Stride Toward Freedom

Identical Thought in â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† Once I was exposed to reading â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† I put myself in Christopher Hitchers and Rachel Reedier shoes and realized how humor, can be used in a horrendous situation. Not everyone may know what a cancer patient has to go through but as days go by everyone has been through a situation that cannot handle on his or her own. By reading these two articles, I automatically had a mental mage of what and how the narrator felt.In the article, â€Å"Patient†, Reedier is trying to lighten the mood by using humor throughout the whole article. Both articles have multiple similarities that have personal anecdotes that explain their life story. The articles are similar with Hitchers and Reedier with the use of tone in the â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† through humor, images and horrible situations. Humor can be comical in many situations, but in th e â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer†, the authors indicate the reader that pain can be a wholesome situation.In the article, â€Å"Patient† a teenager was hit by a bus and later on was informed that her leg may need to be amputated. The author uses phrases saying, â€Å"l feel like I got hit by a bus† to show his expression on how he truly feels about this situation (Reedier 166). Hitchers, the author of the â€Å"Topic of Cancer† expresses humor throughout the article in ways of saying, â€Å"The chest hair that was once the toast of two continents hasn't yet wilted, but so much of it was shaved off for various hospital incisions that it's a rather patchy affair† (Hitchers 88).Hitchers is expressing how he has lost all of his hair, and he can still look at it in a humorous way (The Best American Essays). Reedier and Hitchers explain how situations like these can be engaged in many different ways. Anyone can take these essays as serio us as possible but can also take them as a humorous situation. As Reedier and Hitchers went through the essays, the narrator explained how they had struggled through their situation and still found positive attitude.Reedier uses a positive attitude by saying, â€Å"It is easy to be calm cause I cannot really have been run over by a bus† (Reedier 165). As horrible as the situation may sound the narrator makes it out to be not as bad is it seems to be. Hitchers explains how the situation needs to be in a positive way, â€Å"l sometimes wish I were suffering in a good cause, or risk my life for the good of others, instead of being a gravely endangered patient† (Hitchers 88). The narrator expresses how she would rather be suffering for a good reason instead of being in the hospital with cancer (The Best American Essays).Both of the articles prove that you can fight through any kind of injury or disease no matter how critical the situation can accrue. The narrator shows his faith by saying, â€Å"She would make the driver move that bus, but I can't see her† (Reedier 165). In the â€Å"Topic of Cancer† Hutchins shows, how he feels about his conditions and diagnoses with the quote, â€Å"To the dumb question â€Å"Why me? † the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: â€Å"Why not? † (86). He is obviously looking at his illness as a positive outcome when many people look at it as their life is over (The Best American Essays).Even though cancer can kill someone and losing a leg can cause death, both of the narrators kept a positive attitude. Both of the narrators start out by asking themselves â€Å"why me†, as the articles continue the â€Å"Patient† goes on living a healthy life, but in the article â€Å"Topic of Cancer† he is still fighting for his life. There are similarities throughout the stories showing the way they feel, and showing their emotions through humor but in the end there is a differe nt outcome.

The Theory of the Contestable Market

The theory of contestable markets, along with the static and dynamic views of competition, are used as theories to analyse how markets perform. The static view focuses on the structure of the market as the determining factor of competition, with the dynamic view focusing on dynamic aspects such as technology and entrepreneurship. The contestable markets theory has a different focus, focusing on the importance of barriers to entry and exit. Nonetheless it does incorporate features from both views.More importantly it shifts the focus and provides new insight into the workings of competition. The two differing views of competition will be examined, followed by an examination of the contestable market theory, concluding with an analysis of the degree to which there is synthesis. Static view of competition The static view of competition focuses on the market structure as the key determining factor in the performance and behaviour of firms. It is the neoclassical approach of competition, o rigination from the work of economist’s Cournot and Edgeworth.This traditional view sees market structure as rigidly determining firm's conduct (its output decisions and pricing behaviour), which yields an industry's overall performance, such as its efficiency and profitability. Firms limit their behaviour to a certain industry model or strategic logic that is built on frequent price cuts, in order to out-compete rivals and deter entry. An industry is considered competitive depending on its market structure. At one extreme is perfect competition, which is considered perfectly competitive. At the other extreme is a monopoly structure, with a sole producer, characterised by low competition.In between the spectrum is an oligopolistic structure, and a monopolistic structure. These structures embody less competition than in perfect competition, but more than in a monopoly situation. The characteristics of competitive markets are thus large number of firms, or in other words a low concentration ratio. The number of firms is determined by the market demand and the output level set at that which minimises average cost. As the number of firms that enter the industry increases, firms become price takers rather than price makers, and they are forced to apply the price that is set in order to survive in the market.They thus receive normal profits, as opposed to abnormal profits when the market structure was more concentrated (please refer to figure 1 below). Fig 1 Thus the organisation of industries is considered to be generated exogenously. Therefore the market concentration decides the nature of competition within each market. The static view of competition thus concentrates on the structural characteristics of competition, with a ‘structure-conduct-performance’ based paradigm, in which market structure decided conduct of firms, deciding their performance.The static competition approach excludes non-price competition, such as quality and product diff erentiation, and strategic behaviour which does occur. This view of competition has been criticised for ignoring the more dynamic methodology of competition, which will now be analysed. Due to the importance of market share in the static view of competition, the resultant policy implication calls for regulation of markets, in order to ensure low marker concentration, in order to move towards perfect competition, and its associated benefits. (Schwartz 1986). Dynamic view of competitionThe dynamic view of competition revolves around the role of the entrepreneur and firms using innovation to compete with their rivals. The neo-Austrian school of thought, in particular, Schumpeter, and those economists influenced by it have been redefining the concept along classical lines, although with a much greater emphasis on the entrepreneurial role, the role of discovery, and rivalrous competition. Performance in industries is argued to be characterized by dynamic competition, expressed through in novation and variation rather than through efficiency and price reductions, which is the case in the static approach.This view portrays competition as a process of change and evolution rather than a static state in which equilibrium will be reached. Hayek, a main architect of this approach, defines competition as a dynamic behavioural activity. Central to this activity is knowledge, how it is acquired and communicated through the economy. He criticises the neoclassical assumption of perfect knowledge, with the view that costs are not a given, and so not exogenous. Competition is a process of interaction with the environment, in which innovation, such as new methods of production and new products, are a response to the unique situation of the economy.It results in the optimal use of resources. (Auerbach 1988) Alchian believes that there is a natural selection process which results in a competitive outcome. Such competition depends not only on the physical possibilities but also the a bilities and attitudes of participants, the entrepreneurs and consumers. It therefore argues for property rights, as to increase the level of competition, forcing companies to undergo research and development and to innovate, in order to survive.For competition to be improved and sustained there needs to be a genuine desire on behalf of entrepreneurs to engage in competitive behaviour, to innovate and to invent to drive markets forward and create what Schumpeter famously called the â€Å"gales of creative destruction†. (Vickers, 1995, pp15). In the classic dynamic view, it argues that there is a tendency for rates of return to equalise, due to profit seeking behaviour, and the movement of capital from low profit areas to that of higher profit areas. However equilibrium may never be reached.Before the tendency for equalisation, the economy may have changed, such as the structure of demand, or the available technology, and products may have evolved. The general criticism of the dynamic view of competition is that is lacks the simplicity and decisiveness than the static view of competition. The policy implications of the dynamic view of competition is less concerned with regulation of markets, instead encouraging property rights in order to allow firms to benefit from their own research and development, allowing for technological advancement, and the ensuing competition.Theory of the contestable market The theory of contestable markets describes how competition will exist in any market if there are no barriers to entry and exit, as firms will be forced to act competitively in fear of new firms entering the market. The contestable markets approach to competition represents an alternative to the neo-classical theory of the firm. It came to prominence in the early 1980s, largely through the work of the American economist Baumol. The threat posed by the possibility of new firms entering the market is taken to be a key determinant of the behaviour of existing f irms.Accordingly, barriers to entry and exit play a crucial role. Its fundamental feature is low barriers to entry and exit; a perfectly contestable market would have no barriers to entry or exit. This means no sunk costs. Sunk costs will be low where the firm can sell or in other ways dispose of its capital equipment without cost. For example, a new airline might lease aircraft rather than purchase them and can then leave the industry at the end of the lease period without the costs of having to sell its aircraft.Contestable markets are characterized by ‘hit and run' entry, whereby if a firm in a market with no entry or exit barriers raises its prices above average cost and begins to earn abnormal profits, potential rivals will enter the market to take advantage of these profits. When the incumbent firms respond by returning prices to levels consistent with normal profits the new firms will exit. In this manner even a monopoly market can show highly competitive behaviour (suc h as in perfect competition), as it fears potential competition.Such optimal behaviour applies to the full range of industry structures. Natural monopolies are of course not included in such a theory, as by its nature barriers to entry and exit exist. In this view of competition, the direction of causation between the market structure and competition is reversed from that of the static view. The theory of contestable markets sees contestability as influencing the performance and conduct of firms, and thus deciding on the resultant market structure.Perfect contestability would lead to firms earning normal profit, embodying cost-minimisation behaviour, resulting in a cost-minimisation structure (P=MC= AC), whatever the actual form of the market structure. Thus, the market structure is determined by the price and output decisions, or the behaviour, of firms. In a perfectly contestable market, there would exist profit equalisation across firms and industries, such as in perfect competit ion, even under market imperfections, such as a concentrated structure. Under a contestable market there would be maximisation of consumer welfare due to cost and price minimising.Contestable markets would also result in optimal firm sizes (economies of scale), product-mix (economies of scope) and industrial organisation (dynamic efficiency). Compared to the static view of competition, the contestable market views is not so much competition within the market, but competition for the market. Attention has been shifted away from actual competition to potential competition. Critics of this theory includes the argument that perfectly contestable markets are rare, and thus should only be applied to specific cases.It is true that perfect contestability is an extreme, and should be viewed as a benchmark rather than the norm, but the same applies to perfect competition in the static view of competition. (Schwartz 1986). More empirical research is needed on the extent of free entry and exit. Criticism has also been placed upon the reaction time of incumbents as new firms enter the market, which is also a hotly debated subject. Contradicting assumptions of ultra-free entry and the response of firms is another criticised aspect of the theory. (Shepherd, 1984, pp585)In terms of policy implications, the theory suggests that competition policy should be as much concerned with the levels of barriers to entry and exit in a market as with existing levels of competition. Synthesis? There is much debate as to whether contestable market theory is a synthesis of the static and dynamic views of competition. Some observers comment that the theory may even be an uprising from the traditional theories (Baumol, 1982), and to the other extreme where it is a mere extension of the traditional theories of competition.The theory of contestable markets incorporates important concepts from the static view of competition. The relationship between market structure and competition is a major fac tor in contestable market theory as it is in the static view, however in the former, as stated earlier, the causation is reversed. So the relationship is still key, albeit with market structure being dependent upon its firm’s behaviour. Furthermore, barriers to entry and exit, which are important in the static view in terms of its negative effects in allowing incumbents to earn economic rent, are of prime importance in the new theory.Although the new theory turns it on its head and focuses on the positive effects of removing barriers, and the resultant competition that comes with it. Barriers are thus significant market determinants. Thus for some contestable market theory provides a static equilibrium theory of industry structure which is generally more applicable than before. The theory also points towards some dynamic interpretation of markets. Firms are able to enter on an ongoing basis, constraining market behaviour of incumbents.The degree of contestability of a market can change over time with technology, regulatory breakdown, or changes in other barriers altering the entry and exit conditions. An incumbent pricing optimally can protect them self against new entrants using the same technology, but can’t protect against innovation or technological advancements. Furthermore, the threat of competition should lead to a faster rate of technological diffusion, as firms have to be particularly responsive to the changing needs of consumers. Thus dynamic aspects of competition are also important in the new theory.Baumol et al have argued the contestable theory as a new general system to replace the original static and dynamic views of competition. However their analysis should only be treated as a specialised, extreme set of conditions, which are unlikely to be found in reality, due to rigid assumptions of contestability theory. Some have even argued that little has been added to the pre-existing entry and exit analysis. (Shepherd, 1984). Conclusio n Contestable market theory is an attempt to impose a dynamic mechanism upon a static equilibrium analysis, thus providing new and valuable insights into competition theory.It offers a host of new analytical methods, new tasks for empirical research, and new results. It allows the reconsideration of the domain of the invisible hand, yields contributions to the theory of oligopoly, provides a standard for policy that is far broader and more widely applicable than that of perfect competition, and leads to a theory that analyses the determination of industry structure endogenously and simultaneously with the analysis of the other variables more traditionally treated in the theory of the firm and the industry.It aspires to provide a unifying theory as a foundation for the analysis of competition. The theory manages to blends in some aspects from both the static and dynamic analyses of competition, however shouldn’t be seen as an overarching theory. It embodies a different focus t o the two traditional views of competition, as already mentioned. It should be applied to unique situations, on which the assumptions of the theory are built. The new theory provides for a new dilemma rather than the final solution.

Odysseus (Epic Hero)

Will Rodgers, an American humorist and social commentator, once remarked that â€Å"Being a hero is about the shortest lived profession on earth† (atd. in carnival of wit 222). While this may be literally true, most heroes live on figuratively in the recorded stories of their exploits, and in many cases they model characteristics that can inspire readers to emulate they're behavior. One obvious example is Homer's Odysseus the fictional king of Ithaca whose courage, strength, and quest for immortality define him as the prototypical epic hero.His encounters with the Trojan war, the Cyclopes, the land of Aeolia with the bag of winds, a witch that accidentally turned his men to pigs and more. Odysseus manages to maintain the delicate balance between hubris and humbleness all throughout his ten year journey home from the Trojan War. This shows that he has potential in being a hero. Homer established the fact that Odysseus was willing to take help in addition to friendship from Athe na when he wrote, â€Å"For I never knew the gods to show such open friendship and Pallas Athene standing by Odysseus. † (The Odyssey, Homer, 23).The meaning of courage is a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear, and that's where Odysseus comes in. Odysseus has been through so much just to get back home to his family. From being in the arms of his loving wife to risking his life at war and the sea adventures with his men. Odysseus is faithful to those whom he loves and is determined to return to his home of Ithaca. As he was on the island with Calypso and she asked him to stay with her, he responded to Calypso by stating, â€Å"Every day I long to travel home and see my day of coming. † (Homer, 49).

What is wrong with the UK economy and how to fix it Essay

What is wrong with the UK economy and how to fix it - Essay Example ub-prime of the European mortgage market collapsed smashing down the previous housing boom in American economy and it brought about a raffle effect around the world especially the countries which had higher degree of economic connection with the American economy. (Shah 2009) According to the World Economic Outlook, published by International Monetary Fund on 8th October 2008, the world economy was approaching towards a severe economic downturn due to the most severe economic shock since the â€Å"Great Depression† of 1929. Fund anticipated a decline in global growth (basis: purchasing power parity) by 3 percent in 2009. (Shah, 2009) In January 2009, the world economists predicted that among the highly developed nations UK would most adversely be affected by this recession. The grim picture represented in the IMF outlook reveals that the economy of England has been contracting by 2.8 percent which is more than twice of the anticipated rate. (â€Å"UK Will be Hardest Hit by Global Recession†, 28th January 2009) The matter of fact is that for the last decade the growth performance of UK has been centred towards three sectors: housing, finance and public sector. All the other sectors have been contracting during those years of economic upswing. The major employment generating sector in Britain is the service sector (81 percent) and the service sector is dominated by the financial sector. The financial sector contributes  £344 billion each year. The unique combination of efficient institution, least government regulation and agile workforce has made the financial sector of Britain a paradise for international finance. During the last decade the financial market was growing by a booming housing market and speculation. After the global credit crunch it comes to broad daylight that neither saving nor increase in earning has been the cause of growing housing market; rather it was financed by debts. Within the period 1997 to 2007 there was a gargantuan rise in personal

Creative Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creative Paper - Essay Example Since people appear to seek religious experiences in order to reduce the emotions of stress and depression, it provides a definite connection between emotion and brain activity. One of the most fundamental needs man has is the need for spirituality or religion; as a result, the more s/he focuses on a particular belief, the more real it becomes because it stimulates certain neural circuits in the brain. I would argue that emotion might function in exactly the same way and may be caused by the stimulation of certain neural circuits in the brain. I have investigated human emotions and it is my conclusion that emotions exist because they develop out of complex neural systems existing in the human brain. Contrary to the arguments that the brain is logical, I would argue that the brain is emotional because the emotion of fear at least, does originate in the brain According to my research which builds upon the research of others, fear in particular, the human body begins to show the external physical signs of fear such as sweaty palms, muscle tension and a queasy stomach even before the individual is consciously aware of fear. This suggests definitively that the emotional response of fear is hard wired into the brain, so that with the onset of the emotion the external symptoms manifest themselves. The proposition that the brain is linked to emotion does not appear to have much merit. Emotions in individuals are so wide ranging; moreover people tend to respond differently to the same kind of events - such as one person responding with fear and another responding with anger to the same incident. Twins tend to respond differently to emotion, even age differently and I believe that there would be greater levels of similarity between individuals in the way they respond to specific events if emotions were hard wired. I would cite the example of damage to the parietal lobe in the brain which causes difficulties with mathematics and language; something which

Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis - Essay Example Hazard vulnerability analysis is defines as the identification of potential disasters or emergency situations and the effects, both direct and indirect, that these situations may have on operations (Cutter 9). The main purpose of hazard and vulnerability analysis is to help the affected community to make the right choices that will help them address the vulnerabilities that they face. The analysis also helps in mitigating hazards and in the preparation for response and recovery efforts. Every emergency program should have a mechanism for hazard and vulnerability analysis (Wisner, Blaike and Cannon 17). In order to make accurate predictions for future events, it is important that the analysts collect the relevant information from different sources. This information should be relevant to the current situation and it should help in the creation of mitigating measures. The kind of data that should be collected during analysis includes everything about the nature and the causes of previous events. The frequency and/or intensity of previous disasters, as well as their magnitude should be included in the analysis. Information about the effects that the disaster may have had in a given area is also important for the purpose of analysis of the current situation (Turner and Kasperson 37). When the data has been collected, it is easy for the analyst’s to map the location of the potential and past hazards. This way, it easy to get information through the use of satellite images, aerial photography and remote sensing technology (Cutter 52). Predictive information can be derived from hydrology, seismology, meteorology and volcanology data. This kind of information can be found in most government agencies and some private institutions (Wisner, Blaike and Cannon, 47). Other data can be found in core databases to help in decision making (Turner and Kasperson 42). The business sector is most likely to be affected by earthquakes. This is because

Synthesis paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Synthesis paper - Essay Example Parent involvement in the learning process, though largely untapped is a viable resource for schools struggling to offer its students quality instructions while suffering the limitations of diminishing funds. In addition, parent involvement in a child’s learning increases student achievement and enhances a sense of involvement in the child’s education (Coleman and Hoffer, 1987). Parent involvement typically means different forms of participation in the education of a child. Some of these forms include attending school functions and responding to schooling obligations such as parent-teacher conferences. In addition, parents can become more involved in helping their children’s schooling through tutoring, modeling desired behavior and monitoring homework. Perhaps one of the most important schooling practices is parents’ work in the classroom. There are literally hundreds of journal articles, books and stand-alone reports on the subject of parent involvement in the classroom. These writings give expert opinions, offering sufficient information on the topic of parent involvement as a schooling practice. It is apparent that parent involvement in the class and individual student learning is positively linked to achievement. Interestingly, the more a parent is involved in a student’s learning process, the more beneficial the achievement effects are. This holds true for all the aforementioned types of parent involvement in the schooling process regardless of the age of the student. However, the most effectual modes of parent participation are those that involve parents working candidly with their children in learning activities at school. For instance, programs that involve a parent reading with the child, supporting the child’s class work and homework assignments, tutoring the child using materials and instructi ons provided by teachers show exemplarily impressive results in

An interview with a manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

An interview with a manager - Essay Example Two different managers tackle the same matter in two different ways, yet both can be right or wrong. Taking this into consideration, it often becomes very difficult to realize how theoretical knowledge and concepts about management can be applied in practical work. In order to resolve such conceptual problems, an interview with a manager can often prove very useful so that the management theories can be compared with the practical trends in place. This can particularly help business management students realize the issues that obstruct the practical realization of ideal management so that they may be equipped with prior knowledge of them and prepare themselves accordingly. Owing to their central role in running an organization, the need of interviewing a manager for various purposes is commonly felt. However, it is not very easy to make a manager commit to the interviewer. It is not unusual for responsible managers to be ignorant of an appointment made with an interviewer. The haphazard and complex nature of work explains the reason. Therefore, the interviewer should have taken necessary measures on his/her own part so that the interview may be conducted with least inconvenience to any of the parties. This paper discusses the factors that need to be considered and taken care of while interviewing a manager. The information will be very useful for researchers, news reporters and representatives of other agencies who have to often seek information from the managers. In the paper, I have also discussed an interview with a manager that I personally conducted so that it may be presented as an example to refer to when required. For the interview, Ross Bannerman was selected who is the General Manager (GM) of the â€Å"Bannerman Seafoods† in Scotland. GM Ross Bannerman’s contact information was retrieved from the Bannerman Seafoods official website. A letter was faxed to him on the fax number mentioned in the website, followed by a

Does the rotation of auditors improve the quality of auditing Essay - 2

Does the rotation of auditors improve the quality of auditing - Essay Example Based on all conjecture about such rotations and research studies on auditing tenure versus rotation, it would appear that the quality of auditing is actually improved by rotating auditing firms. The evidence Pozen (2012) argues that when an organisation decides to rotate auditors, there is the need for significant investment on behalf of the new auditing firm to gain important institutional knowledge about the industry which has already been learned by the incumbent auditing firm. Research studies have illustrated that there is reduced quality in auditing practice and competency during the initial years of appointment as the new auditing firm attempts to familiarise itself with specific business practices (Pozen 2012). Especially apparent in multi-national firms, new auditing companies must learn highly extensive information about corporate finance and accounting in a complex, global accounting environment. This requires time and perhaps even training, however once this information is gleaned, the auditor can provide better quality audits even though this quality took considerable time to develop and enhance. The International Federation of Accountants sees the situation from a rather different perspective outside of the time and labour investment in learning business processes. Elongated and long-standing relationships with existing auditing firms are recognised as becoming too cosy with their corporate employers which changes the dynamics of how incumbent auditing firms view business practices and ideologies. When long-standing relationships are developed with existing auditing firms, auditors tend to give favourable opinions, rather than unbiased opinions, about the corporate-mandated auditing processes. Existing auditor relationships that have endured over time leads to trust-building between business and auditor which, in turn, creates a situation where the auditor handles investigations carelessly and are more willing to accept business written statement s rather than inspect the situation to ensure that the business is actually performing compliance-based activities to general accounting standards (IFA 2010). Boxer (2008) absolutely agrees with the aforementioned notion of corporate cosiness developed over time and in the face of trust that endures through familiarity with business leaders. This author representing the Office of the Comptroller of the state of New Jersey refers to this scenario as familiarity fatigue stating that such familiarity with management leaders of the business leads to a lack of independence where professional ties create a complicity that reduces auditing effectiveness and lack of unbiased auditing support (Boxer 2008). When this type of relationship is developed, the auditor loses their scepticism about the oral and written information that is provided to the auditor by the company leadership and, therefore, begins to overlook important facts and figures associated with financial statement production dur ing the auditing processes. Boxer (2008) indicates yet another scenario that occurs, potentially, when maintaining enduring relationships with existing auditing firms. Auditors will have the tendency to desire corporate approval in the hopes of maintaining a continuous revenue

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 31

Reflection - Essay Example Diversity also offers a rich mix of characters in a diversified community to promote interactions of people’s strengths and weakness in an organization. A multi-cultured community therefore has an advantage of effectiveness and efficiency in generating solutions to problems, especially if the differences are managed effectively. The interview also established that the benefits of diversity apply across different fields. The interview changed my thinking over superiority issues across diversity. I previously focused on major traits across cultures and believed that people’s potentials depend on their cultural orientations but the interview changed my thinking. I, however, know understand that each culture is rich in potentials and that diversity is not the basis to determining an individual’s ability. Learning of the advantage of integrating cultural features in a multi-cultured community for effectiveness has also informed me that diversity is important and organizations should promote it. I appreciate cultural differences and try to learn more about each culture because of my change in thinking. I interact with people from different culture, with honesty, and even try to incorporate their traits in my life and activities. My attention has therefore shifted to developing diverse relationships that I currently work on. The important information that I learnt about diversity, from the cultural immersion, is the role of diversity decision making. While different cultures have different approaches to decision making, each approach is not perfect but integration of positive elements from each culture improves decision-making process, leading to informed decisions. The knowledge has developed a new perspective in me and I will in future incorporate perspectives from different cultures while making decisions. I will identify individuals from each

The Rise of Mass Communications HW Research Paper

The Rise of Mass Communications HW - Research Paper Example With the technology that we have at our disposal now, one would expect that the start of the 20th century would have been technologically quite prosperous. But as far as mass communication media are concerned, the only mass communication medium available was newspapers (Unknown, 2000-2010). The telegram and telephone were also present at that time, which were very powerful supplements to newspapers by providing ways to send information across huge distances, instantly (Bellis, 2011). Still, newspapers were the only source of mass communication. So, the 20th century has seen the advent of many technological advances, and with them, there have been numerous revolutions in the ways through which businesses, governments and public figures have employed, and at times exploited, mass media for their agendas. Radio was the first of the communication media inventions in the 20th century, invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901. Radio, combined with telegraphy, was one of the most excessively u sed tools (Unknown, 2000-2010), specially at the time of war. It was extensively used as a tool of propaganda during WWI and WWII. Also, political leaders fighting for freedom from colonial rule used this as a tool of spreading their word and getting people united under the same banner, such as in the subcontinent. Radio has also been used extensively for advertisement and information broadcasting since the advent of Amplitude Modulation Radio and Frequency Modulation Radio. Television was the next major invention in the field of communication, and its global outreach opened up new paradigms of media usage. It has proven to be the push required to spread businesses across continents by providing them the platform to advertise to global markets and extend their reach e.g. global brands, like McDonalds (McDonald’s, 2010; Stanley, 2010), have relied heavily on television for going global. With reach comes the power to influence further, and that made television a more powerful p ropaganda tool. The notion of sitting in a person’s home, in front of them, and talking to them with words and actions, has been exploited time and again by public figures and political leaders to lure public into believing what they want them to believe. The false propaganda going on against Islam in recent times, showing it as a cruel and inhumane religion, has been at the heart of building animosity between people and gaining support for oppressive attacks against Muslims (Bleher, 2000). The 20th century has had many technological marvels, but nothing has been as miraculous as computer and internet. This finally provides a medium for not only transmitting your message like the television or newspapers, but also getting feedback on it instantly through dialogues, understanding different cultures and building as well as professing views. Free information access through internet means that companies strive and pay more and more to fill the computer screens of potential custom ers. But, the most powerful use of internet is e-business, which needs virtually no investment, and thus no chance of a monetary loss. Companies like Amazon and others have become global internet brands and almost every company pitches its products to millions of customers, everyday through websites (Newell and Budge, 2011). The bigger they are, the bigger they are; internet has been the source of most conspiracies and

The need for humans in the delivery of services in the evolving hospitality industry Essay Example for Free

The need for humans in the delivery of services in the evolving hospitality industry Essay Assignment overview: To write an academic and speech report, encouraging student creativity. Overall aim: The student is to consider how he/she would imagine the evolving role of humans in the service delivery process in the hospitality industry based on historical research, contemporary thinking, and future predictions. Learning outcomes (from the CRS): 1. define the principles and practices of marketing management as related to service management. 2. analyze the nature of services marketing within the hospitality industry. 3. recognize opportunities for research that can be applied in a marketing consulting environment. Organization methodology: Imagine that you are about to give a conference address to a high level audience from the industry. Your address is titled: The need for humans in the delivery of services in the evolving hospitality industry† Consider how you imagine the evolving role of humans in the service delivery process in the hospitality industry based on historical research, contemporary thinking, and future predictions. Your conference speech is to be supported by an academically written paper which will underpin your  actual address. You therefore need to submit (a) an academic paper and (b) a speech (in the appendices). The speech can be written in any style you wish based on the readership, e.g. conference delegates and media. However, it needs to be professionally presented and be coherent with the academic paper. The academic paper needs to: i. include some of the following terms: culture, creativity, destruction, disruption, experiences, industry examples, innovation, key writers, perceived risk, relationships, the service offer, and any relevant theoretical models; ii. have a standardized front cover sheet with the statement of authorship, with page numbers, using 1.5 spacing, with a clear and tidy font style and size; iii. follow Glion academic conventions (e.g. APA referencing, good scholarly writing, etc); iv. be submitted through the Turnitin link on the course site in Moodle, and submitted to Reception between 13h00 and 15h00 both on 30th April 2014. Your academic paper will be graded using the Glion Graduate School Assessment Criteria (overleaf), with 20% for each criterion. Think carefully what the 5 criteria within KASAP will reward! Word count: Paper – 1600 words Speech– 2000 words (in appendices, and also available for conference and media distribution – think of your audience!) Resources available: Library resources as well as any academic article on Moodle, that is relevant to the topic. Add the performance benchmarks with weights for each graduate skill assessed Graduate skill assessed Below standard 70 – 79% 80 – 89% 90 – 100% Weight Knowledge Inadequate facts or concepts collected. Limited in scope and very descriptive in style. Knowledge irrelevant for purpose. Develops and demonstrates a limited depth of knowledge in a complex and specialized area or interdisciplinary area and/ or applied areas where they are working towards current limits of theoretical research or understanding. Develops and demonstrates great depth of knowledge in a complex and specialized area or interdisciplinary area and/ or applied areas where they are working at current limits of theoretical research or understanding. Develops and demonstrates an excellent depth of knowledge in a complex and specialized area or interdisciplinary area and/ or applied areas where they are working at current limits of theoretical research or understanding to challenge contemporary thinking or paradigms. 20% Analysis Data has not been sufficiently well analyzed to draw appropriate conclusions. Argumentation and discussion is very limited or shows a lack of understanding of the evidence collected. Demonstrates limited ability to deal with complexity and scope in the knowledge base where the applications of paradigms, concepts and theory have not been sufficiently developed. Limited selection of tools and techniques for problem solving. Deals with some levels of complexity and applies concepts, theory and paradigms. Clearly recognizes lacunae and/ or contradictions in the knowledge base and makes appropriate selection of tools and techniques for problem solving. Deals with complexity and applies a wide range of concepts and theory where lacunae and/ or contradictions in the knowledge base have been clearly identified and discussed. Makes appropriate selection of tools and innovative techniques for problem solving. 20% Synthesis and Creativity Unable to find, categorize idea and rely information in an acceptable way for  this level. Synthesizes some information/ ideas and creates a more limited redefinition of existing knowledge with limited scope to new situations. Autonomously synthesizes information/ ideas and creates responses that expand or redefine existing knowledge and/ or develop new approaches to new situations. Autonomously synthesizes information/ ideas and creates responses that challenge existing knowledge and/ or develop innovative solutions to new situations. 20% Application Lacks originality in the application of knowledge in professional level context. Applies a very limited range of professional skills and shows no understanding of how the outcomes of work in the area may be applied. Demonstrates some originality in the application of knowledge in professional level context. Applies a limited range of professional skills and shows some understanding of how the outcomes of work in the area may be applied. Demonstrates originality in the application of knowledge in a variety of professional level contexts. Applies a range of professional skills and reflects on current practice. Shows an understanding of how the outcomes of work in the area may be applied, to inform judgments to the development of practice. Demonstrates originality in the application of knowledge in a wide and often unpredictable variety of professional level contexts. Applies a significant range of complex professional skills, practices and techniques and reflects on and subsequently mo dified practice. Shows an understanding of how the outcomes of work in the area may be applied, to inform judgments and make original contributions to the development of practice. 20% Presentation Does not meet a number of key requirements and fails to follow an acceptable style. Often unclear and untidy Organized and coherently structured work. Presents ideas to facilitate comprehension in an orderly manner with acceptable referencing and minor errors of detail. Work coherently and comprehensively organized and structured. Presents ideas with considerable attention to detail which facilitates effortless comprehension in an orderly  manner and accurate referencing. Presented work with exceptional clarity that demonstrates ability to attend to all detailed aspects of organization and structure of discussion and all supporting evidence. The work has the qualities consistent with published material. 20% Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of presenting another’s ideas or words as one’s own. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the intentional falsification or fabrication of any academic activity, unauthorized copying of another person’s work, or aiding and abetting any such acts. Particular care must be taken when presenting information that has been obtained from an internet site. Should this information not be correctly referenced then you are guilty of plagiarism and will be penalized accordingly. Statement of authorship Following the title page of your assignment there should be a page on which you sign a statement that the work included in the assignment is your own work except where appropriately referenced. The following statement should be included in your assessment Statement of Authorship I certify that this assignment is my own work and contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any degree or diploma in any institute, college or university. Moreover, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the work. I also understand that under no circumstances should any part of this assignment be published, including on the internet, or publicly displayed without receiving written permission from the University.

Analysis of Air France KLM

Analysis of Air France KLM Air France-KLM is an international airline company and a member of the Skyteam airline partnership. The Group was created on May 5, 2004, following Air Frances combination with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), thereby forming the worlds largest airline group by turnover and second largest worldwide cargo operator in terms of revenue-tonne kilometers. The Group organizes its networks around two major hubs: Paris-CDG and Amsterdam-Schiphol. The Companys three main businesses are passenger transportation, cargo operations and industrial maintenance. The Group counts more than 100,000 employees throughout the world. Passenger transport is the Groups main business, with 74.8 million passengers carried (2007-08 financial year), a fleet in operation of 607 aircraft on 31 March 2008 and 258 destinations worldwide. The majority of the employees are based in France and the Netherlands. Both Air France and KLM continue to operate flights under their distinct brand names as subsidiaries of Air Fr ance-KLM. Contents CHAPTER 1 Introduction AIR FRANCE KLM AIR FRANCE KLM is the combination of two big airlines such as Air France and KLM. Since their merger in 2004, KLM works closely with Air France within the AIR FRANCE KLM holding company. In terms of financial turnover, AIR FRANCE KLM is the worlds largest airline partnership; it also transports the most passengers and is the worlds second-largest cargo transporter. Air France and KLM carry  more than 71 million passengers per year. They operate more than  594 aircraft enabling them to fly to  236 destinations worldwide with 2,500 daily flights. The two airlines world networks can be combined, forming a vast network organized around the two major hubs of Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-CDG. The head offices are located at Amstelveen and Paris. Alitalia In January 2009 AIR FRANCE KLM and Alitalia reached an agreement to strengthen their partnership cemented by AIR FRANCE KLM taking a minority stake in Alitalia. This agreement will give AIR FRANCE KLM greater access to the Italian market. SkyTeam Alliance Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance. SkyTeam is a global airline alliance which includes Aeroflot, Aeromà ©xico, AirEuropa, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines,  CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air (including Northwest Airlines), Tarom and Vietnam Airlines. Through one of the worlds most extensive hub networks, SkyTeam offers its  384 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 13,000 daily flights to all major destinations. Income Over the fiscal year 2009-2010 the turnover of Air France-KLM was 20.9 billion euros. Together, the two airlines have over 107.000 employees. For more information on AIRFRANCE KLM Finance, please  go to www.airfranceklm-finance.com. Shares The Air France-KLM shares are listed in Amsterdam, Paris and New York. Aim Air France-KLM comprises a holding company which controls two airlines, Air France and KLM, each of which retains its own separate identity and brands. The group is the worlds largest air transport group in terms of revenue, second largest in terms of air traffic (in passenger-km) and cargo (ton freight-km), and third largest in terms of maintenance revenue. Both airlines run their own operations from their respective hubs Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. Passengers Passenger transport is the largest of the groups three core businesses, generating around 80% of its revenues (as of 31 March 2008), with 74.8 million passengers carried. Cargo Cargo was the first fully-integrated commercial activity at Air France-KLM in 2005. Client companies now have a single point of entry, and a full, simplified offering with flights departing from both hubs and benefiting from both networks. Air France-KLM Cargo ranks first worldwide among air freight carriers (excluding integrators). Maintenance The combination of Air France Industries and KLM Engineering Maintenance allows the group to offer a comprehensive range of aircraft maintenance and overhaul services with complementary areas of specialization. Maintaining the two fleets accounts for two-thirds of the groups maintenance operations, further supplemented by maintenance repair and overall (MRO) operations for 150 third-party airlines. Company Background Air France According to (KLM, 2010), the company was set up on 7 October 1933. Its history has been marked by several major milestones, including the holding acquired in the capital of UTA in January 1990 and the merger with Air Inter in 1997. In June 2000, Air France and Delta Air Lines joined forces with Aeromà ©xico and Korean Air to launch the Sky Team alliance. Air Frances main hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle is Europes number one in terms of connecting opportunities. KLM As cited in (KLM, 2010), KLM was set up on 7 October 1919 and is the oldest airline still operating under its original name. Its recent history has been characterized by the creation of a joint venture with Northwest Airlines (NWA) in 1989 and its acquisition of the holding of Kenya Airways in 1996. KLM has Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as its home base. Since May 2004, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have become the largest European airline group: one group, two airlines, and three businesses. Each airline has retained its individual identity, trade name and brand SWOT Analysis Mullins (2007) explained that, in order to evaluate the nature of the business environment and its strategic capability an organization may undertake a SWOT analysis focuses on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing the organization. STRENGTHS Strengths are those positive aspects or distinctive attributes or competencies which provide a significant market advantage or upon which the organization can build. Against a backdrop of increased Liberalization which serves to intensify competition, the profitable growth strategy plays to the groups strengths, the following are the air France KLM group strengths. A modern fleet the groups chief asset Guaranteeing energy and economic efficiency and greater safety levels, the groups aircraft fleet is its chief asset when it comes to meeting the challenges of sustainable development. The dual Roissy Schiphol hub and a balanced network The Air France and KLM route networks complement each other extremely well. The dual hub concept is central to group strategy and is designed to make the most of this. The benefit of dual brand strategy Air France and KLM took an original approach to the merger, choosing to retain the two brands while developing a unified strategy. Air France and KLM each enjoy strong brand identities and are extremely complementary. Enhanced competitiveness thanks to cost control To maintain its competitiveness, the group launched Challenge 10,designed to save 1.4 billion euros by 2009-10, through a 3% cut in unit costs. The plan is four-pronged: Process optimization and productivity gains; Fleet modernization, which will generate fuel and maintenance cost savings; Purchasing, and optimizing group synergies; External distribution costs. The development of high growth areas The groups ambition is to seize growth opportunities in countries driving global economic growth, mainly Brazil, Russia, India and China. In the years ahead, the Air France-KLM group plans to grow by 4.7% per year in terms of available seat-km on its long-haul network. WEAKNESSES Weaknesses are those negative aspects or deficiencies in the present competencies or resources of the organization, or its image or reputation, which limit its effectiveness and needed to be corrected to minimize their effect. International economic instability Faced with soaring oil prices, international economic instability, and signs of waning demand, air transport has entered a period of great uncertainty. Our Group can count on its strategic assets, the quality of its fuel hedging and its resolute policy of cost control to meet this challenging period of turbulence and low visibility OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities are favorable conditions and usually arise from the nature of changes in the external environment. The organization needs to be sensitive to the problems of business strategy and responsive to changes. Sustained demands In an increasingly global society, the demand for mobility is also increasing. Air transport is a key factor in a countrys economy. Over the last 20 years, air transport has grown twice as quickly as gross domestic product (GDP). In 2008, the rapid development of emerging countries is stimulating growth in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. This will compensate for the slowdown in the US economy. As for the future, IATA forecasts an increase in global capacity of around 5% per year by 2011. A key contribution to the economy Air transport carries over 2 billion passengers annually. Tons of cargo shipped by air each year represent 35% of the total value of export trade in manufactured goods. By connecting people, businesses and goods around the world, air transport makes an essential contribution to global economic activity. Both directly and as a promoter of growth in other industries. THREATS Threats are the converse of opportunities and refer to unfavorable situations that arise from external developments likely to endanger the operations and effectiveness of the organization. Air France KLM like any other organizations is faced with a number of threats, these includes Increased pressure Growth in European low-cost carriers has been strong for some years and Middle Eastern carriers are planning considerable expansion: Gulf carriers plan 20% seat growth per year for the next three years. This represents stiff competition for European airlines on traffic between Europe and Asia or Australia. Development limited by infrastructures Europe is experiencing air traffic congestion, leading to significant delays, increased costs and CO2 emissions. This is partly a result of the fragmentation of airspace and of the air traffic control process. There is considerable room for improvement. For 10 million flights a year, it is estimated that the actual route flown is 5% longer than ideal. For some routes, such as Amsterdam-Zà ¼rich, it is even 20%. The annual cost of fragmented European skies is estimated at 3.4 billion euros. A sector subject to heavier taxation Air transport is subject to strict regulation, mainly regarding security, safety and infrastructure. The sector is also subject to high charges, among them airport or navigation charges, plus dedicated fees to finance security. Moreover, air transport is the only means of transport to finance soundproofing measures, as it does in numerous European countries. Climate change awareness General awareness of the reality of climate change continued to increase in 2007. This was coupled with local environmental constraints that have always affected air transport activities. Air transport accounts for between 2 and 3% of all man-made CO2 emissions. In Europe, its relative contribution will increase due to growth in traffic and the expected reduction of emissions in other industries. In the past 40 years, the sector has made considerable progress, reducing CO2 emissions per passenger by more than 70%. Summary In spite of its merger Air France KLM is still operating under its identity and brand name with their home bases located at Amsterdam airport Schiphol for KLM and Paris-Charles de Gaulle for Air France. The main core duties of the airline are to transport passengers, cargo and engineering and maintenance. As any other organization Air France KLM has the opportunities to grow much bigger and become the first largest airline company in the world. One group, two airlines, three businesses. CHAPTER 2 Organisational structure The pattern of relationship between various positions in the organization and among members of the organization is referred as structure. Organization is essentially a group of people with a common objective or goal to archive. The structure can either be formal i.e. documented or informal i.e. unofficial. Mullins (2007) defined, Organization Structure as the division of work among members of the organization, and the co ordination of their activities so they are directed towards the goals and objectives of the organization. It is the relationships among positions in the organization and among members of the organization. It makes possible the application of process of management and creates a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organization can be planned, organized, directed, and controlled. It defines tasks and responsibilities, work role and relationships, and channels of communication. Essentially there are various types of organizational structures depending on the nature of organization, such as centralized, complex, stratified and formalized structures. An effective structure is the one that coordinates various parts of the organization and different work areas. Meanwhile the structure of the organization can either be tall i.e. with a long hierarchical chain of command where the freedom and responsibility of the subordinates is restricted or flat i.e. with a short chain of command, there is more effective between management and workers but employees may have more than one manager. However both of two structures above are highly affected by the number of employees who reports direct to a certain manager that is Span of Control. Hellriegel et al (1998) explained that span of control refers to the number of employees reporting directly to one manager. When the span of control is broad, relatively few levels exists between the top and bottom of the organization. Co nversely when the span of control is narrow, more levels are required for the same number of employees. Although there is no correct number of subordinates that a manager can supervise effectively, the competencies of both the manager and employees, the similarity of tasks being supervised and the extent of rules and operating standards all influence a managers span of control. Consider the Air France and KLM corporate and social responsibility (SCR) organization structure CHAPTER 3 Organisational culture According to Hellriegel et al (1998), the organization itself has an invisible quality a certain style, a character, a way of doing things that may be more powerful than the dictates of any one person or any formal system. To understand the soul of the organization requires that we travel below the charts, rule books, machines, and buildings into the underground world of corporate cultures. Indeed there are several ways in which organizational cultures are formed, maintained and changed. Meanwhile there is a very possible relationship between organizational culture and performance, the relationship between organizational culture and ethical behavior, the challenge of managing a culturally diverse work force and finally how organizations socialize individuals to their particular cultures. There are several types of organization cultures, these includes labels of baseball team, club, academy and fortress. Organizational culture represents a complex pattern of beliefs, expectations, id eas, values, attitudes and behaviors shared by the members of an organization. More specifically, organizational culture includes routine behaviors, norms, and dominant values held by organization. CHAPTER 4 -Leadership and management As Hellriegel et al (1998), leadership is the process whereby a person influences others to achieve a goal, i.e. is a process of creating a vision for others and having the power to translate the vision into reality. The ways in which leaders attempt to influence others depend in part of the power available to them and in part on their competencies. Leaders draw on five sources of power to influence the actions of others: legitimate, reward, coercive, referent and expert. Vision, empowerment, meaning through communication and self understanding are the competencies that help leaders become more effective. CHAPTER 5 Team working For example, after KLM and Air France merged, management decided to create teams of people from both companies to exchange information about particular topics. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢The most valuable part is the intangible part, teaming up the guy from IT with the CRM guy from marketing, with the network planning guy, who normally dont speak together, explained Groeneveld. CHAPTER 6 Resourcing Air France-KLM rates as the sector leader on human resources issues and actively addresses all of the challenges relevant to its business. The Groups reporting on social dialogue and the extent of collective bargaining illustrate a culture of interaction with trade unions on both working and employment conditions, all embedded in the Ethics and Social Rights Charter, signed with all of its European trade unions, and by a wide range of collective bargaining agreements. The group has also allocated significant means to limit the impacts of restructuring. In terms of career management, AF-KLM has put increased emphasis on developing careers for older employees. Extensive means are put in place to deal with health and safety issues, although key performance indicators are not disclosed on a group-wide basis, but separately for AF and KLM. AF-KLM is one of the few companies who show transparency on how to deal with atypical working hours. Overall, AF-KLMs performance on human resources is sues remains stable (far above average) compared to the last rating. Against the backdrop of the recent combination, tough competition and tight margins, the main labour relations issues for the group are to develop employability and staff mobility, primarily through training and proactive social dialogue. Other major issues for the group involve promoting non discrimination, diversity, and equal opportunities, and safeguarding health and safety in the workplace. CHAPTER 7 Communication skills Cook et al (1997) describes that, communication begins when one person sends a message to another with the intent of evoking a response. The effective communication occurs when the receiver interprets the message exactly as the sender intended. Effective communication is essential for the functioning of any organization. Managers need to transmit orders, and polices, build cooperation and team spirit, and identify problems and their solutions. CHAPTER 8 Performance and Motivation Armstrong M (2006) defined, a motive is a reason for doing something. Motivation is concerned with the factors that influence people to behave in certain ways. All organizations are concerned with what should be done to achieve sustained high levels of performance through people. Giving close attention to the individuals can best be motivated through such means as incentives, rewards, leadership and importantly, the work they do and the organization context within which they carry out that work. Essentially motivation can take place in two ways; such as people can motivate themselves (intrinsic motivation) by seeking, finding and carrying out work that satisfies their needs and secondly people can be motivated by management (extrinsic motivation) through such methods as pay, praise, promotion and punishments such as disciplinary action CHAPTER 9 Management systems Earlier this year, Air France-KLM introduced a new combined executive management structure on a functional basis, replacing the separate management structures in Air France and KLM. In place of the Strategic Management Committee, which had supervised the development of Air France and KLM over 2004.2007, the business is being managed from 2007 through an Executive Committee whose members has a group level responsibility and can come from either Air France or KLM while retaining their responsibilities at a company level. The historic commitments of both companies, joint ambition and specific action plans CHAPTER 10 Management of change Hellriegel et al (1998) explained, many sectors of the economy, organizations must have the capacity to adapt quickly and effectively in order to survive. To a certain extent all organizations exist in a changing environment and are themselves constantly changing. Increasingly organizations that emphasize bureaucratic or mechanistic system are ineffective. Organizations with rigid hierarchies, high degrees of functional specialization, narrow and limited job descriptions, inflexible rules and procedures, and impersonal management cant respond adequately to demands for change. Organizations need designs that are flexible and adaptive. They also need systems that both require and allow greater commitment and use of talent on the part of employees and managers. Organisational change can be difficult and costly. Despite the challenges, many organizations successfully make needed changes. Adaptive, flexible organizations have a competitive advantage over rigid ones. Thus managing change has become a central focus of effective organization worldwide. There are so many pressures for change, these includes global market, the spread of information technology and computer networks and changes in the nature of the workforce employed by organizations.

Social Enterprise and Commercial Enterprise

Social Enterprise and Commercial Enterprise INTRODUCTION Social enterprises are businesses driven by a social or environmental mission (social enterprise coalition). They are businesses primarily set out for social purpose. Whose principal objective is to reinvest their surpluses mainly for social purpose in the business or community rather than maximise profit for shareholders and owners (The Cabinet Office. Office of the third sector). Commercial enterprises are business organisations that are set up mainly for profit. Their main objective is to maximise profit for their shareholders and owners. It could be Mobil unlimited or publicly owned companies like commercial banks or limited liability companies. Social enterprise transcends traditional non-profit sector and applies to health, environment, education and social welfare. It also applies to economic development or job creation programmes (Virtue Ventures, 2007). An example is Southampton social council that is geared towards providing quality education for the children in its communi ty. It is also involved in providing quality water for its citizens free from sodium, lead and impurities. It is also very proficient in its waste disposal by maintaining a clean environment. In order to achieve this, it organises a programme called enviro_champs where university staff and their students are involved. University of Southampton and Southampton Solent University are involved in this programme. Differences and Similarities between Social Enterprise and Commercial Enterprise Social enterprises are different from a standard charity because they use a businesslike approach to tackling social problems instead of relying on grants (Virtue Ventures, 2007). Social enterprise are designed to meet social needs and also to achieve commercial viability similar to the private sector (Virtue Ventures, 2007).Business plans and other research tools can be utilised to design social enterprise policy by analysing an organisations internal factors such as core competences, weaknesses and needs of its clients and external factors such as legal and regulatory environments, markets, demand and access to capital. Therefore social enterprise operational models are geared towards market realities, organisational capabilities and social needs (Virtue Ventures, 2007). The Environment Centre (tCE) which is an arm of energy saving trust. Its aim is to encourage and educate people about the benefit of sustainable alternative energy. The objective of tCE is to educate the people about the havoc caused by using fossil fuel for generating energy, and the pollution caused by the emission of carbon dioxide and other toxic gases. This is achieved by helping people to apply for grant from government. In doing this people are encouraged to use solar energy, wind turbines, bio fuels and hydro energy to generate electricity for their homes. Grants are also given for home insulation. This is purely a social service and not for profit (The Environment Centre, 2008). tCE obtain funding from European Union. Social enterprises raise standards for ethical business and corporate social responsibilities (Social Enterprise East Midlands). Social enterprise plays a larger role in delivering public services like provision of leisure services, recycling services health and social care for council(Cabinet Office: Office of the Third Sector) . Unlike social enterprise that are not for profit organisation. Commercial enterprises are not mainly into provision of public services; the few that are in these areas are very expensive, because they are principally for profit maximisation. Commercial enterprises raise their capital from individuals and stock markets while social enterprise raise their capital from non governmental organisations. Social enterprise can also benefit funds from the same sources as commercial enterprises. The only difference is in the range of finances available which may differ depending on the function and form of social enterprise. It could be in the form of grant, debt, equity, social venture capital or philanthropy capital (Anglia Ruskin University, 2009). Business enterprises and social enterprise s read from different bottom line, one purely financial while the other takes into account the social benefits derived from the enterprises operation. With these differences, they also share some similarities as follows, they are both ambitious, they both have the ability to look for resources in most remote places, they are creative in their solution to problems, and they also build something out of nothing (School for Social Entrepreneurs). The enterprise act 2002 which relates to competition law and the legislation for the protection of consumers (Enterprise Act Publication, 2002). The fair trade act 2003 all are legal laws regulating both commercial enterprise and social enterprise. Both commercial and social enterprises need to be legally registered according to the law of United Kingdom or anywhere in the world where they operate before they can start operations officially and legally. Commercial enterprise compete in the market place in order to maximise profit and also for t he share of the market which is geared towards growth while social enterprise only compete to make profit in order to improve their services for their environment and their community. Companies like Primark competes in the market place with organisations like Matalan, Georges, Marks and Spencers for the share of the market. Their main purpose is to maximise profit and for growth in order to be the market leader. They employ business tools and models to gain competitive advantage and to achieve sustainable leading edge. In recent time social enterprise is becoming an integral of commercial enterprise. Commercial enterprises are moving towards philanthropic activities (Porter and Kramer, 2002). They form sister companies which are basically not for profit organisations. These not for profit organisations aim is to give something back to the community where they operate. This is popularly known as corporate social responsibilities. It could be in the health sector by subsidising health bills of the people in the area where they operate. Some organisations focus on a particular area like heart diseases or cancer patients or leukaemia patients. While some are into recreation of the environment. An example is Primark which embarked on beautifying parks around Southampton (Primark Stores Ltd, 2009).Primark supports community projects across the UK and Ireland (Primark Stores Ltd, 2009). All these are in an attempt to gain competitive advantage. Philanthropy is used as a form of public relations or advertising. It is sometimes used to promote companies image or brand, through rigorous marketing or high profile sponsorship (Porter and Kramer, 2002). True strategic giving addresses both social and economic goals simultaneously unlike cause related marketing. They target areas of competitive context, where the company and society both benefit this is because the firm brings unique asset and expertise (Porter and Kramer, 2002). Organisations uses their philanthropic posture to enhance competitive advantage by aligning social and economic goals thereby bringing improvement in a companys long term business prospects. This gives rise to sustainable competitive advantage (Porter and Kramer, 2002). By addressing corporate social responsibility a company is not only giving back to the society but also leveraging its capabilities and relationship in support of charitable organisations. An example is Marks and Spencer start programme th at gives opportunity for work experience to a range of people including the young unemployed, the disabled, the homeless. Parents returning to work. Also for students who are the first in their families are encouraged to aim for higher education (Marks and Spencer CSR). Companies do not operate in isolation from the society around them. Their ability to compete depends on the circumstances of the location where they exist. Improving education is seen as a social issue. The educational level of the local work force greatly affects a companys potential competitiveness. The more a company is involved in corporate social responsibility the better it is positioned for economic benefits. Apple is a company that is positioned as an innovative organisation; therefore it develops its professionalism in its work place by developing and training its work force (Apple, 2009). Also by giving them sound health packages and housing benefits. This is because investment in the work force is paramoun t to productivity combined with finance and materials. This gives Apple a sustainable competitive advantage in the market against its competitors. Conclusion In conclusion the long run of social and economic goals are not conflicting, instead they are integrally connected. Competitiveness in recent time depends on how organisations can combine labour, capital and natural resources to produce high quality goods and services. Productivity depends on having workers who are educated, safe, healthy, decently housed and motivated by sense of opportunity (Porter and Kramer, 2002). My placement in Southampton city council as a volunteer has thought me a lot of important things I need to know about active community group. Basically what I have gained is not much because Im still doing a research, on how to know what the community wants from the council, which I believe it will be completed soon. Also, I went for a Conference in Birmingham about community engagement, which was unbelievable, m eeting up with different regions and met the Chief Executive,CDF. Nevertheless it was a tremendous meeting which they talk about several programms like Business case for community engagement, Working with the third sector and Take part etc.It was an excellent conference because everybody had to introduce themselves and their position in city council from different county.I would gain more idea from city council because I might stay with them till end of January 2010. Bibliography Anglian Ruskin University (2009). Creating Social Enterprises.  A guide to Social Enterprise for University Staff. Cambridge and Chelmsford.[online] Available:www.anglia.ac.uk/rdcs[accessed: 22 November 2009] Apple Store (2009). [online] Available : http://store.apple.com/uk?afid=p202%7CGOUKE100801461cid=OAS-EMEA-KWG- UK_General-UK [accessed: 20 November 2009] Cabinet Office, (2006). www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_Sector/Social_Enterprise/action_Plan Enterprise Act (2002). [online] Available: http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/enterprise_act/oft51 8.pd f [accessed: 22 November 2009] Funding For Collaboration( 2009).[online] Available: http://www.adventurecapitalfund.org/[accessed: 23 November 2009] J4b.Fit4funding.The Charities Information Bureau. [online] Available: http://www.j4b.co.uk/[accessed: 22 November 2009] Marks and Spencer-CSR. Social Inclusion and Job Experience. [online] Available: http://www.article13.com/A13_ContentList.asp?strAction=GetPublicationP NID= 1 344 [accessed: 24 November 2009] Social Enterprise Collision. Keeping it Legal [online] Available: http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/pages/about-social- enterprise.html[accessed 20 November 2009] Porter, M.E. and M. R. Kramer (2002).The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy. Harvard Business Review. Boston: Harvard Business School Corporation. Primark Stores Limited (2009).Corporate Social Responsibility. Local Community Report. [online] Available : http://www.primark.co.uk/aboutus/CSR[ accesses 23 November 2009] The Environment Centre tCE (2008). Sustainable Planning Centre (SISCO) . [online] Available: http://www.environmentcentre.com/[accessed: 25 November 2009] Virtue Ventures (2007 ). [online]Available: http://www.virtueventures.com/setypology/index.php?id=INTROlm=1[access ed: 23 November 2009]

A Look at Myelin and Myelin-Related Disorders Essay -- Biology Essays

A Look at Myelin and Myelin-Related Disorders Myelin is the protective sheath around axons in the nervous system, and is often referred to as 'white matter.' It acts as an insulator to the electrical signal that is conducted down the axon as a neuron fires, and can well be compared to the insulation around an electrical wire. The myelin sheath contains a variety of fatty substances (lipids), and contains at least ten distinct chemicals (2). . From what is known, axons are not fully myelinated at birth, but myelin is formed from birth on into the second decade of life (3). The way myelination takes place is through glial cells wrapping around the axons in a spiral fashion. The axons are originally embedded in these glial cells, and the cell's membranes extend to wrap the axon tightly and repeatedly. 'Glia' comes from Greek, meaning 'glue,' hinting at the way the cell's membrane sticks to the axon, and how the different layers of the extended membrane stick to each other. There are different glial cells that form myelin: in the ce ntral nervous system, these cells are referred to as oligodendrocytes, and in the peripheral nervous system they are Schwann cells. While in the peripheral nervous system the glial cell wraps around a single axon to insulate it, in the central nervous system a glial cell may wrap around several axons at once (4).. The characteristics and specific functions of myelin have not fully been explored by researchers, and as far as I can tell most current research efforts are initiated by groups that research myelin-related disorders, such as the Myelin Profect. In demyelinating diseases, the myelin sheath around some axons is targeted. These diseases fall into two main groups: acquired diseases and heredit... ...bout the leukodystrophies http://www.ulf.org/ulf/intro/#inf1 3) Myelin Disorders Menu

Dopplar Radar :: essays research papers

Doppler Radar The Social realm of Doppler radar relates to many different things we do in everyday life, anytime you are going outdoors anywhere in the world you can find out what it is going to be like before you even step outside. This is made possible with the use of Doppler Radar. In this section I am going to discuss the social realm of Doppler radar in the local, regional, national and global areas. First we must know what is Doppler radar? Doppler radar is a device that measures the Doppler shift in a radar beam reflected from an object’s motion towards or away from the radar aerial. (from WeatherOnline.com) In our local area we use Doppler radar for many different things in the social realm. We use is for safety when bad weather is near. Doppler radar has saved many lives since it was first used to track weather in @#$%$%%^ !#$%^?... When a tornado is near we take cover and when a flood is near we do all we can to protect what we can in the time we have. Fortunately we don’t live near the coast where hurricanes occur. It also helps us in the social realm in the winter when we have snow and ice, when driving conditions are at there worse. Nobody wants to risk their lives when the roads are icy so we tend to cancel more and more of our social gatherings during the winter, and if you have a television and or radio you can find out most of the cancellations before you head out the door and risk your life on snow and ice covered roads. Anyone and everyone who has a job that requires them to be outdoors is almost always watching the weather. Many different jobs depend on the weather, for instance concrete layers can’t pour concrete when it is raining, they also have to look to see when it is going to rain next, because they have to give the concrete time to set. Concrete workers also look at what the temperature is, the temperature can effect the way that a certain concrete will set, how long it will take and if it is too hot or cold out the concrete will crack. Concrete layers are always watching the weather because much of what they do depends on the weather. Another one of these jobs that requires a constant eye on the weather is farming.

Physical Fitness

Physical education (often abbreviated Phys. Ed. or P. E. ) or gymnastics(gym or gym class) is a course taken during primary and secondary educationthat encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting. Physical education trends have developed recently to incorporate a greater variety of activities. Introducing students to activities like bowling, walking/hiking, or Frisbee at an early age can help students develop good activity habits that will carry over into adulthood. Some teachers have even begun to incorporate stress-reduction techniques such as yoga and deep-breathing.Teaching non-traditional sports to students may also provide the necessary motivation for students to increase their activity, and can help students learn about different cultures. For example, while teaching a unit about lacrosse (in, say, Arizona, USA), students can also learn a little bit about the Native American cultures of the Northeast and Eastern Canada, where lacrosse originated. Teaching non-traditional (or non-native) sports provides a great opportunity to integrate academic concepts from other subjects as well (social studies from the example above), which may now be required of many P.E. teachers. The four aspects of P. E. are physical, mental, social, and emotional. Another trend is the incorporation of Health and Nutrition to the physical education curriculum. The Child Nutrition and WIC Re-authorization Act of 2004 required that all school districts with a federally funded school meal program develop wellness policies that address nutrition and physical activity. While teaching students sports and movement skills, P. E. teachers are now incorporating short health and nutrition lessons into the curriculum.This is more prevalent at the elementary school level, where students do not have a specific Health class. Recently most elementary schools have specific health classes for students as well as physical education class. With the recent outbreaks of dis eases such as swine flu, school districts are making it mandatory for students to learn about practicing good hygiene along with other health topics. Today many states require Physical Education teachers to be certified to teach Health courses. Many colleges and Universities offer both Physical Education and Health as one certification.This push towards health education is beginning in the intermediate level, including lessons on bullying, self-esteem and stress and anger management. In the USA, the physical education curriculum is designed to allow school pupils a full range of modern opportunities, dozens of sports and hundreds of carefully reviewed drills and exercises, including exposure to the education with the use of pedometer, GPS, and heart rate monitors, as well as state-of-the-art exercise machines in the upper grades.Some martial arts classes, like wrestling in the United States, and Pencak Silat in France, Indonesia and Malaysia, are taught to teach children self-defens e and to feel good about themselves. The physical education curriculum is designed to allow students to experience at least a minimum exposure to the following categories of activities: aquatics, conditioning activities, gymnastics, individual/dual sports, team sports, rhythms, and dance. Students are encouraged to continue to explore those activities in which they have a primary interest by effectively managing their community resources.In these areas, a planned sequence of learning experiences is designed to support a progression of student development. This allows kids through 6th grade to be introduced to sports, fitness, and teamwork in order to be better prepared for the middle and high school age. In 1975, the United States House of Representatives voted to require school physical education classes include both genders. Some high school and some middle school PE classes are single-sex.Requiring individuals to participate in physical education activities, such as dodge ball, f lag football, and other competitive sports remains a controversial subject because of the social impact these have on young children. It is, however, important to note that many school budgets have seen cutbacks and in some cases physical education programs have been cut. Technology use in physical education New technology in Physical education is playing a big role in classes. One of the most affordable and effective would be a simple tape recorder.With the use of a tape recorder students can see the mistakes they're making in things such as a throwing motion or swinging form[4]. Studies show that students do find this more effective than having someone just telling them what they are doing wrong and trying to correct it. Educators also found the use of other technologies such as pedometers and heart rate monitors very successful, using them to make step and heart rate goals for students. Other technologies that can be used in a Physical Education setting would include projectors, GPS and even gaming systems such as Kinect for XBOX360, Wii Fit and Dance Dance Revolution.Projectors can be used to show students things such as proper form or how to play certain games. GPS systems can be used to get students active in an outdoor setting and active exergames can be used by teachers to show students a good way to stay fit in and out of the classroom setting[7] Another type of technology that is commonly used in Physical Education is the use of pedometers. Pedemeters do not necessarily track how far a person is going, but it lets them know the number of steps they are making. It will let them know how many steps on average they are making and want to strive to get more the next class. 1] There are many lessons that you can use for many grade levels when you are teaching students to use a pedometer it is important to make it a game, especially for younger students. [2] [edit]Worldwide In South Korea, it is mandatory for pupils to take 3 hours of PE through primary an d secondary schools. In Portugal, pupils from primary school could optionally join PE as an extra-curricular activity. From middle school to secondary school pupils must participate in PE classes 2 hours per week. In Singapore, pupils from primary school through junior colleges are required to have 2 hours of PE every week, except during examination seasons.Pupils are able to play games like football, badminton, captain's ball, and basketball during most sessions. Unorthodox sports such as touchball, fencing, and skateboarding are occasionally played. In more prestigious secondary schools and in junior colleges, sports such as golf, tennis, shooting, and squash are played. A compulsory fitness exam, NAPFA, is conducted in every school once every year to assess the physical fitness of the pupils. Pupils are given a series of fitness tests (Pull-ups/Inclined pull-ups for girls, standing broad jump, sit-ups, sit-and-reach and 1. km for primary [10-12 year-olds]/2. 4 km for secondary an d junior college levels [13-18 year-olds]). Students are graded by gold, silver, bronze or fail. NAPFA for pre-enlistees serves as an indicator for an additional 2 months in the country's compulsory national service if they attain bronze or fail. In Malaysia, pupils from primary schools to secondary schools are expected to do 2 periods or 1 hour of PE throughout the year except a week before examination. In most secondary schools, games like badminton, sepak takraw, football, basketball and tennis are available.Pupils are allowed to bring their own sports equipment to the school with the authorization of the teacher. In most secondary schools, physical exams are rarely done, schools record pupils' heights, weights and how many push-ups they can do. In Scotland, pupils are expected to do at least two periods of PE in first, second, third and fourth year. In fifth and sixth year, PE is voluntary. [citation needed] Indonesian high school students are playing traditional game â€Å"Ben teng† In Indonesia, students ranging from Kindergarten to High School have PE integrated with their curriculum.Kindergarten until Grade 3 of Elementary students have gymnastics, starting from Grade 4 of Elementary School, students will be introduced into traditional martial arts Pencak Silat and some team games such as badminton, tennis, soccer, futsal, rounders, basketball, etc. Starting from Junior High School, Both gender are separated during PE class. PE find its place in extracurricular forms, where students can specialize themself in one kind of sports they choose. Sport Festival can be held during vacuum period, usually after examination.At this time students can compete each other by bringing own class' flag. Some universities such as ITB include PE in curriculum for freshmen Some countries include Martial Artstraining in school as part of Physical Education class. These Filipino children are doing karate. In the Philippines, some schools have integrated martial arts t raining into their Physical Education curriculum. [8][9][10][11][12] In England, pupils are expected to do two hours of PE a week in Year 7, 8 and 9 and at least 1 in year 10 and 11. [13] In Wales, pupils are expected to do only one hour of PE per fortnight. 14] In Poland, pupils are expected to do at least three hours of PE a week during primary and secondary education. [15] Universities must also organise at least 60 hours of physical education classes at undergraduate courses. [16] In India, Physical Education is an important subject in schools. Many students chose Physical Education as a subject against Language Subject Like English, French, some time official language Hindi and some time local languages like Punjabi, because it is very scoring subject and very interesting. Assignments on Physical education increase the interest in Sports.Educational Bodies in India like Central Board of Secondary Education and Punjab School Education Board are in those which conduct examination on Physical Education in affiliated schools and collages. [edit]Adapted physical education Main article: Adapted Physical Education Adapted Physical Education or APE, is a sub-discipline and self-control of physical education, focusing on inclusion and students with special needs. Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness (a state of health and well-being), and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects ofsports or occupations).Physical fitness is generally achieved through correct nutrition, exercise, and enough rest. Contents [hide] 1 Definitions 2 Fitness 3 Training 4 Menopause and Physical Fitness 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links [edit]Definitions Physical fitness has been defined as a set of attributes or characteristics that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity. The above definition from Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Su rgeon General is the most common currently used definition of physical fitness.It was originally used by Caspersen and has been used extensively. An alternative definition by Howley and Frank that provides additional descriptive information is: Physical fitness is a state of well-being with low risk of premature health problems and energy to participate in a variety of physical activities. While either is a good definition, most experts agree that physical fitness is both multidimensional and hierarchical. In previous years[when? ], fitness was commonly defined as the capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue.However, as automation increased leisure time, changes in lifestyles following the industrial revolution rendered this definition insufficient. In current contexts, physical fitness is considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseas es, and to meet emergency situations. [1] [edit]Fitness A US marine performing fitness exercises. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports — a study group sponsored by thegovernment of the United States—declines to offer a simple definition of physical fitness.Instead, it developed the following chart: Health relatedSkill relatedSports Metabolic Morphological Bone integrity OtherBody composition Cardiovascular fitness Flexibility Muscular endurance Muscle strength Agility Balance Coordination Power Speed Reaction time OtherTeam sport Individual sport Lifetime Other A comprehensive fitness program tailored to an individual will probably focus on one or more specific skills,[2] and on age-[3] or health-related needs such as bone health. [4] Many sources[citation needed]also cite mental, social and emotional health as an important part of overall fitness.This is often presented in textbooks as a triangle made up of three points, which represent physical, emo tional, and mental fitness. Physical fitness can also prevent or treat many chronic health conditions brought on by unhealthy lifestyle or aging. [5] Working out can also help people sleep better. To stay healthy it is important to engage in physical activity. [6] [edit]Training Specific or task-oriented fitness is a person's ability to perform in a specific activity with a reasonable efficiency: for example, sports ormilitary service. Specific training prepares athletes to perform well in their sports.Examples are: 100 m sprint: in a sprint the athlete must be trained to work anaerobically throughout the race. Marathon: in this case the athlete must be trained to work aerobically and their endurance must be built-up to a maximum. Many fire fighters and police officers undergo regular fitness testing to determine if they are capable of the physically demanding tasks required of the job. [7] Soldiers of the United States Army must be able to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) . [8] Hill sprints, this training requires a level of fitness to begin with, the exercise is particularly good for the leg muscles.The army often trains doing mountain climbing and races. [edit]Menopause and Physical Fitness The menopausal period in women is frequently associated with many subjective complaints including vasomotor symptoms, sleep disturbance, alteration in mood, lowered libido, and musculoskeletal pain. All of these symptoms could lead to a lower quality of life. Physical Fitness has the ability to alleviate or even eliminate the effect of most of these. Women experiencing their menopausal period should engage in regular exercise in order to achieve better physical fitness. [9]Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). Each country has its own national governin g body affiliated to FIG. Competitive artistic gymnastics is the best known of the gymnastic sports. It typically involves the women's events of uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise, and vault. Men's events are floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar.Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks, that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, and from circus performance skills. Other gymnastic disciplines include: trampolining, tumbling, rhythmic gymnastics,aerobic gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics. Participants can include children as young as four years old doing kindergym and children's gymnastics, recreational gymnasts of ages 5 and up, competitive gymnasts at varying levels of skill, and world class athletes. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Forms 4 Artistic gymnastics 4. 1 Events for women . 2 Events for men 4. 3 Rhythmic gymnastics 4. 4 Trampolining and tumbling 4. 5 Acrobatic gymnastics 4. 6 Aerob ic gymnastics 4. 7 TeamGym 4. 8 Display gymnastics 5 Former apparatus and events 5. 1 Rope (rhythmic gymnastics) 5. 2 Rope climb 5. 3 Flying rings 6 Popular culture 6. 1 Film 7 See also 8 References 9 External links [edit]Etymology The word gymnastics derives from the common Greek adjective (gymnos) meaning â€Å"naked†,[1] by way of the related verb (gymnazo), whose meaning is â€Å"to train naked†, â€Å"train in gymnastic exercise†, generally â€Å"to train, to exercise†. 2] The verb had this meaning, because athletes exercised and competed without clothing [edit]History 1908 Summer Olympics in London: Display of the British women's gymnastics team Exercises of the ancient Greeks began with athletic feats performed by each individual according to his own notion. The youth were encouraged to combine amusement with exercise. In time, this kind of exercise was incorporated into a system that figured prominently in the state regulations for education. In fact, the period for exercise or gymnastics was equal to the time spent on art and music combined. 3] All Greek cities had a gymnasium, a courtyard for jumping, running, and wrestling. The term included stretching exercises and warm-up preparations for athletes (from the Greek athlete athlos, which means â€Å"struggle†, â€Å"fight†). These tests were based on military exercises. As the Roman Empire ascended, the Greek gymnastics gave way to gymnastics whose purpose was military training. The Romans, for example, introduced the wooden horse. In AD 393 the Emperor Theodosius abolished the Olympic Games, which by then had become corrupt, and gymnastics, along with other sports, declined. For centuries, gymnastics was all but forgotten. 4] In the year 1569, Girolamo Mercuriale from Forli (Italy) wrote Le Arte Gymnastica, that brought together his study of the attitudes of the ancients toward diet, exercise and hygiene, and the use of natural methods for the cure of dis ease. De Arte Gymnastica also explained the principles of physical therapy and is considered the first book on sports medicine. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany, three pioneer physical educators – Johann Friedrich GutsMuths (1759–1839) and Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778–1852) – created exercises for boys and young men on apparatus they had esigned that ultimately led to what is considered modern gymnastics. Don Francisco Amoros y Ondeano, marquis de Sotelo, was born on February 19, 1770 in Valence and died on August 8, 1848 in Paris. He was a Spanish colonel, and the first person to introduce educative gymnastic in France. In particular, Jahn crafted early models of the horizontal bar, the parallel bars (from a horizontal ladder with the rungs removed), and the vaulting horse. [4] The Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) was founded in Liege in 1881. 5] By the end of the nineteenth century, men's gymnastics competition was popular enough to be included in the first â€Å"modern† Olympic Games in 1896. From then on until the early 1950s, both national and international competitions involved a changing variety of exercises gathered under the rubric, gymnastics, that would seem strange to today's audiences and that included for example, synchronized team floor calisthenics, rope climbing, high jumping, running, and horizontal ladder. During the 1920s, women organized and participated in gymnastics events.The first women's Olympic competition was primitive, for it involved only synchronized calisthenics, was held at the 1928 Games, in Amsterdam. By 1954, Olympic Games apparatus and events for both men and women had been standardized in modern format, and uniform grading structures (including a point system from 1 to 15) had been agreed upon. At this time, Soviet gymnasts astounded the world with highly disciplined and difficult performances, setting a precedent that continues. The new medium of tel evision helped publicize and initiate a modern age of gymnastics.Both men's and women's gymnastics now attract considerable international interest, and excellent gymnasts can be found on every continent. Nadia Comaneci received the first perfect score, at the 1976 Summer Olympics held inMontreal, Canada. She was coached in Romania by the Romanian coach, (Hungarian ethnicity), Bela Karolyi. Comaneci scored four of her perfect tens on the uneven bars, two on the balance beam and one in the floor exercise. [6] Even with Nadia's perfect scores, the Romanians lost the gold medal to the Soviet Union.Nevertheless, Comaneci became an Olympic icon. In 2006, a new points system for Artistic gymnastics was put into play. With an A Score (or D score) being the difficulty score, which as of 2009 is based on the top 8 high scoring elements in a routine (excluding Vault). The B Score (or E Score), is the score for execution, and is given for how well the skills are performed. [7] [edit]Forms Aerob ic exercise (also known as cardio) is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. 1] Aerobic literally means â€Å"living in air†,[2] and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism. [3] Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by aerobicmetabolism can be performed for extended periods of time. [1] Contents [hide] 1 Aerobic versus anaerobic exercise 2 Aerobic capacity 3 Criticisms 4 Commercial success 5 Varieties of aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise 5. 1 Indoor 5. 2 Outdoor . 3 Indoor or outdoor 6 See also 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 External links [edit]Aerobic versus anaerobic exercise This section needs additional citations for verification. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2011) Fox and Haskell formula showing the split between aerobic (light orange) and anaerobic (dark orange) exercise and heart rate.Aerobic exercise and fitness can be contrasted with anaerobic exercise, of which strength training and short-distance running are the most salient examples. The two types of exercise differ by the duration and intensity of muscular contractions involved, as well as by how energy is generated within the muscle. In most conditions, anaerobic exercise occurs simultaneously with aerobic exercises because the less efficient anaerobic metabolism must supplement the aerobic system due to energy demands that exceed the aerobic system's capacity.What is generally called aerobic exercise might be better termed â€Å"solely aerobic†, because it is designed to be low-intensity enough not to generate lactate via pyruvate fermentation, so that all carbohydrate is aerobically turned into energy. Initially during increased exertion, muscle glycogen is broken down to produce glucose, which undergoes glycolysis producing pyruvate which then reacts with oxygen (Krebs cycle) to produce carbon dioxide and water and releasing energy.If there is a shortage of oxygen (anaerobic exercise, explosive movements), carbohydrate is consumed more rapidly because the pyruvate ferments into lactate. If the intensity of the exercise exceeds the rate with which the cardiovascular system can supply muscles with oxygen, it results in buildup of lactate and quickly makes it impossible to continue the exercise. Unpleasant effects of lactate buildup initially include the burning sensation in the muscles, and may eventually include nausea and even vomiting if the exercise is continued without allowing lactate to clear from the bloodstream.As glycogen levels in the muscle begin to fall, glucose is released into the bloodstream by the liver, and fat metabolism is increased so that it can fuel the aerobic pathways. Aerobic exercise may be fueled by glycogen reserves, fat reserves, or a combination of both, depending on the intensity. Prolonged moderate-level aerobic exercise at 65% VO2 max (the heart rate of 150 bpm for a 30-year-old human) results in the maximum absolute contribution of fat to the total energy expenditure. At this level, fat may contribute 40% to 60% of total, depending on the duration of the exercise.Vigorous exercise above 75% VO2max (160 bpm) primarily burns glycogen. [4][5] Major muscles in a rested, untrained human typically contain enough energy for about 2 hours of vigorous exercise. Exhaustion of glycogen is a major cause of what marathon runners call â€Å"hitting the wall†. Training, lower intensity levels, and carbohydrate loading may allow to postpone the onset exhaustion beyond 4 hours. [5] Aerobic exercise comprises innumerable forms. In general, it is performed at a moderate level of intensity over a relatively long period of time. For example, running a long distance at a oderate pace is an aero bic exercise, but sprinting is not. Playing singles tennis, with near-continuous motion, is generally considered aerobic activity, while golf or two person team tennis, with brief bursts of activity punctuated by more frequent breaks, may not be predominantly aerobic. Some sports are thus inherently â€Å"aerobic†, while other aerobic exercises, such as fartlek training or aerobic dance classes, are designed specifically to improve aerobic capacity and fitness. It is most common for aerobic exercises to involve the leg muscles, primarily or exclusively. There are some exceptions.For example,rowing to distances of 2,000 m or more is an aerobic sport that exercises several major muscle groups, including those of the legs, abdominals, chest, and arms. Common kettlebell exercises combine aerobic and anaerobic aspects. Among the recognized benefits of doing regular aerobic exercise are: Strengthening the muscles involved in respiration, to facilitate the flow of air in and out of the lungs Strengthening and enlarging the heart muscle, to improve its pumping efficiency and reduce the resting heart rate, known as aerobic conditioning Strengthening muscles throughout the bodyImproving circulation efficiency and reducing blood pressure Increasing the total number of red blood cells in the body, facilitating transport of oxygen Improved mental health, including reducing stress and lowering the incidence of depression Reducing the risk for diabetes. Burns body fat, while building leaner muscle. As a result, aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of death due to cardiovascular problems. In addition, high-impact aerobic activities (such as jogging or using a skipping rope) can stimulate bone growth, as well as reduce the risk of osteoporosis for both men and women.In addition to the health benefits of aerobic exercise, there are numerous performance benefits: Increased storage of energy molecules such as fats and carbohydrates within the muscles, allowing for increase d endurance Neovascularization of the muscle sarcomeres to increase blood flow through the muscles Increasing speed at which aerobic metabolism is activated within muscles, allowing a greater portion of energy for intense exercise to be generated aerobically Improving the ability of muscles to use fats during xercise, preserving intramuscular glycogen Enhancing the speed at which muscles recover from high intensity exercise Both the health benefits and the performance benefits, or â€Å"training effect†, require a minimum duration and frequency of exercise. Most authorities suggest at least twenty minutes performed at least three times per week. [6] [edit]Aerobic capacity Main article: VO2 max Aerobic capacity describes the functional capacity of the cardiorespiratory system, (the heart, lungs and blood vessels).Aerobic capacity is defined as the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during a specified period, usually during intense exercise. [7] It is a function both of cardiorespiratory performance and the maximum ability to remove and utilize oxygen from circulating blood. To measure maximal aerobic capacity, an exercise physiologist or physician will perform a VO2 max test, in which a subject will undergo progressively more strenuous exercise on a treadmill, from an easy walk through to exhaustion.The individual is typically connected to a respirometer to measure oxygen consumption, and the speed is increased incrementally over a fixed duration of time. The higher the measured cardiorespiratory endurance level, the more oxygen has been transported to and used by exercising muscles, and the higher the level of intensity at which the individual can exercise. More simply stated, the higher the aerobic capacity, the higher the level of aerobic fitness. The Cooper and multi-stage fitness tests can also be used to assess functional aerobic capacity for particular jobs or activities.The degree to which aerobic capacity can be improved by exercise varie s very widely in the human population: while the average response to training is an approximately 17% increase in VO2max, in any population there are â€Å"high responders† who may as much as double their capacity, and â€Å"low responders† who will see little or no benefit from training. [8] Studies indicate that approximately 10% of otherwise healthy individuals cannot improve their aerobic capacity with exercise at all. [9] The degree of an individual's responsiveness is highly heritable, suggesting that this trait is genetically determined. 8] An aerobics class. This article is about the type of exercise. For the exercise physiology topic, see Aerobic exercise. Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretchingand strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (flexibility,muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness). It is usually performed to music and may be practiced in a group setti ng led by an instructor (fitness professional), although it can be done solo and without musical accompaniment.With the goal of preventing illness and promotingphysical fitness, practitioners perform various routines comprising a number of different dance-like exercises. Formal aerobics classes are divided into different levels of intensity and complexity. Aerobics classes may allow participants to select their level of participation according to their fitness level. Many gyms offer a variety of aerobic classes. Each class is designed for a certain level of experience and taught by a certified instructor with a specialty area related to their particular class. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Aerobic gymnastics 3 See also 4 References edit]History Both the term and the specific exercise method were developed by Dr. Kenneth Cooper, M. D. , an exercise physiologist, and Col. Pauline Potts, a physical therapist, both of the United States Air Force. Dr. Cooper, an avowed exercise enthusiast, was personally and professionally puzzled about why some people with excellent muscular strength were still prone to poor performance at tasks such as long-distance running, swimming, and bicycling. He began measuring systematic human performance using a bicycle ergometer, and began measuring sustained performance in terms of a person's ability to use oxygen.His groundbreaking book, Aerobics, was published in 1968, and included scientific exercise programs using running, walking, swimming and bicycling. The book came at a fortuitous historical moment, when increasing weakness and inactivity in the general population was causing a perceived need for increased exercise. [edit]Aerobic gymnastics Aerobic gymnastics, also known as sport aerobics and competitive aerobics, is a type of competitive aerobics involving complicatedchoreography, rhythmic and acrobatic gymnastics with elements of aerobics. 1] Performance is divided into categories by age, sex and groups (individual, mixed pairs and trios) and are judged on the following elements: dynamic and static strength, jumps and leaps, kicks, balance and flexibility. Ten exercises are mandatory: four consecutive high leg kicks, patterns. A maximum of ten elements from following families are allowed: push-ups, supports and balances, kicks and splits, jumps and leaps. Elements of tumbling such ashandsprings, handstands, back flips, and aerial somersaults are prohibited. Scoring is by judging of artistic quality, creativity, execution, and difficulty of routines.Sport aerobics has state, national, and international competitions, but is not an Olympic sport. [edit]Artistic gymnastics Main article: Artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is usually divided into Men's and Women's Gymnastics. Typically men compete on six events: Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars, and High Bar, while women compete on four: Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise. In some countries, women at one tim e competed on the rings, high bar, and parallel bars (for example, in the 1950s in the USSR).Though routines performed on each event may be short, they are physically exhausting and push the gymnast's strength, flexibility, endurance and awareness to the limit. In 2006, FIG introduced a new points system for Artistic gymnastics in which scores are no longer limited to 10 points. The system is used in the US for elite level competition. [7] Unlike the old code of points, there are two separate scores. An execution score and a difficulty score. In the previous system, the â€Å"execution score† was the only score. It was and still is out of 10. 00.During the gymnast's performance, the judges deduct from this score only. A fall, on or off the event, is a 1. 00 deduction, in elite level gymnastics. The introduction of the difficulty score is a significant change. The gymnast's difficulty score is based on what elements they perform and is subject to change if they do not perform or complete all the skills, or they do not connect a skill meant to be connected to another. Connection bonuses are the most common deduction from a difficulty score, as it can be difficult to connect multiple flight elements.It is very hard to connect skills if the first skill is not performed correctly. The new code of points allows the gymnasts to gain higher scores based on the difficulty of the skills they perform as well as their execution. [edit]Events for women Piked Tsukahara vault. Vault In the vaulting events gymnasts sprint down a 25 metres (82 ft) runway, jump onto or perform a roundoff entry onto a springboard (run/ take-off segment), land momentarily, inverted on the hands on the vaulting horse or vaulting table (pre flight segment), then spring off of this platform to a two footed landing (post flight segment).Every gymnast starts at a different point on the vault runway depending on their height and strength. The post flight segment may include one or more multiple saltos or somersaults, and/or twisting movements. Round-off entry vaults are the most common vaults in elite level gymnastics. In vaults with roundoff entries, gymnasts â€Å"round-off† so hands are on the runway while the feet land on the springboard (beatboard). From the roundoff position the gymnast travels backwards as in a backhandspring so that the hands land on the vaulting platform (horse).She then blocks off the vaulting platform into various twisting and/or somersaulting combinations. The post flight segment brings the gymnast to her feet. In 2001, the traditional vaulting horse was replaced with a new apparatus, sometimes known as a tongue or table. The new apparatus is more stable, wider, and longer than the older vaulting horse—approximately 1m in length and 1m in width—giving gymnasts a larger blocking surface, and is therefore considered safer than the old vaulting horse. With the addition of this new, safer vaulting table, gymnasts are attempting more difficult and dangerous vaults. 8] Gymnast on uneven bars. Uneven Bars On the uneven bars (also known as asymmetric bars, UK), the gymnast performs a routine on two horizontal bars set at different heights. These bars are made of fiberglass covered in wood laminate, to prevent them from breaking. In the past, bars were made of wood, but the bars were prone to breaking, providing an incentive to switch to newer technologies. The width of the bars may be adjusted. Gymnasts perform swinging, circling, transitional, and release moves, that may pass over, under, and between the two bars.Movements may pass through the handstand. Gymnasts often mount the Uneven Bars using a springboard. Balance Beam The gymnast performs a choreographed routine up to 90 seconds in length consisting of leaps, acrobatic skills, somersaults, turns and dance elements on a padded beam. The beam is 125 centimetres (4 ft 1 in) from the ground, 500 centimetres (16 ft 5 in) long, and 10 centimetres (3. 9 in) w ide. [9] The event requires, in particular, balance, flexibility, poise and strength. Gymnast doing a stag leap on floor exercise. FloorIn the past, the Floor Exercise event was executed on the bare floor or mats such as wrestling mats. Today, the floor event occurs on a carpeted 12m ? 12m square, usually consisting of hard foam over a layer of plywood, which is supported by springs or foam blocks generally called a â€Å"spring† floor. This provides a firm surface that provides extra bounce or spring when compressed, allowing gymnasts to achieve extra height and a softer landing than would be possible on a standard floor. Gymnasts perform a choreographed routine up to 90 seconds in the Floor Exercise event.They must choose an accompanying music piece. In some gymnastic associations such as United States Association of Gymnastic Clubs (USAIGC), gymnasts are allowed to have vocals in their music[10] but USA Gymnastics competitions a large deduction is taken from the score for having vocals in the music. ,[11] The routine should consist of tumbling lines, series of jumps, dance elements, acrobatic skills, and turns, or piviots, on one foot. A gymnast can perform up to four tumbling lines that usually includes at least one flight element without hand support.Each level of gymnastics requires the athlete to perform a different number of tumbling passes. In level 7 in the United states, a gymnast is required to do 2–3, and in levels 8–10, at least 3–4 tumbling passes are required. [12] Scoring: A gymnast's score comes from deductions taken from their start value. The start value of a routine is calculated based on the difficulty of the elements the gymnast attempts and whether or not the gymnast meets composition requirements. The composition requirements are different for each apparatus.This score is called the D score. [13] Deductions in execution and artistry are taken from 10. 0. This score is called the E score. [14] The final score is calculated by taking deductions from the E score, and adding the result to the D score. [15] And since 2007, the scoring system has changed by adding bonus plus the execution and then adding those two together to get the final score. [edit]Events for men Floor Male gymnasts also perform on a 12m. by 12m. spring floor. A series of tumbling passes are performed to demonstrate flexibility, strength, and balance.The gymnast must also show strength skills, including circles, scales, and press handstands. Men's floor routines usually have four passes that will total between 60–70 seconds and are performed without music, unlike the women's event. Rules require that male gymnasts touch each corner of the floor at least once during their routine. A boy on the pommel horse Pommel Horse A typical pommel horse exercise involves both single leg and double leg work. Single leg skills are generally found in the form of scissors, an element often done on the pommels. Double leg work howe ver, is the main staple of this event.The gymnast swings both legs in a circular motion (clockwise or counterclockwise depending on preference) and performs such skills on all parts of the apparatus. To make the exercise more challenging, gymnasts will often include variations on a typical circling skill by turning (moores and spindles) or by straddling their legs (Flares). Routines end when the gymnast performs a dismount, either by swinging his body over the horse, or landing after a handstand. Still Rings The rings are suspended on wire cable from a point 5. 75 meters from the floor, and adjusted in height so the gymnast has room to hang freely and swing.He must perform a routine demonstrating balance, strength, power, and dynamic motion while preventing the rings themselves from swinging. At least one static strength move is required, but some gymnasts may include two or three. A routine should have a dismount equal in difficulty to the difficulty of the routine as a whole. Vaul t Gymnasts sprint down a runway, which is a maximum of 25 meters in length, before hurdling onto a spring board. The body position is maintained while â€Å"punching† (blocking using only a shoulder movement) the vaulting platform. The gymnast then rotates to a standing position.In advanced gymnastics, multiple twists and somersaults may be added before landing. Successful vaults depend on the speed of the run, the length of the hurdle, the power the gymnast generates from the legs and shoulder girdle, the kinesthetic awareness in the air, and the speed of rotation in the case of more difficult and complex vaults. Parallel Bars Men perform on two bars slightly further than a shoulder's width apart and usually 1. 75m high while executing a series of swings, balances, and releases that require great strength and coordination. High Bar A 2. 8 cm thick steel or fiberglass bar raised 2. m above the landing area is all the gymnast has to hold onto as he performs giants(revolutions around the bar), release skills, twists, and changes of direction. By using all of the momentum from giants and then releasing at the proper point, enough height can be achieved for spectacular dismounts, such as a triple-back salto. Leather gripsare usually used to help maintain a grip on the bar. As with the women, male gymnasts are also judged on all of their events, for their execution, degree of difficulty, and overall presentation skills. [edit]Rhythmic gymnastics Irina Tchachina, Russian rhythmic gymnastMain article: Rhythmic gymnastics Only women compete in rhythmic gymnastics although there is a new version of this discipline for men being pioneered in Japan (see Men's rhythmic gymnastics). This is a sport that combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance, and apparatus manipulation. The sport involves the performance of five separate routines with the use of five apparatus—ball, ribbon, hoop, clubs, rope—on a floor area, with a much greater emphasis on the aesthetic rather than the acrobatic. There are also group routines consisting of 5 gymnasts and 5 apparatuses of their choice.Rhythmic routines are scored out of a possible 30 points; the score for artistry (choreography and music) is averaged with the score for difficulty of the moves and then added to the score for execution. [16] International competitions are split between Juniors, under sixteen by their year of birth; and Seniors, for women sixteen and over again by their year of birth. Gymnasts in Russia and Europe typically start training at a very young age and those at their peak are typically in their late teens (15–19) or early twenties. The largest events in the sport are the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup and Grand-Prix Tournaments. edit]Trampolining and tumbling Double mini-trampoline competitor Main articles: Trampolining and Tumbling (gymnastics) Trampolining and tumbling consists of four events, individual and synchronized trampoline, double mi ni trampoline, and tumbling (also known as power tumbling or rod floor[citation needed]). Since 2000, individual trampoline has been included in the Olympic Games. Individual routines in trampolining involve a build-up phase during which the gymnast jumps repeatedly to achieve height, followed by a sequence of ten leaps without pauses during which the gymnast performs a sequence of aerial skills.Routines are marked out of a maximum score of 10 points. Additional points (with no maximum at the highest levels of competition) can be earned depending on the difficulty of the moves and the length of time taken to complete the ten skills which is an indication of the average height of the jumps. In high level competitions, there are two preliminary routines, one which has only two moves scored for difficulty and one where the athlete is free to perform any routine. This is followed by a final routine which is optional. Some competitions restart the score from zero for the finals, other ad d the final score to the preliminary results.Synchronized trampoline is similar except that both competitors must perform the routine together and marks are awarded for synchronization as well as the form and difficulty of the moves. Double mini trampoline involves a smaller trampoline with a run-up, two moves are performed per routine. Moves cannot be repeated in the same place on the double-mini during a competition. Skills can be repeated if a skill is thrown as a mounter in one routine and a dismount in another. The scores are marked in a similar manner to individual trampoline.In tumbling, athletes perform an explosive series of flips and twists down a sprung tumbling track. Scoring is similar to trampolining. [edit]Acrobatic gymnastics Acrobatic Women's Pair performing a skill. Main article: Acrobatic gymnastics Acrobatic gymnastics (formerly Sport Acrobatics), often referred to as â€Å"Acro† if involved with the sport, acrobatic sports or simply sports acro, is a grou p gymnastic discipline for both men and women. Acrobats in groups of two, three and four perform routines with the heads, hands and feet of their partners. They may, subject to regulations (e. g. no lyrics), pick their own music.Throughout the world, there at three FIG levels: Age group (Age 11-16), Junior(12-19) and Senior (15+), which are used in the World Championships and many other events around the world, including European Championships and World Games. All levels require a balance and dynamic routine, Junior and Seniors are also required to perform a final (combined) routine. Currently acrobatic gymnastics is marked out of 30. 00 (can be higher at Senior FIG level based on difficulty): 10. 00 for routine difficulty, (valued from the tables of difficulties) 10. 00 For technical performance, (how well the skills are executed) 10. 0 For Artistry, (the overall performance of the routine, namely choreography) [edit]Aerobic gymnastics Main article: Aerobic gymnastics Aerobic gymna stics (formally Sport Aerobics) involves the performance of routines by individuals, pairs, trios or groups up to 6 people, emphasizing strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness rather than acrobatic or balance skills. Routines are performed for all individuals on a 7x7m floor and also for 12–14 and 15–17 trios and mixed pairs. From 2009, all senior trios and mixed pairs were required to be on the larger floor (10x10m), all groups also perform on this floor.Routines generally last 60–90 seconds depending on age of participant and routine category. [edit]TeamGym TeamGym (also known as â€Å"Gymnastics for All†) has it origins in earliest times. These days, although teams can compete the sport itself was developed to enhance fitness and health in the participants and is accessible to anyone of any age. In 1984 Gymnastics for All was officially recognized first as a Sport Program by the FIG (International Gymnastic Federation), and subsequently by national gymnastic federations world wide with participants that now number 30 million. [17] Floor ProgrammeAll members of the Team take part in the floor program, composed of a mixture of dance, flexibility and skill. The routine has to be skillfully choreographed and the judges look out for changes in shape. There needs to be at least two spins, two balances and two section elements. These section elememts are bodywaves for women's teams, power elements for men's teams and lifts for mixed teams. Floor routines are performed to music. Trampette Here a trampette is used. There are two components of this; Vault and the Trampette on its own. There has to be three runs in total. At least one of these runs has to be a vault run.Another run has to include all the gymnasts doing the same move. This is generally the first run. This is also performed to music. Tumbling Again, here there are three runs (rounds) involved. One of which has to include all six gymnasts doing a forwards series. Another ru n also has to include the gymnasts completing the same move. Each series must have at least three different acrobatic elements. [18] [edit]Display gymnastics General gymnastics enables people of all ages and abilities to participate in performance groups of 6 to more than 150 athletes. They perform synchronized, choreographed routines. Troupes may be all one gender or mixed.There are no age divisions in general gymnastics. The largest general gymnastics exhibition is the quadrennial World Gymnaestrada which was first held in 1939. [edit]Former apparatus and events [edit]Rope (rhythmic gymnastics) Starting in 2011, the rhythmic apparatus rope will be removed from all FIG events and clubs will be returned to the competition. FIG has a policy of only using four of the five pieces of apparatus and changes them for different Olympic cycles. This will affect World Cups, World Championships, and Olympics. [edit]Rope climb Main article: Rope climbing Generally, competitors climbed either a 6m (6. m = 20 ft in USA) or an 8m (7. 6m = 25 ft in USA), 38mm (1. 5†³) diameter natural fiber rope for speed, starting from a seated position on the floor and using only the hands and arms. Kicking the legs in a kind of â€Å"stride† was normally permitted. Many gymnasts can do this in the straddle or pike position, which eliminates the help generated from the legs. [edit]Flying rings Main article: Flying rings Flying rings was an event similar to still rings, but with the performer executing a series of stunts while swinging. It was a gymnastic event sanctioned by both the NCAA and the AAU until the early 1960s.