Briefing paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Preparation paper - Essay Example The degree of misconception builds horribly such gathering happens between individuals of various nations. Varieties in the strategies applied to correspondence additionally show the distinction in culture that is accessible in the nation. These varieties, in this manner, will in general reason difficulties for worldwide organizations like Secure IT Mobile towards their globalization framework. As a business organization in Italy, the Secure IT is confronted with a great deal of challenges concerning debasement rehearses by its representatives and the customers themselves. Be that as it may, in certain societies inside the nation do take hush-money yet it is as yet hindering the advancement of such organizations inside the market structure. A few types of pay off that may incorporate cash, blessings, a few favors, and even amusement to those focused by such pay-offs. Any pay off is very unlawful in Italy and furthermore is unscrupulous business practice in a solid business activity condition. A few nations, in any case, pay-offs are permitted to such a degree no any business can work in such nations without offering pay-offs. Pay off, consequently, ought to be disheartened no matter what since restrains complete pay assortment from most speculation organizations, regarding Secure IT portable too in Italy(Soerens and Hwang 2009). Organizations, for example, the Secure IT versatile in Italy may wind up offering incentives. They can wind up spending on account of the accompanying conditions; rivalry from different firms, pressure from top administration and legitimization of the training itself by the nation. Ultimately, they may likewise do them due to high tax assessment demands, government guidelines, and diminished installment to government authorities and bureaucratic business delays(Rotschild and Wingfield 2008). The language utilized for correspondence in Italy is the Italia no. Be that as it may, English is the most perceived business language everywhere throughout the world. It has, in this way, end up being hard for Secure

Lotteries Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lotteries - Research Paper Example In the United States, complete yearly lottery deals have developed into the billions of dollars. Lotteries additionally give an incredible chance to utilize basic budgetary arithmetic, just as some likelihood, in a setting natural to understudies. Most understudies don't have major money related choices to make, so the standards of monetary arithmetic may appear to be far expelled from their lives. Nonetheless, the majority of them know about the lottery and the point promptly draws in them. The use of these scientific ideas in the lottery is talked about in this paper. In a few USA states and Canada Provinces, the 6/49 lottery works as a normal lottery. To win the lottery stupendous prize the competitor needs to choose every one of the six numbers precisely as attracted the week by week or month to month challenge. This will be utilized as the model framework for the calculations in this paper. Beginning with a pack of 49 in an unexpected way numbered lottery balls, there is obviously a 1 of every 49 possibility of anticipating the quantity of the principal ball chose from the sack. As needs be, there are 49 distinct methods of picking that first number. At the point when the attract goes to the subsequent number, there are currently just 48 balls left taken care of (in light of the fact that the balls previously attracted are not come back to the pack), so there is presently a 1 out of 48 possibility of foreseeing this number. In this manner, every one of the 49 different ways of picking the main number has 48 unique methods of picking the second. ... This proceeds until the 6th number has been drawn, giving the last estimation, 49 48 47 46 45 44, which can likewise be composed as : . The request for the 6 numbers isn't huge. That is, if a ticket has the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, it wins as long as all the numbers 1 through 6 are drawn, regardless of what request they turn out in. As needs be, there are 6 5 4 3 2 1 = 6! or then again 720 different ways they could be drawn. Isolating 10,068,347,520 by 720 gives 13,983,816. This can likewise be composed as: . This capacity is known as the blend work, indicated as COMBIN(n, k) in some spreadsheet. Taken as a class, the quantity of potential blends for a given lottery can be alluded to as the number space (n). Inclusion is the level of a lottery's number space that is in play for a given drawing (k). Scientific ideas can likewise be applied in making techniques in picking a number. Recurrence investigation is a well known system that is utilized. It includes monitoring the individual numbers that are drawn over some undefined time frame. You may contrast it with crippling a racehorse; rating his past presentation to figure out what his odds of winning are later on. The figure beneath shows how often every one of the numbers has come up in the principle National Lottery draw. Here we take a gander at whether the watched dissemination of the occasions every one of the 49 numbers has come up fits with what might be normal with a really irregular draw. Figure 1. Number of events of 1 to 49 out of 1240 lottery draws (UK National Lottery, 1997). Numbers that show up frequently in a specific game are called hot numbers. A few players will play these hot numbers solely on the supposition that since they have showed up frequently previously, they ought to show up again later on.

The Importance of Recess for Children With ADHD

The Importance of Recess for Children With ADHD ADHD School Print The Importance of Recess for Children With ADHD By Keath Low Keath Low, MA, is a therapist and clinical scientist with the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina. She specializes in treatment of ADD/ADHD. Learn about our editorial policy Keath Low Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on August 05, 2016 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on February 13, 2020 ADHD Overview Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment Living With In Children fstop123 / Getty Images The loss of something as fun and rewarding as recess might seem as though it would be a powerful motivator. The problem is that kids with ADHD who are active and impulsive need more opportunities for physical outlets, not fewer. Some teachers try to incorporate consequences by having students lose a portion of recess rather than the whole activity. So for a six-year-old, your child may lose the first five minutes of recess for an infraction. The other idea is to limit the activities at recess rather than the recess itself. For example, the punishment results in fewer choices of play activities on the playground. Your child may love playing kickball at recess, but he may lose that privilege for a large enough infraction. Instead, he must choose other play activities during recess. Why Loss of Recess Shouldnt Be a Consequence for Children With ADHD It is best to figure out other ways to provide consequences and protect recess time for kids. Recess is an important part of the school day for all kids, but it is especially important for children with ADHD who benefit from the physical movement, exercise, play, and social opportunities that recess provides. Loss of recess time for a hyperactive child is counterproductive. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan you can specifically have it written into his plan that recess will not be taken away as a consequence. For students with ADHD who are struggling, it often helps to take a step back and look at the picture more widely with the teacher. The Importance of Being Proactive We know that the symptoms of ADHD result in difficulties in certain areas. We can anticipate some of the problems that a child with ADHD may have and get proactive interventions in place to help prevent some of the behavior problems and teach new skills. The way you structure and adapt a childs environment can have a huge impact on the symptoms and on a childs success. You may want to meet with the teacher and see whether there are aspects of the classroom environment that can be modified to help your child be more successful. It can also be helpful to get more information about the context in which the problematic behaviors tend to occur most frequently. Understanding the antecedents to problematic behaviors can often decrease the need for negative consequences. Also, is it possible to catch the behaviors and redirect them before your sons behavior escalates to the point of a color change? Shift Consequences From Negative to Positive The other question to ask would be is there a way to shift consequences from negative to positive? This way you are positively reinforcing the behaviors that you want to see, shaping his behavior and increasing the likelihood that the appropriate behavior will occur again. Kids with ADHD often hear a lot of negatives and indeed their behavior can be quite frustrating. The teacher may already be incorporating a lot of positives into the school day, but this might be something you can assess with her. Kids with ADHD who have experienced repeated frustrations and failures really do need a lot of support and encouragement. So make sure she is praising him often and loudly when he is engaging in appropriate behaviors. Richard Lavoie, a former teacher, school administrator, and expert in ADHD and special education, emphasizes the importance of this approach and refers to it as remaining success-oriented with children through reinforcement, praise, and encouragement. Try a Token Reward System If the excessive, disruptive talking is an issue in the classroom, you might want to talk with the teacher about implementing a token reward system where your son earns points or chips for raising his hand and waiting to be called on to talk. If you decide to do this, bring your son into the planning, problem-solving, and decision making, so he understands and is invested in the program. Have him chose rewards he would like to earn. They dont have to be large; it could be extra time on the computer, being able to pair up with a friend for an activity, being the line leader, earning extra free time, etc. The teacher will need to give him feedback about his behavior frequently to help keep him on track. Also, keep in mind that you may need to change up the rewards regularly to keep his interest. Incorporate Physical Outlets It would be great for the teacher to give your child lots of opportunities for leadership in the class, as well. For example, having him run small errands for the teacher such as taking a note to another classroom, returning the class storybook to the school library, passing out papers to classmates, having him help clean the whiteboard, sharpen pencils, etc. These are all things he can earn with appropriate behavior. Not only do these activities allow him physical outlets for channeling his hyperactivity, but they also increase feelings of competence and self-esteem. It is helpful for the teacher to incorporate physical outlets into the school day for your child anyway. She can do this by making sure he has active movement time after each sedentary study time. It is quite difficult for a hyperactive, impulsive child to remain quiet and seated, scheduling in regular opportunities for movement can help prevent problems. Understanding the Needs of an ADHD Student It is hard because excessive talk is a symptom of ADHD. It is a skill deficit associated with ADHD. Kids with ADHD have trouble controlling their impulses and tend to respond immediately to their environment. They respond and react without thinking, and the verbal hyperactivity can be very difficult for him to reign in without a lot of support and guidance. Children with ADHD need a lot of reminders, prompts and cueing to help them pause, slow down, and stop themselves before reacting. Your child and his teacher may want to come up with a signal she could give to him to remind him when he is beginning to interrupt or talk excessively. He may even want to tape a visual reminder on his desktop; it could be a small photo of someone raising their hand to talk or any sign or symbol that would help him remember to stop and think. If he begins to escalate, the teacher can point to the photo or use their signal to help redirect him. If disruptive talking is an issue particularly in group activities in the classroom, another idea is to remove him briefly from the group activity. He shouldnt be removed from the class because he will miss learning opportunities, but just separating him somewhat from the group may help. Group settings can be very stimulating for a child with ADHD, and many benefit from taking a little time away to decompress and regain control. This doesnt need to be a punitive move but instead can be a strategy that he uses to settle himself. Since kids with ADHD often have such trouble inhibiting and controlling their reactions (and especially young children like your son), they really do benefit from more external regulation, monitoring, and guidance from the adults in their lives. You may also want to share your concerns with your child’s doctor and discuss whether or not medication would be appropriate to consider to help him better manage the verbal hyperactivity and impulsivity. If your child is already on medication, then you may want to discuss evaluating the medication dosage and/or timing of the administration of medicine in light of behavior problems.

The Importance of Recess for Children With ADHD

The Importance of Recess for Children With ADHD ADHD School Print The Importance of Recess for Children With ADHD By Keath Low Keath Low, MA, is a therapist and clinical scientist with the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina. She specializes in treatment of ADD/ADHD. Learn about our editorial policy Keath Low Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on August 05, 2016 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on February 13, 2020 ADHD Overview Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment Living With In Children fstop123 / Getty Images The loss of something as fun and rewarding as recess might seem as though it would be a powerful motivator. The problem is that kids with ADHD who are active and impulsive need more opportunities for physical outlets, not fewer. Some teachers try to incorporate consequences by having students lose a portion of recess rather than the whole activity. So for a six-year-old, your child may lose the first five minutes of recess for an infraction. The other idea is to limit the activities at recess rather than the recess itself. For example, the punishment results in fewer choices of play activities on the playground. Your child may love playing kickball at recess, but he may lose that privilege for a large enough infraction. Instead, he must choose other play activities during recess. Why Loss of Recess Shouldnt Be a Consequence for Children With ADHD It is best to figure out other ways to provide consequences and protect recess time for kids. Recess is an important part of the school day for all kids, but it is especially important for children with ADHD who benefit from the physical movement, exercise, play, and social opportunities that recess provides. Loss of recess time for a hyperactive child is counterproductive. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan you can specifically have it written into his plan that recess will not be taken away as a consequence. For students with ADHD who are struggling, it often helps to take a step back and look at the picture more widely with the teacher. The Importance of Being Proactive We know that the symptoms of ADHD result in difficulties in certain areas. We can anticipate some of the problems that a child with ADHD may have and get proactive interventions in place to help prevent some of the behavior problems and teach new skills. The way you structure and adapt a childs environment can have a huge impact on the symptoms and on a childs success. You may want to meet with the teacher and see whether there are aspects of the classroom environment that can be modified to help your child be more successful. It can also be helpful to get more information about the context in which the problematic behaviors tend to occur most frequently. Understanding the antecedents to problematic behaviors can often decrease the need for negative consequences. Also, is it possible to catch the behaviors and redirect them before your sons behavior escalates to the point of a color change? Shift Consequences From Negative to Positive The other question to ask would be is there a way to shift consequences from negative to positive? This way you are positively reinforcing the behaviors that you want to see, shaping his behavior and increasing the likelihood that the appropriate behavior will occur again. Kids with ADHD often hear a lot of negatives and indeed their behavior can be quite frustrating. The teacher may already be incorporating a lot of positives into the school day, but this might be something you can assess with her. Kids with ADHD who have experienced repeated frustrations and failures really do need a lot of support and encouragement. So make sure she is praising him often and loudly when he is engaging in appropriate behaviors. Richard Lavoie, a former teacher, school administrator, and expert in ADHD and special education, emphasizes the importance of this approach and refers to it as remaining success-oriented with children through reinforcement, praise, and encouragement. Try a Token Reward System If the excessive, disruptive talking is an issue in the classroom, you might want to talk with the teacher about implementing a token reward system where your son earns points or chips for raising his hand and waiting to be called on to talk. If you decide to do this, bring your son into the planning, problem-solving, and decision making, so he understands and is invested in the program. Have him chose rewards he would like to earn. They dont have to be large; it could be extra time on the computer, being able to pair up with a friend for an activity, being the line leader, earning extra free time, etc. The teacher will need to give him feedback about his behavior frequently to help keep him on track. Also, keep in mind that you may need to change up the rewards regularly to keep his interest. Incorporate Physical Outlets It would be great for the teacher to give your child lots of opportunities for leadership in the class, as well. For example, having him run small errands for the teacher such as taking a note to another classroom, returning the class storybook to the school library, passing out papers to classmates, having him help clean the whiteboard, sharpen pencils, etc. These are all things he can earn with appropriate behavior. Not only do these activities allow him physical outlets for channeling his hyperactivity, but they also increase feelings of competence and self-esteem. It is helpful for the teacher to incorporate physical outlets into the school day for your child anyway. She can do this by making sure he has active movement time after each sedentary study time. It is quite difficult for a hyperactive, impulsive child to remain quiet and seated, scheduling in regular opportunities for movement can help prevent problems. Understanding the Needs of an ADHD Student It is hard because excessive talk is a symptom of ADHD. It is a skill deficit associated with ADHD. Kids with ADHD have trouble controlling their impulses and tend to respond immediately to their environment. They respond and react without thinking, and the verbal hyperactivity can be very difficult for him to reign in without a lot of support and guidance. Children with ADHD need a lot of reminders, prompts and cueing to help them pause, slow down, and stop themselves before reacting. Your child and his teacher may want to come up with a signal she could give to him to remind him when he is beginning to interrupt or talk excessively. He may even want to tape a visual reminder on his desktop; it could be a small photo of someone raising their hand to talk or any sign or symbol that would help him remember to stop and think. If he begins to escalate, the teacher can point to the photo or use their signal to help redirect him. If disruptive talking is an issue particularly in group activities in the classroom, another idea is to remove him briefly from the group activity. He shouldnt be removed from the class because he will miss learning opportunities, but just separating him somewhat from the group may help. Group settings can be very stimulating for a child with ADHD, and many benefit from taking a little time away to decompress and regain control. This doesnt need to be a punitive move but instead can be a strategy that he uses to settle himself. Since kids with ADHD often have such trouble inhibiting and controlling their reactions (and especially young children like your son), they really do benefit from more external regulation, monitoring, and guidance from the adults in their lives. You may also want to share your concerns with your child’s doctor and discuss whether or not medication would be appropriate to consider to help him better manage the verbal hyperactivity and impulsivity. If your child is already on medication, then you may want to discuss evaluating the medication dosage and/or timing of the administration of medicine in light of behavior problems.

What Is a Column in the Architectural World

In architecture, a column is an upright pillar or post. Columns may support a roof or a beam, or they can be purely decorative. A row of columns is called a colonnade. Classical columns have distinctive capitals, shafts, and bases. Some people, including the 18th century Jesuit scholar Marc-Antoine Laugier, suggest that the column is one of the essential elements of architecture. Laugier theorizes that primitive man required only three architectural elements to build a shelter — the column, entablature, and the pediment. These are the basic elements of what has become known as the Primitive Hut, from which all architecture is derived. Where does the word come from? Like many of our English-language words, column originates from Greek and Latin words. The Greek kolophÃ… n, meaning a summit or hill, was where temples were built in places like Colophon, an ancient Ionian Greek city. The Latin word columna further describes the elongated shape we associate with the word column. Even today when we speak of newspaper columns orspreadsheet columns, or even spinal columns, the geometry is the same — longer than wide, slender, and vertical. in publishing — the distinctive mark of the publisher, much like a sports team may have an associated symbolic mark — comes from the same Greek origin. The architecture of ancient Greece was distinctive and remains so today. Imagine living in an ancient time, perhaps in BC when civilization began, and you are asked to describe the grand, stone projections you see high on a hill. The words that describe what architects call the built environment usually come well after the structures are built, and words are often inadequate descriptors of grand visual designs. The Classical Column The ideas of columns in Western civilizations come from the Classical architecture of Greece and Rome. Classical columns were first described by an architect named Vitruvius (c. 70-15 BC). Further descriptions were written in the late 1500s by the Italian Renaissance architect Giacomo da Vignola. He described the Classical Order of Architecture, a history of the columns and entablatures used in Greece and Rome. Vignola described five basic designs: Greek Columns and Entablature:DoricIonicCorinthianRoman Columns and Entablature:TuscanComposite Classical columns traditionally have three main parts: The base. Most columns (except the early Doric) rest on a round or square base, sometimes called a plinth.The shaft. The main part of the column, the shaft, may be smooth, fluted (grooved), or carved with designs.The capital. The top of the column may be simple or elaborately decorated. The capital of the column supports the upper portion of a building, called the entablature. The design of the column and entablature together determine the Classical Order of Architecture. Out of (Classical) Order The Orders of architecture refer to the designs of column combinations in Classical Greece and Rome. However, decorative and functional posts and shafts that hold up structures are found throughout the world. Over the centuries, a variety of column types and column designs have evolved, including in Egypt and Persia. To see different styles of columns, browse our Photo Guide to Column Design and Column Types. Function of a Column Columns are historically functional. Today a column can be both decorative and functional. Structurally, columns are considered compression members subject to axial compressive forces — they allow space to be created by carrying the load of the building. How much load that can be carried before buckling depends on the columns length, diameter, and construction material. The columns shaft is often not the same diameter from the bottom to the top. Entasis is the tapering and swelling of the columns shaft, which is used both functionally and to achieve a more symmetric look — fooling the naked eye. Columns and Your House Columns are commonly found in 19th century Greek Revival and Gothic Revival house styles. Unlike large Classical columns, residential columns usually carry the load of a porch or portico only. As such, they are subject to weather and rot and often become a maintenance issue. Too often, home columns are replaced with cheaper alternatives — sometimes, unfortunately, with wrought iron. If you buy a house with metal supports where columns should be, you know that these are not original. Metal supports are functional, but aesthetically they are historically inaccurate. Bungalows have their own type of tapered columns. Related Names for Column-Like Structures anta — A flat, square, column-like structure, usually on either side of a door or the corners of a buildings facade. These pilaster-like paired structures, called antae (plural), are really a structural thickening of the wall.pillar — Like a column, but a pillar can also stand alone, like a monument.support — A very general word that describes a functionpilaster — A squared column (i.e., a pier) protruding from a wall.engaged column — A round column protruding from a wall like a pilaster.post or stake or polepier — A squared column.buttressunderpinning Source Inline photo of metal columns  ©Jackie Craven

How Wwii Effected the Indian Independence Movement Free Essays

string(318) " book The Indian Struggle, Bose described his first meeting with Gandhi in 1921, â€Å"there was a deplorable lack of clarity in the plan which the Mahatma had formulated and that he himself had no clear idea of the successive stages of the campaign which would bring India to her cherished goal of freedom† \(Kumar\)\." Rebecca Martinez 18 November 2012 Professor Sutherland ANTH 4002 World War II’s Impact on the Indian Independence Movement The success of the Indian Independence movement is, by some scholars, largely attributed to efforts of Mahatma Gandhi. As stated by BBC, â€Å"Gandhi was the leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule, and is widely considered the father of his country† (India. wikia. We will write a custom essay sample on How Wwii Effected the Indian Independence Movement or any similar topic only for you Order Now com). However, this revolutionary movement, a dream that had been growing since the mid nineteenth century, was the infusion of a wide spectrum of Indian political organizations, philosophies, and rebellions. For example, the events and aftermath of the Second World War posed an economic crisis and political confrontation that transformed nationalism and colonialism for many colonies, including India. Even less credit is given to the various international events that shaped the movement, as well as those involved. Regardless of the divisions in Indian nationalist efforts, both in support and against violence, they all contained one common goal: independence from Britain. Were historians correct in their proposition that India’s independence was largely attributed to Gandhi’s peaceful anti-war efforts, or were Gandhi’s strategies ultimately ineffective? If proven effective, should India’s rapid progress in independence during World War II be seen as affected most by Gandhi, or were bigger actors involved? I believe that the source of India’s successes in their 100-year struggle for independence should not be correlated with one man. Rather, by paying close attention to key events, powerful political players, critical economic changes, and motivating political factors from around the globe during this period, historians will gain a better understanding of how India’s independence movement was rapidly accelerated, and ultimately successful, during the period surrounding World War II. When war initially broke out in September of 1939, Britain’s grip on India was as fierce and stubborn as ever (Bose and Jalal, 130). Although Congress leadership in India implored Great Britain to define their war aim before declaring India’s support, viceroy Linlithgow avowed the British Indian Empire a belligerent against the axis powers without consulting prominent Indian leaders (Bose and Jalal, 130). Once it became clear that the British were unconcerned with Indian nationalist aspirations, the entire Congress leadership resigned from the local government councils in protest. However, this protest was not simply an opposition to Britain’s decision. Many Indian nationalists believed that Britain’s fight for democracy and freedom in the Second World War contradicted their rule over a multitude of colonies (wiki. com). Mahatma Gandhi, for example, termed Britain’s â€Å"war to save democracy† as hypocrisy since it was denying democratic rights and individual liberties to Indians (wiki. com). Despite the atrocities faced by Indians under British rule, many Indians supported the British war effort and fought with the Allied Forces. In hopes that the British would leave India after the Second World War, the Indian National Congress cooperated with the British war efforts, making the British Indian Army was one of the largest volunteer forces during the war (India. wikia. com). However, when it became clear the Britain had no intention of relenting their hold India after the war, Gandhi called for a determined but passive resistance to foster a peaceful negotiation with the British government. Ultimately, Gandhi and the Congress Party proposed a â€Å"Quit India Movement,† which declared that if the British did not accede to the demands for Indian independence, a massive Civil Disobedience would be launched (Bose and Jalal, 133). However, once Britain arrested the top Congress Party leaders, the Quit India Movement fizzed out entirely before it even had a chance to gather steam. That being said, although Mahatma Gandhi’s initial civil disobedience movements were driving forces that ultimately shaped the cultural, religious, and political unity of a Indian diverse nation, they did not have a significant impact on Indian independence following the Second World War. Although history’s spotlight for Indian nationalist ideas during this time is set on Gandhi, the fight for freedom during World War II saw the rise of two independence movements. Some leaders of the revolutionary Indian independence movement collaborated with the Axis powers to overthrow the British Raj. Although largely ignored by historians, the Azad Hind movement, in collaboration with Japanese forces, successfully created the Indian National Army in 1942. Indian military alliances with Axis nations also included the Legion Freies Indien in Nazi Germany and the Battaglione Azad Hindoustan in Fascist Italy (wiki. com). Although Adolf Hitler saw Indians as racially inferior and had no interest in India’s future, he believed that if India gained its independence it could become a valuable ally of the Axis powers and help it gain dominance in the Indian Ocean area (Kumar). As a result, Germany and Japan actively provided support to Indian independence movement leaders. The Indian Nation Army, led by Subhash Chandra Bose, was based on the principle that â€Å"An enemy’s enemy is a friend† (India. wikia. com). Bose also formed what came to be known as the Azad Hind Government, with Indian prisoners of war and Indian expatriates in South-East Asia, with the help of the Japanese (Bose and Jalal, 134). Its aim was to reach India as a fighting force that would build on public resentment to inspire revolts among Indian soldiers to defeat the Raj (Bose and Jalal, 134). However, due to poor arms and supplies from the Japanese and lack of support and training, the Indian National Army and entire Azad Hind ultimately failed. Although defeated, Bose’s initiative gave hope to the Indian public and turned the support and loyalty of the native soldiers of the British Indian Forces from the crown to the Indian National Army soldiers. In doing so, the British Army, whose ultimate goal was to replace the loyalty of Indian soldiers to the crown, was replaced by the Indian National Army (Bose and Jalal, 134). Bose also succeeded in developing a larger participation and unity in the Indian community, one that crossed religious and gender boundaries, than Mahatma Gandhi’s Quit India movement. In his book The Indian Struggle, Bose described his first meeting with Gandhi in 1921, â€Å"there was a deplorable lack of clarity in the plan which the Mahatma had formulated and that he himself had no clear idea of the successive stages of the campaign which would bring India to her cherished goal of freedom† (Kumar). You read "How Wwii Effected the Indian Independence Movement" in category "Essay examples" However, although Bose’s efforts did aid India’s independence movement, it did not create an impact large enough for historians to declare its actions as the main source of India’s accelerated independence. The most effective factor in Indian independence during World War II, therefore, could not have been the result of Indian nationalist efforts. It was British prime minister Clement Atlee who, when granting independence to India, said that Gandhi’s non-violence movement had next to zero effect on the British. In corroboration, Chief Justice P. B. Chakrabarty of the Kolkata High Court, disclosed the following in a letter addressed to the publisher of Ramesh Chandra Majumdar’s book A History of Bengal, â€Å"You have fulfilled a noble task by persuading Dr. Majumdar to write this history of Bengal and publishing it †¦ In the preface of the book Dr. Majumdar has written that he could not accept the thesis that Indian independence was brought about solely, or predominantly by the non-violent civil disobedience movement of Gandhi. When I was the acting Governor, Lord Atlee, who had given us independence by withdrawing the British rule from India, spent two days in the Governor’s palace at Calcutta during his tour of India. At that time I had a prolonged discussion with him regarding the real factors that had led the British to quit India. My direct question to him was that since Gandhi’s â€Å"Quit India† movement had tapered off quite some time ago and in 1947 no such new compelling situation had arisen that would necessitate a hasty British departure, why did they have to leave? In his reply Atlee cited several reasons, the principal among them being the erosion of loyalty to the British Crown among the Indian army and navy personnel as a result of the military activities of Netaji [Subhash Chandra Bose]. Toward the end of our discussion I asked Atlee what was the extent of Gandhi’s influence upon the British decision to quit India. Hearing this question, Atlee’s lips became twisted in a sarcastic smile as he slowly chewed out the word, â€Å"m-i-n-i-m-a-l! †(Kumar). In reality, the political confrontations and negotiations between Indian nationalists and the British were immensely influenced by an atmosphere of deepening economic crisis. In the aftermath of World War II, Britain’s economy was destroyed to such an extent that they were no longer able to financially maintain their military forces, making Great Britain incapable of containing the incessant freedom movements in their colonies. Therefore, due to its collapsed economy, Great Britain would have left India much later than they did after World War II, regardless of Gandhi, Bose, or any nationalist leader. The most influential character in India’s independence, therefore, would evidently be Adolf Hitler. Despite his selfish reasons for war, Hitler inadvertently created the perfect economic atmosphere needed for the Indian Independence Movement to take flight. Had Hitler not begun World War II, India’s independence, with only nationalist determination as a driving force, would most probably have taken much longer than it did. In the aftermath of World War II, India had increased its political, economic and military influence, which paved the way for its independence from Great Britain in 1947. Although the main factor in Britain’s retreat in India was its economic turmoil, India would not have been able to create or sustain a healthy economy, government, or military without the help of key nationalist leaders. For example, previous tensions between Indian castes were eased by Gandhi, who launched the Haijan movement, a campaign to improve the lives of the untouchables, whom he named Harijans, the children of God. Gandhi also influenced India’s blossoming political ideology. According to Jim Yardley, â€Å"Gandhi is given full credit for India’s political identity as a tolerant, secular democracy. Likewise, Indian military precedent was also set by Bose in his creation of the Indian National Army. Bose also succeeded in uniting various religious entities in India. For example, when he first three of Bose’s officers to be tried were a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Sikh, Indians of all three religions became united against the British in a national movem ent against the Indian National Army officers’ trial (india. wikia. com). Nationalist efforts, specifically Mahatma Gandhi, may have not been the leading force in India’s independence in 1947, but it did make independence easier. British historians P. J. Cain and A. G. Hopkins described the hopeless situation of the British in India as follows, â€Å"By the end of war, there was a loss of purpose at the very center of the imperial system. The gentlemanly administrators who managed the Raj no longer had the heart to devise new moves against increasing odds, not least because after 1939 the majority of the Indian Civil Service were themselves Indian. In 1945 the new Viceroy, Wavell, commented on the â€Å"weakness and weariness of the importance of the instrument still our disposal in the shape of the British element in the Indian Civil Service. The town had been lost to opponents of the Raj; the countryside had slipped beyond control. Widespread discontent in the army was followed in 1946 by a mutiny in the navy. It was then Wavell, the unfortunate messenger, reported to London that India had become ungovernable [which finally led to the independence of India† (Kumar). Furthermore, although the Indian Independence Movement was greatly hastened by Britain’s economic crisis posed during the aftermath of World War II, India’s identity would not be the same without the influential works of Indian nationalists. Works Cited: Bose, Sugata Jalal, Ayesha. 2011, Modern South Asia: History, Culture Political Economy, Third Edition. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, London and New York. http://india. wikia. com/wiki/Indian_Independence_Movement http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/India_in_World_War_II Kumar, Susmit. 2012. ‘Hitler, NOT Gandhi, Should Be Given Credit for the Independence of India in 1947’, [Online] Available at: http://www. susmitkumar. net/index. php? option=com_contentview=articleid=100Itemid=86 Yardley, Jim. 2010, ‘Obama Invokes Gandhi, Whose Ideal Eludes India. ’ New York Times. 6, Nov. How to cite How Wwii Effected the Indian Independence Movement, Essay examples

Nullification Controversy free essay sample

In the era in question, the country was distinctly divided along economic lines. Because a large percentage of Southern capital was put into land, cotton, and slaves, less capital was available for industrial for manufacturing enterprises, since in that volatile period in history they such investments were far riskier than cotton, the prime resource of the booming textile industry. Economists have determined that a reasonable expectation for return On investments in cotton was per annum, an excellent return at any time.But because the cotton South did not produce much in the way of farm equipment, tools or other manufactured goods, they were dependent upon manufactured goods produced mostly in the north or in foreign countries. High protective tariffs on manufactured goods, designed to aid American manufacturing, had the effect of raising prices on goods purchased throughout the country, but needed most heavily in South. Support for manufacturing interests was strong in the north, where the population had grown faster, meaning that there were more members in the House of Representatives from the North then from the South. We will write a custom essay sample on Nullification Controversy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thus high protective tariffs were regularly passed. In 1 828 Andrew Jacksons supporters proposed a very high tariff bill that would allow Jackson to look friendly toward manufacturing in the North, while in the South his supporters to claim that the proposed tariff was so high that it would never pass, and that they therefore had nothing to worry about. But then the tariff did pass after all. Vice President John C. Calhoun of South Carolina anonymously wrote an Exposition and Protest of the Tariff of 1 828, which became known as the Tariff of Abominations. When a tariff bill passed again in 1832, because it as still too high to suit the needs of Southern agricultural interests, the State of South Carolina decided to nullify the tariff. They took their action very deliberately, calling a special convention and passing an Ordinance of Nullification that claimed not only that the tariff was not enforceable in South Carolina, but that any attempt to enforce it by state or federal officials would not be permitted within South Carolina.South Carolinas ordinance placed the state on a collision course with President Andrew Jackson. Although Jackson was from Tennessee, and thus a Southerner (and slave owner), he was still much more a nationalist than an advocate of states rights. To Jackson, the notion that a state could nullify a federal law, and that it could furthermore preven t him from exercising his constitutional duty, which is to see to it that the laws are faithfully executed, was too much. Jackson issued his own Proclamation of the people of South Carolina in which he called their nullification ordinance an impracticable absurdity. Congress supported Jackson by passing a Force Bill which explicitly authorized him to use whatever force was necessary to enforce the law in South Carolina. (The Force Bill was more symbolic than real, as Jackson already had authority to enforce the law under the Constitution. Not willing to push the fight any farther, South Carolina, realizing that support for its position was weak, relented and repealed its ordinance of nullification. But then as a sort of slap in the face to President Jackson, it nullified the force bill, which was of no consequence since the force bill had become moot upon South Carolinas repeal of the ordinance of nullification. To summarize, would say that the nullification controversy is important because of its focus on the issue of states rights.Most historians believe that behind South Carolinas nullification of t he tariff was a deeper concern over the slavery question. The abolitionist movement was gathering steam, and there was fear throughout the South that somehow the federal government might move to abolish slavery. Nullification of the tariff then was seen by some as a test case as to whether or not nullification Was viable. President Jacksons reaction and the support from Congress suggested that nullification could not be sustained.The next logical step, therefore, in opposing federal authority within a state was the act of secession, which South Carolina exercised almost 30 years later as the first state to secede from the Union following President Lincoln election in 1860. It is worth reading South Carolinas ordinance of nullification and Andrew Jacksons proclamation to understand the depth of the arguments on both sides. Jacksons argument carried the day, but for many Southerners the issue of states rights was still an open question.

Oedipus Rex Essay Example Essay Example

Oedipus Rex Essay Example Paper Oedipus Rex Essay Introduction Oedipus Rex is one of the group of three plays by Sophocles known as Theban plays, since they all relate to the destinies of the Theban family of Oedipus and his children but Oedipus Rex is not only the greatest play of Sophocles but also the greatest Greek play. It presents the story of Oedipus the king and Jocasta the unfortunate Queen and mother and wife of Oedipus. Teiresias, the blind seer, is another important character who prophesize about Oedipus and his tragic future. Then there is Creon who is a cousin of Oedipus. Despite the presence of all these characters, Oedipus seems distinct and all-pervasive in the play. He is regarded as an exalted tragic figure. Oedipus is a complex character with paradoxical characteristics. An insight into his character demonstrates that he possesses god as well as certain bad qualities but these good qualities also contribute to bring his tragic downfall. He is an intelligent man who is extremely obsessed with his intelligence. He has unsurpass able self-confidence and arrogance yet he possesses an unmatchable quest for truth. So his character is a strange mix different contradictory characteristic. The first quality that we observe in Oedipus is a good quality i.e. his obsession with his own intelligence and this leads him to very unfortunate and uncomfortable situations. This tragic flaw of Oedipus laps over with his pride as he is extremely proud of the fact that he was able to solve the riddle of the Sphinx which had proved too much for any other person. He thinks that Gods has capacitated him with intelligence and wisdom to solve riddle that the Thebes is afflicted with. Oedipus even taunts Tireseas on his inability in solving the Sphinx’s riddle. He says; Oedipus Rex Essay Body Paragraphs And where were you, when the Dog-faced Witch was here?/Have you any word of deliverance then for our people?/There was a riddle too deep for common wits;/A seer should have answered it, but answer there came none/From you.. (12-16) After calling the soothsayer false prophet, Oedipus boasts of his own skill in having solved the puzzled which proved too much for the blind seer; Until I came—I, ignorant Oedipus, came—/ And stopped the riddler’s mouth, guessing he truth/By mother-wit, not bird-lore. (17-19) So he describes Tiresaeas predictive cautions as the whims of a fanatic and opposes his prophecy with arguments of his own. Confidence and pride in his own wisdom is an outstanding feature of his character that also brings his tragedy. Here Oedipus fulfills the traits of Aristotelian tragic hero as he possesses a noble tragic flaw. The man who sets out on his new task by sending first for the venerable seer is not lacking in pious reverence; but we also observe th at Oedipus manifests unrestrained arrogance in his own intellectual achievement. No seer found the solution, this is Oedipus boast; no bird, no god revealed it to him, he â€Å"the utterly ignorant† had to come on his own and hit the mark by his own wit. This is a justified pride but it amounts too much. This pride and self-confidence induce Oedipus to despise prophecy and feel almost superior to the gods. He tell the people who pray for deliverance from pathos and miseries they are afflicted with if they listen to and follow his advice in order to get a remedy. The second characteristics of his personality is also a positive one i.e. his unrelenting pursuit of the truth. This is demonstrated when he believes he is the murderer and that Polybus was not his father, yet he continues with his search with the statement, â€Å"I must pursue this trail to the end,† (p.55).These characteristics are only fuel to the fire and add to the pride created a blaze that consumed him. Bernard Knox eulogizes Oedipus’ â€Å"dedication to truth, whatever the cost† (p.117) Another characteristics of his character that contributes toward his tragedy is Oedipus’ longing for thoroughness. His inquisitive nature is not content with anything which is either half-hearted or incomplete. Nor can he brook any delay. He damns that the direction of the oracle should be given effect at once. As before, Oedipus speaks on the basis of the workings of his own mental faculties that has been tested time and again and have proved their intelligence. It can be said that the tragedy of Oedipus is the result more of his good qualities than his bad ones. It is his love for Thebes which makes him send Creon to Delphi to consult the Oracles. It is the same care for his subjects which makes him proclaim a ban and a curse on the murderer of Laius. It is his absolute honesty which makes him include even himself within the curse and the punishment. He is angry with Tiresaea s because he is unable to tolerate the fact that although the prophet says that he know who the murderer of Laius is , he refuses top give the information to the king. His rage and rashness is due to the fact that the masses are suffering and Tiresaeas does not provide the murderer’s name. Oedipus cannot but regard this as a clear manifestation of the seer’s disloyalty to his city. To Oedipus the discovery of truth is more important than his own good and safety. Even when it seems that the investigation that he is carrying on will not produce any result which will be him, he decides to carry on with it. He is so honest with himself that he inflicts the punishment of self-blinding and banishment from the city of Thebes. So his moral goodness also seems as a tragic flaw that brings his ruin. He replies by saying â€Å"Sick as you are, not one is sick as I, each of you suffers in himself.but my spirit Groans for the city, for myself, for you†.(62-62) Another strang e mix of qualities is related to his vision and insight. Some critics are of the view that major tragic flaw of Oedipus is his intellectual myopia. He has a limited vision and is unable to assess the situations in a right perspective. Robert L. Kane (1975) puts this preposition in this way; â€Å"He [Oedipus] was the victim of an optical illusion†. (p. 196) He suffers from two types of blindness i.e. physical and intellectual. One is related to physical sight whereas the other, the most pernicious type of blindness, pertains to insight. Teiresias is physically blind but whereas Oedipus is blind intellectually. This intellectual blindness of Oedipus also contributes greatly to lead him to his tragic destination. Oedipus possesses faultless physical vision throughout play except in the end but he remains blind to the reality regarding himself. At one point in the play, he has the ability to see but he is not willing to do so. He intellectual vision comes with his physical loss of sight but he is unable to cast away the psychological â€Å"slings and arrows† and mental sufferings that intellectual blindness has afflicted on him. So his blindness, both intellectual at the start of the play and physical at the end of the day, is the worst. Oedipus can be held guilty due to another tragic flaw—his inability to take appropriate preventive measures. It is said that he fails to take logical steps and precautions which would have saved him from committing the crimes. Oedipus has necessary human failings. One of them is that he rashly jumps into conclusions. Choragos points this out in scene II after a speech by Creon who tries o remove the ill-fed and hastily formed suspicions of Oedipus about Creon. They say, â€Å"Judgments too quickly formed are dangerous† (II, 101) But Oedipus justifies this, arguing that ruler have to take quick decision. He says later on, â€Å"But is he not quick in his duplicity? / And shall I not be quick to parry h im?† (II, 102-103) Later at the conclusion of scene II, Creon indicates the same tragic flaw in his character by saying, â€Å"Ugly in yielding, as you were ugly in rage! / Nature like yours chiefly torments themselves.† (II, 151-152) It is this rashness that makes to not merely suspect Creon but accuse him and even declares that he deserves the sentence of death. The rashness can be observed in his treatment of Tireseas. Oedipus does not lack analytical thinking but his rashness does permit him to weigh up the situation rightly and he makes hasty decision. In retrospect we see that rashness of Oedipus has something to do with the murder Laius at the hands of Oedipus. The self-blinding also is an act of rashness although Oedipus tries t give several arguments in favor of it. Some critics regard this rashness of Oedipus to be his tragic flaw. So another bad quality i.e. his bad temperament is demonstrated in the squabble between Teiresias and himself, where Teiresias utt er the prophetic truth and Oedipus retorts, â€Å"Do you think you can say such things with impunity?† and afterward attributes him as a , â€Å"Shameless and brainless, sightless, senseless sot!†(p.36). His character is further marked with suspicion about Creon to whom he considers as a conspirator. He says with reference his tà ªte-à  -tà ªte with Tiresaeas, â€Å"Creon! Was this trick his, then, if not yours?† So his imagination works together with anger and rashness. All the above-mentioned manifestations of character, their supported arguments and views of the critics clearly proves the thesis that Oedipus’ unavoidable ignorance was the major factor of his tragedy because he was unable to locate that the man whom he assaulted on the crossroads to Thebes was his father. Secondly, if he would not have been occupied by his aspirations, he would have possibly explored the horror of his deed and could have avoided the additional tricky situations by no t marrying his mother. Thirdly, his â€Å"conscious and intentional† act includes his decision to â€Å"bring what is dark to light† (133). Furthermore, as result to revelation of Tiresaeas, he charges Creon with conspiracy and murder and denounces Tiresaeas as an accessory. Although these actions were intentional and bring Oedipus to tragic end but have a clear background that illustrate that these actions were not â€Å"deliberate†. Fourthly, all these errors originate from a hasty and obstinate temperament, unjustified anger and excessive pride that compel him to an energized inquisitiveness. With the development of the plot, all these ascriptions of his character jumps back with amplified force on his head that finally culminates at his tragedy. Knox (1957) sums up in this way; â€Å"the actions of Oedipus that produce the catastrophe stem from all sides of his character; no one particular action is more essential than any other; they are all essential and they involve not any one trait of character which might be designated a hamartia but the character of Oedipus as a whole† (31). Above-mentioned arguments and supporting evidence clearly manifest that Oedipus had paradoxical qualities and possessed good as well bad characteristics. Sophocles has masterfully juxtaposed his constant obsession with intelligence and his pursuit of truth with his vain pride and excessive anger. But it is also obvious that his good qualities contribute more toward his tragedy than his bad qualities. nbsp; We will write a custom essay sample on Oedipus Rex Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Oedipus Rex Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Oedipus Rex Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Introduction to Concept of Mental Health Essay Example

Introduction to Concept of Mental Health Essay Example Introduction to Concept of Mental Health Essay Introduction to Concept of Mental Health Essay When an individual hears the term â€Å"Emotional Health† his or her mind instantly goes blank trying to surmise what this means. It is without a doubt that emotional health is something that the average human being deals with everyday, and it is as important as any other form of health. People do question that emotional health has a â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad† effect, and yes it is true, but they are never able to distinguish the difference. That difference is how severe â€Å"bad† emotional health is, also what it could lead to, and what results come with mental or emotional illness, which is the main focus. Moreover a good definition for emotional health is your overall psychological well-being. It includes the way you feel about yourself, the quality of your relationships, and your ability to manage your feelings and deal with difficulties (Smith, 17-19). For emotionally healthy people they have the ability to deal with stress and bounce back from adversity, can balance between work and play, rest and activity, etc. and most importantly, are self-confident and have high self-esteem. Even though these characteristics are good the difference is that people with good emotional health have an ability to bounce back from adversity, trauma, and stress. This ability is called resilience. People who are emotionally and mentally healthy have the tools for coping with difficult situations and maintaining a positive outlo ok. They remain focused, flexible, and creative in bad times as well as good. On the contrary many things that happen in your life can disrupt your emotional health and lead to strong feelings of sadness, stress, anxiety, and depression. In any case this is classified as â€Å"bad† emotional health. If ever, have you experienced a hardship or heartbreak, or even a life changing experience that has changed your perception on life? If yes, then this can affect an individual’s perspective, also you will physically feel change. Your body responds to the way you think, feel and act. This is often called the â€Å"mind/body connection. When you are stressed, anxious or upset, your body tries to tell you that something isn’t right. For example, high blood pressure or a stomach ulcer might develop after a particularly stressful event, such as the death of a loved one (familydoctor. org editorial staff7-9), which can be an indication of â€Å"bad â€Å"or poor emotional health. Following this further, Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Dev elopment perfectly interprets emotional health, in the sense that it relates to actions later progressing into changes in mental operations. Also his theory equally relates to emotional health because his concept of â€Å"schemas† describes both the mental and physical actions involved in understanding and knowing which relates to the â€Å"mind/body connection† for emotional health. On the other hand when a person is suffering from poor emotional health there are many factors that come along with it. Usually most people would ask their doctors the cause of there depression lately or why they have been so stressed, it is because stress and depression falls into the emotional health category . Though a lot of people think they know what stress is they do not. Stress is a mental, emotional, or physical strain caused, e. g. by anxiety or overwork. It may cause such symptoms as raised blood pressure or depression. Likewise depression is the same as stress ,except depression deals with psychiatric disorders showing symptoms such as persistent feelings of hopelessness, misery, poor concentration, lack of energy, inability to sleep, and, sometimes, suicidal tendencies. In this case people suffering from depression or stress either likely to commit suicide or hurt people that they care for. It is important to know how these disorders can really affect you. To begin low energy or fatigue , feeling worthless or guilty for no reason, significant weight change, difficulty concentrating, loss of interest in favorite activities are the major outcomes of depression.

Marketing Youtube video Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing Youtube video - Essay Example This is a good advertisement. One on hand it gives a good display of product features and on the other hand provides a hilarious backdrop of three office executives. The linkage of the backdrop with real life events would induce repeat viewing. This is an example of an excellent advertisement. The innovative backdrop would induce repeat viewership, the advertisement shows a husband and wife fighting for the car devoid of the consequences, which is likely to make the product attractive and would enhance the positioning of the brand. An excellent advertisement with an innovative backdrop which effectively correlates with the tagline of the product ‘extremely strong’ as it shows a mouse doing something impossible after consuming a piece of cheese. The innovative backdrop would induce repeat viewership. Extremely innovative advertisement which communicates the product features in an innovative manner which would induce repeat viewership. The character portrayed in the advertisement effectively correlates with the product features which are likely to generate a good impact on the customers. This is an average advertisement that on one hand effectively promotes the product features but lacks in the aspect of inducing repeat viewership as the backdrop appears to be lengthy and somewhat uninteresting in

Atokawa Advantage Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Atokawa Advantage Management - Essay Example While a substantial part of the reporting and operational requirements of Atokowa is currently being addressed by the system, the strain of expansion would only exacerbate the situation. If the expansion initiative of Custom Print and the Online Ordering strategy is suspended the growth of Atokowa will be stunted and its spiral decline will commence because the current difficulties in the system will only feed on itself. The initiatives of George Hargreaves and Hayley Atokowa will diversify the revenue stream of Atokowa and at the same time expand the market while widening the client demography of Atokowa. However, implementing it at this time will only triple if not double the operational problems of Atokowa implementing it after the completion of an Enterprise Resource Planning Solution roll-out would be ideal if not the best. ... Under the leadership of Jonathan, Atokowa has expanded to several stores all around Australia catering mostly to individual and business customers in and around the locality where Atokowa stores are at. This paper would present the analysis of the operation of Atokowa to determine challenge areas, improvement areas, and growth areas. The purpose of the analysis is to recommend solutions that will enable Atokowa to resolve its current issues if there are any and respond to the demands of the ever-changing market landscape in the stationary and office supply retail industry. This report shall first present the result of the analysis conducted on the operation of Atokowa that will define in detail the analysis of focus areas. After the analysis of the focus areas, an assessment of the focus area shall be concluded for purposes of recommending possible solutions to the challenges posed in the focus area. Due to constraints, this paper shall only present the observations in the analysis and not the process in which the analysis was conducted and the observation was arrived at. In summary, the analysis in the operation of the focus areas shall be provided in seriatim as it was presented in the report. The conclusion or assessment shall follow afterward then the recommendations that should be undertaken by the management of Atokowa to resolve its current challenges. Please note that this paper shall only focus on the technological solutions to resolve the operational and management challenges of Atokowa. Analysis of Current Systems and Operations The following focus areas were highlighted in the analysis of the business case of Atokowa.  

Perceived Effectiveness of Sports Massage Therapy

Perceived Effectiveness of Sports Massage Therapy Massage therapy has been used ancient times. There is evidence that the Chinese used therapeutic massage more than 3,000 years ago. Massage has fallen in and out of favour over time. One of the newest forms of massage therapy is sports massage. Famous athletes have publicly expressed their great satisfaction with sports massage. They claim that it has increased their athletic performance and helped speed their recovery after strenuous exercise. Non-professional athletes and their trainers has also become increasingly interested in sports massage, partly because of the acclaim it has received from elite athletes. This has led to even more interest in the therapy by non-athletes. Some of the popularity of sports massage can be attributed to the increasing acceptance of all forms of alternative therapies. Despite all of the intense interest, there is a lack of accurate information about massage. There are many widely held perceptions about the effectiveness of pre-event sports massage, including that it can prevent injury and provide an edge over the competition. However, there is no published research that suggests pre-event massage has a positive impact on performance or injury prevention. There is some evidence that massage after an athletic event can help reduce pain, but the results remain inconclusive. There has also been research that concluded that regular, or maintenance, massages can alleviate some symptoms. In 2004, a research team published A Meta-Analysis of Massage Therapy, which provided comprehensive look at the actual effectiveness of sports massage. Among other findings, they concluded that massage may reduce pain. However, the study debunked many of the widely held perceptions about the effectiveness of sports massage. Massage therapy does seem to have an impressive ability to reduce anxiety and depression. While the exact science behind the benefits sports massage remains elusive, many athletes, coaches, and massage therapists continue to believe that it can have a tremendous positive effect if used both before and after sporting events and during periods of training. Introduction Massage is one of the oldest and widely used therapies in the history of mankind. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines massage as: â€Å"the rubbing or kneading of parts of the body especially to aid circulation, relax the muscles, or provide sensual stimulation.† These benefits have been enjoyed since ancient times and almost all cultures have used some version of therapeutic massage(Vickers, Zelman, 1999). However, in more recent history, massage has become an important tool for athletes. Sports massage is now considered powerful way to help maximize athletic performance (Davidson, 2001). The prevalence of this type of massage has rapidly increased over the last two decades and the perceived effectiveness of sports massages given before and after athletic events has become widespread. Massage may have become more en vogue recently, but it is certainly not new. The first evidence of massage can be seen in the Chinese Cong-Fou, written around 2700 B.C. The text makes references to the manipulation of soft tissue. The ancient Chinese massage techniques involved applying pressure to muscles and meridian points. There is evidence that the ancient Chinese practitioners believed their massage not only relaxed muscles, but also improved the function of internal organs(Calvert, 2001). Ancient Indian texts also described various massage techniques that were believed to promote spiritual and physical healing (Pike, p.viii). Even Hippocrates taught a form of massage to his students around500 B.C. Another famous Greek medical practitioner, Asclepiads, was so impressed by the perceived benefits of massage that the stopped using all other medicines and treatments and only used massage therapy for healing. He believed that massage techniques could increase and restore nutritive fluids (Calvert, 2001). However, over time, Western cultures gradually abandoned the Greek beliefs about massage. During the middle ages, massage was still used as a folk remedy, but established medical scientists discounted it and the use of massage was no longer considered part of regular medical treatment. (Calvert, 2001). About 150 years ago, a French translation of the Cong-Four appeared. Historians believe the text served as the foundation for the development of the now-popular Swedish massage (Davidson, 2001). There is some dispute over the origins of Swedish massage, but many credit Per Hendrix Ling for its development during the early 18th century. Ling promoted the idea that massage could heal the body by boosting circulation of the blood and limp systems. Ling’s massage technique was very vigorous and he prescribed a standardized treatment. He suffered from gout and developed the system to improve his condition and later to help others. He did not equate massage with relaxation or any other psychological benefit. In fact, he called it the â€Å"Swedish Movement Cure† (Cates, 1998). Current Swedish massage has evolved somewhat from Ling’s ideas and is now more gentle, although the focus is still on increasing the flow of oxygen in the blood and to assist the muscles in releasing toxins. In the last few decades, Swedish massage therapists have placed greater emphasis on the psychological benefits of massage and they strive to provide a sense of calmness and well-being.(Vickers, Zelman, 1999) Historically, the interest in massage has been cyclical. Massage fallout of favour, only to once again regain acceptance, many times over the last 500 years. Currently, massage has become far less important tour culture than medical drugs and surgery, but it is again becoming more popular as an alternative therapy (Cates, 1998). There are still many forms of massage found throughout the world, including Hawaiian, deep tissue, and Tue. Na. One of the newest forms of massage is sports massage. Although it is considered a separate form of massage, it shares strong similarities with Swedish Massage and the most of the techniques employed in Swedish massage are used in sports massage(Davidson, 2001). However, sports massage also incorporates Shiatsu massage techniques. Sports massage was largely developed by Jack Meagher. Meagher was the massage therapist for the US Olympic Equestrian Team. He developed sports massage based on the theory that there are a dozen body postures that form the axis of all athletic movement. Meagher said that because each sport requires that the athlete maintain certain postures, it is possible to identify potential overuse injuries before they occur and help prevent them through sports massage. Meagher wrote that athletic performance could be improved by 20% with the introduction of sports massage (Dion, 2001). Although sports massage encompasses many techniques, all sports massages geared toward generating the maximum performance from an athlete. The effects of sports massage are achieved through a combination of mechanical, physiological, and psychological processes. Research has demonstrated that the compression caused by correctly-applied sports massage can improve lymphatic and venous drainage in the body and boost circulation (Hollis, 1997). Under the general heading of sports massage, there are three distinctly different types of massage. Each has a different goal and employs different strokes. The three categories of sports massage are pre-event, post-event, and maintenance massage. Although sports massage has recently become more sophisticated, modern athletics have been using forms of pre-event and post-event massage for decades. For example, baseball pitchers have long used massage as an attempt to extend the length of their career by maintaining range of motion and flexibility. For many decades, boxing coaches and trainers have been seen giving boxers â€Å"rubdowns† before a fight in an effort toward-up the body by boosting circulation. This is an early form fore-event massage (Pike, p.viii). Modern sports massage first became integrated as part some teams ‘standard athletic training in the former Soviet Union, East Germany, and other Eastern European countries during the 1960s. Soviet teams were the first to employ dedicated massage therapists that traveled with them. In the 1970s, the trend became more widespread, as more European countries and teams in the United States began to take interest in sports massage (Davidson, 2001). However, it is only since the 1980s that sports massage has become truly mainstream. Now, it is a common practice for teams to integrate sports massage as part of their standard training regimen. Certified sports massage therapists have been seen at many major sporting events, including Ironman competitions, the Goodwill and Pan-American games, marathons, the Olympics, and professional bike races (Latina, 2000).When the U.S women’s soccer team defeated China, winning the World Cup, the players publicly thanked their sports massage therapist, Wynn Clinton and Jim Fayola. Goalkeeper Tracy Ducat said, â€Å"Clinton and Jim Fayola, who worked with him during the World Cup, were invaluable in the treatment they provided for us, testified Tracy Ducat, a goalkeeper on the team. We could not have been at our best without their help every day. Goalie Saki Webber agreed, saying, Without Clinton I think that it would have been a much different story. I think that he kept us healthy and kept us together during the World Cup† (Hued, 2002). Sports massage has also infiltrated smaller sports. For example, even some Canadian cowboys are receiving massages before and after rodeos, thanks to new mobile massage rooms are traveling with them (Visconti,p.54). Although professional sports teams have lead the way in incorporating sports massage, college, some secondary schools, and amateur teams are also exploring massage as a way to enhance performance. The public’s perceived value of the effectiveness of sports massage has been fuelled by public statements from well-known professional athletes who say their extraordinary skills have improved after undergoing regular massage therapy. For example, tennis champion, Martina Navratilova said, â€Å"I started getting massages and realized what wonderful thing it is for your body† (Sports Massage: Taking the Field ). Former professional football quarterback, Joe Montana, has said, â€Å"I’ve been working with massage for a few years now, and I found it helps you to recover a little quicker. The bumps and bruises seem Togo away a lot faster† (Sports Massage: Taking the Field). Canadian National Swim Team member, Marianne Limpet, agrees: â€Å"I find that massage is very beneficial in helping with a quicker recovery from hard training or racing, and it prevents me from getting tight muscles and injuring myself. I am one of few athletes at my age(30), and Im sure that massage has played a major role in helping to keep my body in shape to continue to this level† (Warren, 2003). Even Marjorie Album, the Chief Athletic Trainer of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, once commented, â€Å"I would not provide sports medicine services for any major athletic event without massage therapists.†(Sports Massage: The Athlete’s Trainer’s Edge ) With glowing testimonials from esteemed athletes and sports professionals, it is not surprising that more amateur and college athletes are now becoming interested in sports massage. After all, our society places great emphasis and value on athletics, and the financial and emotional rewards can be great to those who excel in their chosen sport. It is not surprising that sports massage is popular among those searching for competitive edge. This relatively new appreciation for sports massage has increased as part of a larger trend toward ergogenic aids to boost all types of athletic performance. Ergogenic aids include a wide variety of tools and therapies, such as visualization, meditation, and pre-event stretching. Advocates of sports massage say it is valuable ergogenic tool that can improve circulation, reduce stress, promote muscle efficiency and healing, and even prevent injuries (Pike, p. vii). The perceived benefits of massage have also become more wide-spread as the general acceptance of alternative medicines has increased. In a1997 random sample of 1,500 households in the United States, 42% of adults reported using some type of alternative therapy in the last year. Nearly 45% said they would be willing to pay more each month for alternative care. Additionally, when choosing healthcare, nearly 70% of respondents said having access to alternative therapies is an important factor in choosing a health insurance plan (Landmark Healthcare Inc.,1997). Alternative medicine is even more popular in the United Kingdom, where in studies, nearly 47% of respondents have reported they are using alternative therapies. Also in the U.K., of those undergoing complementary medicine, nearly nine out of ten are paying for their treatment (Thomas et al. p. 2 -11 ). Massage therapy is one of the fasting growing forms of alternative medicine. In 1999, The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA)conducted a nationwide survey in the United States. Researchers found that 27% of adults had therapeutic massage in the last five years, compared to only 17% in a 1997 study who said they had a massage in the previous five years (Massage: Much-Kneaded Complementary Health Care). Another study conducted the previous year found that visits to massage therapists increased by nearly 36% in the years between 1990 and 1997(Eisenberg et al. p. 1569). Furthermore, in 2004, the National Centerior Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States reported that massage has become the ninth most popular alternative therapy treatment. In the study, 5% of respondents said they had received massage therapy at least one time in the previous year (Boneset al.). This translates into big business for the massage industry, as American consumers are spending up to $6 billion dollars a year on massage therapy (Eisenberg et al., p. 1569). This increasing interesting massage has created a surge in massage school educational facilities and applicants. As of 2002, there were more than 950 state-licensed massage schools in the U.S., which is 14% more school than existed in2000. In 2001, massage schools turned out an estimated 30,000 new graduates (Lacombe, p. 49). There are other significant signs that the perceived benefits of massage is having a strong effect on public policy. In the United States, The National Institutes of Health is currently sponsoring three studies in an attempt to clarify the medical benefits of massage. Additionally, a national survey of employer-sponsored healthcare plans found that 15% of HMOs cover massage therapy. Cigna and Blue Cross BlueShield also cover some forms of massage (Lacombe, p. 49).Furthermore, a 1995 study found that more than half of family doctors in the United States said they would recommend some form of massage therapy to their clients (Hedwig, p.1). This is a concern to some researchers who wonder if the benefits of massage are worth the price of the therapy. In their meta-analysis of massage therapy research, Moyer, Rounds, and Hanno wrote, â€Å"For these trends to continue (indeed, to determine if they even should continue),what is needed is a more rigorous and quantitative examination of MT’s(massage therapy’s) effectiveness that that which currently exists†(Moyer et al.). The perceived, yet often unexplained, effects of massage (including sports massage) have even created interested within the White House. In2004, the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy called for more research and funding for public education on massage therapy. The commission’s chairman, James Gordon, did not offer an explanation of the actual benefits of massage, but he did allude to the widespread perceived effectiveness of the alternative treatment. He said: We shouldnt put too much weight on its benefits, but at the same time we should make it available to everyone. Massage does decrease anxiety, reliably. It does decrease pain in a number of people with chronic-pain syndrome. It does improve mood. Exactly how it does it, I don’t think we know (Lacombe, p. 50). AMTA researchers say as more people accept massage therapy as a viable treatment option, more athletes are becoming interested in sports massage. The AMATA now recognizes sports massage as a unique specialty field within the massage industry. There has also been increased interest in sports massage among the so-called â€Å"weekend warriors†(people who only exercise on the weekends) and those do not consider themselves athletes or exercise regularly. No matter how little time they spend taking part in athletics, some people want to enjoy the perceived benefits of sports massage. Licensed massage therapist John Balletto said, â€Å"Anyone who exercises or works in an active job or even has to constantly bend down to pick up a child can benefit from sports massage. This type of massage helps muscles deal with the repetitive motions inherent to these activities (Latina, 2000). In the past, there was a public perception that only elite athletes and wealthy, pampered women received regular massages. As sports massage becomes more mainstream and begins to be embraced by the general public, there is an increased perception that sports massage is not only a luxury, but a new necessity. This trend can be seen in many forms of mainstream media. For example, a college newspaper in Texas, The University Daily, recently ran an article that stated that more financially strained college students were paying for massages as a way to combat stress. It also explained how deep tissue massage can help relieve pain associated with carrying heavy book bags and suggested that students ask their parents to pay for a massage session. A massage therapist in the article was quoted as saying, â€Å"It is very therapeutic. It’s not a luxury like people think. If more people think of it as therapy, then more people could justify it that way (Aaron). However, despite the widespread interest in sports massage, there is a lack of reliable information on its benefits and effects. Using a search engine like Goolgle.com to search under the â€Å"benefits of sports massage† will turn up hundreds of websites offering glowing testimonials about the therapy and claims that are not backed up by current scientific research. For instance, SportsInjuryClinic.net claims that regular sports massage treatments will â€Å"maintain the body, prevent injuries and loss of mobility, cure and restore mobility to injured muscle tissue, boost performance, and extend the overall life of your sporting career† (Sports Injury Clinic). Another website for massage centre in Connecticut bluntly states, â€Å"Massage is beneficial when starting a conditioning program because it helps you get into good shape faster† (Buckland Massage Neuromuscular Centre). With so many websites making fantastic claims about the benefits of sports massage, it is easy to understand why the perceived benefits of sports massage currently held by the general public do not always match current scientific research. As previously mentioned, sports massage is broken down into three main categories: pre-event, post-event, and routine maintenance. Each of these forms of sports massage uses a combination of stroke techniques. In order to understand the research and perceived benefits of sports massage, it is important to understand the various stroke styles. The most common stroke strokes are effleurage, petrissage, and cupping(Davidson, 2001). Other common strokes include friction, range of motion movements, trigger point, and compression (which some massage therapists classify as a type of petrissage) (Pike, p. 26-31). Effleurage utilizes long, gentle strokes. This is the most basic type of stroke and warms the area for the work to come by increasing blood flow to the muscle (Pike, p. 26). This is the main stroke for creating relaxation and is often used most frequently at the start and end of massage therapy session, although it is useful throughout the therapy(Cates, 1998). Petrissage is a firmer, two handed kneading technique that includes blows to the muscle. Both hands grab the muscle and compress it. Massage therapists use petrissage to loosen tight muscles and squeeze blood out from deeper structures (Davidson, 2001). Cupping involves hitting the muscles with cupped hands. This stroke technique is used to break down scar tissue, relieve tension and tone the muscles (Davidson, 2001). Friction strokes are used only during deep tissue massage to relax the muscles and reduce adhesions. These circular strokes generate heat by increasing blood flow to the area being worked on (Pike, p. 32) Range of motion movements are assisted exercises that the massage therapist uses to increase the mobility of joints. The massage therapist moves the body while the athlete stays relaxed. Massage therapists report that this technique can extremely helpful for athletes, who usually need to have the maximum range of movement possible in order to excel at their sport (Pike, p. 34). Trigger points are parts of the muscle that are tight and painful. When massage therapist applies pressure to a trigger point, the athlete will often cry out in pain. Correctly massaging a trigger point will help release tight muscles and â€Å"break the pain cycle so the tissue can get blood and nutrients to heal and relax itself† (Pike, p. 31) Compression strokes are used on muscle bellies, generally in large areas, like the adductors. Massage therapists use compression, which Isa squeezing movement, to feel the tissues under the skin. Compression can stimulate and warm the tissue or relax the athlete, depending on the firmness of the stroke (Pike, p. 30). Many people mistakenly think that sports massage is beneficial because it is somehow â€Å"deeper† than other massages. However, that is not always the case. Sports massage is any massage technique that allows â€Å"active people to stay active, to keep the body in working order, and to aid rehabilitation following injury.. Thus it can also involve gentle rubbing, or even no rubbing at all. In fact, there are times when rubbing may be harmful and in this instance, stretching may be more beneficial† (Famous Therapies). Literature Review Many massage therapists believe that pre-event sports massage can help prevent serious injury by warming-up the muscles and improve performance during a competition. Meagre was strong advocate for-event massages. In his book, Sports massage, he wrote: Whatever sport you play, Sports massage will give you 20 per cent extraextra performance, extra protection, (and) extra time per game, per season, (and) per career.With Sports massage you can do what you do better, longer, and more easily, raising your performance level at the same time that you lower the stress level it places on your body†¦. Sports massage before (problems) reach the critical stage is the only sensible way to keep your entire muscular structure in top form(Massage Before, or After?). Pre-event massage is not intended to replace traditional warm-up methods. It is usually performed just before the athlete’s standard warm-up. Rapid effleurage stimulates and warms the muscles andpetrissage encourages the release of tension. It is common for the massage therapist to use shaking and stretching techniques. Deep tissue and friction are avoided. The part of the body that is massaged depends on the sport, but usually includes leg and back muscles (Davidson,2001). Pre-event massage generally only lasts about ten minutes. The goal Isa reduction in tension, but not total relaxation. Sports massage therapist, James Weslaco, says that most athlete want to feel stimulated, not overly relaxed, by a pre-event massage because being too relaxed can adversely affect performance (Vanderbilt, 2001). â€Å"(Pre-event massage) objectives are to increase circulation, increase range of motion of the joints, decrease tightness and hyper tonicity of major joints and muscles, and to relax and then invigorate the body to get it ready for the competition† (Pike, p. 19) The perceived benefit of fully prepared muscles is important to many athletes, who are well-aware of the many career-ending injuries that have been blamed on not properly warming-up. There is a widely-held belief that overuse injuries can be avoided if the athlete is warmed-up with a combination of massage and standard warm-up practices. However, many studies have suggested that the benefits of pre-event sports massage are mostly psychological and there is no evidence theatre-event massage can decrease the risk of injuries (Harmer, p.55). Some athletes say they perform better on the field after receiving pre-event massage. However, again, the benefits appear to be purely psychological. Research shows that massage, which is part of passive warm-up techniques that can also include saunas and hot showers, have little positive effect on performance (Volant’s, et al., 2001). In one study, members of a group of athletes who received pre-event massage each reported feeling that they could perform better on the field because of the therapy. Yet, their performance, heart rate and arteriovenous oxygen responses were not noticeable different than those of a control group that did not receive massage (Boone, et al., 1991). Although there are many widely embraced perceived benefits to pre-event sports massage, there has not been enough research to back up the antidotal evidence given by athletes and their massage therapists. Some studies have indicated that there can be physiological responses that result in improved outcome for the athlete. However, much of the research has not quantified the technique and pressure used by the massage therapist.. No study to date has examined how stroke forms and pressure (light touch versus firm) as an independent variable can affect athletic performance (Moyer et al.). Even though the benefits of pre-event massage are still unknown, it continues to increase in popularity, not just in athletics but also another performance-driven industries. Robert King, president and-founder of Chicago School of Massage Therapy, says Its a debatable subject in terms of actual research that substantiates it.† Yet, he continues to see the demand for pre-event message grow. Ive worked on runners, actors and actresses before performances, boxers and swimmers, and again it depends on the type of muscle youre going to encounter and the condition and goals of the athlete. The approach is geared toward the needs of that particular event (Vanderbilt, 2001). Unlike pre-event massage, post-event massage may have measurable benefits. Post-event massage is performed one to two hours after the athlete has finished taking part in a sporting event, in order to allow time for blood vessels dilated by exercise to return to their normal state. The goal of this type of massage is to reduce the trauma caused by strenuous exercise. Light effleurage is used to minimize swelling. Practitioners believe light petrissage will promotes cellular waste removal and clear toxins from the body. (Pike, p. 20). â€Å"The goals are to relax tight muscles, decrease muscle soreness, facilitate faster recovery time, relieve cramping, increase lymphatic circulation and removal of post activity metabolites, and relax the nervous system† (Pike, p. 20). Other perceived benefits of post-event massage therapy include the lessening of muscle spasms and an increase in flexibility which may prevent future injuries. Although receiving a massage after a strenuous workout can feel very pleasurable, practitioners should limit sessions to under 30 minutes because tired muscles may be more prone to injury. In fact, some therapists believe that the longer the athletic event is, the shorter the post-event massage should be (Cates, 1998). The perceived effectiveness of post-event massage is pervasive among professional athletes. There is a strong belief that the therapy can speed recovery after extreme exertion. For example, Butch Reynolds, the400 meter world record holder was quoted as saying that because of massage, â€Å"If [a muscle pull or strain] does occur, it’s easy to heal. The healing process is cut in half.† Professional football linebacker Al Smith has also heralded the benefits of post-event massage. He said, â€Å"It helps me quite a bit. It helps my recovery time from the game. Athletes are using it quite a bit.† (Sports Massage: Taking the Field)Perhaps the most famous advocate of post-event massage is Michael Jordan. In talking about his physical problems after a performance, the basketball player said, â€Å"I was a little concerned, because I couldn’t really walk welland my mobility was very, very limited. But two days of electros Tim, massaging and heat treatments really loosened things up (How Massage Aides Athletic Performance). Despite scepticism that massage has physiological benefits, Davidson advocates the use of post-event massage to speed recovery (2001). She writes that sports massage can reduce the swelling of micro-traumas. Micro-traumas are small tears that occur in muscles during strenuous exercise. Davidson claims that post-event massage will also remove lactic acid and waste build-up in the muscles, help maintain flexibility, and reduce cramping. However, while Davidson’s theories may be popular, there are studies that dispute the claims. For instance, the blood pressure, cardiac output, heart rate, and lactic acid levels of ten men were compared during a recent study. Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise that occurs during exercise when there is a lack of oxygen in the body’s tissues. Some massage practitioners have made the claim that massage can help the body eliminate waste products, including lactic acid. However, the men in the study who received massage had similar levels of lactic acid to the men who were not treated with a massage(Callaghan, p. 31). Furthermore, the group that received massages performed no better than the control group. The idea the lactic acid can (and should) be flushed from the body during post-event massage is a good example of how the perceived effectiveness of massage does not always match current scientific research. For many years, massage therapists believed that they could help athletes get rid of lactic acid. They passed this belief onto clients, including many athletes, who accepted the theory as fact. The false assumptions about lactic acid were even taught in massage schools. Even though scientific studies have debunked this belief, many athletes still think they need post-event massage to rid their bodies of lactic acid (Vanderbilt, 2001). Despite the critics, many massage therapists are convinced of the benefits of post-event massage. They say post-event massage can help determine why an athlete did not perform up to expectations. A massage therapist for the Los Angeles Dodgers, William Leisure, said he uses post-event massage in the same way a detective might search for clues. Leisure described his work not only in terms of keeping the players ‘muscles loose and relaxed, but also keeping constant watch on their bodies. Even if someones not injured, if the performance wasnt quite right, I do a palpation to see if any muscles are tight. It has a lot to do with how good your hands are. Your brain and your thumbs have to be as one†¦ Its not just a rub. Its the information I can get from the body and turn it into something else to try to make a cohesive plan. Scanning the tissue and checking for deviations is kind of diagnostic, actually. That helps them to stay at peak performance (Vanderbilt,2001). The third category of sports massage, maintenance, is not administered on days of competition or performance. Instead it is done between events (Pike, p. 21). Usually, maintenance massages are given once week as part of Perceived Effectiveness of Sports Massage Therapy Perceived Effectiveness of Sports Massage Therapy Massage therapy has been used ancient times. There is evidence that the Chinese used therapeutic massage more than 3,000 years ago. Massage has fallen in and out of favour over time. One of the newest forms of massage therapy is sports massage. Famous athletes have publicly expressed their great satisfaction with sports massage. They claim that it has increased their athletic performance and helped speed their recovery after strenuous exercise. Non-professional athletes and their trainers has also become increasingly interested in sports massage, partly because of the acclaim it has received from elite athletes. This has led to even more interest in the therapy by non-athletes. Some of the popularity of sports massage can be attributed to the increasing acceptance of all forms of alternative therapies. Despite all of the intense interest, there is a lack of accurate information about massage. There are many widely held perceptions about the effectiveness of pre-event sports massage, including that it can prevent injury and provide an edge over the competition. However, there is no published research that suggests pre-event massage has a positive impact on performance or injury prevention. There is some evidence that massage after an athletic event can help reduce pain, but the results remain inconclusive. There has also been research that concluded that regular, or maintenance, massages can alleviate some symptoms. In 2004, a research team published A Meta-Analysis of Massage Therapy, which provided comprehensive look at the actual effectiveness of sports massage. Among other findings, they concluded that massage may reduce pain. However, the study debunked many of the widely held perceptions about the effectiveness of sports massage. Massage therapy does seem to have an impressive ability to reduce anxiety and depression. While the exact science behind the benefits sports massage remains elusive, many athletes, coaches, and massage therapists continue to believe that it can have a tremendous positive effect if used both before and after sporting events and during periods of training. Introduction Massage is one of the oldest and widely used therapies in the history of mankind. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines massage as: â€Å"the rubbing or kneading of parts of the body especially to aid circulation, relax the muscles, or provide sensual stimulation.† These benefits have been enjoyed since ancient times and almost all cultures have used some version of therapeutic massage(Vickers, Zelman, 1999). However, in more recent history, massage has become an important tool for athletes. Sports massage is now considered powerful way to help maximize athletic performance (Davidson, 2001). The prevalence of this type of massage has rapidly increased over the last two decades and the perceived effectiveness of sports massages given before and after athletic events has become widespread. Massage may have become more en vogue recently, but it is certainly not new. The first evidence of massage can be seen in the Chinese Cong-Fou, written around 2700 B.C. The text makes references to the manipulation of soft tissue. The ancient Chinese massage techniques involved applying pressure to muscles and meridian points. There is evidence that the ancient Chinese practitioners believed their massage not only relaxed muscles, but also improved the function of internal organs(Calvert, 2001). Ancient Indian texts also described various massage techniques that were believed to promote spiritual and physical healing (Pike, p.viii). Even Hippocrates taught a form of massage to his students around500 B.C. Another famous Greek medical practitioner, Asclepiads, was so impressed by the perceived benefits of massage that the stopped using all other medicines and treatments and only used massage therapy for healing. He believed that massage techniques could increase and restore nutritive fluids (Calvert, 2001). However, over time, Western cultures gradually abandoned the Greek beliefs about massage. During the middle ages, massage was still used as a folk remedy, but established medical scientists discounted it and the use of massage was no longer considered part of regular medical treatment. (Calvert, 2001). About 150 years ago, a French translation of the Cong-Four appeared. Historians believe the text served as the foundation for the development of the now-popular Swedish massage (Davidson, 2001). There is some dispute over the origins of Swedish massage, but many credit Per Hendrix Ling for its development during the early 18th century. Ling promoted the idea that massage could heal the body by boosting circulation of the blood and limp systems. Ling’s massage technique was very vigorous and he prescribed a standardized treatment. He suffered from gout and developed the system to improve his condition and later to help others. He did not equate massage with relaxation or any other psychological benefit. In fact, he called it the â€Å"Swedish Movement Cure† (Cates, 1998). Current Swedish massage has evolved somewhat from Ling’s ideas and is now more gentle, although the focus is still on increasing the flow of oxygen in the blood and to assist the muscles in releasing toxins. In the last few decades, Swedish massage therapists have placed greater emphasis on the psychological benefits of massage and they strive to provide a sense of calmness and well-being.(Vickers, Zelman, 1999) Historically, the interest in massage has been cyclical. Massage fallout of favour, only to once again regain acceptance, many times over the last 500 years. Currently, massage has become far less important tour culture than medical drugs and surgery, but it is again becoming more popular as an alternative therapy (Cates, 1998). There are still many forms of massage found throughout the world, including Hawaiian, deep tissue, and Tue. Na. One of the newest forms of massage is sports massage. Although it is considered a separate form of massage, it shares strong similarities with Swedish Massage and the most of the techniques employed in Swedish massage are used in sports massage(Davidson, 2001). However, sports massage also incorporates Shiatsu massage techniques. Sports massage was largely developed by Jack Meagher. Meagher was the massage therapist for the US Olympic Equestrian Team. He developed sports massage based on the theory that there are a dozen body postures that form the axis of all athletic movement. Meagher said that because each sport requires that the athlete maintain certain postures, it is possible to identify potential overuse injuries before they occur and help prevent them through sports massage. Meagher wrote that athletic performance could be improved by 20% with the introduction of sports massage (Dion, 2001). Although sports massage encompasses many techniques, all sports massages geared toward generating the maximum performance from an athlete. The effects of sports massage are achieved through a combination of mechanical, physiological, and psychological processes. Research has demonstrated that the compression caused by correctly-applied sports massage can improve lymphatic and venous drainage in the body and boost circulation (Hollis, 1997). Under the general heading of sports massage, there are three distinctly different types of massage. Each has a different goal and employs different strokes. The three categories of sports massage are pre-event, post-event, and maintenance massage. Although sports massage has recently become more sophisticated, modern athletics have been using forms of pre-event and post-event massage for decades. For example, baseball pitchers have long used massage as an attempt to extend the length of their career by maintaining range of motion and flexibility. For many decades, boxing coaches and trainers have been seen giving boxers â€Å"rubdowns† before a fight in an effort toward-up the body by boosting circulation. This is an early form fore-event massage (Pike, p.viii). Modern sports massage first became integrated as part some teams ‘standard athletic training in the former Soviet Union, East Germany, and other Eastern European countries during the 1960s. Soviet teams were the first to employ dedicated massage therapists that traveled with them. In the 1970s, the trend became more widespread, as more European countries and teams in the United States began to take interest in sports massage (Davidson, 2001). However, it is only since the 1980s that sports massage has become truly mainstream. Now, it is a common practice for teams to integrate sports massage as part of their standard training regimen. Certified sports massage therapists have been seen at many major sporting events, including Ironman competitions, the Goodwill and Pan-American games, marathons, the Olympics, and professional bike races (Latina, 2000).When the U.S women’s soccer team defeated China, winning the World Cup, the players publicly thanked their sports massage therapist, Wynn Clinton and Jim Fayola. Goalkeeper Tracy Ducat said, â€Å"Clinton and Jim Fayola, who worked with him during the World Cup, were invaluable in the treatment they provided for us, testified Tracy Ducat, a goalkeeper on the team. We could not have been at our best without their help every day. Goalie Saki Webber agreed, saying, Without Clinton I think that it would have been a much different story. I think that he kept us healthy and kept us together during the World Cup† (Hued, 2002). Sports massage has also infiltrated smaller sports. For example, even some Canadian cowboys are receiving massages before and after rodeos, thanks to new mobile massage rooms are traveling with them (Visconti,p.54). Although professional sports teams have lead the way in incorporating sports massage, college, some secondary schools, and amateur teams are also exploring massage as a way to enhance performance. The public’s perceived value of the effectiveness of sports massage has been fuelled by public statements from well-known professional athletes who say their extraordinary skills have improved after undergoing regular massage therapy. For example, tennis champion, Martina Navratilova said, â€Å"I started getting massages and realized what wonderful thing it is for your body† (Sports Massage: Taking the Field ). Former professional football quarterback, Joe Montana, has said, â€Å"I’ve been working with massage for a few years now, and I found it helps you to recover a little quicker. The bumps and bruises seem Togo away a lot faster† (Sports Massage: Taking the Field). Canadian National Swim Team member, Marianne Limpet, agrees: â€Å"I find that massage is very beneficial in helping with a quicker recovery from hard training or racing, and it prevents me from getting tight muscles and injuring myself. I am one of few athletes at my age(30), and Im sure that massage has played a major role in helping to keep my body in shape to continue to this level† (Warren, 2003). Even Marjorie Album, the Chief Athletic Trainer of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, once commented, â€Å"I would not provide sports medicine services for any major athletic event without massage therapists.†(Sports Massage: The Athlete’s Trainer’s Edge ) With glowing testimonials from esteemed athletes and sports professionals, it is not surprising that more amateur and college athletes are now becoming interested in sports massage. After all, our society places great emphasis and value on athletics, and the financial and emotional rewards can be great to those who excel in their chosen sport. It is not surprising that sports massage is popular among those searching for competitive edge. This relatively new appreciation for sports massage has increased as part of a larger trend toward ergogenic aids to boost all types of athletic performance. Ergogenic aids include a wide variety of tools and therapies, such as visualization, meditation, and pre-event stretching. Advocates of sports massage say it is valuable ergogenic tool that can improve circulation, reduce stress, promote muscle efficiency and healing, and even prevent injuries (Pike, p. vii). The perceived benefits of massage have also become more wide-spread as the general acceptance of alternative medicines has increased. In a1997 random sample of 1,500 households in the United States, 42% of adults reported using some type of alternative therapy in the last year. Nearly 45% said they would be willing to pay more each month for alternative care. Additionally, when choosing healthcare, nearly 70% of respondents said having access to alternative therapies is an important factor in choosing a health insurance plan (Landmark Healthcare Inc.,1997). Alternative medicine is even more popular in the United Kingdom, where in studies, nearly 47% of respondents have reported they are using alternative therapies. Also in the U.K., of those undergoing complementary medicine, nearly nine out of ten are paying for their treatment (Thomas et al. p. 2 -11 ). Massage therapy is one of the fasting growing forms of alternative medicine. In 1999, The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA)conducted a nationwide survey in the United States. Researchers found that 27% of adults had therapeutic massage in the last five years, compared to only 17% in a 1997 study who said they had a massage in the previous five years (Massage: Much-Kneaded Complementary Health Care). Another study conducted the previous year found that visits to massage therapists increased by nearly 36% in the years between 1990 and 1997(Eisenberg et al. p. 1569). Furthermore, in 2004, the National Centerior Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States reported that massage has become the ninth most popular alternative therapy treatment. In the study, 5% of respondents said they had received massage therapy at least one time in the previous year (Boneset al.). This translates into big business for the massage industry, as American consumers are spending up to $6 billion dollars a year on massage therapy (Eisenberg et al., p. 1569). This increasing interesting massage has created a surge in massage school educational facilities and applicants. As of 2002, there were more than 950 state-licensed massage schools in the U.S., which is 14% more school than existed in2000. In 2001, massage schools turned out an estimated 30,000 new graduates (Lacombe, p. 49). There are other significant signs that the perceived benefits of massage is having a strong effect on public policy. In the United States, The National Institutes of Health is currently sponsoring three studies in an attempt to clarify the medical benefits of massage. Additionally, a national survey of employer-sponsored healthcare plans found that 15% of HMOs cover massage therapy. Cigna and Blue Cross BlueShield also cover some forms of massage (Lacombe, p. 49).Furthermore, a 1995 study found that more than half of family doctors in the United States said they would recommend some form of massage therapy to their clients (Hedwig, p.1). This is a concern to some researchers who wonder if the benefits of massage are worth the price of the therapy. In their meta-analysis of massage therapy research, Moyer, Rounds, and Hanno wrote, â€Å"For these trends to continue (indeed, to determine if they even should continue),what is needed is a more rigorous and quantitative examination of MT’s(massage therapy’s) effectiveness that that which currently exists†(Moyer et al.). The perceived, yet often unexplained, effects of massage (including sports massage) have even created interested within the White House. In2004, the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy called for more research and funding for public education on massage therapy. The commission’s chairman, James Gordon, did not offer an explanation of the actual benefits of massage, but he did allude to the widespread perceived effectiveness of the alternative treatment. He said: We shouldnt put too much weight on its benefits, but at the same time we should make it available to everyone. Massage does decrease anxiety, reliably. It does decrease pain in a number of people with chronic-pain syndrome. It does improve mood. Exactly how it does it, I don’t think we know (Lacombe, p. 50). AMTA researchers say as more people accept massage therapy as a viable treatment option, more athletes are becoming interested in sports massage. The AMATA now recognizes sports massage as a unique specialty field within the massage industry. There has also been increased interest in sports massage among the so-called â€Å"weekend warriors†(people who only exercise on the weekends) and those do not consider themselves athletes or exercise regularly. No matter how little time they spend taking part in athletics, some people want to enjoy the perceived benefits of sports massage. Licensed massage therapist John Balletto said, â€Å"Anyone who exercises or works in an active job or even has to constantly bend down to pick up a child can benefit from sports massage. This type of massage helps muscles deal with the repetitive motions inherent to these activities (Latina, 2000). In the past, there was a public perception that only elite athletes and wealthy, pampered women received regular massages. As sports massage becomes more mainstream and begins to be embraced by the general public, there is an increased perception that sports massage is not only a luxury, but a new necessity. This trend can be seen in many forms of mainstream media. For example, a college newspaper in Texas, The University Daily, recently ran an article that stated that more financially strained college students were paying for massages as a way to combat stress. It also explained how deep tissue massage can help relieve pain associated with carrying heavy book bags and suggested that students ask their parents to pay for a massage session. A massage therapist in the article was quoted as saying, â€Å"It is very therapeutic. It’s not a luxury like people think. If more people think of it as therapy, then more people could justify it that way (Aaron). However, despite the widespread interest in sports massage, there is a lack of reliable information on its benefits and effects. Using a search engine like Goolgle.com to search under the â€Å"benefits of sports massage† will turn up hundreds of websites offering glowing testimonials about the therapy and claims that are not backed up by current scientific research. For instance, SportsInjuryClinic.net claims that regular sports massage treatments will â€Å"maintain the body, prevent injuries and loss of mobility, cure and restore mobility to injured muscle tissue, boost performance, and extend the overall life of your sporting career† (Sports Injury Clinic). Another website for massage centre in Connecticut bluntly states, â€Å"Massage is beneficial when starting a conditioning program because it helps you get into good shape faster† (Buckland Massage Neuromuscular Centre). With so many websites making fantastic claims about the benefits of sports massage, it is easy to understand why the perceived benefits of sports massage currently held by the general public do not always match current scientific research. As previously mentioned, sports massage is broken down into three main categories: pre-event, post-event, and routine maintenance. Each of these forms of sports massage uses a combination of stroke techniques. In order to understand the research and perceived benefits of sports massage, it is important to understand the various stroke styles. The most common stroke strokes are effleurage, petrissage, and cupping(Davidson, 2001). Other common strokes include friction, range of motion movements, trigger point, and compression (which some massage therapists classify as a type of petrissage) (Pike, p. 26-31). Effleurage utilizes long, gentle strokes. This is the most basic type of stroke and warms the area for the work to come by increasing blood flow to the muscle (Pike, p. 26). This is the main stroke for creating relaxation and is often used most frequently at the start and end of massage therapy session, although it is useful throughout the therapy(Cates, 1998). Petrissage is a firmer, two handed kneading technique that includes blows to the muscle. Both hands grab the muscle and compress it. Massage therapists use petrissage to loosen tight muscles and squeeze blood out from deeper structures (Davidson, 2001). Cupping involves hitting the muscles with cupped hands. This stroke technique is used to break down scar tissue, relieve tension and tone the muscles (Davidson, 2001). Friction strokes are used only during deep tissue massage to relax the muscles and reduce adhesions. These circular strokes generate heat by increasing blood flow to the area being worked on (Pike, p. 32) Range of motion movements are assisted exercises that the massage therapist uses to increase the mobility of joints. The massage therapist moves the body while the athlete stays relaxed. Massage therapists report that this technique can extremely helpful for athletes, who usually need to have the maximum range of movement possible in order to excel at their sport (Pike, p. 34). Trigger points are parts of the muscle that are tight and painful. When massage therapist applies pressure to a trigger point, the athlete will often cry out in pain. Correctly massaging a trigger point will help release tight muscles and â€Å"break the pain cycle so the tissue can get blood and nutrients to heal and relax itself† (Pike, p. 31) Compression strokes are used on muscle bellies, generally in large areas, like the adductors. Massage therapists use compression, which Isa squeezing movement, to feel the tissues under the skin. Compression can stimulate and warm the tissue or relax the athlete, depending on the firmness of the stroke (Pike, p. 30). Many people mistakenly think that sports massage is beneficial because it is somehow â€Å"deeper† than other massages. However, that is not always the case. Sports massage is any massage technique that allows â€Å"active people to stay active, to keep the body in working order, and to aid rehabilitation following injury.. Thus it can also involve gentle rubbing, or even no rubbing at all. In fact, there are times when rubbing may be harmful and in this instance, stretching may be more beneficial† (Famous Therapies). Literature Review Many massage therapists believe that pre-event sports massage can help prevent serious injury by warming-up the muscles and improve performance during a competition. Meagre was strong advocate for-event massages. In his book, Sports massage, he wrote: Whatever sport you play, Sports massage will give you 20 per cent extraextra performance, extra protection, (and) extra time per game, per season, (and) per career.With Sports massage you can do what you do better, longer, and more easily, raising your performance level at the same time that you lower the stress level it places on your body†¦. Sports massage before (problems) reach the critical stage is the only sensible way to keep your entire muscular structure in top form(Massage Before, or After?). Pre-event massage is not intended to replace traditional warm-up methods. It is usually performed just before the athlete’s standard warm-up. Rapid effleurage stimulates and warms the muscles andpetrissage encourages the release of tension. It is common for the massage therapist to use shaking and stretching techniques. Deep tissue and friction are avoided. The part of the body that is massaged depends on the sport, but usually includes leg and back muscles (Davidson,2001). Pre-event massage generally only lasts about ten minutes. The goal Isa reduction in tension, but not total relaxation. Sports massage therapist, James Weslaco, says that most athlete want to feel stimulated, not overly relaxed, by a pre-event massage because being too relaxed can adversely affect performance (Vanderbilt, 2001). â€Å"(Pre-event massage) objectives are to increase circulation, increase range of motion of the joints, decrease tightness and hyper tonicity of major joints and muscles, and to relax and then invigorate the body to get it ready for the competition† (Pike, p. 19) The perceived benefit of fully prepared muscles is important to many athletes, who are well-aware of the many career-ending injuries that have been blamed on not properly warming-up. There is a widely-held belief that overuse injuries can be avoided if the athlete is warmed-up with a combination of massage and standard warm-up practices. However, many studies have suggested that the benefits of pre-event sports massage are mostly psychological and there is no evidence theatre-event massage can decrease the risk of injuries (Harmer, p.55). Some athletes say they perform better on the field after receiving pre-event massage. However, again, the benefits appear to be purely psychological. Research shows that massage, which is part of passive warm-up techniques that can also include saunas and hot showers, have little positive effect on performance (Volant’s, et al., 2001). In one study, members of a group of athletes who received pre-event massage each reported feeling that they could perform better on the field because of the therapy. Yet, their performance, heart rate and arteriovenous oxygen responses were not noticeable different than those of a control group that did not receive massage (Boone, et al., 1991). Although there are many widely embraced perceived benefits to pre-event sports massage, there has not been enough research to back up the antidotal evidence given by athletes and their massage therapists. Some studies have indicated that there can be physiological responses that result in improved outcome for the athlete. However, much of the research has not quantified the technique and pressure used by the massage therapist.. No study to date has examined how stroke forms and pressure (light touch versus firm) as an independent variable can affect athletic performance (Moyer et al.). Even though the benefits of pre-event massage are still unknown, it continues to increase in popularity, not just in athletics but also another performance-driven industries. Robert King, president and-founder of Chicago School of Massage Therapy, says Its a debatable subject in terms of actual research that substantiates it.† Yet, he continues to see the demand for pre-event message grow. Ive worked on runners, actors and actresses before performances, boxers and swimmers, and again it depends on the type of muscle youre going to encounter and the condition and goals of the athlete. The approach is geared toward the needs of that particular event (Vanderbilt, 2001). Unlike pre-event massage, post-event massage may have measurable benefits. Post-event massage is performed one to two hours after the athlete has finished taking part in a sporting event, in order to allow time for blood vessels dilated by exercise to return to their normal state. The goal of this type of massage is to reduce the trauma caused by strenuous exercise. Light effleurage is used to minimize swelling. Practitioners believe light petrissage will promotes cellular waste removal and clear toxins from the body. (Pike, p. 20). â€Å"The goals are to relax tight muscles, decrease muscle soreness, facilitate faster recovery time, relieve cramping, increase lymphatic circulation and removal of post activity metabolites, and relax the nervous system† (Pike, p. 20). Other perceived benefits of post-event massage therapy include the lessening of muscle spasms and an increase in flexibility which may prevent future injuries. Although receiving a massage after a strenuous workout can feel very pleasurable, practitioners should limit sessions to under 30 minutes because tired muscles may be more prone to injury. In fact, some therapists believe that the longer the athletic event is, the shorter the post-event massage should be (Cates, 1998). The perceived effectiveness of post-event massage is pervasive among professional athletes. There is a strong belief that the therapy can speed recovery after extreme exertion. For example, Butch Reynolds, the400 meter world record holder was quoted as saying that because of massage, â€Å"If [a muscle pull or strain] does occur, it’s easy to heal. The healing process is cut in half.† Professional football linebacker Al Smith has also heralded the benefits of post-event massage. He said, â€Å"It helps me quite a bit. It helps my recovery time from the game. Athletes are using it quite a bit.† (Sports Massage: Taking the Field)Perhaps the most famous advocate of post-event massage is Michael Jordan. In talking about his physical problems after a performance, the basketball player said, â€Å"I was a little concerned, because I couldn’t really walk welland my mobility was very, very limited. But two days of electros Tim, massaging and heat treatments really loosened things up (How Massage Aides Athletic Performance). Despite scepticism that massage has physiological benefits, Davidson advocates the use of post-event massage to speed recovery (2001). She writes that sports massage can reduce the swelling of micro-traumas. Micro-traumas are small tears that occur in muscles during strenuous exercise. Davidson claims that post-event massage will also remove lactic acid and waste build-up in the muscles, help maintain flexibility, and reduce cramping. However, while Davidson’s theories may be popular, there are studies that dispute the claims. For instance, the blood pressure, cardiac output, heart rate, and lactic acid levels of ten men were compared during a recent study. Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise that occurs during exercise when there is a lack of oxygen in the body’s tissues. Some massage practitioners have made the claim that massage can help the body eliminate waste products, including lactic acid. However, the men in the study who received massage had similar levels of lactic acid to the men who were not treated with a massage(Callaghan, p. 31). Furthermore, the group that received massages performed no better than the control group. The idea the lactic acid can (and should) be flushed from the body during post-event massage is a good example of how the perceived effectiveness of massage does not always match current scientific research. For many years, massage therapists believed that they could help athletes get rid of lactic acid. They passed this belief onto clients, including many athletes, who accepted the theory as fact. The false assumptions about lactic acid were even taught in massage schools. Even though scientific studies have debunked this belief, many athletes still think they need post-event massage to rid their bodies of lactic acid (Vanderbilt, 2001). Despite the critics, many massage therapists are convinced of the benefits of post-event massage. They say post-event massage can help determine why an athlete did not perform up to expectations. A massage therapist for the Los Angeles Dodgers, William Leisure, said he uses post-event massage in the same way a detective might search for clues. Leisure described his work not only in terms of keeping the players ‘muscles loose and relaxed, but also keeping constant watch on their bodies. Even if someones not injured, if the performance wasnt quite right, I do a palpation to see if any muscles are tight. It has a lot to do with how good your hands are. Your brain and your thumbs have to be as one†¦ Its not just a rub. Its the information I can get from the body and turn it into something else to try to make a cohesive plan. Scanning the tissue and checking for deviations is kind of diagnostic, actually. That helps them to stay at peak performance (Vanderbilt,2001). The third category of sports massage, maintenance, is not administered on days of competition or performance. Instead it is done between events (Pike, p. 21). Usually, maintenance massages are given once week as part of