Vince Lombardi - Winning is the Only Thing That Matters :: essays research papers fc

Vince Lombardi’s statement that â€Å"winning is the only thing that matters in sport†, is one of the truths that are inherent in the world of sports. Athletes are willing to cheat to guarantee success, either through the use of performance-enhancing drugs, or through the act of injuring others. Lombardi’s statement not only applies to athletes, but it also applies to countries that athletes are representing. Events such as the Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey are a source of national pride and some countries are willing to try anything to bring a little prestige back, while other athletes, who are representing their country will resort to unethical tactics. Judges and officials are bribed in order to win events. Lombardi’s statement also affects coaches, owners, and managers. They too place winning as their number one concern. Fair play generally takes a back seat to the desire for winning that some will bend rules, while others will outright cheat. The corruptness of sports today has lead to many methods of unethical behaviour. Winning is a very important thing not only to athletes, but winning is very important to countries as well. In the early 1960s drugs were used more frequently among the communist nations who wanted to enhance their national prestige through sports. Countries such as China and East Germany have been guilty of using such practices as doping their athletes. The glory of winning a gold medal and what will follow after that is more important than anything else. It one of the major influences behind drug use in sports. The main concern now for athletes who are representing their countries is not just about the satisfaction of winning but the rewards for success. The rewards are staggering, as the dollar volume being showered on winners is second to none. The figures have become so mind-boggling that the interests of people involved in this lucrative business is no longer centred around ethical and health-related concerns. Athletes are willing to give up all that they have worked for their entire lives in order to win a gold medal. Athletes use performance-enhancing drugs to help break records or win gold medals. Blood doping is another example in which athletes attempt to improve performance. Drug related scandals are some of the major concerns with the Olympics. Drug testing was introduced at the Olympics in 1967, when at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Swedish cyclist Knut Jensen took compound drugs to compete in the road race during which he collapsed and died.

Anti-Social Media: the Role of Technology in Creating Superficial Ties

ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN CREATING SUPERFICIAL TIES INTRODUCTION: The general topic that I would like to explore is communication and relationships through social media. In particular I am interested in the way that social media affects the way that we create or maintain relationships and different identities, and if this alienates us from human understanding in relationships. This topic is connected to the concepts of online communication and personal relationships, the concept of self-disclosure and the construction of identity (Duck & McMahon, 2012).Is the bite-sized world of social media leading to bite-sized and unsubstantial personal relationships? This was a question I asked myself recently when looking at some of my own relationships — friendship, romantic, professional, and family alike. Social media plays a role in many of those relationships these days, and what I noticed is that it isn’t always for the better. The main academic articles I will reference are written by; Pavica Sheldon (M. M. C. , Louisiana State University), a graduate teaching assistant and Ph. D. tudent in the Department of Communication Studies at Louisiana State University, Xin-An Lu, an Associate Professor in The Department of Human Communication Studies at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, USA, and Sally Dunlop, a professor at University of Australia, school of public health, and her two co-authors, Eian More and Daniel Romer, both professors at the University of Pennsylvania. This paper will first outline the main points of the aforementioned articles. I will then draw upon their themes to help answer my research questions, and I will conclude with the derivations that can be drawn.THEORY REVIEW: In the Rocky Mountain Communication Review, Sheldon (2009) looks at the motivations for the use of social media, Facebook in particular, and the difference in use between genders. She examines 260 university students across four common factors f or logging onto Facebook; relationship maintenance, passing time, entertainment, and virtual community. She finds through these parameters that â€Å"Females used Facebook to maintain their relationships, to be entertained, and to pass time. Males, on the other hand, used Facebook to develop new relationships† (Sheldon 54).Specifically, she found through her focus groups that those who frequent the social networking site more are doing so out of loneliness (Sheldon 55). This links directly with Xin-An Lu’s paper published in Proteus 27 (2011). Lu takes a much broader approach; looking at the affects of social media on the creation of identity and the modern formation of non-geographical communities. Lu argues that online community helps to reduce and remove social restraints and gives the user the ability to experiment with different identities, coming together based on shared and meaning (Lu 53).However, these new text-based relationships may not have existed before a nd we cannot use them to replace face-to-face interactions as they are ‘media-poor’, which is defined by Lu as â€Å"possess[ing] less immediate feedback, fewer cues and channels, and weakened personalization and language variety† (Lu 52), because â€Å"relationships formed in this environment may be weak, superficial, and impoverished, as compared with those formed in [face-to-face] communication† (Lu 52).We must be wary as we read through this review of the comparisons of studies conducted years apart with different conclusions, and we must remember that technology advances at such a rate that should be taken into account when looking at conclusions of past scholars. Finally, Dunlop, More and Romer discuss the positive aspects for having an enlarged network of support, especially for adolescents who have been exposed to, or are thinking of suicide, stating that â€Å"social networking sites may provide both greater exposure to such information and also greater social support to those who obtain this information† (Dunlop et al. 078). This article, published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, suggests that online forums, which are often anonymous and have no connection back to the user, are â€Å"more strongly related to increases in [suicide] ideation† (Dunlop et al. 1078) than social networking sites. Nevertheless, the study shows that social networking sites increase exposure to stories of other suicides, and increased exposure causes increased suicide ideation, and increased curiosity to research and find forums and blogs.This is important to an article discussing youth and the internet, as new innovations are taking place at an alarming rate, and there are new ways to communicate and receive information every day. This article is succinct and fact based, studying the different uses for the internet and social networking sites, and identity creation and anonymity on the World Wide Web. DISCUSSION: Co mmunication is more than just the exchange of words, it involves a transaction between two people that results in a shared meaning and understanding (Duck and McMahon 82).This greater level of communication involves more than the sending or exchanging of symbols, but more the negotiation of the shared meaning between people based on their personal connections. A key element to creating this understanding is engaged listening which allows the listener to move beyond the words said for a greater understanding of the overall message. Usually, this involves the richness of face-to-face interaction. Online communications lack this richness due to the lack of incorporation of non-verbal communications, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, with the words being said (Duck and McMahon 228).The ease with which online communications become asynchronous cause concern for the development of understanding of social cues that are present in face to face interactions that hinder those who use the failsafe of online interaction to save face and to compensate for their own perceived shortcomings. Duck and McMahan state that online media has significantly increased the number of significant ties that people maintain, while the number of core ties remains the same.We can become so seduced by the ease of connecting with others online that we begin to think that these relationships are more intense, more committed and more complete than they really are. We run the risk of alienating the people who populate our daily lives in pursuit of intimacy with our online friends. Another downside of social media relationships is that we are potentially subject to emotional contagion effects, as illustrated in research by John Cacioppo, a researcher at the University of Chicago. His studies show that loneliness is transmitted via social networks.Cacioppo’s findings suggest that if a direct connection of yours is lonely, you are 52% more likely to be lonely; if the connection is a friend of a friend, 25% more lonely, if the connection is 3 degrees out (a friend of a friend of a friend), it’s 15%. While this research looked at offline social networks, it may have some implications for online social networking as well. If someone in your online social network is angry, lonely, or hostile, and takes it out on you, you are more likely to transmit this mood yourself.This means that even though you may never have met this person or interacted with them in real life, their â€Å"bad behaviour† can still influence yours. I have personally noted people interacting in mean and critical ways that, I imagine, they would find more difficult to do in real life. This is a problem, because any kind of negativity and bad manners has the possibility to multiply exponentially. The Internet is an amazing tool. Even as it is shrinking the world and brought us closer together, it is threatening to push us further apart.Like any useful tool, to make technology serv e us well requires the exercise of good judgment. For whatever reason, the restraints that stop most of us from blurting out things in public we know we should not seem far weaker when our mode of communication is typing. Unfortunately, typed messages often wound even more gravely, while electronic messages of remorse have little power to heal (Lickerman). Perhaps we just do not think such messages have the same power to harm as when we say them in person. Perhaps in the heat of the moment without a physical presence to hold us back, we just do not care.Whatever the reason, it is clearly far easier for us to be meaner to one another online. CONCLUSION: Social networking websites provide tools by which people can communicate, share information, and create new relationships. With the popularity of social networking websites on the rise, our social interaction is effected in multiple ways as we adapt to our increasingly technological world. The way that web 2. 0 users interact and talk to each other has changed and continues to change. These users now socialize through the Internet and it takes away from the in person socialization that has been around forever.Social networking websites effect our social interaction by changing the way we interact face-to-face, how we receive information, and the dynamics of our social groups and friendships. Communicating through the Internet and social networking websites is quite different than communicating in person. When users communicate through these websites, they use things like IM and chatting as well as status or Twitter updates to talk to friends and express themselves. Chatting online is quick and easy and allows you to connect to an almost unlimited amount of people from all over the Earth. Although theInternet connects millions of people and allows them to chat, it changes the traditional in person conversation that is important to our social lives and friendships. This change to our social interaction is not nece ssarily positive or negative. The change expands the different outlets through which we can communicate and as long as we remember the importance of face-to-face contact in our social lives, we can find a healthy balance between the two. These social networking websites also affect the way we receive information and news. The sites open up different portals through which we get information and create a more diverse news outlet.Rather than reading the newspaper or hearing the news on TV, we rely on our â€Å"friends† on the sites to give us updates on the world around us. Through Facebook or Myspace statuses, posts, comments, etc. , web 2. 0 users find new information that is most likely relevant to them. These new diverse outlets lead to users discussing world news or other information on the sites and can remove the need to discuss these events in person. Another way that web 2. 0 sites affect the way we socially interact with one another is by changing the dynamics of our s ocial groups and friendships.Social networking sites create a new model of social interaction and friendships. As people’s social circles grow, the ties of the online friendships are not always as strong as in person close friendships. Although these sites can alter the dynamics of friendships in that way, it also creates lots of new friendships and increases our social interaction. The many effects of social networking websites on our social interaction with one another can be both positive and negative, all that is sure is that there is a definite effect. We must embrace the increasing use of web 2. 0 sites and the different roles they play in our social lives.There is not really a need to focus on the positive or negative effects of these sites because whether the effects are good or bad depends upon the things in society that you value, and that is different for most every person. These sites will most likely continue to grow in popularity and continue to alter the way we socialize with one another and we must embrace it. SOURCES: Duck, Steve & McMahon, David T. The Basics Of Communication: A Relational Perspective. Los Angeles: Sage 2012. Print Dunlop, S. , More, E. , & Romer, D. (2011). Where do youth learn about suicides on the Internet, and what influence does this have on suicidal ideation?Journal o Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52:10 pp 1073-1080. Landau, Elizabeth. â€Å"Loneliness Spreads In Social Networks. † CNN. 4 December 2009. Turner Broadcasting System Inc. 1 March 2012. . Lickerman, Alex. â€Å"The Effect Of Technology On Relationships. † Psychology Today. 8 June 2010. Sussex Publishers, LLC. 1 March 2012. . Lu, X. (2011) Social Networking and Virtual Community. Proteus 27, 1, 51-55 Sheldon, P. (2009). Maintain or Develop New Relationships? Gender Differences in Facebook Use. Rocky Mountain Communication Review. 6-1, 51-56.

Book Report: Doing English

WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE Class: VHVH 01 – Group: 4 Name: Le Kim Ha Anh Student ID: 0957010009 Writing Book Reports: DOING ENGLISH – A GUIDE FOR LITERATURE STUDENTS (Robert Eaglestone) Ranked in the list of more than 700 thousands of the world's best-selling books, Doing English is really a good choice that needed for the study of English college students.The author of the book – Robert Eaglestone, a lecturer in English at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Series Editor of Routledge Critical Thinkers – explain why they are studied this book’s aims: â€Å"to orient you, by explaining what you are doing when you are doing English; to equip you, by explaining basic key ideas; to encourage you to bridge the gap between English before and English in higher education† (page 3). Robert clearly defines that reading audience is college students. As a university lecturer, the author directs the reader to study English in attitude towards new lit erary approaches.It is also considered as Robert’s lecture and the whole experience after many years of studying and teaching in English. Readers can find a clear organization in the table content with four parts which are named shortly and forcefully. At the beginning of each part there is always a brief with questions. Questions can also be found at the beginning of many chapters and texts with key words italicized. This helps readers stimulate their thoughts which guide the direction of the text with a central focus by devising a thesis.Readers are asked about the subject that the author’s thesis should answer then. The more the author keeps giving questions and key words even in the introduction, the more he keeps readers’ attention from beginning to end. Moreover, Robert utilizes a reasonable writing style with unbiased and succinct language. Layout of a text includes brief questions, brief introduction, content and summary. Readers will find their expectat ions satisfied in the content that he uses multilevel lists in more detail order: chapters, headings, subheadings and bullets.English is a subject in most education systems of the countries in the world, as well as a science requires meticulous research. Doing English defines the development of English as a subject since the nineteenth century and draws the changes in thinking about English in a neat approach. It is a new free terminology, vocabulary polyphonic and complex syntax that characterize many works of literary theory. It explains abstract ideas in the remaining conditions as well as literary approach really makes confusions.Concepts or definitions given by the author are not merely explained, but they are placed in specific circumstances. For example, when referring to achievements of Leavises (page 15), Robert do not codify the idea, which he summarizes them in list format, and confirms that is the â€Å"traditional method†. Then in the next chapter – Doing English today, the author introduces the concepts of â€Å"traditional Leavis method† and the way they approach in literature (page 21). Robert always has objective perspective on the study of English.He does not equate everything, instead that, he uses his vivid visual to point out the influence of different cultures which also affect each person's ability to interpret. â€Å"Just as you can’t jump higher than your shadow, you can’t escape your location in the world†, said Robert (page 21). This can be approved that he evaluates the â€Å"traditional method† rather than deny it. He reviews ‘literature method’ higher than ‘traditional method’. Critical method is the right way to literature approaches that he offers different methods and specific examples (page 25). The power of words is enormous.Robert has just the right attitude to use English by explaining how he used words in this book: reading and Interpreting. â€Å" This means that ‘reading’ and ‘interpreting’ mean almost the same, and you’ll see I use the words almost as synonyms in this book† (page 20). Also, this might be considered the maximum that the author used his own words to explain the terms that he uses throughout the book, such as taken for granted, text, presupposition, etc. This is also a good way for students to easily take notes and keep abreast of knowledge in the content based on key words.The author also uses illustrations and clear diagrams to help readers easily visualize (page 22, 24). Students who are studying this book will clearly see the relationship between the content and the reader that Robert Eaglestone wants to achieve. The theories given seem to be academic but they are interpreted by the author’s teaching experience. In this book there are many proper names who are Ph. D. , professor from prestigious universities. Robert mentions them with their study of language, e specially in English. Robert had read a lot, studied and made comments, critics on their methods.This proves that he is knowledgeable and highly qualified, and carefully studied English as well. This is a book for students of literature. It intends to provoke them to reconsider the role of literature in their life by the way they read the story and the way in which they are shaped. Chapter 4 in Part 1 – Critical attitude (page 39 – 46) is a good chapter for the literature approaches of students in critical thinking. From the example of enjoying a picture, Robert points out the contrast occurs in thinking about literature.A flat looking at, or needed to have depth depends on how we choose the direction of thinking to literary issues. Robert in turn introduces two concepts of ‘critical attitudes’ which are all sticking to the content of the text. Each attitude is specifically analyzed in terms of concepts and examples. Robert also explains why there are two such patterns. In addition, Robert also clarifies the issue by comparing table to help students easily compare and draw ‘critical attitudes’ for themselves. If you know why you are studying something, the subject becomes easier to understand†, Robert says (page 2). â€Å"Parents have to get all their kids to nursery schools that have no car parking space. So what do people do? They break the rules! Language is the same. It has rules – but it breaks them whenever it needs to†, a comment from an audience about Doing English (on amazon. com). Literature is no exception as it comes from the language. The value of literary art depends on each person's aesthetic level.As for Robert, â€Å"No definitions of ‘literature’ seem to be adequate: literature overflows or escapes from any attempt to categorize it† (page 59). Therefore, getting access to the literature should not be something so rigid that it is confined to the framework whether it has certain rules. In the third part with chapter 6 – Doing Shakespeare, authors use some drafts interweaving the text. This helps Robert insert additional information. This is the knowledge of Shakespeare which helps people understand more about the great British playwright, who has employed English views on his timeless masterpieces. Excellent Doing English: a though-provoking and accessible argument exploring the changing character of English Literature as it has developed outside the school curriculum over the last century† said The English and Media Magazine. In terms of science, book critics appreciate that this book is considered as a scientific research of Robert. To the end of the book’s content, the name of the last part is left with suspension points – English studies †¦ Is it an open-ended part? The author seems to be modest for the next generation to fill in the gap and to add more in this research.

Free Essays on Labour Market Flexibility

Introduction Few would deny today that the economic reforms (i.e., stabilization and structural adjustment policies), currently being implemented in many developing countries including India, have social costs. But many would argue that a large part of the social costs are attributable not to the economic reforms per se but to the labour market rigidities existing in most developing countries. It follows that minimizing social costs of stabilization and structural adjustment policies require reforms designed to increase labour market flexibility. These arguments define the back-drop to the analysis presented in this report. The analysis begins with a theoretical probe into the reasons why social costs arise in the course of stabilization and structural adjustment and the extent to which labour market reforms can help minimize these costs in the specific context of India. Three major issues of labour policy wage policy, employment security and labour redundancy are then empirically investigated. The ideas for reforms, proposed in the report, emerge from these investigations. Economic Reforms and the Labour Market The economic reforms give rise to social costs for a number of reasons. First, stabilization policies are contractionary in nature and usually lead to a sharp slow down in economic growth. This has the effect of worsening employment conditions. Second, stabilization polices often lead to decline in domestic saving and investment rates. Where this happens, the contractionary effect persists in the medium term and the employment conditions continue to worsen. Third, structural adjustment, especially in today's context of globalization, calls for rapid changes in the composition of output and in techniques of production, particularly in the modern, organized segment of the economy. This leads to labour redundancy in the short run and very slow growth of employment in the medium term. In some cases, as in India, a ... Free Essays on Labour Market Flexibility Free Essays on Labour Market Flexibility Introduction Few would deny today that the economic reforms (i.e., stabilization and structural adjustment policies), currently being implemented in many developing countries including India, have social costs. But many would argue that a large part of the social costs are attributable not to the economic reforms per se but to the labour market rigidities existing in most developing countries. It follows that minimizing social costs of stabilization and structural adjustment policies require reforms designed to increase labour market flexibility. These arguments define the back-drop to the analysis presented in this report. The analysis begins with a theoretical probe into the reasons why social costs arise in the course of stabilization and structural adjustment and the extent to which labour market reforms can help minimize these costs in the specific context of India. Three major issues of labour policy wage policy, employment security and labour redundancy are then empirically investigated. The ideas for reforms, proposed in the report, emerge from these investigations. Economic Reforms and the Labour Market The economic reforms give rise to social costs for a number of reasons. First, stabilization policies are contractionary in nature and usually lead to a sharp slow down in economic growth. This has the effect of worsening employment conditions. Second, stabilization polices often lead to decline in domestic saving and investment rates. Where this happens, the contractionary effect persists in the medium term and the employment conditions continue to worsen. Third, structural adjustment, especially in today's context of globalization, calls for rapid changes in the composition of output and in techniques of production, particularly in the modern, organized segment of the economy. This leads to labour redundancy in the short run and very slow growth of employment in the medium term. In some cases, as in India, a ...

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 37

Reflection - Essay Example ings for him in two basic ways; firstly, he developed a rift between himself, his colleagues, and his followers, and secondly, his wrong decisions led everybody into a trouble for which he was held accountable. It would not be so bad if the problem ended here; my leader would rationalize and try to defend himself on his wrong decisions rather than accepting his mistakes and moving forward taking everybody with him. I believe leadership is fundamentally affected by the type of personality traits and behavior one exhibits. In order to be a successful and strong leader, it is imperative that one builds good rapport with the colleagues and followers and serves as a role model for them. Ans. In order to change things for the better and become a strong leader, my leader needs to start working at developing good relations and rapport with the colleagues and followers. He can achieve this by having meetings with them, making them aware of his plans of action, intentions, and intended results, and how they would benefit the community and the institution as a whole. My leader needs to come out of his shell and socialize with his colleagues and followers, take them into confidence, and ideally, seek their advice and opinion in the future decisions. This requires a holistic change in the personality and behavior of my leader which is, in fact, not easy to achieve. However, certain steps may make this easier for him if he takes them. For example, he can read leadership books. These books are written by very experienced and knowledgeable authors who present practicable and expert opinions on ways to change one’s personality and behavior for the better. In order to develop my leadership skills to do justice to the role of a school director, I first need to brainstorm myself upon what exactly is a director of school and what are his responsibilities. Many books, articles, and blogs can be read to develop thorough understanding in this matter. Secondly, I need to assess my

Appraisal Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Appraisal Systems - Essay Example Performance appraisal of employees resorted to by organizations has many objectives. Mohrman, Resnick-West and Lawler (1989) identify increase in motivation to perform effectively and to increase the self esteem of the employees as essential objectives of performance appraisal methods. They usually enable the organization to maintain a reliable record of the performance of each employee in order to determine the wage levels, incentives, salary increase, transfers and promotions. The performance appraisal methods also bring out the needs for training of employees at various levels in the organization. By studying his/her performance appraisal report the employee is able to improve upon his performance by rectifying the mistakes he/she might have committed earlier. There are various methods usually employed by progressive organizations to make appraisals of employee performance. These can be divided into three different groups; (i) individual evaluation methods, (ii) multiple person evaluation methods, and (iii) other methods. The individual evaluation methods are based on an assessment of the performance of the individual employees. ... The report is not data-based but merely represents the impressions of the superior about the subordinate. Since the report is mostly subjective the employee may not be sure of his strengths and weaknesses and is also not guided for rectifying his mistakes. Essay evaluation is a non-quantitative technique in which the rater is asked to prepare an essay based on the job knowledge and potential of the employee and the employee's understandings of the policies and programmers of the company. The attitude and perceptions of the employees are also taken into account while preparing the essay. This method has serious limitation of being a subjective one and sometimes the rater may be found to be poor in expressing his views correctly. Under critical incident technique the effective and ineffective behavior on the job of the employee is observed by the manager who prepares a list of incidents representing the poor or outstanding behavior of each employee. The manager periodically records the incidents and at the end of the rating period these incidents are summarized to evaluate the employee performance. This method is more suitable to assess the job of the supervisors rather than that of the employees at low levels. In the check list method a list of objective or descriptive statements about the employee behavior is included and the rater makes his observations on the employee performance by checking the particular trait of the behavior which he assessed the employee to possess and other traits are left blank. A variation of the method is to assign weights to different traits and summarize the assessment of the rater. One serious limitation of this method is that the rating is normally biased by the

Managing Human Resources in Health and Social Care Essay

Managing Human Resources in Health and Social Care - Essay Example 1.1) Planning a recruitment drive for health facility workers is a crucial process of obtaining the best possible workforce. Every health facility desires the best for its optimum operations. A facility planning to hire health workers, therefore, needs to create an environment that attracts its target labor force. Most workers usually discern good employers from the amount of money the employers pay. Being a health worker, however, is more of a calling than mere employment opportunity for dedicated health and social care givers. Social care workers derive more fulfillments from results of what they do than the pay they get from it. The period of recruitment should be preceded by an extensive publicity campaign intended for the target workforce. Healthcare or social facilities planning to carry out recruitment should pre-package its success stories and present them to a local media house. The same stories should be produced in newsletters, facility website and the social media. There should also be a spotlight on healthcare providers considered icons by the society. These service heroes should tell of their fulfillment and joy derived from working for the institution. As mentioned before, health and social work is a sacrifice, and individuals value fulfillment more than earnings. The facility needs to rely on its representatives and associates to take their image message to masses. An example is a facility that cares for the aged. Major drive to work for such institutions is service to humanity. They should work at improving their image to attract required qualified staff by portraying a superior picture. The institutions cannot afford to entice workers with heavy payment packs, and, therefore, have to prove their ability t o provide an environment for self-satisfaction for their prospective staff. 1.2) Other than