The Arab Spring Uprising Essay Example for Free

The Arab Spring Uprising Essay While each country fights for individual basic rights, which are usually area specific, there are a few rights every country is protesting against including government corruption, economic decline, unemployment and abject poverty. Role of Technology Many have speculated on the role of technology and the use of social media in the uprisings of the ‘Arab Spring’, with some going so far as to conjecture the role of technology in the revolutions’ communication and collaboration is unprecedented. West, 2011) The mostly educated and unemployed youth of these countries were at the heart of many of these conflicts and actively used social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to coordinate with fellow protestors in a quick and efficient fashion. (Democratist, 2011) The use of these social networks gave the protestors the ability to share times amp; locations with large groups instantly and allowed them to present a much more organized front than was previously imagined possible. International news sites like Al-Jazeera and Wikileaks provided protestors with the ability to acquire much needed outside news from media not owned by the country’s government and gave protestors the ability to communicate with the world about their trials and triumphs. Internet usage was not always freely allowed by these countries and in the midst of their revolution, President Mubarak’s government cut off internet accessibility throughout most of Egypt for a period of time. Tunisia After what is believed to have been the catalyst for the uprising known as ‘Arab Spring’, Tunisia’s own uprising began in December, 2010 after merchant, Mohamed Bouazizi, caught himself on fire in the middle of Sidi Bouzid to protest police corruption in the country. Not long after that, thousands of civilians began to take to the streets calling for the resignation of then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and democratic reform. According to Tunisian government records, approximately 223 people were killed as a direct result of the protests. After 28 days of protests and international media attention, President Ben Ali abdicated his power, fled the country to Saudi Arabia, and his government was removed from power shortly afterward. Since the revolution, the county has had its share of continued protests, held its first semi-democratic elections in over 20 years and has put an interim government into power. Egypt Formed shortly after the Tunisian uprising, Egypt’s own upheaval began on January 25th, 2011 and lasted a full 18 days before wrenching the autocratic President Mubarak and his government from power. During these 18 days, Egypt saw a flood of protests take place around the country and most notably within Cairo’s Tahrir Square; these protests quickly took a turn for the violent with protestors frequently ramping up between Mubarak supporters and the oppositions. Though Mubarak at first refused to step down from the presidency, after international pressure and an escalation of violent protests, he announced on February 10th that he would step down and hand over his presidency to the vice president. In the last year however, protests have continued at the perceived sluggishness of the new governing forces to bring much needed economic and social reforms to the country. Yemen Initially started as a protest over changes to the constitution, corruption and prevalent unemployment, Yemen’s revolution brought with it the ousting of President Saleh. Embattled President Saleh long faced opposition from his inner cabinet from as early as 2009 over governmental corruption, as well as poor social and economic conditions in the country. Protests started on January 27, 2011 and raged for over a year before, after an attempt on his life in June, 2011, President Saleh fled the country and Vice-President al-Hadi took over the governing of Yemen. In February of 2012, Saleh stepped aside and allowed the newly elected President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi to maintain governance within the country. Amid the recent firings of the deposed President’s inner circle, Ali Abdullah Saleh denounced the revolutions taking place around the Arab world and suggested that peace may not be found easily in Yemen. (Associated Press, 2012) Libya What began as a protest over the conditions for civilian living and corruption, quickly gained steam and formed in a civil bloody war, pitting so-called rebels against those loyal to the current President Qaddafi. After more than 40 years of power, Qaddafi found himself at the helm of a battle for his very Presidency and the nation’s government. Citizens of Libya gained hope from the outcome of Tunisian revolution and six months after the first protests, Colonel Qaddafi was killed by rebel forces; the country was declared liberated from his reign not long after. The revolution in Libya was supported in part by a United States backed coalition which provided air support to the Libyan rebel forces and helped bring an end to the bloodshed and oppression. (The New York Times, 2012) Libya’s fight for independence and liberty, one of the bloodiest in recent memories, has not ended in peace for the Libyan people yet. In 2012, a solid and unifying government has yet to gain control and the country has been broken up into semi-autonomous states with militias governing individual areas. Similar Timing, Different Solutions While there are some similar themes which flow through each revolution, including the timing and as the prevalence of educated, yet unemployed youth protestors, the systems of governments being protested against and the solutions for change vary widely from country to country, as author Lisa Anderson reminds readers in Demystifying the Arab Spring (2011). Since Tunisia’s government, before the revolution, was made up, in large part, by relatives to ousted-President Ben Ali, the country has seen continued unrest as demands for a total change in regime continue and the new government will face virtually starting from scratch in terms of government officials. Egypt, while also carrying a tradition of familial government, in contrast to Tunisia has a powerful military which aided in the circumvention of power from Hosni Mubarak. In direct contrast to Tunisia and Egypt’s relatively smooth transitions from power, Libya became a country at the heart of a civil war with a leader who was determined not to lose power. After Qaddafi’s death, the country’s rebel led coalition has had to begin the process of rebuilding a country torn apart by a bloody war. In the past two year, the world has seen a string of uprisings, dubbed the ‘Arab Spring’, which are really unrelated as a whole and yet contingent upon one another. Without the success of Tunisia’s revolution would Libya, Egypt, or Yemen’s citizens risen up? Personally, I think so. But I also believe the revolutions have fueled one another and the successes and failures of some are felt by the many. While the ‘Arab Spring’ carries on, with countries like Bahrain and Syria still fighting for their freedom and for governmental change, it is easy to see there is a long road of recovery ahead for this region of the world. References Anderson, L. (2011, June).

Indian Tobacco Company Analysis

Indian Tobacco Company Analysis Indian Tobacco Company ITC Limited, a Rs. 8000-crore Indian conglomerate, and a market leader in the tobacco industry has been strategically diversifying into other related and unrelated businesses since 1970 in the order to reduce its dependency on its tobacco business. It has forayed into the arenas of FMCG (fast moving consumable goods), information technology and agri business to obtain the different revenue streams and also to enhance the brand image. The corporation has been successful in its hotel business known as the ITC-Welcome and collaborated with the international groups market its hospitality services. IT has also packaged foods, branded apparel, greeting cards and stationary, paperboards, packaging and incense sticks businesses in its portfolio. Through the application of effective diversification of its corporate portfolio, ITC has successfully spread its business and market risks across the whole spectrum of the Indian economy and abroad. ITC Group is known as to be one of the most successfully diversified companies, and is also known for its projects on social upliftment like women`s empowerment, primary education, and integrated watershed development program. It has 15,000 employees in India, 3500 in Europe and 2500 in USA. It was incorporated on 24th august 1910 under the name Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. As an Indian management team took ownership of the company from its British counterparts in 1974, its name was changed to I.T.C limited. In 1975 ITC entered in Hotels In 1988 entered in agro business. In 2000 entered in Fashion Retail shop In 2000 entered in Software business. In 2001 common base like greeting cards and stationary market. MARTIN-make worries into ash. The new brand of ITC cigarette New brands viz., MARTIN is introduced. Long-term agreements were entered into with the unions of factories located at Calcutta, Saharanpur and Munger. ITC CIGARETTE and tobacco is the core business of ITC and market leader in India with a market share of 60% both respect of value and volume. It earns 78% of its total revenues from this business and has a profit margin of 40%. It accounts for two-third of India`s present annual cigarette sticks market of 90 millions of which 18% is exported in cigarettes in country. The company markets popular cigarette brands are available in the market but some are Wills, insignia, India kings, Classic, Gold Flake, Silk Cut, Navy Cut, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol and Flake etc. The company`s focus has been to deliver the highest product quality and value to consumers in the cigarette and tobacco business, which has helped the company maintain its leadership in that industry. To boost the sales growth momentum, it has helped the company maintain its leadership in that industry. To boost the sales growth momentum, it has introduced festival packs of brands like `Flake Filter`, `Bristol Filter`, and `Scissors Filter` in select markets of Kerala. ITC Cigarette is coming with new brand and i.e MARTIN The company had that much of capability to build a leadership position because of its single minded focus on to create the value for the customer; to make the customer most valuable person in the company by attractive product design, quality, and innovation in the product, production technology, marketing and distribution in the market. Due to all reason ITC is serving the customers from the long period of time. This strategic focus on the consumer has paid ITC fantastic profits. ITC`s has international competitiveness is reflected in the overseas markets too. In the extremely competitive US market, ITC offers high-quality, value-priced cigarettes on ready to serve the customers. In West Asia, ITC has become a key player in the GCC markets through growing volumes of its brands. ITC`s cigarettes are produced in state those are Bangalore, Munger, Saharanpur and Kolkata. These factories are known for their high levels of quality, by their technology and work environment. Market Leadership. Powerful brands across whole segment. Consumer acceptable prices. Extensive distribution network Over 900 wholesale dealers serving more than 1 million retail outlets. World- class state-of-the-art technology and product. Investment Rs.10 billion in six years. Leaf Tobacco: ITC pioneered the cultivation and development of leaf Tobaccos in India. The Leaf Tobacco business partnership with the farmer is almost 100 years old. ITC is the largest buyer, processor and exporter of leaf tobaccos in India- creating a global bench mark for the single largest integrated source of quality tobaccos. Composition: Filter is made of 95 % cellulose acetate. Tipping paper to cover the filter. Rolling paper to cover the tobacco. Tobacco blend. BUSINESS MISSION AND VISION Mission is To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a globalizing environment, delivering superior and sustainable stakeholder value. Vision is Sustain ITC`s position as one of India`s most valuable corporations through world class performance, creating growing value for the Indian economy and the Company`s stakeholders. ITC`s CORE VALUES Honesty towards work. Customer Focus. Respect for People. Excellence in quality and service. Innovation in ideas Product. MARKETING OBJECTIVE To make the world class or world known brand by providing the best quality and satisfy the customer need with delightful feeling. To retain the position as a market leader in marketplace. And make more than 85% revenues of Cigarettes in the year 2010-2011. Best in Internal Vitality, market standing, profitability. SITUATION ANALYSIS COMPETITIORS: In India, three major cigarette players dominate the market, primarily ITC with 75% market share, Godfrey Phillips with 14% and VST with 4% share of the market. SEGMENTATION, TARGETTING POSITIONING: As concern about segmentation, they are segmented according to the needs and taste of the customer. In every business they segmented the products with the level of income. Products are available according to their purchasing capacity. Products are available with the lowest price as well as higher price. As in the hotel ITC provide categories of the hotel rooms. As targeting is concern ITC targeting the youth mainly with the taste for trendy style and started offering quality; they are concern about the quality not quantity. SUPPLY CHAN MANAGEMENT: The following components are in supply chain management. Production: It all about where business focus on how much to produce, where to produce it and what are the suppliers to use. Inventory: It all about where the business decides where to store their products, and how much to store. Distribution: where the business address questions about how their should be moved and stored. Payments: It concern about where business look for the best ways to suppliers and get paid by customers. Manufacturing Process: Cigarette manufacturing process involves processing of tobacco leaf and stem to different tobacco blends, which is cut tobacco. Cut tobacco is then converted to cigarette using other raw materials for making cigarettes and packing them in various forms as per the trading requirement. ITD receives various grades of Tobacco Leaf and stem from Indian Leaf Tobacco Division (ILTD) based mainly in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The cut tobacco is then sent to the secondary manufacturing division (SMD) for making and packing cigarettes. At SMD, there are two processes: Making and Packing Making is the process is the rolling of cigarette. Packing process is packing of these cigarette sticks in the cigarette packets of various pack styles. MARKETING STATERGY CORPRATION STATERGY: Do the right things to the right place at the right time. Sustain multiple drivers of growth matching internal capabilities with emerging market opportunities. Pursue world class competitiveness in all businesses and across the entire value chain. As we talk about the pricing strategy ITC cigarettes using Pricing penetration because of their high name in the market. Form the starting they taking the high prices. And after getting the relevant profit they low down the prices. But with that the price range is widely varied catering to the low and high-class consumer segment, ITC has made capital investments of Rupees 700 crores in its cigarette business to upgrade and modernize its manufacturing and research and development facilities. Additional rs. 450 crore has been spent towards building a new and state of art manufacturing plant on Bangalore. The decision to raise prices of some cigarette brands has led to increased sales revenue. The packs are designed in such a way that customer got attracted. Diversification Strategy: It has been observed that ITC`s opt the diversified strategy have been carefully implemented in order to optimize the synergies obtained through both backward and vertical integration of its business. The company had felt need to diversify from the early 1970 and had started the process by entering into the business that provided a good return on investment and a potential for future expansion. In March 2005, ITC stands as a multi-business enterprise, with an impressive market share in almost all the FMCG segment, Hotels, Paperboard and agri-Business sectors. It has successfully crafted a strategy of value addition by entering into related segments, which adds to the competencies and resources of the company. ITC also come with up the diversified brands of cigarette too. ITC apply the diversified strategy by the deep understanding of the markets and consumer tastes. ITC cigarettes come up with the differentiated strategy because they come up with differentiated brands. MARKETING MIX Marketing mix is used in business to gain the reaction it is seeking from its targeting market in relation to its marketing objectives. Marketing mix is including the 7Ps Price, Product, Promotion, Place, People, Process, and Physical Environment Traditional approach is 4 p`s and from the following p`s people is very important in the market. Because in marketing we first identify the demand of people then try to satisfy them with their goods and services. PRODUCT: Methods used to improve/differentiate the product and increase sales or target sales more effectively to gain a competitive advantage e.g. Extension strategies. PRICE: Pricing strategy using by ITC is penetration strategy. As ITC also take care of price according to the income of the people. Its also important to know about the market condition of their product. PROMOTION/ADVERTISMENT: Advertisement and promotion is used to make aware and increase the sales of the product respectively through print media, on internet etc. It help to make aware of the existence of a product. PLACE: Place is where the customer get the product and the services from the producer. Selection of the place is depend on the market research what the demand of the customer, competition in market and geographical condition is also matter. And in which place consumer is easy to buy the product. Positioning of ITC Cigarettes in the market: BCG Matrix: In this Boston consultant group it tells about the market share and growth of the product. In this we take four i.e. stars, dogs, question mark, and cash cow. Cash cow is when market share and growth is on the top. And dogs show both are less STARS Agri Business Paperboards Hotels QUESTION MARK FMCG- Other CASH COWS FMCG Cigarettes DOGS ITC Infotech In product life cycle ITC cigarettes is in the maturity stage of existing brands of cigarettes. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT is mainly told about the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats can face by the company. It also helps to predict the future of the company. Whereas strength and weakness are controllable and opportunities and threats are uncontrollable in nature. ITC is one of India`s biggest and well known private sector companies. In fact it is one of the World`s most high profile consumer operations. It is business and brands are focused almost entirely on the Indian markets, and despite being most well-known for its tobacco brands such as navy cut, silk cut, the business is now diversifying into new FMCG brands in a number of market sectors. (S)TRENGTHS: Market leadership is the one of the biggest strength of the company. ITC leveraged it traditional businesses to develop new brands for new segments. For e.g. ITC used its experience of transporting and distributing tobacco products to remote and distant parts of India to the advantages of its FMCG products. ITC master chefs from its hotel chain are often asked to develop new food concepts for its FMCG business. ITC is a diversified business is also strength of the ITC itself. Its CSR, social responsibilities like women empowerment, water shed development, primary education also the strengths for ITC. Six Sigma based product development process. Provide the best class products in quality and quantity. E-chopal is biggest strength for ITC. (W)EAKNESSES: The company`s original business was traded in tobacco. ITC business i.e. now so involved in branding continues t use its original name, despite the negative connection of tobacco with poor health and premature death. Even today, ITC depend on the tobacco business revenues. Cigarettes account for 49% of company`s turnover and responsible for 82% of revenues. One single brand Gold Flake is gaining 72% of tobacco market. (O)PPORTUNITIES: FMCG product like Aashirvaad, Bingo, and Sun feast has the increasing growth in the market. This can be good opportunities for the future of ITC. ITC is moving into new and emerging sectors including IT with supporting business solutions. E-Choupal, the unique web based initiatives of ITC`s International business division, products and services they need to enhance farm productivity, improve farm-gate price realization and cut transaction costs. Farmers can access latest local and global information on weather, scientific farming practices as well as market prices at the village itself through this web portal in hindi.It is the biggest opportunities for ITC. Per capita consumption of personal care products in India is the lowest in the world offering an opportunity for ITCs soaps, shampoos and fragrances under their Wills brand. (T)HREATS: Firstly threat is the competition in domestic as well as international market. Dynamic nature of government policies like sudden banned on the advertisement of the cigarette; cigarette is main source for ITC, for revenue and if they are banned by the government law then it will put the very bad impact on the ITC Company. So dynamic government policies is also a biggest threat for the ITC. Basic threat is geographical conditions. Highly dependency on tobacco business can be the threat for ITC. Future Outlook: Company stands to gain between Rs. 5 billion and 5.5 billion in the form of future earnings. ITC is focused on acquiring leadership in IT areas of product life cycle management(PLM), Hospitality, Customer relation management(CRM), manufacturing services. Rural sector development has been high on priority with regard to its future projects. The company is focusing on moving ahead with e-Choupal.

Sexual Stereotypes and Stereotyping :: Feminism Feminist Women Criticism

Sexual Stereotyping: False Preconceptions and False Conclusions in Blaming Technology       In an excerpt titled "The Feminist Face of Antitechnology" from his 1981 book Blaming Technology, Samuel C. Florman explains why he thinks so few educated women in modern society are engineers.   The excerpt was written shortly after he had visited an all-female liberal arts school, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, to convince a few young women to become engineers.   His mission failed and his essay makes clear why he had such trouble.       Florman has more than one idea as to why young, educated women shy away from engineering as a career option.   First, he notes that America has inherited much of its culture from England, where engineering has not been considered a high-class occupation.   This is apparently so because engineering did not fully separate from craftsmanship until the mid-nineteenth century.   Florman claims that most young, male engineers come from lower- and lower-middle-class families.   He also claims that most young women who are educated in math and science come from middle- and upper-class families.   For this reason, Florman explains that educated women generally see engineering as being below their social class, and therefore do not pursue it as an option.   He supports his position with a story about how Herbert Hoover, after a long conversation, told a woman that he was an engineer and how she responded,   "Why, I thought you were a gentleman!"1   Florman then turns to the fem inists and asks why they haven't taken the lead in changing this situation.         Florman's main argument against the feminist movement is that it is fueled by a greed for power.   He suggests that women, especially feminists, are attracted to perceivable power, or power which is obvious to the cultural eye.   They want to become doctors, lawyers, and politicians.   The desire for power is also intimately connected with social class, according to Florman.   He sees this as one of the major reasons as to why so few women seek out engineering: they see it as a career without power.   Florman sees women as being "a lot more interested in the privileges than in the responsibilities."   According to him, the "ultimate feminist dream will never be realized as long as women would rather supervise the world than help build it."   Until women strive to understand the technology around them, and help to create it, they will always suffer.

Family and the Polis Essays -- essays papers

Family and the Polis Family and the Polis: Two Very Different Ideals Sophocles wrote a play entitled Antigone. One of the main characters, Creon, is a king who is trying to rule in the best interests of his community. Aristophanes also wrote a play, Lysistrata, where his main character is trying to stop a war within her country, a war between Sparta and Athens. Lysistrata is the only one who succeeds. It is because she focuses on the family issues first. That is what is at the heart of what is best for all of the people of Greece. Antigone is about rights of family and the control of the polis, or the government. Antigone is a strong female character whose two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, were killed by each other in a battle for the throne and power of the city. Polyneices’ body was left unburied and no one was allowed to bury it. Antigone wanted to respect her brother so she tried to go and bury him. Creon, the new king, was her uncle and she was engaged to marry his son. Creon told her that her brother’s body must remain above ground because of the dishonor that he brought upon himself when he murdered his own brother in a battle for power and for the blood that he spilled of his own countrymen. He was a traitor. He turned on the city he once ruled and fought and killed the very brother that he shared blood with. By law his body was to remain above ground for the birds and the beasts to pluck apart. Creon commanded: â€Å"I here proclaim to the city that this man/ shall no one honor w ith a grave and none shall mourn†. Polyneices wasn’t going to be given honor when his life didn’t merit any. Creon saw Polyneices as an exile and a destroyer of the city. He came and attacked the very land that was his own and the... ...oney had been spent, too many people had died. To many things had been forgotten about for the mere reason of war The woman wanted their men home and rightly so. The killing needed to stop and the men needed to come home and run the cities and the land once more. She wanted things back the way that they used to be. Her plans were successful. The war was able to stopped and the needless killing ended. The men returned home to their wives and families were reunited. Lysistrata and Creon wanted to help their communities in different ways. Only Lysistrata was triumphant in her plan. She started with her own family and then moved beyond that for all the women and the whole of Greece. Creon was thinking big and acting small. He was focusing on community and the government or the polis first of all and in doing that, he lost what is the most important issue, family.

Assessment Tools for Visually Impaired

Assessment tools for Visually Impaired †¢ Using real objects rather than representative objects or pictures †¢ Addressing impact of child's experiences with the environment on performance Familiar vs. unfamiliar objects: If you use familiar objects, the child has had time to explore and develop concepts; unfamiliar objects may take the child more time to explore them. If a child only knows his objects, this may indicate lack of experience and under generalization of concepts. Familiar vs. nfamiliar people: A child who is blind may need time to warm up to an unfamiliar person. It is important to read the child and allow him to maintain contact with his parents and to allow him to initiate interactions. Familiar vs. unfamiliar location: A child who is visually impaired will need time to explore and familiarize himself to an unfamiliar area. He may act more reticent in an unfamiliar area. When assessing functional vision and mobility skills, it is important to assess in both a familiar and unfamiliar area if possible.Because a child does not have to rely on fine detail vision as much in a familiar area, you may get different visual responses in an unfamiliar area which could add to your understanding of the child's vision. †¢ Impact of expectations and opportunities child has had Familiar vs. new task: If you are testing a skill that is usually learned visually and the child has never been taught the skill, a test-teach-test model can help determine if child can learn task through manual demonstration. Analyzing the concept being tested and adapting to a child who is visually impaired or blind For example, the concept of object permanence looks at a child's visual attention, memory, persistence and organization of searching behaviors. For a totally blind child, this can be assessed by looking at how a child reacts to a dropped object, first allowing the object touch a part of his body and then taking the object further away from his body to assess s earching behaviors.Need to be aware of response behaviors that may be seen in young children who are blind. †¢ â€Å"Passive†, neutral facial expressions that may indicate that the child is listening attentively. †¢ Resistance to having hands directed to unknown objects; use of protective responses of pulling hands away, protective responses to unanticipated events. †¢ Visual responses: eccentric viewing, head tilt, holding objects close, closing eyes, etc. †¢ Gaze aversion to disengage or if objects are too close. Arousal issues: visually impaired may be in low arousal state due to lack of visual stimulus and low postural tone. †¢ Child may use â€Å"immature† patterns or repetitive patterns of object exploration such as repeated dropping for auditory feedback, tapping, mouthing. †¢ Child may be auditorily distracted by environmental noises. Need to assess â€Å"unique curricular areas† that are important to children who are visual ly impaired. †¢ Functional vision †¢ Sensory development †¢ Compensatory Skills (e. g. exploration and hand skills, Pre-braille; listening skills) †¢ Orientation ; Mobility Need to select assessment scales and strategies that allow for: †¢ Freedom of presentation and selection of materials †¢ Quality in additional to milestones †¢ Incidental and structured presentation Need to understand the implications of: †¢ Age at which visual loss occurred †¢ Level of functional vision †¢ Implications of the eye condition †¢ Presence of additional handicaps Need to be able to clearly describe the assessment process and implications to PARENTS.

NFL Concussions and Their Long-Term Effects Essay

On May 2, 2012, the National Football League lost one of its elite players to suicide: Junior Seau. Seau played for the Chargers, Dolphins, and the Patriots during his professional football career and was a 12-time Pro Bowler before retiring in 2009. Three years after his retirement however, Seau committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a gun. This greatly shocked the football world and its image of Junior Seau as a person, but it soon realized the cause for his action. Shortly after Seau’s death, researchers examined Seau’s brain and found that it contained a disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy which is formed by repeated blows to the head; a very common disease among former football players (Football Brains). The Seau family then filed a lawsuit against the NFL claiming that the league held back information from the players about the danger of continuous blows to the head (Seau’s Death on Brain Injuries). Since the formation of the National Football League in 1920, the popularity of the sport has grown tremendously over the years. It seems nowadays that more and more people are getting interested in the NFL, whether it is talking about their favorite team at work or at school or watching them play on game day. However, on the flip side of all the amazing catches and touchdowns, there is a dark side to the NFL known as the concussion problem. This problem has grown so much over the years that there have been more than 4200 lawsuits by former and current players against the NFL stating that the NFL has been trying to cover up the detrimental long term effects of concussions and also relied on NFL doctors to feed them the information they wanted to hear while rejecting the studies done by researches showing the long term effects concussions have on the brain (Junior Seau’s Death Keeps Spotlight on Brain Injuries). In order for the NFL to keep thriving the way it is right now, the league had to reject the information shown by researchers which showed the harmful effects of concussions in the long run and instead had to hire their â€Å"own† doctors to say that concussions are minor and cause no detrimental long run effects. I believe that repetitive concussions do cause  health problems in the future for NFL players and that the NFL covered up the truth about concussions. Being that I watch the NFL regularly, it seems like it is almost guaranteed that at least one or more players will experience a concussion during the game with all the physical contact taking place. Some of the concussions these players experience are obvious in that they are motionless on the ground and some are not so obvious in that they are still able to make it to the bench. According to Jennifer Car of BrainFacts.org, a concussion is caused when the head is struck violently which then leads to a brief disruption in brain activity. When the head is struck suddenly, the brain is set in motion and bangs the skull’s rough and ragged inside which causes the brain cells to stretch and sometimes even split (Mild Brain Injury and Concussion). Michael Collins, a clinical psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who specializes in sports-related concussions, states that â€Å"a concussion is basically an energy crisis to the brain cells† and he also states that â€Å"the brain has to work much harder to perform tasks† (Hard Knocks: The Science of Concussions). This disruption can cause an individual to experience a variety of different symptoms in the following minutes and hours. The range of symptoms includes the following: nausea, vomiting, brief loss of consciousness, and dizziness (Hard Knocks: The Science of Concussions). Later symptoms include: lightheadedness, depression, anxiety, ringing in the ears, constant migraine headaches, and poor concentration or attention (Mild Brain Injury and Concussion). The symptoms mentioned in the previous paragraph may last a couple days to a few weeks; at most a few months. Those who experience these types of symptoms usually receive a concussion maybe once or twice in their lifetimes. However, those professional athletes competing in sports with a good deal of physical contact are in harm’s way of experiencing multiple concussions during their career as an athlete. According to recent research, scientists have discovered a neurodegenerative disease also known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE (Hard Knocks: The Science of Concussions). This disease was found in the brains of former athletes who have died mainly boxers and football players (What is CTE?). These athletes were those who  have received continuous concussions or played in positions where they were vulnerable to experience a good amount of physical impact (Hard Knocks: The Science of Concussions). The repeated banging of the brain against the skull causes a gradual d egeneration of the brain tissue, and also the forming of an unusual protein known as tau (What is CTE?). These activities in the brain can take place months or even years after the last concussion or retirement from the sport. Some of the symptoms associated with CTE include: memory loss, confusion, depression, aggression, hindered judgment, and dementia (What is CTE?). There is definitely evidence of the symptoms of CTE among former NFL players. There are many examples of former NFL players who have suffered from CTE and have killed themselves and/or those around them including the Junior Seau suicide event that was mentioned in the opening paragraph. The first example is John Grimsley, who was a former Houston Oilers linebacker. Grimsley shot himself by accident while he was cleaning his gun one day (Football Brains). The former NFL player was a skilled outdoorsman and should have easily performed the task of cleaning his gun. A second example is Justin Strzelczyk, who was a former offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Strzelczyk was involved in a high-speed hit-and-run chase with the police which turned into a fiery crash where he eventually died (Football Brains). Another example is former Canadian professional wrestler Chris Benoit who murdered his wife and child and then took his own life (Football Brains). The final example is Tom McHale, who was a former Tampa Bay Buccaneer. He died at the age of 45 from a drug overdose (Football Brains). All the brains of these former professional athletes were taken for study and all their brains were found to contain the brain disease CTE in them (Football Brains). Another study was done on the affects of repeated concussions causing CTE by Ann McKee. According to Ann McKee, who is a neuropathologist at Bedford VA Medical Center, â€Å"brains of patients with CTE have unique patterns of abnormal protein tangles and cell loss† (Hard Knocks: The Science of Concussions). Her study analyzed the brains of former athletes and war veterans who have experienced multiple brain injuries. McKee’s research showed that out of the 85 brains she has studied, 68 of the brains contained the brain disease CTE (Hard Knocks: The Science of  Concussions). There is extensive research still being done by scientists in the area of CTE and if there is a con nection between repeated blows to the head and the formation of CTE in the brain. In fact the National Football League has decided to donate $30 million to the National Institutes of Health’s Neurology Institute to help further studies on concussions among football players and military troops (NFL Donates $30 Million To Concussion Research). More and more research and evidence on concussions is being brought to the fore front, as well as the numerous tragedies that occurred among former NFL players stemming from repeated concussions. Because of this, the NFL league and the NFL Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee secretly decided to â€Å"cover up† and put down all the extensive studies and findings that have been recently popping up by scientists outside the NFL. In the PBS TV documentary League of Denial, the NFL is portrayed as a greedy money-driven industry that would do anything to keep the league from falling apart, even to the extent of withholding information from players about the long-term consequences from repeated blows to the head. In this film, the spotlight is cast on Dr. Bennett Omalu who was the first scientist to discover CTE (â€Å"NFL Concussion Cover-up†). His findings of CTE came from the brains of former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster and his teammate Terry Long. Dr. Omalu’s findings were tremendously influential because it was the spark for the connection between repetitive blows to the head and CTE. However, as Dr. Omalu began publishing his findings about CTE in the brains of Webster and Long, the NFL soon noticed his findings and took action. Dr. Omalu recalled a conversion he had with a NFL doctor in which the NFL doctor said, â€Å"Dr. Omalu, do you know the consequences of what you are doing? If 10 percent of mothers in America started to view football as a dangerous sport, it would be the end of football† (â€Å"NFL Concussion Cover-up†). This obviously shows that NFL doctors realize that the findings between multiple concussions and CTE are true, but they are reluctant to admit to it because they are afraid that the NFL will dissolve into nothing if the â€Å"truth† is discovered. The NFL realized that the league was in jeopardy so they decided to publicly denounce the findings of Dr. Omalu by saying that his work was flawed. However, this was not the only attempt that the NFL made it trying to put  down the findings from scientists on the connection between repetitive concussions and CTE. In a 2007 meeting with the NFL’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee, Julian Bailes who is the to p neurosurgeon at the Northshore Neurological Institute, displayed several pictures of CTE that was almost certainly caused by frequent concussions. However, the chairman of the committee downplayed all the evidence that was shown to them by Julian Bailes even though the evidence was pretty clear. The Commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, decided that it was best for the league to conduct its own study about concussions. He released the following statements regarding the evidence being shown to the league by â€Å"outside† doctors and researchers, â€Å"You have to look at their entire medical history. To look at something that is isolated without looking at their entire medical history I think is irresponsible† (NFL Covering Up Research?). From just this one instance, we can definitely see that the NFL is trying its best to ignore the â€Å"clear-cut† evidence about the connection between repetitive concussions and CTE. It seems as though the Commissioner and the head of the NFL Brain Injury committee realize that the information and the research that was showed to them was true so they had to make sure it did not leak out to the players and also to the media.

Personal Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Personal Ethics - Essay Example It is beneficial if a nurse who is not a native speaker communicate in English as their second language. This makes it very easy for the nurse to communicate with the patients since most of them speak English. One’s culture impacts on their belief that a warm environment is crucial to maintaining optimal health. In the Filipino culture, formal greetings are usually welcomed with handshakes. Furthermore, a nurse may ask the patients how they feel and nod their heads as a sign of agreement. However, a Filipino nurse may not understand since in their culture head nodding does not always mean agreement. They are also very close to the patients since they believe that kinship goes beyond biological connections. A nurse needs to use an indirect approach when discussing terminal illness for the first time. This has enables effective passage of information without creating the feeling of anxiety. As cited by Ludwick and Silva (2012), nurses need to encourage the patients with chronic illness to have strong faith and they will survive. It is believed that if a person has a strong faith he or she will actually survive. Nurses need to have personal values, such as, managing time. This ensures that they provide care in a timely manner. Studies have demonstrated that nurses are self-less and determined people and always ensure that they take care of the patients as well as clients who deserve suitable and safe care. In some instances, they also apply religious values both in times of happiness and despair. According to Yeo & Moorhouse (2010), ethics in nursing practice entails seeking the best way to take care of the patients together with the best nursing action. Â  It has been found out that ethical values form the basis for collection of codes of ethics. Nurses often act based on the morals and values they have chosen (Mahmoodi, Alhani, Ahmadi, & Kazemnejad, 2008). As cited by Carr and Steutel (2009), morals define a personal character.