has got a good response. Thus it can be interpreted that fashion accessories in ethnic look are keeping tune with the ethnic garments. As per consumers opinion, Chota India is yet to gain preference may be because of traditional designs that are not preferred more for kids in †¢ comparison to western attractive outfits with cartoon characters Again as per consumers opinion, Ghar aangan is also yet to gain preference may be because of bed sheets, utensils, toys , purchase for rituals like puja ka saaman etc. have pre-existence of established unorganized market. Volume 5 Issue 5 (November 2012) 7 Consumers Preference towards Ethnic Products for Three Most Preferred Markets Figure 2 Preference has been Analyzed towards Offerings for Females as Rani Market Source: Primary data collection through questionnaire Fusion wear and Mix Match are able to attract consumers as it is a new and unique base of ethnic products. As Saari, salwaar kamiz have become a common purchase and many platforms are available to address the demand, preference is found at the moderate level. Figure 3 Preference has been Analyzed towards Offerings for Males as Raja Market Source: Primary data collection through questionnaire In mens wear traditional wear in the form of Jodhpuri, Chudidar and kurtas along with traditional mojaris have attracted consumers to larger extent Pacific Business Review International 8 Figure 4 Preference has been Analyzed towards Offerings for Thoda Aur Market Source: Primary data collection through questionnaire Full range of Fragrances and Candles Incense has been introduced by ethnicity store. It has got extra ordinary preference of consumers. Thus it has contributed towards maintenance of Indian legacy Consumers preference towards Aromatherapy Aromatherapy is the use of aromatic plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical wellbeing. Aroma therapists blend therapeutic essential oils especially for each individual and suggest methods of use such as topical application, massage, inhalation or water immersion to stimulate the desired responses. Aroma therapy oils may include : †¢ Peppermint Digestive disorders †¢ Rosemary Muscular pains, mental stimulant †¢ Sandalwood Depression, anxiety and nervous tension †¢ Sweet orange Depression and anxiety. †¢ Tea tree Respiratory problems, antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral †¢ Lavender Headaches, insomnia, burns, aches and pain Ethnicity store has provided the platform for Aromatherapy. Full range of essential oils has been displayed to generate the awareness and preference towards the same. It is aimed at generating awareness towards ayurvedic medicine in the arena of allopath for better and secure treatment. Ethnicity has taken maiden initiative to mould the consumers psychology towards naturopath. (Graph on next page) It can be interpreted from figure-5 that first hand response has been satisfactory with 49% for. Aromatherapy and thus it enjoys the potential to increase the preference in future. The atmospheric of traditional products is supporting the purchase of traditional way of health supplements. The advice and explanation given along with the product has played important role in making realization to go for natural products Volume 5 Issue 5 (November 2012) 9 Figure 5 Preference has been Analyzed for Aroma Therapy Source: Primary data collection through questionnaire Figure 6 Analysis of Consumers Satisfaction towards Ethnicity Store: Consumers level of satisfaction towards the differentiated offerings has been analyzed. Such analysis is aimed at identifying the most appealing differentiation for future positioning of the store and developing the strategies that may lead to future satisfaction Competitive Assessment Matrix with Mean Rank ( Where 1 is least and 5 is maximum) Regular Organized Retail Formats and Ethnicity Store Consumers’ satisfaction on competitive assessment matrix 0 1 2 3 4 5 4. 05 4. 95 Theme 2. 30 2. 60 Price 3. 25 4. 00 Variety 3. 94 4. 35 Display 4. 00 Experience Source: Primary data collection through questionnaire Keys : Regular organized retail outlets Ethnicity store 5. 00 Pacific Business Review International 10 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢. Competitive assessment matrix depicts that ethnicity theme is highly appealing to the people. The differentiation point of giving experience to the consumers than only to provide a platform for shopping is getting correct positioning in the mind set of consumers as it is applauded by consumers with the mean rank of 4. 95. Unique display of ethnicity is highly appreciated by consumers in comparison to regular organized retail formats. On the dimension of variety ethnicity is lagging behind in comparison, the contributing reason may be limited number of Indian brands into each category. As far as pricing is concerned none of the outlets satisfied the consumers expectation. It brings out the fact that price structure is too high. Here opportunity lies with ethnicity store to discriminate pricing strategy to get competitive edge over other formats. It might be feasible to reformulate the pricing strategy due to nationalized brands. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Suggestions †¢ Major Findings †¢ †¢ †¢ Ethnicity is indeed a revolutionary move towards consumers ethnocentrism. National players have also joined hands with the big retailer and accepted the opportunity to address the mass market. Thus it has contributed to a greater extent in providing a wider platform to small retailer of India. Further is has contributed towards generating awareness of ethnic products and brands of allover India which were not noticed by the consumers and importance was not realized by consumers. It is an absolutely unique model into organized retail formats. Everything starting from atmospherics to collection of brands, merchandise display and packaging is uniquely positioned with the nationalized theme. It provides a feel-good factor and thrilling experience to the consumers. Consumers are getting attracted by the theme and getting exposed and penetrated by ethnic products. Today consumers look for fashionable clothes. National brands which were not recognized earlier, have provided a platform of fashion to explore Consumers are highly satisfied with Raja Market offerings followed by Rani market and thoda aur market. Fusion wear, Mix Match, Jodhpuri,Kurtas, Chudidars, Mojaris and fragrances ,candles and incense are able to get preference of people. Aroma therapy is able to get good welcome form the consumers. Ethnic designs are getting acceptance in the form of novelty. In all this innovative concept well applauded by consumers as they are getting exposed to all the variety and designs of products of all the corners of India under one roof. †¢ †¢ †¢ More Indian retailers should be motivated to provide huge collection of ethnic products in the categories of mens wear and womens wear to provide more varieties. There is a need to increase the range of aroma therapy offerings to increase the awareness and consumption. Fragrances, candles and incense offerings have brought Indian values back in the preferences. This has showcased a very good business potential as a whole. There is a need to provide more and more offerings into the segment with more and more varieties. Potential revolutions into existing format of ethnicity for India. Format can be expanded by introducing specialties of major states/cities of India †¢ Rajasthan market Art craft †¢ Jamnagar market-Bandhani Volume 5 Issue 5 (November 2012) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Bangalore -Silk garments Chennai- Pearl jewellery Kerala market-Spices Format can be expanded by introducing specialty food of major states/cities of India it may help to give a back shift to the consumer trend which is moving towards western food Gujarati food Punjabi food South Indian food Rajasthani food North Indian food Kathiyawadi food Potential revolutions into existing format of ethnicity for other countries. It has been witnessed that countries are getting specialized into technological innovations but spread of such innovations into the same continent reflects questionable behavior of consumers. Many a times it is because of lack of awareness. Such type of format may provide a common platform to explore the small innovative products at consumer end E. g. European countries. Fashion based Ethnicity- As fashion industry is one of the major growing industries in Europe, all fashion statements can be displayed under one platform †¢ Fashion statement of Italy †¢ Fashion statement of France †¢ Fashion statement of United kingdom Technology based ethnicity- Technical Research. innovation driven countries, all innovations can be displayed under one platform †¢ Big to small innovative products of Finland †¢ Big to small innovative products of Germany †¢ IT Renewable technology based products from Sweden †¢ Electric technology innovations of Netherland E. g. Asian Countries 11 Technology based ethnicity. †¢ Robotic technology based innovative small to big products from South Korea Japan References Crysdale and Bettie, 1973, Retrieved from, http:// www. manifolddatamining. com /html /products/ ethnicmarketing. htm on 15/02/2012 Anuradha Shukla, Ethnic wear market booms in India retrieved from http://wonderwoman. intoday. in/ story/ethnic-wear-market-booms-in-india/1/ 88440. html http://indiatoday. intoday. in/story/ethnic-wear-marketto-grow/1/124981. html retrieved on 06/02/2012 koregaonparkplaza, pune (2011) retrieved from http:// w w w. k o r e g a o n p a r k p l a z a . c o m / s t o r s details. asp? id=77catid=1st=1 retrieved on 06/ 02/2012 Runul Vashistha, (2009) retrieved from http:// www. indiar et a iling. com/ R et ailC oncep t _ details. aspx? Id=58 retrieved on 02/02/2012 Pooja nair, (2009). retrieved from http://ahmedabad. metromela. com/Lamps+and+ethnic+ wear+at+. Ethnicity/article/3183 retrieved on 15/02/2012 Shailesh Shah, (2012). Ethnicity: Towards organising ethnic retail, retrieved from http: // www. indiaretailing. com/organising-ethnicretail. asp retrieved on 02/02/2012 http://www. pantaloonretail. in/pdf/ethnicity_karigari. pdf Reference Book Jr. Churchill Gilbert A. , Lacobucci Dawn, Israel D. , (2009),Marketing Research- A South Asian Perspective, India Edition, Delhi: Cencage Learning. Additional material Leaflet circulated at ethnicity store 12 Glossary Attar: A fragrant of essential oil typically made from rose petals Ayurvedic: It is a Hindu system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. Ayurveda can be defined as a system, which uses the inherent principles of nature, to help maintain health in a person by keeping the individuals body, mind and spirit in perfect equilibrium with nature Bandhani: A process of patterning cloth by tie-dyeing in which the design is reserved on the undyed cloth by tying small spots very tightly with thread to protect them from the dye especially popular in Rajasthan and India Chappal: An item of Indian footwear, similar to a flipflop with a toe strap Chota (India market): Younger, junior child related products. Pacific Business Review International Kundan Jewellery: Kundan is a traditional Indian gemstone jewelry, a method of gem setting in a jewellery piece, consisting of inserting gold foil between the stones and its mount, usually used to create elaborate necklaces believed to have originate in royal courts of Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is the oldest form of jewellery made and worn in India Kurta: A knee-length, collarless shirt worn over pajamas by men in India Mojaris: A style of South Asian handcrafted footwear mostly using vegetable-tanned leatherproduced in India Organized retail: Organized retail has been defined as a network of similarly branded stores with an element of self service Raja (Market): A prince, chief, or ruler related products in India Rani (Market): Indian princess related products Ethnicity: Ethnicity implies common customs, values, and attitudes within a group of people who are bound by a common cultural identification Saree: a dress worn primarily by Hindu women; consists of several yards of light material that is draped around the body Ethnic groups: A group of people who share a common descent, a sense of collective identity and usually a shared cultural heritage and tradition Sona-chandi (market)-Gold silver related products/jewellery Ethnic Marketing: Ethnic marketing is an important aspect of lifestyle marketing, a strategy that tailors a companys products and services towards the customers lifestyles Ghar -aangan (market):Home decoration related products Handicraft: Items made by hand, often with the use of simple tools, and are generally artistic and/or traditional in nature . They are the objects of utility and objects of decoration. Incense stick: It is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned Thoda aur (market): somewhat more than the existing here in the context of more than the regular offerings.

Is Social Security Reform Really Necessary? Essay -- Argumentative Per

Is Social Security Reform Really Necessary? For many years the social security program has been operating successfully. In recent times however, it is becoming apparent to some that social security is in need of reform. Their argument is that with the amount of people getting older in the next couple of decades, there will not be enough money left in the social security reserves to pay for everyone who needs it. That is why the idea of separating social security up into private funds has been brought to the attention of the American citizens. This idea of reform has been around for quite a long time; however it has been pushed on by pro reform supporters more in recent times because they think it is necessary for the future of the social security program. The idea of reforming the way that social security functions is a bad idea because the way it is set up right now will work in the future regardless of population changes. It also won’t be worth the time and money to reform something that is already working very well, which social security is. Furthermore, the current president’s plan of privatizing social security had many problems and will not work very well during future years. These problems will not only affect the way our seniors live their lives, but also it will put our country deeper and deeper into debt. Many things would change as a result of social security reform, not one of which is better. Most Americans do not enjoy unnecessary taxes and costs, and the privatizing of social security is one thing that is preventable and would not even save the American citizens money in the long run. This idea is very poor, and there are many reasons why it should be stopped. To understand what is wrong with privatizing social security, it is very important to first know how social security works in its current form. What social security is exactly is a way for older Americans and retired American citizens to have financial benefits after they become too old to be working. This includes money for prescription drugs, food, and other common living costs. It comes to the beneficiaries in the form of a check routinely. This money comes from a vast social security reserve that is paid for by the common American taxpayer. The idea behind this is that when you are making money and have a steady job, you will pay money toward social security so t... ...say I encountered many small problems. One of the major ones was finding the resources to write an 8-10 page paper. I have little experience with papers that are this length, so I had to work it out as I went along. In the end it was alright though because I got a chance to really reflect and expend on my ideas, which is something that I never got a chance to do before. Some of the strengths of this paper are the arguments that I presented about this topic. There were a few problems that I ran into along the way. One was trying to make sure I didn’t accidentally state the same idea twice. As unrealistic as it sounds, it can be a reality if the paper is a real long one. If I had more time in the working of this paper, I would probably add more hard facts from my sources, so that my arguments would become more concrete. I would have to say that I was fairly well prepared for this paper and I thought that I did a pretty good job on it. The only improvements that I could see a re if I were to add more citations and edit my arguments to be stronger. I would have to say that I had a fun time working on this paper and learned a whole lot about a subject that I knew nothing about before.

Differences Between Troy Movie and Iliad

The differences between the movie â€Å"Troy† and the poem â€Å"Iliad† and the explanation of why they occurred? The film Troy which is directed by Wolfgang Peterson has been deeply influenced by the epic poem, the Iliad. This work is generally credited to the Ancient Greek poet named Homer. Both the film and the poem have the same ending plots, such as the blockade of Troy by the Greeks, the disagreement between the warrior Achilles and the king Agamemnon and these actions started when the prince of Troy Paris who took the wife king Menelaus of Sparta with him.However there are many main differences related to these plots. These differences include some very major characters dying in the Iliad and surviving in the film troy, the time of the death of characters, and the relationships between the characters. Some of the major differences between the film and the poem are:   1. In the Iliad the war took 10 years in the film Troy it only took 17 days. 2. In the Iliad, P atroclus was not the cousin of Achilles, only a friend. 3.There is no mention of the horse in the Iliad. 4. In the poem, Paris is killed, Hector’s baby is killed, and Hector’s wife is the slave of Greek however in the film Troy they escape safely. 5. Agamemnon was killed by his wife, â€Å"Clytemnestra† in the Greece after the war, not by Briseis who kills him in the film. 6. Hector was too scared of Achilles to fight him and he ran away around the walls of troy 3 times. 7. In the movie Agamemnon brought the kings together for this war, which is not true in the Iliad. . In the movie, Briseis is a member of Priam's family but in the poem, she was simply a slave girl. 9. The movie tells that Achilles is so arrogant that he does not respect Apollo and the Iliad tells that Achilles respects the gods and goddesses. 10. The movie hasn’t shown any close relationships between the Greeks and Trojans and their gods and goddesses. The Iliad demonstrates the close in teractions between the gods and goddesses and their followers.The reason of these differences in the film Troy and the Iliad are to convenience of the director and for entertainment. If the film remained same as the poem â€Å"Iliad† then the movie would have received more limited ratings and decrease the amount of the audience. They would earn less money for the publishing company. Director attempted to make the film more likable by making the film a more feel good by letting Paris, Hector’s wife, Hector’s baby, Helen and Briseis escape with citizens of Troy which created an environment of hopes.The film would have appeal to lower amount of people, if Paris, Hector’s wife and baby had been killed. Many people would have feel frustrated by watching everyone dying that’s why the director did not remain true to the Iliad but in the Iliad there is really no hope left for Troy. There is no other reason for these differences except from money and as all the major and small differences are observed, it becomes very obvious that the film was moulded to a modern day audience with modern day expectations of the film.

Effects of Deforestation

Tropical rain forest is very important for our nature such as for ecosystem balance, earth temperature and flora and fauna habitat. In our country Malaysia, most of the forest are announced as a forest reserve to preserve our forest from destroyed. Not only important to flora and fauna but also to people. For some people, their lives depends on forest. However, deforestation activity by irresponsible people has led to imbalanced ecosystem. First of all, the effect of deforestation is pollution especially water pollution. This problem occurred when people often cut down the trees illegally. So, there are no roots to hold and prevent the soil from fall down. The soil that does not have roots to hold it can easily fall down into the river. Consequently, the water becomes polluted. Cloudy and shallow. From this, the aquatic life ecosystem will be threatened and damaged. Another effect of the deforestation is flora extinction. As we all know, forest is the habitat of most species for flora. For instance, raflesia, nepenthis, ferns, and various kinds of wood. The loggers who cut down the trees do not care whether the kind of trees is mature or immature. As a result, the trees which is flora habitat will be damaged. The flora will die and extinct due to this problem. Finally, we can see clearly the bad effects from deforestation. If this problem still happen, our forest will be damaged and vanish. In that case, our next generation will not have a chance to know all these valuable flora. So that, government and people should work together to overcome this problem.

Zora Neale Hurstons Their Eyes Were Watching God Essays

Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God Essays Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Research Paper "I am Me, My Eyes Toward God" Mark Evans Zora Neale Hurston an early twentieth century Afro-American feminist author, was raised in a predominately black community which gave her an unique perspective on race relations, evident in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston drew on her on experiences as a feminist Afro-American female to create a story about the magical transformation of Janie, from a young unconfident girl to a thriving woman. Janie experiences many things that make her a compelling character who takes readers along as her companion, on her voyage to discover the mysteries and rewards life has to offer. Zora Neale Hurston was, the daughter of a Baptist minister and an educated scholar who still believed in the genius contained within the common southern black vernacular(Hook http://splavc.spjc.cc.fl.us/hooks/Zora.html). She was a woman who found her place, though unstable, in a typical male profession. Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in Eatonville, Florida, the first all-incorporated black town in America. She found a special thing in this town, where she said, " [I] grew like a like a gourd and yelled bass like a gator," (Gale, 1). When Hurston was thirteen she was removed from school and sent to care for her brother's children. She became a member of a traveling theater at the age of sixteen, and then found herself working as a maid for a white woman. This woman saw a spark that was waiting for fuel, so she arranged for Hurston to attend high school in Baltimore. She also attended Morgan Academy, now called Morgan State University, from which she graduated in June of 1918. She then enrolled in the Howard Prep School followed by later enrollment in Howard University. In 1928 Hurston attended Barnard College where she studied anthropology under Franz Boas. After she graduated, Zora returned to Eatonville to begin work on anthropology. Four years after Hurston received her B.A. from Barnard she enrolled in Columbia University to begin graduate work (Discovering Authors, 2-4). Hurston's life seemed to be going well but she was soon to see the other side of reality. Hurston never stayed at a job for too long, constantly refusing the advances of male employers, which showed part of her strong feminist disposition. But Hurston was still seeking true love throughout her travels and education. At Howard University, Hurston met Herburt Sheen whom she married on May 19, 1927 in St. Augstine, Florida (DA, 2). They divorced shortly after they got married because they could not continue the idealistic dreams they had shared in their youth. Zora Hurston's second marriage to Albert Price III was also short lived. They were married in 1939 and divorced in 1943 (DA, 2). By the mid-1940s Hurston's writing career had began to falter. While living in New York, Hurston was arrested and charged with committing an immoral act with a ten-year-old boy. The charges were later dropped when Hurston proved that she was in another country at the time the incident allegedly took place (Discovering Authors, 3). Hurston already was witnessing the rejection of all of her works submitted to her publisher, but the combined effects of the arrest and the ensuing journalistic attack on her image doomed the majority of her literary career. She wrote to a friend: "I care nothing for writing anything any more My race has seen fit to destroy me without reason, and with the vilest tools conceived by man so far" (Discovering Authors, 4). In approximately 1950 Hurston returned to Florida, where she worked as a cleaning woman in Rivo Alto. She later moved to Belle Glade, Florida, in hopes of reviving her writing career. She failed and worked as many jobs including: newspaper journalist, librarian, and substitute teacher (Baker, prodigy.com/ pages.html/chronology.htm). Hurston suffered a stroke in 1959 which demanded her admittance in the Saint Lucie County Florida Welfare Home. She died a broken, penniless, invalid in January 1960 (DA, 5). All of Hurston's trials built the basis for her best work. Therefore, the work that has denoted her as one of the twentieth century's most influential authors did not come until after she had graduated from college. However, the literature she composed in college was by no means inferior. She was a defiant free-spirit even during her early college career. While working on an anthropological study for her mentor, Franz Boas, she was exposed to voo doo, which she quickly embraced. She was deeply interested in the subtle nuances that voo

Issac Singer essays

Issac Singer essays In 1851, Isaac Singer borrowed $40.00 to make a working sewing machine that would become the leader in the sewing machine industry and famous around the world. Isaac Merritt Singer was born on October 27, 1811 in Troy, New York to a large family of German immigrants. When he was twelve he left home and went to Rochester and worked all kinds of unskilled labor jobs until he was 19 years old. He found a job as an apprentice machinist in a machine shop. He didn't like this job, so after four months he left and for the next nine years moved from state to state and made a good living because of his natural mechanical ability. He got a lot of experience from doing this because he worked on anything that he could get paid for. In 1830 he quit working as a machinist and became an actor because he had a loud voice and thought he would be good at it. He really enjoyed doing this, but could not make enough money to keep him in the lifestyle that he enjoyed. He wasn't happy about giving up acting, but had to go back to the boring life of a machinist. Singer spent the rest of his life claiming great success as a stage actor. In 1931 he married Catharine Maria Haley. He was almost twenty years old and she was only fifteen. They lived with her family in New York. He wasn't happy with his home life and went around the countryside, working as a stage hand, advance man and as an actor. In 1836, he suddenly signed on as an advance man with another travelling group and left New York and went to Baltimore. While in Baltimore, he met eighteen year old Mary Ann Sponsler and fell in love with her. He asked her to marry him and they returned to New York in September of 1836. He knew he really couldn't marry her because he already had a wife, so he convinced her to wait to get married and to just live with him as Mrs. Isaac Singer. By the summer of 1837, Isaac Singer had a wife, a common-law wife, a son by Mary Ann and a son and daughte...

Experience Archaeology Firsthand in a Field School

Experience Archaeology Firsthand in a Field School Would you like to go on an archaeological dig? Do Indiana Jones movies give you wanderlust? Does the thought of conducting scientific research in exotic locations sound like the perfect way to spend your hard-earned vacation? Are you tired of reading about ancient cultures from the pages of books and websites and do you long to learn about those dead societies first hand? An archaeological field school might be just what youre looking for.   An archaeological field school means that even if youre not a professional archaeologist, you, too, can spend part of your summer digging in the dirt. After all, it doesnt seem terribly fair that we should have all the fun, does it? Well, fortunately, there are lots of university-based excavations going on all year long, called field schools, and some of them take unaffiliated volunteers. Whats a Field School? An archaeology field school is an archaeological dig that is organized partly to train the next generation of archaeologists. Of course, field schools are always arranged to conduct real, scientifically-based archaeological research for the professors and their graduate student assistants. The only reason to go into the field and excavate sites must always be to gather new information about ancient behaviors and culturesarchaeology is a destructive process and if youre not gathering data, you shouldnt be digging. But field schools are specifically tailored to teach new students the methods and philosophy of archaeology. And the good news? Even if youre not planning on becoming an archaeologist, you can still attend a field school. In fact, I always recommend that anybody even considering a career in archaeology should go to one early in their education, if possible even before they start taking university classes, to find out if they like hanging around other sunburned and filthy people pursuing scientific research enough to warrant the cost of a college education. Attending a Field School A field school works this way: a small band of studentsgenerally ten to fifteen, although the size varies considerably from school to schoolis collected by a university anthropology department. The students go to an archaeological site where they get instructions on how to survey and dig, and then they dig. Many field schools feature lectures and tours to nearby archaeological sites; sometimes students are assigned a special project of their own. The students get college credit and training that way,   starting them off in a career in archaeology. Most field schools last between two and eight weeks in the warm or dry season, depending on what part of the world the excavations are located. Many field schools also welcome members of the local historical society or archaeology club, or provide opportunities for the public to experience archaeology for themselves. Almost every archaeology department or anthropology department with a concentration in archaeology in the world conducts archaeological field research in schools every summer or every other summer. What Youll Need To attend such a field school, youll need physical stamina, clothes you dont mind destroying, a hat with a brim, and SPF 30 or better sunblock. You may get college credit. You may have to provide your own travel and housing expenses, or they may be provided as part of the experience. Youll need a strong sense of adventure; a stronger sense of humor; and the ability to work hard without complaining (too much!). But you might have the time of your life. So, if you have a few days or weeks off next summer, and you want to experience a little real-live archaeology, this is the time to start looking! Finding a Field School There are several ways to find a field school. There are several dozens being held all over the world every year. Here are a few sites that can be trusted to contain up-to-date listings from around the globe.   Archaeology Anthropology Field Schools ShovelBums site, R. Joe Brandon Archaeological Fieldwork.com, Jennifer Palmer Field School Opportunities from the American Anthropological Society Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin from the Archaeological Institute of America You could also contact the archaeologists associated with the anthropology, archaeology, or ancient history department at your local university. You might consider joining your local archaeology society or club. Good luck and good digging!

One-Way Analysis of Variance with SPSS Coursework

One-Way Analysis of Variance with SPSS - Coursework Example Using results from the Tukey HSD test, it is observed that there are several comparisons listed in the table. For instance, in the first row, we can see the comparison between group 1 and the other two groups. Following this table across, we see that the difference of means between group 1 and the other two groups is significant. However, the difference in means between group 2 and 3 is not significant (p-value = 0.999). The results are consistent with our findings based on the ANOVA test in which the p-value was significant as it is less than 0.05. The significance of the p-value (from the ANOVA test) is observed due to the significant difference of means between groups 1 and 2 and 1 and 3. Using results based on main effects and post-hoc statistical test, in this case Tukey HSD test, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant difference between the three groups. In other words, there is a difference between the means of the three

The economics system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The economics system - Essay Example With the advancement in the technological and environmental aspect, the nations are involving in better means of production and distribution to earn competitive advantage in the global scenario. The concept of the economic system is elaborated as the system of production and trade of goods and/or services in a community. The overall economic system includes individual, organisation, sectors and end users of a society or in general, it is often referred as the mode of production. Moreover, economics is identified on a wider concept, which is sub-divided into the two aspects i.e. micro and macroeconomics. Microeconomics focuses on demand and supply of products and/or services in the markets in relation to the change in the price level. On the other hand, macroeconomic dimension includes the relationship of the aggregate variables including the purchasing power, price income and money (McConnell et al., 2009). The study of the overall economic system comprises both the micro and macro economy of a nation or a particular community at large about how firms and various agencies are linked among each other, how the communication information flow between the them and the social relationship in the economic system. Thus, in larger and boarder term, it comprises various processes that are followed within a geographical region in the production, distribution and circulation of labor for producing products and/or services, machineries, consumer goods and infrastructure among others. Moreover, the economic system of one nation varies with other nations due to differences in the political structure, culture and environmental conditions. In this regard, the point will be justified with the fact that Chinese economic system is comparatively very complex as compare the western nations’. The economic system consist of both capitalistic and socialistic aspects and the global economic system falls in four main

The Importance of Executing the New Agreement of the City Research Paper

The Importance of Executing the New Agreement of the City - Research Paper Example The legal issue was whether Gangnam Style was a vessel. In this case, Mr Park affirmed that the defendant’s never qualified as maritime transport or a vessel of maritime commerce, but rather designed as a floating structure that served as a shelter. Further, the city asserted that the vessel is capable of transporting goods and people over water. This was later supported by judge Cowell who supported the city’s argument that under federal law, the word vessel described the watercraft or any artificial machine used as a means of transportation on water. In explanation, the judge used plain meaning of the statute of Gangnam style as a vessel used for the purpose of transporting people or goods over water as indicated in order 1 under subsection 3 of Water transportation. In essence, the general provision of the rule is that a vessel is any machine that offers means of water transportation. While it appeared the Congress never intended to group boats like Gangnam style in the act, the main responsibility was to interpret the law as written. As indicated, the rule provides that a vessel includes any means of water transportation that can transport people and goods. Following this, the judge interpreted the law as defined in the act that a vessel is any machine used for transportation over water. From the mentioned case, there are various things that are worth considering before giving the answers to the legal issue. First, it is important to note that Mr Park, a known Korean artist, purchased the Defendant’s boat, Gangnam style and later used the vessel as a primary residence until April 2012.

The Role of the Financial Manager MOD 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Role of the Financial Manager MOD 1 - Essay Example Facebook is owned by Mark Zuckerberg. According to Read Write Web (nd), â€Å"Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room on February 4, 2004.† This is where people are able to exchange pictures, contacts, music, send messages and be in contact and make friends with other people just by sending them requests and after accepting you can be able to access their profile which has their personal information. As the owner, Mark Zuckerberg never had CPA and/or CFA designations but according to the Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia; He â€Å"studied psychology and computer science† The second example is Morningstar, Inc. This is owned by Joe Mansueto. According to United (2011), â€Å"Morningstar was subsequently founded in 1984 from his one-bedroom Chicago apartment In July 1999 Morningstar accepted an investment of US$91 million from SoftBank in return for a 20% stake in the company. The two companies had the previous year formed a joint venture in Japan. Morningstars initial public offering occurred on May 3, 2005, with 7,612,500 shares at $18.50 each. The manner in which Morningstar went public is notable. They elected to follow Googles footsteps and use the OpenIPO method rather than the traditional method. This allowed individual investors to bid on the price of the stock, and allowed all investors equal access. As of December 2008 Joe Mansueto owned approximately 57% of the outstanding shares in Morningstar.† Hence Joe Mansueto stopped being the Chief Finance Officer of the company in the Year 2008 When he become the Chief Executive officer after owning more than fifty percent of the shares. Joe Mansueto studied a degree in Business Administration hence he was an expert in running finances in his company. This has lead to tremendous growth of the company. Most of the CFO (Chief Finance Officer) are the individuals who founded their companies and after running them for some time and succeeding, they choose to hire someone to

Authority in Tudor Era England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Authority in Tudor Era England - Essay Example However, it is worth mentioning that the events that followed point out that the Henrician Reformation was not successful in itself i.e. when taken on its own. The events that followed Henry VIII’s death did cause the Protestant Reformation to be a success in England. The circumstances and public opinion helped ensure that. However, from the point of view of the Reformation that Henry VIII sought to bring about, or did bring about, it is clear to see that it was not a success. Although there were many features that are considered to be factors to the English Reformation, the emergence of common law and feelings of nationalism, as well as the weakening of feudalism, along with the creation of the printed press that resulted in an increased flow of information and thought in the academia, however, it was basically the government policy, that of Henry VIII to be exact, that was the leading cause of this Reformation, with some claiming the entire cause of the Reformation to be Hen ry VIII’s particular needs (Newcombe 1). Henry VIII, who had married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, did not have a male heir. He now sought to marry Anne Boleyn, his present wife’s maid of honor. ... Caught between a desire to marry Anne Boleyn, and keeping his faith intact, Henry VIII was further influenced by those in his Court, who took this as an opportunity to further goad the King into declaring the Crown’s break from Papal authority. Anne Boleyn and those who sided with her ensured that the King was slowly enticed into breaking away from the Papal authority. Henry VIII, for his own reasons, was swayed by the counsel he was provided. Using praemunire, an edict that forbade allegiance to foreign rulers, Henry VIII moved against the clergy of England who supported the non-annulment of his marriage to Catherine. He proclaimed that all allegiance was owed to him and that he had spiritual jurisdiction as well. Henry VIII proclaimed that only those clergy who agreed to this would be pardoned, the others to be prosecuted under praemunire. However, this alone cannot be termed as the lone precursor to the Henrician Reformation. Other factors also fostered and furthered the Re formation. One such factor was the invention of the printing press. With the inventing of the printing press, the distribution of the Bible was made much easier, what is more the Bible was distributed amongst the masses, or smuggled. This, along with German reformer Martin Luther’s views regarding the sacrament of the altar being subservient to the preaching of the word, entailed that now people were no longer dependant on the interpretation of the Bible by the clergy alone. This also sought to cause harm to the Papal authority. Slowly, with the influence of Anne Boleyn, these ideas were transported into the English towns and village, although it is pertinent to note that the people did not support them at first. As

The Role of the Financial Manager MOD 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Role of the Financial Manager MOD 1 - Essay Example Facebook is owned by Mark Zuckerberg. According to Read Write Web (nd), â€Å"Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room on February 4, 2004.† This is where people are able to exchange pictures, contacts, music, send messages and be in contact and make friends with other people just by sending them requests and after accepting you can be able to access their profile which has their personal information. As the owner, Mark Zuckerberg never had CPA and/or CFA designations but according to the Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia; He â€Å"studied psychology and computer science† The second example is Morningstar, Inc. This is owned by Joe Mansueto. According to United (2011), â€Å"Morningstar was subsequently founded in 1984 from his one-bedroom Chicago apartment In July 1999 Morningstar accepted an investment of US$91 million from SoftBank in return for a 20% stake in the company. The two companies had the previous year formed a joint venture in Japan. Morningstars initial public offering occurred on May 3, 2005, with 7,612,500 shares at $18.50 each. The manner in which Morningstar went public is notable. They elected to follow Googles footsteps and use the OpenIPO method rather than the traditional method. This allowed individual investors to bid on the price of the stock, and allowed all investors equal access. As of December 2008 Joe Mansueto owned approximately 57% of the outstanding shares in Morningstar.† Hence Joe Mansueto stopped being the Chief Finance Officer of the company in the Year 2008 When he become the Chief Executive officer after owning more than fifty percent of the shares. Joe Mansueto studied a degree in Business Administration hence he was an expert in running finances in his company. This has lead to tremendous growth of the company. Most of the CFO (Chief Finance Officer) are the individuals who founded their companies and after running them for some time and succeeding, they choose to hire someone to

Crimes Against Information Systems Analysis Essay

Crimes Against Information Systems Analysis - Essay Example Cyber-terrorism is the new crime preference to inflict havoc on the masses of society. Watson (2002) defines cyber-terrorism as "the use of cyber tools to shut down critical national infrastructures (such as energy, transportation, or government operations) for the purpose of coercing or intimidating a government or civilian population." (p.8) Over the years, the level of cyber-terrorism has evolved. Years ago, hackers attained satisfaction by simply breaking into a system (Wilmot, 2004). However, Littleton (1995) still regards hackers as dangerous and further implies imminent danger by questioning the ability of a hacker to become a cyber-terrorist. Wilmot (2004) contends that hackers' abilities to "crack passwords or find a back door route through a security firewall" shows that hackers can easily use a simple act to corrupt data in high technology. (p. 287). Though hackers implement a more simplistic form of cyber-terrorism, and their trespassing is not as harmful as modern day cr ackers-those who seek to disable networks or systems-both hackers and crackers pose danger to the world that holds critical information. However, the sophistication of cyber-terrorists' methods correlates with the degree of their motives. An intent Motives and Methods of Cyber-Terrorists An intent of cyber-terrorist includes causing a devastating amount of damage, while remaining elusive. To illustrate the elusiveness of a cyber-terrorist, Littleton (1995) uses two examples from the late 1980's. The identification, trial, and conviction of Robert T. Morris transpired only because he spoke of his creation, the 1988 Internet Worm, to several people. Rather, the author of the famous Michelangelo virus remains unidentified and escaped consequences altogether. The low risk of being captured coupled with the benefit of easily gaining access to restricted areas makes the crime of cyber-terrorism more appealing to criminals. Motives of cyber-terrorists range from mischief to malice. Today's juveniles have joined the cyber-terrorist realm by defacing Web sites. However, Watson (2002) regards the less serious crimes as highly consequential. When a site is defaced, its information is altered. Misleading information ultimately deceives viewers of the site and result in decrease of confidence and capital for owners of the site. Both hackers and crackers gain access to exclusive information by deciphering protective codes (Wilmot, 2004), which Littleton (1995) claims is not hard to do. A mischievous hacker seeks to only occupy an area considered off limits. On the other hand, a malicious cracker not only breaks codes to enter off-limits areas, but he or she seeks to vandalize or defile the area by causing immediate damage or planting viruses which slowly infiltrate and destroy systems that operate as critical infrastructures (Morris; Wilmot, 2004). Impact of Cyber-Terrorism According to Wilmot (2004), citizens cannot function without the critical infrastructures of their communities. One part of the critical infrastructure extremely vulnerable to cyber-terrorism is the public safety system. Branches of the public safety

Rough Draft Puritans Essay Example for Free

Rough Draft Puritans Essay In the middle of the 1600’s, from around the 1630’s to about the 1660’s the Puritans were fleeing to America for mostly religious reasons. Many of them came to set up what is called the Massachusetts Bay colony. John Winthrop was the leader of this colony. They believed religion was the key to the perfect community. Puritans had many influences on the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies using their religious values. Puritans had so many influences on the political outcome of the New England colonies. The form of government they had created was almost like a theocracy, where God’s law is law. A lot of the New England colonies didn’t want this at all. Nathaniel Ward (doc G) was trying to tell them that the state laws needed to go along with the morals of the church, or a lot of bad things might happen. Even though Ward stated this, a lot of the colonies already had religious tolerance so they didn’t base the laws from the church morals. In â€Å"Limitation of Government,† John Cotton (doc H) is saying that the government shouldn’t be all that good because any ‘mortal’ man will abuse it. This is sort of like a democracy, which the New England colonies will develop a government almost like this. Roger Williams (doc F) says that states should only have one religion each. If they acquire more than one religion, it could only begin a war. This basically shows that puritans were not very tolerant of other religions. Quite a few people believed there should be religious tolerance, people like Roger Williams, who was sent to Rhode Island by the Puritans. Then Rhode Island became one of the first colonies to obtain a separation of religion and state, which made it a colony for freedom of religion.

Sources of stress in elite football players

Sources of stress in elite football players Sources of stress in elite football players. Abstract In this piece we shall look at stress, its definition, and its potential occurrence in the world of the professional football player. We will examine the possible sources and use current literature sources to support our assertions. Having done that we shall examine in detail the case of Mr Vasey, a youngster who embarked on a professional football career but did not make it onto the elite circuit. We shall examine his personal account for evidence to support or refute our assessment. If you read some of the tabloid newspapers, you could be forgiven for thinking that an elite footballer’s life is little more than huge amounts of money, fast cars, a succession of pretty women and endless adulation from mindlessly adoring fans when performing on the football pitch. Some of the more disreputable papers may also dwell on a slightly different (but generally equally false) aspect of their life, the drink, drugs, sordid sex romps in hotel rooms and gambling. The truth of the matter, in the vast majority of cases, is that the elite footballer is a finely honed athlete at the peak of his training. He is required to perform daily in training routines and in the gym, less frequently on the pitch, and put himself at risk of career threatening injuries on a regular basis. All this is done in the full knowledge that he has worked his way up a professional ladder to a comparatively short window of elite performance and that there are always many more hopefuls who are climbing up behind him either waiting to push him off or to watch him as he falls. You may regard the introduction as rather melodramatic, but it is intended to illustrate the very different perceptions that are commonly held about the lifestyles of the elite footballer. In this piece we are going to review the stresses and pressures that are commonly experienced by this elite group and also how they (generally) manage to cope with them. We also intend to illustrate the theoretical problems faced by the elite footballer with a real case study of a young man, Mr Peter Vasey who has gone a long way to becoming one of the elite group and then, for various reasons, which we shall discuss, decided not to pursue it further. Stress and Stress management We all think that we know what stress is and that we can easily recognise it. It actually proves to be a very hard item to define as firstly, it is important to distinguish between physical (biological) stress and psychological stress. The two are clearly related but fundamentally different. Secondly, stress is a multitude of different responses to a multitude of different potential causes. In this piece we are going to consider the various causes of psychological stress on elite footballers. In this context we can look for a definition of stress in a particularly informative article by Crampton et al. (1995) . She reviews the various definitions of stress. â€Å"Hans Selye (1956), a pioneer in stress research, has defined stress as the non-specific response of the body to any demands made upon it (Kreitner Kinicki, 1992, p. 597). It is considered to be an internal state or reaction to anything we consciously or unconsciously perceive as a threat, either real or imagined (Clarke, 1988). Stress can evoke feelings of frustration, fear, conflict, pressure, hurt, anger, sadness, inadequacy, guilt, loneliness, or confusion (Cavanagh, 1988). Individuals feel stressed when they are fired or lose a loved one (negative stress) as well as when they are promoted or go on a vacation (positive stress). While many individuals believe they must avoid stress to live longer, Freese (1976) argues that it is the salt and spice of life and that to have no stress we would have to be dead.† Selve defines the basic â€Å"biological† interpretation of stress while the Kreitner definition starts to incorporate the possible psychological elements that generate the biological responses. Clarke adds to our understanding by considering the psychological responses that can be produced by various stresses and Cavanagh modifies the definition further by introducing the concept of positive and negative stress. Freese makes the very perceptive comment that stress is an integral and inevitable feature of life itself. This particular insight can be taken rather further insofar as there are some individuals who find stress hard to cope with (non-copers) and others who appear to positively thrive in stressful situations (copers) In terms of our footballers under consideration, we must accept that stress can, and does affect performance as we shall discuss (see on). Basic psychological   theory shows us that individuals who are less than optimally stressed may not make enough effort to achieve their designated goal whereas those who are overstressed may not be able to concentrate on the task in hand and perform to their maximum capacity. In either eventuality it is clear that optimal performance is impaired. Equally it follows that there is an optimal amount of stress to achieve optimum performance. In practical terms, that â€Å"optimal amount† is only really possible to quantify in retrospect, and that is why many would describe the work of the team manager, coach and trainer as an art rather than a science. Haspels (2004) looked specifically at the levels of stress in pre- and post-match footballers. Unsurprisingly, he found that the highest levels of stress were found pre-match in an International game. One of the standard measures of stress in the resting subject is the cortisol level. Unfortunately physical activity also puts up cortisol levels so one of the major predictors of stress was rendered useless in this study. Haspels also found that the players performed best when their stress levels were controlled before the game   Work by Anshel (2001) looked at the causes of acute stress on the playing field and came to the rather surprising conclusion that the major causes of stress in that particular situation was consistently found to be receiving what was perceived to be a bad call from the referee and making a major physical error (missed kick etc.) When these eventualities occurred, the athletes concerned tended to make negative cognitive appraisals followed by an avoidance coping strategy. The same study also found that approach coping was most commonly seen after positive appraisals. These observations clearly support the transactional coping model. The use of appraisals and coping strategy was directly dependent on the perceived nature of the stressful event. Stress is an inherent part of football. It may, in part, be added to by the unrealistic expectations of the coaches, managers and the fans. Every team in the league is told that â€Å"this year the cup will be ours† at the beginning of the season and all the training, playing and motivation will be directed towards winning it. The reality, of course, is that only one team will win it. Continued stress has been cited as the main reason for many of the younger players (including our study subject) for their lack of enjoyment and subsequently leaving the game. It is interesting to note that many sources cite youth as one of the causes of acute stress on the grounds that the youngster may not yet have developed the physical sports skills and coping strategies that the older, more experienced players have. We will not consider this element further as our concern in this piece is primarily the elite footballer who, by definition, has already mastered his game. In broad terms, according to Lazarus (1999), coping with stress consists of a person’s conscious attempt at managing the demands and intensity of events perceived as stressful or improving ones personal resources (e.g., positive affect, confidence, self-control) in attempting to reduce or manage ones perceived stress intensity. He also observes that one of the critical factors in an athlete’s adoption of a particular coping strategy is their cognitive appraisal of the stressful event or situation. Lazarus sums up his appreciation of the coping response as an athlete’s ability to accurately appraise the situation and the subsequent use of an appropriate coping strategy as the critical factor in explaining an athlete’s physiological and psychological adaptation to stress in sport.  Ã‚   Method Our method of investigation falls into two parts. In terms of the stresses faced by elite footballers and their coping mechanisms, we have consulted, appraised and quoted authoritative literature on the subject. In terms of the real problems faced by Mr. Vasey, we have interviewed him and the results of the interview are appended to this piece as appendix I Sources of potential stress Clearly there are a great many sources of potential stress that our hypothetical elite footballer may face. Broadly speaking they can be categorised into:- Sport related stress.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Performance anxiety  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alpha male problems in a team game  Ã‚  Ã‚   Age  Ã‚  Ã‚   Competition stress   Ã‚  Ã‚   Constant motivation  Ã‚  Ã‚   Exercise dependence   Ã‚  Ã‚   Constant levels of fitness  Ã‚  Ã‚   Injury concerns   Ã‚  Ã‚   Dietary concerns  Ã‚  Ã‚   Drug monitoring concerns  Ã‚  Ã‚   Premature retirement Financial  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Living up to a perceived lifestyle  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transient nature of   income  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Income dependent on continued performance Publicity related  Ã‚   Media attention  Ã‚   Family intrusion  Ã‚   Privacy intrusion Direct stress-related problems  Ã‚   Drink  Ã‚   Drugs  Ã‚   Relationship problems   Ã‚   Cognitive functioning   Let us consider each one of these potential stresses in turn Sports related stresses Performance anxiety In a well written and comprehensive article, Poczwardowski and Conroy (2002) discuss the stresses and coping mechanisms of elite performers. They categorise the various coping mechanisms into 36 sub-categories on the basis of direct interviews. The standard categorisations of problem-focused, emotion-focused, appraisal-focused, and avoidance-focused etc. were amplified and extended to cover a greater rang of detected strategies. For example   greater motivational changes after failure was reported by one athlete as a stimulus to train harder so as not to fail a second time. Stress can affect different sportsmen in different ways. Some appear to thrive and perform well, others find that it is a bar to optimum performance. Those elite footballers in the first category do not need any intervention as far as their performance in the game is concerned but an interesting study by Solberg et al. (2000)   looked at the use of different relaxation techniques pre- and post performance in elite athletes. They found that athletes who practised meditation-related relaxation techniques had their blood lactate levels returning to normal quicker than their non-relaxed counterparts. Contrary to expectation however, they found no significant difference in their levels of pre-exercise anxiety. Alpha-male problems in a team game This is an anecdotally reported phenomenon which does not appear to have been investigated from a scientific perspective. The typical alpha-male personality type is over represented in the elite footballer community. Aggression, speed, firmness of decision making, independence and rapid responses are all prized attributes of the elite footballer. These are seldom attributes that are seen in the personality types that are happy playing as an integral part of a team. Football, by its very nature, is played by a team of eleven on the pitch and off the pitch, a very much larger team is involved. Prima Donna behaviour, typical of the alpha-male, cannot be easily accommodated in such circumstances. It may be tolerated as long as the player concerned is delivering the results, but it can be an enormous cause of stress when the results stop being delivered. Age Footballers get older. In terms of their professional use, they age perhaps faster than professionals in other fields. There is a very narrow   â€Å"window of opportunity† for them to be at the top of their chosen field. To play at elite level for more than a decade is considered to be quite unusual. Part of the reason for this is the natural ageing process which is present in every other individual, but also there is the ever-present problem of both career threatening injury and also the huge wear and tear on the joints (see on) which can give rise to significant health impairment in later life. Turner et al. (2000)   examined this problem in some detail and their results make impressive reading. Their cohort were all professional footballers. 32% of whom reported having surgery on at least one occasion. Of those, over half had knee surgery and a quarter of those had complete joint replacements. 15% reported having hip surgery with another 9% awaiting surgery. Others in the group were having non-invasive treatments. Nearly half had physiotherapy in one form or another for injuries sustained during their career and over a quarter were having some form of analgesia or anti-inflammatory drugs for pain associated with football injuries. Osteoarthritis (OA) was diagnosed in at least one site in nearly half of the respondents and the vast majority of those were hips and knees. Significantly nearly 10% were registered as disabled due to OA and, very significantly, 72% of all respondents agreed with the statement   I am concerned with how OA may affect my body in the future, clearly a major source of potential stress.(Barlow et al. 2000) Although joint problems were, predictably, seen as the most common pathology, other morbidity was found. Neuropsychological problems were not uncommon, presumably related to episodes of concussion or repeated trauma such as heading the football. 10 of the group reported problems such as memory complaints, dizziness and headaches. Sport related problems included early retirement, enforced reduction in working hours or even a change to a sedentary occupation. Not only can all of this be viewed as a major source of stress to those who are suffering because of it, but also it must be stressful for the still-active player who may know what may be in store for him. Competition stress This is an area that has been extensively studied. Competition stress can be an enhancer for some players but equally it can be an inhibitor for others. There is a distinction to be made between the trait of anxiety and the state of anxiety which is quite significant and, to a large extent, is a reflection of the ability of the individual to cope with and handle the stress levels. Sanderson and Reilly (1983)   did the classic study in this field. Their target group were elite athletes. They found that the group of athletes who had the anxiety trait correlated highly with those who had high pre-race anxiety states and this correlated highly with the actual race performance. Very significantly, the greatest reduction in post-race anxiety levels was seen in those runners who performed well in their races. Constant motivation In order to maintain elite footballer status a player must find a source of constant motivation. Initially, in his adolescent training days, the motivation may be personal glory and the goal orientated drive that comes with wishing to achieve professional status. Having achieved that goal however, the player must then find other motivational drives to maintain his progress. For some, it drive comes from considerations of status and wealth, for others it could be the need for adulation and fame, others may have personal goals of achieving the pinnacle of their chosen profession, these are the achievement-junkies that are seen in any professional walk of life. Whatever the motivation, success invariable comes at a cost. Decisions, and therefore usually sacrifices, have to be made along the route of attainment and achievement. In this piece we are considering specifically the elite footballer who, by definition, has managed to achieve the peak of his career. We should perhaps also consider the   other athletes who by virtue of circumstance, situation, lack of motivation or perhaps even random differences in pre-natal myelination patterns, do not actually achieve the top of their profession. We shall discuss one such case in the case-study at the end of this piece. For every elite footballer, there are many who do not make the top echelon of players. There are arguably even more stress factors in this group who what to achieve but for one reason or another, cannot. As far as motivation is concerned, this is a major concern of every coach and manager in the country for reasons that we have set out above. Most premier teams will have psychologists who are motivational   specialists. Motivational theory is evolving at a rapid rate and reversal theory is the current â€Å"idea of the moment†. A particularly good book on the subject is edited by Apter (2001) . It deals with not only the current thinking on the subject but also the actual evolution of the reversal theory from its conception in the 70’s through to the applications of the present day. Significantly it also deals with the specific subject of stress engendered by the motivational process. It is a highly technical book and therefore we do not propose to enter into detail about its contents, but it highlights the psychological issues of burn-out, apathy and depression that are commonly seen in constantly ( and inappropriately) motivated players. In the context of elite footballers, there is a fascinating and short article by McNair (1996)   which looked at the effect of verbal encouragement on maximal effort output.   The game of football is anecdotally renowned for the aggressive verbal abuse beloved by many trainers, coaches and managers. One may argue that it is only a manifestation of their own frustrations and stresses that causes them to behave in this way and it is certainly a cause of stress to the players (clearly it is intended to be). McNair’s paper produces a cast-iron rationale for this â€Å"encouragement† as he found, by means of a very simply designed study, that verbal encouragement does increase the maximal output of skeletal muscle. Interestingly, while measuring the actual power output, he also measured the EMG tracings of the afferent nerves supplying the relevant muscles and found that verbal encouragement did not change the EMG readings, so the actual cause of the improvement was not ascertained but it was nonetheless real. Constant levels of fitness Constant levels of fitness are clearly a pre-requisite for an elite footballer. There may well be periods of injury where the fitness levels fall, but they must be quickly re-established in order to achieve optimum performance levels. Fitness, in general terms equates with earning power and job security for a elite footballer, so the overriding goal must be to achieve peak fitness at all times. This, in certain circumstances, can become an obsession (See on – exercise dependence) Exercise dependence Many studies have shown the exercise can give rise to demonstrable health benefits – both chronic and acute. There are some people for whom exercise actually becomes an obsession (Hurst et al. 2000). This is a real disease entity resulting in behaviour patterns that compel an individual to exercise despite the presence of obstacles. It also can produce both psychological and physical symptoms of withdrawal, if exercise cannot be taken (Pierce, 1994) ( Veale, 1995) (Thaxton 1982). These patterns are commoner in women and often associated with eating disorders but they are also seen in male athletes. Bamber et al. (2000)   has authored a paper which   produced a qualitative analysis of the whole issue. She found that elements of an eating disorder were always present to a greater or lesser degree, but that this was hard to quantify as many athletes will pursue closely monitored dietary regimes in any event. This syndrome is commonest in women, but does occur in men, particularly   it seems in those who have low self-esteem or a poor self-image. It may be thought that such traits are unusual in the context of elite footballers but perceived body image does not always reflect the true physique. Any experienced healthcare professional will tell you about the anorexic or muscle dysmorphic who perceives something quite different when they look in the mirror. It is commonly believed that such conditions are a result of compensation syndromes. People may have a need to try to excel in one area if they feel that they are in some way failing in another.(Bamber 2003) Injury concerns Injury is the footballer’s constant fear. Football is a fast and occasionally violent game with frequent body contact being an intrinsic part of the game plan. Injury can vary from trivial to catastrophic or even life-threatening. Most injuries will have an impact on the elite footballer either at the time of the injury or, as we have seen above, at a later stage in his life. We have referred earlier to the comparatively short earning window of the elite footballer and clearly there will be considerable stresses involved if that window is cut short for any reason. Because of the huge investment that the average elite footballer represents to any club, a huge amount of energy and resources are employed to get an injured player back onto the field of play. It has to be said that the vast majority of professional clubs act responsibly in allowing injuries to heal properly before returning the player to training, but there will be the inevitable pressure on the less-than-scrupulous coach to get the player back on the field before full recovery has taken place. This has costs to the player in terms of impaired performance and also in terms of long term problems arising from an incompletely healed injury. Ekstrand et al. (2004)   looked at the problem as a result of the 2002 World Cup. They cite one of the major reasons for injury as being the frequency of the matches in a packed calendar for the top players. Injuries which would normally be regarded as comparatively minor did not get the usual chance to heal completely before the next game was due to be played. This resulted in a rising accumulative total of injuries above what might otherwise be expected over a comparatively short period. The study found that, over the ten months of the World Cup games the average player played 36 matches. The top players form each team played, on average, 46 matches over the same period. The survey showed that the players who played in the World Cup matches sustained 29% more injuries than players from the same teams who did not play. 32% underperformed when compared to their normal standard. These players had played statistically more matches than those who were felt to have played better than expected. One major finding was that 60% of the players who had played more than one match in the week before a World Cup match were either injured or underperformed during the World Cup game. The clear inference from this study is that tiredness and physical burnout affects performance in elite footballers. At the highest levels, players, clubs and coaches should be aware that this is a real phenomenon. And, at the very least, is a considerable cause of stress to the players. Orchard and Seward (2002)   Took this concept a stage further and looked at the injuries sustained by the entire Australian Football League over seasons from 1997-2000. Their findings are a major source of concern to the elite footballer world. In a season each team of 40 players would expect to receive 39 separate injuries. Clearly some players would be injured more than once (The major predisposing factor for injury is a pre-existing injury). The injury prevalence of players missing through injury in a week was 16% with a recurrence rate of 17%. They found that the commonest injury was to the hamstrings, followed by ACL strains and then groin injuries. For an elite footballer who depends upon his ability to play for his income, these figures represent a great cause of potential stress. Before leaving this area, we should consider one other area of injury which we touched upon earlier, and that is the sequelae of concussion. Bloom et al (2004) looked at this particular problem in great detail with particular reference to the psychological changes that were observed to occur after the injury. After suffering a concussive injury, the elite footballer was found to suffer from a greater incidence of symptoms of isolation, pain,anxiety, and disruption of daily life as a result of the injury. The investigators found that a source of added stress was, unexpectedly, from other team members who appeared to be giving support but were subliminally putting pressure on the injured athlete to return to play. The investigators found a worrying number of unexpected psychological symptoms including anger, denial, depression, distress, bargaining, and shock. Clearly this needs to be both recognised and addressed if the impact of the injury is not to be a further source of stress to the injured footballer Dietary concerns The elite footballer must always be at peak fitness and as a result his diet must always be under scrutiny. Fitness generally needs a BMI in the region of 20-23. Significant weight gains beyond this range not only reduce performance levels but also increase the wear and tear on the joints. We have already discussed the extent to which the knee joint is stressed during football training and playing. Adding weight to this joint is clearly only going to add to the degenerative changes that occur. An elite footballer needs to be able to accelerate his body mass rapidly in a given direction. It follows that the greater the body weight, the greater effort is needed. He will know this both at a cerebral level and also at an instinctive level. He will know that if his weight goes up significantly then it becomes harder for him to run as fast and to turn as efficiently. The average elite footballer is therefore very careful with regard to his diet. The average man in the population can afford to go out for an occasional extravagant meal or the odd evening or two at the pub without worrying too much about the consequences. The consequences for the elite footballer are that, in doing such things he would have to reduce his calorie intake over the next few days in order to maintain the status quo. This again can become a major source of stress for many. As the years go by, the average male tends to become slower and to put on weight as a natural process. This insidious reduction in the body’s efficiency is obviously a concern to a footballer who will often try to combat this trend with ever more aggressive training programmes and dietary regimes – again another source of stress. Drug monitoring concerns A number of elite footballers have hit the headlines lately as a result of random drug tests, either through failing or missing them. Doping and drug-enhanced training is a fact of professional football life in the current climate. It follows that the regulatory powers have to be ruthless in their quest for a drug-free sport. The fact that some players do gamble against the odds and take performance enhancing medications and drugs is a reflection of the stress and pressure that they feel under to constantly perform. It equally follows that they must feel that their performance is not good enough if they need to resort to such measures. The problems do not stop at performance enhancing drugs. Stress and other factors may tempt a player to use drugs of a different sort. Recreational drugs are common in elite footballer circles. In support of this statement we would consider the paper by Turner (2003)   In which he states that a recently retired elite footballer claimed that 80% of elite footballers in Australia had either been offered or used recreational drugs. This statement was extensively reported in the Press and other sources quoted the figure as being nearer 30%. The truth of the matter will clearly never be known but it can be contrasted with the figure from the UK which shows that over 18% of all the positive drugs screening tests done on athletes are currently for recreational drugs. This can be put in perspective against the 35% positive findings for stimulants and 25% for anabolic agents Premature retirement Retirement is a fact of life for all workers.   As we have discussed earlier, retirement from active playing – and therefore from a high earning capacity tends to come at a much earlier age for a footballer. It is therefore a major incentive to keep playing at a high level for as long as possible. Retirement through the natural ageing process is something that the elite footballer obviously has to come to terms with. It is comparatively unusual for a top rank footballer to be playing into his forties. He may have the experience to play well, but he is always judged on his results, and the fact of the matter is that there will always be younger players who will generally be faster and filled with raw enthusiasm ready to jump into any vacant slot at the top. The elite footballer therefore knows that his playing days are always numbered. We have discussed earlier the problems faced by the elite footballer in respect of the ever-present danger of injury. Clearly a career-ending injury can come at any time. It can be career-ending because of a dramatic incident such as a major fracture of a major bone or it can be a more subtle process, a bad tackle gives rise to an ankle injury which, in turn gives rise to an unstable ankle that does not allow the pivoting action necessary for efficient play. It becomes obvious that the player is not performing as well as another player in the squad and therefore he is replaced with greater frequency and then he becomes dispirited and eventually dropped from the team. The end process is just the same in either eventuality – cessation of an active playing career and the concurrent loss of high earning capacity. The result can be devastating for a man who, in order to achieve elite footballer status, may well have devoted a substantial proportion of his adolescent and adult life to improving and perfecting his football skills. He finds himself effectively out of a job at an age where most men are still looking forward to at least twenty more years of productive work. The immediate openings for him are limited to training, coaching or managing, all of which are highly competitive as they have been filled by his footballing predecessors and generally, they are not as well paid as his previous career. The stresses and psychological traumas are all too easy to see if the elite footballer has not been particularly level-headed in his approach to the profession. The unlikely body of Windsor Insurance Brokers Ltd. published a study of an investigation into the career-ending incidents of professional footballers in the UK (1997)   which makes interesting reading. They did not analyse the actual levels of stress that we are concerned about in this piece, but their findings make sobering reading to the current generation of elite footballers.   It would appear that few elite footballers actually reach retirement age without a significant injury. That injury is responsible (either directly or indirectly) for the eventual d

The Gender of Sports Essay -- Athletics Men Women Essays

The Gender of Sports What are the social and cultural costs and benefits of an individual (male or female) entering a non-traditional sport for their gender/sex (e.g. women enter body building, power lifting, boxing; men enter synchronized swimming or field hockey)? In today's society, particularly in the United States, an individual entering a non-traditional sport for his/her gender takes on many tasks besides playing the sport, the individual also takes on the criticism (good or bad) of people who play the sport and those who watch it too. There are many social and cultural costs as well as benefits, but to what extent mostly depends on the sport and the sex of the player. The biggest thing that creates a social and cultural cost in the world of sports is change. People have a hard time coping with a change in the norm, especially when people are not welcome still to this day that women play sports. So as soon as a man/woman wants to do something different, there will always be controversy that will include harassment of the individual from sexual orientation to class, or simply what this change could do to the particular sport in the long run. A man entering a "women's" sport is very different than a woman entering a "man's" sport. There is more praise given to a woman entering a male-dominated sport and more disapproval given to a man entering a female-dominated sport. For example, when the ABL and WNBA, particularly when the WNBA, started up, many people questioned whether women could play professionally and handle the pressure of living up to the NBA. As soon as commercial ads came out for the WNBA league, it was done in a fashion to show that the WNBA did consist of straight women and it was not a league for... ...lp the society. In the short run there may be a slow start to the idea of the intermingling of sexes playing sports, but sport is such a moneymaking machine, sometimes change is what is needed in order to create ideas of marketing and in the long run it will be successful. The costs and benefits of this crossing over may vary from one society to another, but the biggest cost would be an unsuccessful emergence, which would just bring us back to the starting point. The biggest cultural and social benefit may be for that individual who succeeded in this non-traditional sport and will be used as a marketing tool. It may also create opportunities for the organization itself or society, like jobs in coaching, marketing or any other business in the area of change. It is also another way for an individual to have the chance to accomplish one's desire for the American Dream.