Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide Lab Essay

In conclusion it was found that the activation energy of the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide with the help of the catalyst KI is . When compared to an actual value there was a percent difference of 43%. In fact the actual value that was used is the activation energy of hydrogen peroxide in the absence of a catalyst. So in reality it is likely that a catalyst would cause the activation energy to be even smaller, and the percent difference would be even greater. The only reasonable explanation as to why the calculated activation energy is so much greater is that somewhere during the experiment a random error occurred but since only two trials were done, it is impossible to pinpoint where it exactly occurred. When looking at graphs 1-4 it can be seen that as time went on the pressure increased exponentially. This makes sense because over time the amount of gas increased, and so the pressure would increase too. In addition in graphs 1-4, if a curved line of best fit were to be plotted, than the y-intercept would show the pressure of the room at the moment the experiment was conducted. There were quite a few weaknesses and limitations in this lab. The biggest weakness in this lab was probably the fact that the experiment was conducted at only two different temperatures. This in turn only allowed for two points to be graphed on graph 5 (ln K vs 1/T). Having only two points on a graph is very inaccurate and imprecise. This is because if for some reason a random error occurred during the procedure, than it would be impossible to tell, as there are no other points to compare with. Two trials are not sufficient enough to collect results from; a minimum of five trials should have been done at different temperature increments. Another limitation was the fact that the two different temperatures only had a difference of 10. As seen on graph 5, the slight change in temperature caused the slope to be extremely steep. A weakness in the lab was the fact that the lab was conducted over a period of two days. This in turn caused the temperatures to be different for part two and part three of the experiment when the temperature should have been kept the same. This is seen in the results, during part two the temperature of the water bath was 21.5 and the initial rate was 0.062kPa/s. But since the rate order of was determined to be one, if the molarity of the were to be halved, and the molarity of the catalyst KI were to be doubled, than ideally the initial rate should have remained the same. But it didn’t, since part three was conducted at a different day, the temperature of the water bath that day was 22.7 and that slight change in temperature is what caused the initial rate to increase to 0.076kPa/s. Lastly, when the test tube was put in the water bath, the temperature of the water bath was constantly changing because the temperature of the water was relatively lower than the room temperature. This in turn is what caused fluctuation in the temperature readings. This in turn could have also caused the initial rate to vary because as discussed earlier, even the slightest change in temperature causes the initial rate to change. This experiment can be improved in many ways. One of the main things that can be done is that the experiment should be conducted at different temperatures so that at least a minimum of 5 k values against 1/T can be plotted on graph 5. In addition, the temperature increments should have a relatively broad range, which in turn will make the data and the trends clearer. In addition, the experiment should be conducted on the same day so as the temperature can be kept constant for certain k values. In order to keep the temperature of the water bath constant, the experiment should be conducted in a closed environment so that less energy is lost to the environment. Works Cited â€Å"The Catalytic Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide.† Purdue University College of Science Welcome. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. .

Sweat Zora Neale Hurston

â€Å"Sweat† by Zora Neale Hurston is filled with many religious symbolism. Good versus evil plays a large role in the development of Delia and Skype Jones, as characters. The story is about Delia, an African American woman who is a washwoman for whites. Delia consistently looks to her religion for guidance and support as she endures the many hardships that she faces because, which are caused by her abusive husband and unfaithful husband, Sykes. Delia and Sykes Jones is a couple that have opposite moral values, but yet they are tied together through marital vows, that no longer have much importance or value. Delia Jones is portrayed as the Protagonist and a very modest woman of weakness who later gains the strength to stand u to her abusive husband Skyes. Delia looks to God and her religion to help her build the strength she needs, so she can continue to be protected from her husband who is both physically and emotionally abusive to her. However, Sykes Jones, is every bit the opposite of Delia Jones. He has neither religious values nor any important moral standards. He is an adulterous, who takes Delia’s hard working money, and spends not on his wife but on his mistress Bertha. Delia who relies solely on her faith and continues to stay contempt, no matter how her husband treats her, but Delia warned him that in the end, Sykes â€Å"sometime or ruther, Sykes, like everybody else, is gointer reap his sowing (par. 26). † The white clothes that Delia washes are a symbol of Delia’s character, as being humble and having a humble spirit through all of Sykes emotional torment. While the white clothes are symbols of purity ad humbleness, Delia is a symbol of a God (Christian) like figure. The snake and whip are symbols in the story that represent evil. A snake is generally recognized as evil religiously, because of the biblical story Adam and eve, when Satan turns into a snake. There were two instances in the story when Sykes decides to scare Delia; the first instance is when he rubs the whip on Delia and makes her think its and actual snake, the other instance is when Sykes decides to place a box outside the front door with a rattle snake inside. Since Sykes is the one creating these scare tactics to Delia, he can also be seen as a symbol of evil, which he becomes the evil antagonist of the story. These two instances could also be seen in the religious aspect with Adam and Eve. Another symbol that was present in the story was the dark grey sky. The dark grey sky symbolically means evil, remorse, and sadness. The dark grey sky came about when the snake Sykes used to scare Delia with, bites and kills him. While Sykes was dying, he was now feeling remorse for all his evil doings that he has done to Delia, so we think because he was calling out for her after the snake had bitten him. As the sky clears the story brings about another last symbol. Eventually, at the end of the story is when the reader can really see the Good vs. Evil. Sykes soon begins to â€Å"reap is sowing†(par26), when he comes home and is killed by the snake, the one thing that he had used to scare Delia with so bad that she would leave, or die even. As Sykes is dying the sky begins to clear and the sun begins to rise. The clear, light sky and the sun represents freedom, purity, and peace, and the clear sky can also represent the Delia’s character as well as the white clothes that were mentioned in the beginning of the story. In all the symbols that were present in the story, the most important symbol was Delia’s sweat. Delia’s work-worn knees crawled over the earth in Gethsemane and up to the rocks of Calvary (par. 58)† Delia worked constantly just so she could provide for her family; however, Sykes was not appreciative at all. The sweat was a symbol of Delia’s’ hard work, pain, and tears; because through out the story Delia worked, cried many tears, put up with Sykes antics, but she stil l remained contempt through all his mess. All in all Delia’s sweat represents how she work through to those trying times to take care of her family, there was a lot of pain and tears as well. Within the story there were certain things that really stood out religiously. The white clothes that Delia washes represent her character as humble, sanity, and how she remained contempt through Sykes torment and antics. The snake is show a couple of times within the story as well, when Sykes rubbed the bull-whip over her shoulder, the other is when he brought a real snake he had caught and placed it in the soap box. The snake ties into the Adam and Eve story when Satan took the form of a snake. The snake can also represent Sykes character as the antagonist. Zora Neale Hurston uses a lot of symbols and images that allowed the readers to actually visualize the story. Her short story also revealed how no matter how much a person is in love with someone, if the other person does not love them then, not even marital vows can hold an importance. This story also shows the times. This story shows that back then some men just did not care enough for their wives to help them take care of the home. Some may have felt as though they call all the shots and when things did not go their way then they get upset. However, it shows that no matter what everybody will one day have to reap their sowing just as Sykes had to, when his own antics caused him his life.

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 2

I don't really have anything against Canadians. They're nice. Really nice. But that didn't mean I wanted to go curling with them, and there was always a danger that if Jerome was in the right mood, he might decide to make this temporary assignment a permanent one. I didn't think he would, though. Underneath all the gruffness, Jerome liked me-inasmuch as a demon could truly like anyone. Admittedly, he'd liked me a little less since Seth had turned my life upside down last fall, but when I wasn't sporting massive attitude, I think I amused Jerome. Amusing things are few in the face of eternity, so hopefully that would be enough to ensure my job security. I left Belltown and headed over to Queen Anne, another Seattle neighborhood. I both lived and worked in Queen Anne, and if I was about to disappear for a while, my mortal employer should probably know. Unfortunately, going into work meant facing some unpleasant things that I wasn't really in the mood for tonight. â€Å"Georgina! What are you doing here?† Maddie Sato, the Brutus to my Caesar, came scurrying up to me as I entered Emerald City Books and Caf? ¦. In Maddie's defense, she hadn't known Seth and I were dating when they'd slept together. So, it wasn't like she'd knowingly stolen him from me. That didn't really change my feelings toward either of them, though. â€Å"I need to see Warren,† I said, suspecting I probably reeked of vodka and smoke. â€Å"Is he here?† She shook her head, making her glossy black hair sway. It was worn in a long, sleek style I'd taught her how to do. â€Å"He left about an hour ago. Didn't want to stick around for closing.† I glanced at a clock. I'd barely made it in before they locked the doors. I tapped my foot impatiently, wondering if I should call Warren at home. Finally, I asked, â€Å"You got a sec to go over some schedule stuff? I'm going to be out for a few days†¦or maybe more.† â€Å"Sure,† she said, smiling and showing dimples. â€Å"You want me to grab Doug too?† â€Å"He's here?† Both assistant managers closing in one night. It was a stroke of luck. I headed off to my office while she went to fetch her brother Doug. My desk was organized for a change, and I found the clipboard bearing the schedule for the next couple of weeks. I skimmed it, relieved to see we had a full complement of staff for a change. My immortal friends didn't understand why I cared so much about this job. There had been days recently-days when I didn't want to get out of bed because I was so depressed-that I'd wondered the same thing. But the truth was, eternity was an extremely long time, and I'd spent most of my time always occupied with some activity. It was part of my nature; I couldn't be idle. And sometimes- sometimes -I could get so caught up in the day-to-day affairs of the human world that I could almost pretend for a heartbeat that I was one of them again. â€Å"I don't think we'll need anyone to cover me,† I said when I heard the office door open a few minutes later. â€Å"Someone'll just need to take over my-† I looked up. Maddie had returned, along with Doug, but they weren't alone. Seth was with them. All the easy confidence I'd shown in the store, all the brashness and bravado I'd shown at the club†¦it all shriveled up into a cold, hard knot as I looked at him. Walls slammed down around me. How could he affect me like this, particularly while wearing a Buck Rogers T-shirt? It had been three months. Why wasn't I over him? Why did I still want to cry or break something whenever I saw him? â€Å"Whoa, Kincaid,† said Doug, partially distracting me from my angst. He glanced at my outfit and raised an eyebrow. â€Å"We interrupting your social life?† I wore a knee-length black trench coat over a short red dress. My makeup was done to seductive perfection, whorish dark eyeliner and lipstick to match the dress. Shape-shifting in the car would have been a snap, but I didn't feel like I needed to prove anything here. In fact, I kind of reveled in my tramp look tonight. â€Å"Apparently this is my social life, if I'm pathetic enough to come in on a Saturday night.† I forced myself to focus on Doug and Maddie only, trying hard not to look at Seth's soft, coppery brown hair or gentle eyes. Why did he have to be here of all nights? The answer: he was here every night. He was an author and did his best work in coffee shops. When we'd broken up, he'd tried to tactfully find another and stay away from me, but Maddie-oblivious to his reasons-had begged him to stay at the bookstore's. â€Å"Where are you going?† asked Maddie. â€Å"Is everything okay?† â€Å"Yeah, yeah,† I said brusquely. â€Å"Long story.† I beckoned Maddie and Doug to the clipboard, explaining again how I was pretty sure the store would be fine without my labor, so long as they could cover the tasks I did as manager. We sketched out a brief list of my responsibilities, like payroll and inventory, and began divvying them up. Doug tapped the list. â€Å"I've done all these before, at one time or another. They're no problem. I'll take the first half.† He elbowed his sister. â€Å"What about you? You gonna take the rest and pull your share here?† Maddie pursed her lips. She was immensely talented but suffered from bouts of insecurity, which I'd repeatedly told her was ridiculous. She'd improved a lot over the months-again, thanks to me-but still faltered. â€Å"I didn't realize you did so much. I hope I can learn it all.† â€Å"Stop playing coy. I'll teach you,† said Doug. â€Å"You'll be as good as Kincaid in no time.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said dryly. â€Å"We're practically interchangeable anyway.† Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seth shift uncomfortably. â€Å"The whole thing seems kind of sketchy, though,† remarked Doug, tilting his head so that his black hair fell away from his face. â€Å"You're going to be gone, but you're not sure when or how long? I thought you were the reliable one around here.† â€Å"It's†¦family stuff,† I told them. â€Å"Just gotta be dealt with. Besides, now you can have a chance to be responsible. You should be thanking me, Doug.† He stuck his tongue out at me. â€Å"Is Warren going to be okay with it?† asked Maddie, still fretting on my behalf. â€Å"Let me deal with Warren,† I assured her. Doug scoffed at that, but Maddie didn't catch on. Warren, the store's marginally moral owner, had been a longtime sex buddy of mine. He gave me about as much energy as Dante, but he was convenient and suited my mood lately. I'd stopped our tryst while dating Seth but had since returned to old habits. Doug had known about my affair with Warren then and now but was tactful enough to leave me to my own choices, aside from the occasional bit of eye rolling. I suspected Seth knew what was going on too, but I didn't care. Warren wasn't going to give me any grief about taking time off. I was too good at what I did, both at work and in the bedroom. We shuffled one shift where I was supposed to have closed, and then I tossed the clipboard back on its pile, suddenly needing to get out of there as soon as possible. â€Å"Alright. Thanks, team. I'll leave you to your work.† â€Å"Off to hit the town?† asked Doug, still amused. â€Å"I can join you in about a half-hour. I know a killer party.† I shook my head. â€Å"Already hit the town. I'm heading home.† â€Å"Loser,† he called after me. Maddie wished me well with my mysterious time off, and then I left them, walking through the store and exchanging greetings with my other co-workers as they scurried around with their closing tasks. I'd nearly made it to the door when I heard someone call my name. I turned and saw Casey hurrying toward me. She was twenty or so and went to the University of Washington. She'd worked here almost the entire time she'd been in college and was one of our best employees. So, I stopped and forced a smile, my eyes straying longingly toward the door. â€Å"Hey, what's up?† She grinned, dark eyes sparkling. â€Å"I wanted to know if you were going to go to my party next weekend,† she said. â€Å"You never answered the e-mail.† I didn't remember any e-mail, but then, I'd been pretty trigger-happy with the delete key lately. â€Å"I didn't get it,† I lied. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"It's my graduation party. This Sunday.† I frowned. â€Å"It's April.† â€Å"I'm graduating early. I got all my credits finished up, so I don't have to do spring quarter. Pretty cool, huh?† â€Å"Whoa,† I said, actually impressed. â€Å"That is cool. Math, right?† â€Å"Math and Latvian.† â€Å"Why on earth-never mind.† Now was not the time to pursue why someone of Filipino heritage was studying Baltic languages. â€Å"I wish I could go, but I'm leaving town tomorrow for some family stuff and don't know when I'll be back. I'm really sorry.† Casey's face fell a little, but she told me she understood. And like Maddie, she wished me well and hoped my â€Å"family† business would be taken care of easily. That made two of us. She left me and went to finish her closing tasks. As soon as I cleared the store's door and was outdoors, I stopped and exhaled. Breezy night air washed over me. Being in Seth's presence was smothering. It stirred up too much in me. Even while talking business and numbers with Doug and Maddie, most of my attention had been on Seth-exactly how far away he stood from me, the way he smelled, the way his messy hair stuck up today. Everything else had been background noise compared to him. Reaching into my purse with shaking hands, I pulled out my cigarettes, desperately needing one for the walk home. I'd smoked for a century or so and stopped ten years ago, something I'd been very proud of, even though I was immune to the effects. Stress had driven me to pick up the habit again. I felt a little bad about subjecting others to secondhand smoke, but honestly, smoking was the least of my problems right now. â€Å"Fuck.† I flicked the switch on my lighter and got nothing. Three more flicks produced similar results. Holding the lighter up to my ear, I shook it. Nothing. It was out of fluid. â€Å"Fuck,† I repeated. I only lived a few blocks away, but somehow, that walk was now going to be agony. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a boot scuff around the corner of the building. Frowning, I took a few steps forward, wondering if anyone was there. This area was pretty safe, but Lower Queen Anne still had its share of vagrants. Yet, when I glanced around the corner, there was no one there. There was, however, a pack of matches lying on the ground. Kneeling down, I picked the book up and examined them. Mark's Mad Martini Bar. I'd been there a long time ago. It was in Upper Queen Anne, not too far away if you didn't mind trekking up the hill. It wasn't unreasonable that a pack of their matches would find their way here. What was weird was that the matches showed up right when I needed them. Behind me, I heard the store's door open. â€Å"Georgina?† I rose and turned sharply around. Seth. â€Å"Hey,† I said, hoping for blandness. The smothering feeling returned. Light from inside the store lit up his features in the twilight, and I ate up every line and angle of his face. His eyes looked dark in the dimness, but in full light, they were brown infused with amber. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, and his gaze wouldn't meet mine. It was painfully reminiscent of how he'd been when we first met, too shy to look directly at me. â€Å"I wanted to see if you were okay,† he said after several awkward moments. I turned the matches over in my hand a couple of times and then placed them in my purse's outer pocket. â€Å"I'm fine,† I said, keeping my voice cool and distant. â€Å"It's just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He relaxed slightly and gave a small, rueful laugh. â€Å"When you're vague about your activities and mention ‘family,' it usually means immortal business. And immortal business always means trouble.† I started to smile, then immediately squelched it. â€Å"Yeah, it does, and believe me, it's a great one this time.† Even after everything that had gone down between us, there was such a comfort and familiarity with him that I immediately wanted to launch in and recap the story for him. I could already see us both laughing at the idea of Canadian Satanists. I could perfectly picture the way Seth would shake his head in exasperation. But it wasn't to be. I was too hurt and too proud to even allow him friendship, so I just shrugged and said, â€Å"But it'll work out. It always does.† â€Å"Yeah†¦but usually not without a lot of hassle. I'm just worried about you, that's all.† â€Å"You don't have to be.† Not anymore . â€Å"I'm not in any danger. Mostly just annoyed.† He opened his mouth to speak, and I knew the gesture. He wanted to argue that there was still cause for concern-but times had changed. He swallowed and let the comment go. More silence fell. I knew I should leave, but somehow, I couldn't make myself do it. He apparently couldn't either. â€Å"You†¦you look really great tonight,† he said at last, still fumbling for conversation. There was a catch in his voice. He knew my looks tonight had to do with more than just my body and outfit. The energy I'd stolen from sleeping with the therapist wreathed me. Life and its power were irresistible to all creatures, mortal and immortal alike. Immortals could literally see that life glowing around me. To mortals, I simply looked beautiful. Unearthly. Perfect. For the sake of politeness, I pretended he was complimenting me for normal things. â€Å"Thanks. I was out with the others when all this†¦stuff†¦went down. It's kind of put a damper on my partying, though.† He nodded by way of answer and shifted so that he actually made eye contact. I wished he hadn't. My heart melted inside me, and I felt a sob building in my chest. Desperate for something to do, I took out the serendipitous matches and lit the cigarette I'd been holding the whole time. I took a long drag and exhaled. Seth stepped back. He wasn't a fan of smoking. It was like I suddenly had armor. â€Å"Well,† I said, feeling bolder, â€Å"I should go home and pack. See you around.† I turned and had only taken a step when he called out to me. â€Å"Georgina?† I glanced back. â€Å"Yeah?† â€Å"Do you†¦um†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He faltered, and again, I was reminded of that long-ago Seth. Bittersweet feelings burned within me. â€Å"Do you need someone to feed your cat?† I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. â€Å"No, but thanks. Cody'll do it.† I spoke the next words, fully knowing they'd inflict damage. â€Å"Or Dante will.† Seth flinched, and somehow, I felt both triumphant and sad at the same time. â€Å"No problem,† he said haltingly. â€Å"Just thought I'd, you know, check.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said again. We held each other's gazes a few more moments, and then I turned away and walked off into the night.

Evidence Based Practice & Nursing Research Essay

Evidence Based Practice & Nursing Research - Essay Example In severity, the deep veins may also become incompetent. When there is ineffective blood flow to the legs, peripheral veins remain clogged even when walking. These veins remain filled with blood even and pressure therein does not drop; a condition referred to as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). It may result in ulcers, edema or skin change. In treatment, nurses dress the patient’s legs with Anti-Embolism Stockings. These are close fitted, circular knitted elastic socks designed to be worn by patients exhibiting venous disorders. They were designed to increase the linear velocity of blood by exerting external pressure on the legs. These special socks are designed to prevent thromboembolism by the use of graduated pressure. These special socks are prescribed to patients experiencing blood pooling in the legs, blood clots and lower limb edema due to long hours of sitting. It is recommended that nurses should effectively access the patients’ legs and measure them for the correct size of Anti-Embolism Stockings. Nurses need the following things before the socks can be applied: Wall chart, tape measure, T.E.D stocking order pad/sizing chart and package of the covidien T.E.D; the anti-embolism stockings. The nurse is responsible for application, sizing and maintenance of the special stocking. Proper sizing of the Anti-Embolism Stockings is necessary so that the patient can enjoy the maximum benefits of the therapeutically treatment (Miller, 2011). Nurses should record the condition of the stocking during each inspection. The stockings should be washed after every 3 days to remove any body secretions. No ointment shall be used; instead, talcum powder should be used. Many times, Anti-Embolism Stockings may be issued to patients without proper analysis and assessment of other conditions that be generated due to the therapeutically use of the Anti-Embolism

Space and Place Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Space and Place - Assignment Example ding to Finnegan, "New Yorkers use Central Park: for sports, from croquet to horseback riding to league softball; and for cultural events such as Shakespeare in the Park and other outdoor performances. It is also used for other sporting activities such as skating, cycling, and football" (302). Other than these activities, this park is a great location for a stroll as one enjoys the natural manmade habitat and watching the many types of birds available in the park. In addition, people visit this park regularly to view the numerous cascades, statues, and other figurines. There are a lot of people who use this park often. Primarily, this park is used by individuals living around New York City for recreational purposes. There are also secondary users of this park. These include musicians, local performers or actors, sportsmen or athletes, and also domestic visitors and tourists. To understand the environment in this park, it is important to describe its permanent features. As elucidated by Finnegan, Central Parks landscape covers a total of eight hundred and forty acres (304). Subsequently, this scenery is designed in such a way that presents an exceptional feeling for visitors. There are also conforming and contrasting topography, as well as characteristic impressions created by the stylish viaducts and other suspension bridges. Other permanent features in the park include lakes, ponds, commemorative inscription tablets, zoos, playing fields, and turf (Finnegan 304). There are also movable objects within Central Park. These include man-made structures such as the Obelisk, Cleopatras needle, statues, and other sculptures. There is a relationship between the permanent features and the movable objects in this park. The movable objects are used to revamp or titivate the natural environment. The natural environment comprises the permanent features. Movable objects also makes accessibility to the permanent features such as lakes easier. To propose how else the objects

Retail Business Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Retail Business Analysis - Research Paper Example A retail establishment that implemented generic marketing and segmentation approaches is a Reebok store. Implementation of segmentation strategy The retail implemented the strategy by separating a big probable market into minor groups, which exude diverse retail needs. The retail started by categorizing their market thus stating the general boundaries of market they intended to segment. This is achievable at the product progress stage. As such, one needs to find information about the intended target. Later on, they established market segmentation drivers for every product, which is achievable basing on age. Furthermore, other determinants incorporate expenditure, likeability of other merchandise, demographic facts, and imbursement methods. After successfully doing that, they chose a critical strategy that defines major segments. In the last stage of the implementation, they prioritized basing on the resources that they could dedicate to their marketing effort and the likely outcome o f addressing each segment (Weinstein, 2004). Implementation of Generic market strategy The retailers implemented the strategy by identifying its strengths and weaknesses, uniqueness, advantage, and usual tendencies. After identifying themselves, the organization identified their customers by finding information about them. The organization could not make an assumption about each customer groups, so they had to know their market better than their competitors did. For them to acknowledge their customers, they had to talk and listen to them. By presenting questions to customers, they could find vital information like the reasons attributable to the non-utilization of their products. Moreover, they convinced their consumers to start buying their merchandise (Pizam, 2010). Additionally, they used a present-day date base system to get a relatively cheap and competent marketing tool. This system could record customers’ behaviors and expectations. The information acquired from the sy stem was instrumental in decision-making. In marketing, the amount of sales made is not necessary. However, the important aspect is the profit figure. This is because, in marketing, decisions derive their basis on profit and not on the amount of sales, which is significantly minor. For the organization to respond properly to its marketplace, it linked the customer database with other market information system and business brainpower system (Pizam, 2010). Another implementation step that the retailer employed was the application of differentiation. This enabled them to proffer remarkable benefits to their customers. Applying differentiation enabled them to know the values of their customers so that they could appeal to these values in an effective way than competitors. By differentiation, it is easier to identify their potency and the weaknesses of their rivals. They then developed a clear image of each segment (Pizam, 2010). During the implementation, the Reebok stores avoided to co mpete with its products in the same segment. The entity was clear in defining its own role and tried to cover all bases to discourage potential competitors. It therefore, built a good correlation with its consumers, while trying to avoid dependence on one customer or any product (Pizam, 2010). Improving implementation of segmented marketing For effective implementations of

The Subculture of Poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Subculture of Poverty - Research Paper Example One can accept any one of these positions or even a combination of the two (interactionist approach) in order to understand poverty. Though scholars have a common tendency to take either of these sides, in this essay, the position taken is one that follows the interactionist approach in order to leave behind the reductionism of leftist and rightist theories. To put the blame on the class division alone is like saying that an individual can make no difference in the society. Similarly if a position that the poor are to blame for their poverty is taken, it will be like forgetting the role of the social structures in creating and sustaining poverty. This is why it s true that â€Å"the structure of society creates a culture of poverty among the poor, which perpetuates the structure of society† and this in turn again reinforces the culture of poverty and so on (Blacksacademy, 1). It will be based on the understanding that the structure of society is the root cause and the conditio ning of the poor (by the culture created by that structure), the sustaining factor that this essay would look into the subculture of poverty. Also, this essay will prove that the negative attributes commonly associated with the members of the subculture of poverty are based on assumptions rather than facts. One visible sign of poverty is the presence of inexpensive accessories like cloth on the body of a person. In extreme cases, poverty can be visible on the body of the person as an impoverished state in the health. But the subculture of poverty is marked with more complex and subtle features. For example, it can be associated with â€Å"families †¦characterized by high divorce rates, with mothers and children abandoned† (Blacksacademy, 2). Poverty also represents the existence of people, devoid of sufficient food, material facilitates, community life, participation in the political processes of the country, and access to the privileges available to the ‘not poorà ¢â‚¬â„¢ individual. Apart from these physical manifestations, the most important social aspect of poverty is that it evolves itself into a culture of sort. Poverty is found to attain a historical dimension as well as a social pathology. Along with that, it has become somewhat hereditary, a family heritage. For example, in the popular poor man-rich girl stories in the movies, or in the rags to riches tales that have been written, the common theme is the same rightist view which proposes that it is the will of the individual that determines his/her economic status. But the culture of poverty exhibits a totally different scene. Once poor, always poor and that too, generations poor, could be the statement that could be closer to reality. In such a scenario, there has been a tendency to define a poor man/woman based on the so-called attributes associated with the subculture of poverty. Almost all the discussions on the subculture of poverty have thus been highly individualistic. The purp ose of almost all these discussions has been to prove that the subculture of poverty is an inferior culture. This can be seen in the common theoretical positions narrated in the following paragraphs. The website, law.jrank.org has stated that poverty is supposed to be a breeding ground of fatalistic views- â€Å"

Business Management - Work and Private life relating to Motivation and Essay

Business Management - Work and Private life relating to Motivation and Stress in Organization - Essay Example These needs are divided into higher order and lower order needs. Self-actualization and esteem are the higher order needs, while social, safety, and psychological are the lower level needs (Cherry). Higher order needs tend to be more important as workers move up the corporate ladder. Imagine a new worker starting out at corporation. This person does not have any friends among his colleagues. The individual will be motivated to accomplish social bonds with his fellow workers. Another theory that explains motivation in the workplace is Adam’s equity theory. The equity theory states that people will act to eliminate any felt inequity in the rewards received from their work in comparison with others. An example of equity theory in action would be the case of one worker receiving preferential treatment from the boss. The rest of the staff will feel that the actions of the managers are unfair. A third theory of motivation is Vroom’s expectancy theory. Expectancy theory states that motivation is determined by individual beliefs regarding effort/performance relationships and work outcomes (Valuebasedmanagement). Companies that reward their employees for achieving higher levels of performance are aligned with expectancy theory. Due to the pressures of the workplace many employees suffer from stress. Stress can be defined as tension from extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities (Schermerhorn, et al., p.409). Stress is an unwanted occurrence because it reduces the work performance of the workers and it negatively impacts the health of a person. Workers can feel either constructive or destructive stress. An example of constructive stress occurs when a person gets a promotion and is starting out his/ her new duties. The person will feel stress because the individual is not accustomed to the new job and the person is overly excited about the opportunity. Destructive stress has a negative impact on the performance and attitude of the

Business Transformation of Moevenpick Hotels and Resorts using VRINE, Essay

Business Transformation of Moevenpick Hotels and Resorts using VRINE, CAGE and Corporate Entity (Diversification) Frameworks - Essay Example MÃ ¶venpick Hotels and Resorts AG has focused on expanding into its traditional regions of Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia. Such diversified presence in various regions of the world therefore indicates that it has been able to successfully expand in different markets. In this paper I will be concentrating on the MÃ ¶venpick Hotels and Resorts AG to seek the possibility of transforming the company using the VRINE model, CAGE as well as Corporate Entity (Diversification) models for better opportunities and higher market share. MÃ ¶venpick Hotels and Resorts AG manages 70 hotels of a total of 17,646 rooms in 24 countries in the market of upscale business hotels, holiday resorts and residences. Business hotels are 57% of the company’s managed hotels; resorts are 32% of the company’s managed hotels and 11% cruises. MÃ ¶venpick Hotels and Resorts AG has five regional offices in; Zurich acting as the corporate office for MÃ ¶venpick Hotels and Resorts AG and managing the region of Europe, Thailand, managing the region of Asia Pacific, United Arab Emirates, managing the region of the Middle East and India, Shanghai, Managing the region of China and Cairo, Managing the region of Africa. It is an analytical framework suggesting that an organization with resources and capabilities which are Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, Non-substitutable and Exploitable will gain a competitive advantage in the market. (Quizlet, 2012). It is however, critical to understand what actually resources and capabilities are and how they can actually provide a firm its overall competitive advantage over other firms in the industry. Barney (Cited in Peng and South-Western, 2008:3) defined the resources as ‘The tangible and intangible assets a firm uses to choose and implement its strategies’ while capability is a firm’s ability to make use of its resources in a highly productive way. (Santiago, 2003) Resources can be either tangible such as land and

Personal reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Personal reflection - Essay Example There is much reason that explain the perpetual social problem among coffee farmers. One of the main problem is the existent of middlemen in the coffee market (Francis). They buy coffee at a low price and sell at super profit. In addition, the coffee market is controlled by a few multinational companies that dictate the prices of coffee (Francis). For this reason, the farmer has no power to control the market, but they are reduced as price takers. And because the coffee multinational want to maximise their gain they buy coffee seeds at low price to the disadvantage of coffee farmers. This explains the perpetual circle of poverty among Ethiopian and other African countries that grow coffee (Francis). And because lack of hope in controlling the poor prices of coffee, the farmers are turning to chat farming because it attracts better prices in the local market. They argue that the only way out of poverty is to abandon coffee for other lucrative

New York Times Essay Example for Free

New York Times Essay The newspaper serves as the first draft of history and is the most important source of primary documents in which historians use in order to better gauge exactly what were the concerns and motivations of a specific age. In 1900, America was celebrating a new century although there was little to celebrate. The Boar War in South Africa was taking far too long and costing far too many money and lives in what was perceived to be an invincible British Empire. A massive explosion in West Virginia killed dozens of miners and in China, the Boxer Rebellion; a Chinese nationalistic movement in which all foreigners were sought after and either expelled from the country or killed, was causing international headaches for America and President McKinley. The December 24, 1900 issue of the New York Times, the most prestigious newspaper in the country, detailed many of the aforementioned events as well as the smaller stories which never did make the history books but were vitally important for those who were involved. As 1900 was coming to a close and moving into what would be the bloodiest century in human history, the readers of that day, saw a world with no shortage of pessimistic news and depressing facts about the state of their world. In the backdrop of the Christmas season, the concern of the people of New York, as detailed in this issue of the New York Times, were detailing the hatred and strife which much of the world, and especially New York City had, in the day before Christmas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most important international issue of this day was the Boar War.   America would remain neutral in this war but with British soldiers deep in the heart of South Africa and fighting a war, the details commanded a position on the front page. The headline in the top left corner of page 1, â€Å"Boars Take British town,† detailed the pursuits of the British army in relation to the Boar War, which was ending its second year with no sign of victory. The war would continue from 1899-1902 and cost more lives and money than would ever have been conceived and historians marked this as the beginning of the end of the British Empire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There were other important issues of the day. One issue which the people of New York were talking about that day was the firing of District Attorney Garnier by then governor Theodore Roosevelt. This story was seen on page 1 of the Times as well as a detailed editorial on page 6 of the paper. Theodore Roosevelt was seen as a free thinking Progressive Reformer who had no use for patronage, nor public opinion dictating his actions. He was one of the most unique Presidents this country ever had served in the White House. These aspects came through when Governor Roosevelt, under the idea that Garnier: â€Å"that he did not acknowledge the telegram of the governor directing attention to these officers†¦ and allowed his assets to interfere with the prompt trial of election cases.†[1] In other words, Garnier’s association with Tammany, the political force of the Democratic Party in which graft and patronage ran rampant, could not be separated from the demands of this office. In the election of 1900, it was asserted that Garnier had done little or nothing to stop the election tampering which the Republicans asserted had occurred. Governor Roosevelt believed this to be the case and promptly fired Garnier.   The New York Times, in their editorial, criticized this move, through the professed to be no friend of Garnier. â€Å"We think that the people’s rights and not Garnier’s are infringed by the action of Governor Roosevelt and are forced to condemn that action as a blunder in the nature of a crime.†[2] Tammany, since the days of Boss William Tweed, had been under a suspicion of grafting politicians and Roosevelt, always the reformer, sought to free New York City from the patronage which he felt was choking the lifeblood from the city. Tammany had been a source of patronage for decades and it sometimes served as the only source of employment for immigrants who were being ignored by the establishment. However, Tammany always ran under a cloud of suspicion for corruption and the reform candidates of that age, sought to starve Tammany of patronage. It is also interesting to note that since Governor Roosevelt was causing so much trouble, for both the Democrats as well as the Republicans, that he was placed on the Republican ticket as President McKinley’s Vice President in 1900 only a few months earlier as a way to silence him. Little did they know that the assassination of President McKinley in September 1901, propel Roosevelt onto the world political stage for the next 7  ½ years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The newspaper also details the stories which never did make the history books. There are many one or two paragraph stories which served as life changing for those involved but which were quickly forgotten in a day or two by the rest of the public. One such story is of five year old Marie Horen who went into convulsions when she drank a bottle of whiskey as she copied what she had seen her father doing. She was rushed to the J. Hood Wright Hospital where her condition was deemed serious. Another story involves nine year old Nathan Roth who was shot in the head by one who the paper deemed crazy. He was shot in the head and the bullet exited the right eye of the boy. The boy was pronounced dead and the defendant, John Galletus, a father of three and one who had attempted to shoot others, was captured and sent away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another negative aspect of this day in New York History was the number of fires that were reported. There was listed, sixteen fires that had occurred. One of these fires ripped through a tenement in which it was reported that there presumed to be, a number of victims but as the records of those living in these tenements were sketchy at best, it seems as though the exact count will never be known. It has been suspected that a number of these fires, especially the ones in which barns were being set ablaze, was suspected of being done by a group of sixteen years from the many notorious gangs which New York City housed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was also reported that Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate, one who had originated from Scotland and had made his fortunes in steel, donated $20,000 for the assembly of a new library at the all black Tuskegee School in which Booker T. Washington founded and led. During these last years of his life, Carnegie sought o give away millions of dollars in the construction of libraries all across the country; from the large cities in America, to the small towns. He had earned his money through the ruthless exploitation of capitalism and now sought to right his wrongs and become a philanthropist and give money to support a new school at Tuskegee. This occurred at a time when only four years later, calls of treason arose from the South when President Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington, a leader in the African American community to lunch in order to discuss the issues of the day concerning African Americans. It was reported that the entire building would be built from the hard work of the students themselves; a practice which had been adhered to when the school was first built. This speaks to the social culture of the day and is in contrast to the arrest of Ed. Johnson, a â€Å"dark† man who was suspected of kidnapping a woman. The story states, on page 1, that Mr. Johnson had been identified by a child witness as not having been the suspect but which did little to dissuade the authorities to immediately free Mr. Johnson.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since this issue was dated Christmas Eve, there is also a religious aspect to this day as millions of Christians in the city were set to celebrate the birth of Jesus. This aspect of loving one’s neighbor which is seen more often around Christmas time than any other, was seen in a large advertisement which detailed the Salvation Army’s feeding of the poor as well as the performance of a passion play. These plays were designed to detail the last hours of Jesus before he was hung on the cross. These plays have served as a popular and touching aspect of the Christmas Season but which have become more popular during the Easter season. In this spirit of alms giving, the New York Protestant Episcopal Society was also feeding Christmas dinner to the poor. However, with New York City containing a large Jewish population, it was stated by the prominent rabbis of the city, that the Jewish people can enjoy this Christmas season, the joy and fulfillment which their fellow New Yorkers are experiencing this Christmas season but that Jews should be careful not to blend their appreciation for the enjoyment of others, with their own sense of faith, which it was stated, â€Å"has fundamental and final differences between Judaism and Christianity.†[3]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1900 was an important and event-packed year. Reading the newspapers, specifically the New York Times, serves as a reminder that ever day, there occurs events, large and small, important and socially irrelevant, that occur every day and which are important to the people it affects. In a city as large as New York City, there still occurs individual interest stories like the death of nine year old Nathan Roth or the case of five year old Maggie Enloin who went into convulsions after drinking a bottle of whiskey after seeing her father do the same. These stories occur every day, in every part of the country, as well as the world. Many times, they are not reported but in this day, December 24, 1900, the editors of The New York Times, felt that the tragic death of a nine year old to street violence, or the burnings of tenements on the Lower East Side, as well as the involvements of the Boxer Rebellion, the Boar War or the issues of patronage and corruption within the Tammany machine, all fell under the definition: â€Å"All the news that is fit to print.† This day in American History as well as New York History, saw a wide array of human interest stories, coupled with heavy issues and the larger questions of: â€Å"What role will political patronage serve in the city and how much damage can Governor Roosevelt make before he assumes the Vice Presidency? Are the problems of the tenements to only being reported or sill any actions are made to help the poor and to help them rise above their circumstance? Can the deaths of innocent children be reconciled in a city who believes that it is on the cutting edge of the country’s reforms? Also, to what degree, if any, will America get involved in the issues overseas such as the Boar War and the Boxer Rebellion and how their outcomes will affect America’s relations with these countries. The December 24, 1900 issue of the New York Times, had contained within its twelve pages, a wide array of stories from all walks of life and on all levels of importance. Many of the above mentioned people are to be remembered, when they are remembered at all, in the pages of the newspaper: the first draft of history. WORKS CITED The New York Times.   December 24, 1900 (Twelve Pages) [1] Governor Roosevelt’s Error The New York Times.   December 24, 1900 pg. 6 [2] Governor Roosevelt’s Error. The New York Times.   December 24, 1900 pg. 6 [3] The New York Times.   December 24, 1900

Continuing Personal Development Essay Example for Free

Continuing Personal Development Essay For years, the only way to format HTML in a visually appealing way was to use tables. As the web evolved, designers wanted to do more than just display text, they wanted to emulate printed documents. This was done through CSS or cascading style sheets. With this, designers are able to separate content from presentation, and gain more precise control over layout. Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS, allow you to modify properties of existing HTML elements. With style sheets you have increased flexibility and the capability to add several attributes that are not available with normal HTML. The word cascading applies to a hierarchy of importance in that the user has the highest level of control. By applying a user-selected style sheet, the user has complete control over the styles of the web page. This is an accessibility benefit. People can view web pages in any browser that they choose, and they can manipulate it as much as they like. Using CSS to your advantage One of the primary benefits of CSS is that it allows authors to separate content from its presentation. The content can be presented with any combination of styles, but the content itself will remain unchanged. With style sheets, you have greater control over layout than you do with tables. You can change the linear layout of a page without altering its visual layout. Linear layout refers to the order of elements in a web page when all styles and formatting are removed. One of the nice things about style sheets is that you dont have to alter the visual formatting of a web page when you alter the linearized reading order. This can be useful when you want to make sure that screen reader users access the page content in a certain order. CSS Pitfalls It is sometimes tempting to take advantage of the wide-ranging capabilities of CSS to convey meaning. This is one of the most dangerous pitfalls of CSS-based design. For example, different colors of text could be used to separate certain words into different categories. In a sense, this sort of visual categorization technique provides visual cues that are helpful to readers. Not everyone has full visual capabilities though. Individuals with low vision, blindness, or color blindness or those that use old browsers and monochrome devices may or may not be able to make sense of the information if it is presented this way. This is the same with the use of meaningful background images. Since background images cannot have alternative text explicitly associated with them, there is potential for abuse, or at least negligence, in terms of ensuring accessibility. Some of the strengths of style sheets are also weaknesses. For example, the ability to change the linearized reading order of your content without changing the visual layout can lead to some wonderful accessibility solutions, but it can also create a huge mess. Even though it is possible to present the content to screen reader users in any conceivable order, most of the times, the more experimental design, the more likely it will confuse users. It is interesting to note that when you use CSS, you have to accept the fact that your content will not look right in some browsers. Some may not even support CSS at all. (Creating accessible CSS. Web Accessibility in Mind. ) Reaction The article from WebAIM is a good head start to learn more about CSS. It presents an overview of Cascading Style Sheets to help the readers get a grasp of how it was created and how it evolved as an answer to a changing need to have more flexibility in HTML. It provides a detailed yet highly comprehensible approach to CSS; the basics of it and the certain issues it entails. CSS is indeed a creative way to enhance our ability to manipulate web pages and relay information over the internet. WebAIM also presents the advantages and disadvantages of CSS in a concise manner. CSS has gained popularity because of its many advantages. The article emphasizes the value of how you can separate the content from presentation. In a time when both content and presentation are important in order to effectively communicate the message to the viewers, it is especially important that a demarcation between the two be made. Being able to change one while not sacrificing the other, is a good attribute that CSS has brought to HTML. CSS improves the ease of changing tags and styles while also being efficient with its process. However, useful as it is, CSS has also some disadvantages. The rather lenient way of manipulating styles may also be subject to abuse. More confusion can be made if improper and abusive use of style variation is done. Careful thought must be ensured when creating web pages so as to convey messages clearly and effectively. Like in any other fallible structures, it is important to be cautious of any mistakes that might be done, paying closer attention to detail and the efficiency of the method or style used. Moreover, one must understand that although browser support issues are inevitable, there are some strategies to manage this. Bibliography â€Å"Creating accessible CSS. † Web Accessibility in Mind. http://www. webaim. org/techniques/css/

Analysis of Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee) in Everyday Use

Analysis of Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee) in Everyday Use Where Must One Fit Analysis of Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (Dee) in Everyday Use What made the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 70s such a powerful force, and why did it start in the first place? Author Russell Rickford explains in We Are an African People: Independent Education, Black Power, and the Radical Imagination, what Pan-Africanism means. The definition consists of rethinking African-American identity not in terms of being a minority or racial group, but as an African people. The movement was grounded in the importance of cultural rebirth to a people who were deemed unworthy of moral treatment, excluding them from the label of human. They did not know anything nor were aware about their African heritage. In Alice Walkers story Everyday Use she describes two sides of the same coin when it comes to heritage. Maggie, who stays at home with Mama and lives their heritage through traditions which are passed down. And Dee, who becomes enthralled with the concept of African-nationalism, practicing new habits which alter her psyche. This leads Dee to denounc e her recent heritage, excluding Mama and Maggie for being uneducated and categorizing the objects used every day as priceless folk-art. With the fight for desegregation of schools and the civil rights movement of the 1970s, African-nationalism was born. This is the time period when Dee, who was college educated, where the trend originated, had a new-found outlook on her African roots. So much so that she changed her outward appearance and name. When Mama inquired on why she changed it to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo, Dee simply replied with Shes dead. I couldnt bare it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.(27) Perplexed by the concept of the name change, Mama told her she was named after her aunt Dicie and that Dee was handed down through the generations. Wangero, getting tired of the conversation, jumped to the conclusion that somewhere down the line her ancestor was a slave to a white family and thus gave her a white name. Many outside sources such as The Nation of Islam encouraged Africans to abandon their slave names, their leader Elijah Muhammed writes You must remember that slave-names will keep you a slave in the eyes of the civilized world today. You have seen, and recently, that Africa and Asia will not honor you or give you any respect as long as you are called by the white mans name. Along with changing her name, Wangeros attire transformed as well. Straight hair, for Africans was a sign, another step towards assimilation into white society. Too more effectively exclude herself as an independent black woman Wangero grew out her afro. To Africans it was a symbol of defiance and repossession of her ancestral identity, embracing who they were naturally without being categorized as undesirable for their lack of straight fine hair.ÂÂ   She dressed herself in a long flowing bright dress that looked a lot like a traditional African garb and instead of saying hello she greeted Mama with the African term Wa-su-zo-Tean-o. The introduction to the new and improved Dee attests to the psychological process of morally separating herself from the past generations and reclaiming her Blackness. This includes wanting to take items from Mamas house in order to display them in a show and tell way further amplifying what she had to overcome. We are lead to question Dees sincerity when it comes to the acquisition of the items. Mama, our narrator, reminds us on how Dee hated the childhood house they used to live in and was joyful when it burnt down. Dee was embarrassed by Mama and the house, not wanting to bring friends over for introductions. She also tells us that when Dee was first going away to college, she offered her the very same quilts she now wanted to take and cherish. At the time, Dee abruptly refused them claiming they are old-fashioned, out of style. One can argue that the new-found appreciation for the family heirlooms is just part of the trend. That Dee can be seen as falsely affirming herself and becoming manipulated by the movement. Seeing that is it cool to have lived the struggle, that she came through by showing off her heritage through the art of hand stitched quilts made by her aunt. It seems as if she wants to gain respect from others following the movement by hanging and using these objects as art p ieces rather than the circumstances onto why they were made. Furthermore, at the beginning of the story, she snaps a picture of Mama and Maggie on the front porch. This is done after Mama describes herself as a large, big-boned women with rough, man working hands, one of the reasons why Dee never brought anybody over. This is done to further disrespect Dees own childhood, using it as a sort of show and tell, objectifying Mama and Maggie grouping them in the same category as the quilts, perhaps because she has missed out on the struggle of her heritage not learning the traditions of her ancestors. Dee, as Mama has lead us to believe, has never truly fit in. Always having her style even when she was young. Going away to college although has educated her academically, has left her out of learning the skills of her heritage like Maggie has. Quilting, field work, and all things Mama and Maggie have to deal with on a day to day bases is left untouched by Dee. This only solidifies Dees longing to be part of a culture and heritage she may feel left out of.ÂÂ   She feels obligated to present herself as part of the movement with the objects she wants to display. An African-American woman taking back her black identity. Trying so hard to claim the ranks on the social ladder leaves Dee unfeeling towards Mama and Maggie. This is especially seen when Mama refuses to give Wangero the quilts. Dee storms out to the car saying you dont understand your heritage. Understanding the character of Dee is complex. Because of the time period, Dee seems to be manipulated into a movement. While it is just, Dee resents her childhood forgetting where she came from. This in turn, leads her to denounce her recent heritage, demeaning Mama and Maggie and trying to fit within this movement by displaying folk-art. It is sad to see Dee pitying them as she gets into the car saying to Maggie Its really a new day for us. But with the way you and Mama live youd never know it just for one last verbal stab in defiance of her not getting her way. However, I end up feeling sorry for Dee, for within this new world she is living in, one must have asked the question where do I fit in? Work Cited Christian, Barbara T. Everyday Use and the Black Power Movement. 11th ser. (1944): n.pag. An Introduction to Fction. Web. Baker, Houston A. Stylish Vs. Sacred in Everyday Use.' 11th ser. (1985): 466-468. An Introduction to Fiction. Web. In search of African America: One collectors experience. An exhibit at the Herbert Hoover presidential museum. 21 Mar. 2004. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. B. Glaser, Linda, and AS Communications. The Black Power Movement and Its Schools. N.p., 2 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. Franchi, Elena. What is Cultural Heritage? Khan Academy, 2014. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. Makalani, Minkah. Pan-Africanism. African Age. Rutgers University, 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2017.

Creating a Robotic Garbage Truck with Lego Mindstorm :: Robotics

Includes Source Code Robotic Garbage Truck Abstract For my final project I decided to build a robot garbage truck that can drive by itself on a ?road? and pick up garbage. This garbage truck would also be able to distinguish from trashcans and anything else that might be in its place. This robot is a one-of-its-kind creation that has to my knowledge never been tried before. So I could replicate a real garbage truck as much as possible, I researched how garbage trucks work and how they have changed in the past 85 years of existence. I decided to create an arm unlike any garbage truck so far only because regular garbage truck arms need to be placed in a very small area to be able to lift up the trashcans. In seven days of work I was unable to finish creating my robot. I was only able to completely build the robot and partially program it. I believe that I made tremendous progress in building this robot in the time that I worked on it. This project has taught me so much on how to build a vehicle that replicates something useful for manki nd. Background Robotic Garbage Truck Garbage trucks have been around since the early 1920?s and are getting more and more advanced each year. But even now in the 21st century the same basic principle of how garbage trucks are run has remained the same. They still require 1-2 sanitary engineers to operate a garbage truck, and they still have to take the trash from your home to landfills. Advancements could be made and an event has proven that robotic vehicles can drive on their own. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) grand challenge is hosted a first of its kind all robotics race through the Mojave Desert from Barstow, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Two hours before the race the contestants are given the route at which their robots will have to take in order to win the race. Once the race starts human intervention will result in disqualification. The prize for finishing in the fastest time is one million dollars. So far no one has ever finished the race the farthest robot going just over seven miles, but they have made tremendous progress. Imagine this cutting edge technology incorporated into garbage trucks. This would eliminate the need for humans to transport garbage from your home to a landfill. Garbage companies like Waste Management would save millions of dollars because they wouldn?

Case Study on Dave Barry :: History

Case Study on Dave Barry Much can be learned about Dave Barry's personal life by reading his books, which are compilations of the articles that he has written. His articles can be seen every Sunday in the Daily Break section of The Virginian-Pilot. He is a comedy writer who often points out annoying aspects of everyday life and makes fun of them. All of the following excerpts have been taken from the book entitled, "Dave Barry is not making this up" (unless otherwise noted). He uses a lot of parentheses to add asides, which further explain what he has written. Another technique in his writing that I have noticed is personification, sometimes in the form of quotes. All of these techniques are used in the following excerpts from an article entitled, "Food For Thought." Another problem is that our ant is starting to sag, both in the front (or, in entomological terms, the "prognosis") and in the rear (or "butt"). It doesn't look like one of those alert, businesslike, "can-do" ants that you see striding briskly around. It looks depressed, like an ant that has just been informed that all 86,932 members of its immediate family were crushed while attempting to lift a Tootsie Roll. But the ants that showed up at our experiment were total morons. You'd watch one, and it would sprint up to a Cocoa Krispie, and then stop suddenly, as if saying: "Yikes! Compared with me, this Cocoa Krispie is the size of a Buick!" then it would sprint off in a random direction. Sometimes it would sprint back; sometimes it would sprint to another Cocoa Krispie and act surprised again. but it never seemed to do anything. There were thousands of ants behaving this way, and every single time two of them met, they'd both stop and exchange "high-fives" with their antennas, along with, I assume, some kind of ant pleasantries ("Hi Bob! "No, I'm Bill!" "Sorry! You look just like Bob!"). This was repeated millions of times. I watched these ants for two days, and they accomplished nothing. It was exactly like highway construction. It wouldn't have surprised me if some ants started waving orange flags to direct other insects around the area. A technique found often in Barry's articles are graphic indicators, especially italics. The above excerpt shows how he uses them to indicate exaggeration ("This was repeated millions of times") and also to emphasize words ("†¦accomplished nothing).

Internet Taxation Essay -- Internet Tax Taxing Essays

Internet Taxation The passage of the Internet Tax Freedom Act, on October 21, 1998 there has been an intense debate on whether to tax or not to tax Internet purchases. The conservative side is opposed to Internet taxation saying that it is too costly to collect tax on Internet purchases. They also believe that since Internet retailers do not have any of their operations in all the states, not every state should receive the sales tax made on the purchase. On the other hand, the liberal believe that taxation of the Internet should be lawful because states are losing valuable tax bases to Internet purchases. They believe that at current rates of online shopping, states are losing millions of dollars annually that are used for public roads, police protection, and education. Both sides of the Internet taxation argument use logos and ethos appeals. Logos appeals are the main form of argument for both sides. Plenty of examples and statistics are used to support the logos argument. Ethos appeals are not as prevalent as logos, but are enter strung throughout the articles to support both sides. Pathos appeals are almost non-existent in any articles found, so they are not a main contributing factor in the overall argument on Internet taxation. In the Issues & Controversies section of Clemson Universities Expanded Academic Search the article, â€Å"Internet Taxation,† both the pros and cons concerning Internet taxation are mentioned to establish both views concerning the issue facing the United States people. The conservative or con side on taxes mainly uses logos argument to make their point. Supports of the tax free Internet say that because of the way transactions are carried out on the web, electronic sales are vulnerabl... ...o adopt a unified sales tax for Internet purchases. They are a liberal group for Internet taxation, which recently got shot down with the onset of the extended Internet Tax Freedom Act. The coalition is not currently trying to persuade e-tailers to join their position on Internet taxation. Big names such as Amazon.com have not joined the talks for good reason. Online retailers do not want states to adopt a plan to implement taxes online since it would threaten the tax-free shopping advantage that these online retailers enjoy. Even with the onset of new rulings for a tax-free Internet there has not been a complete loss for the coalitions efforts. In a 1992 Supreme Court ruling states that e-tailers must collect sales tax in the states in which they have a physical presence. All in all efforts for both sides have resulted in a partial tax and tax-free Internet.

Empiricism in Geography

For the purpose of this essay I will critically discuss aspects of empiricism and the empirical method and their use in geography. I will discuss these aspects with close reference to a recommended reading for our course by Ward et al (2007). Empiricism is a philosophical idea that experience, which is based on observation and experimentation, is the only source of knowledge. Empiricism believes that the mind is a blank canvas and all knowledge arrives in the mind through the portals that are the 5 senses. It believes that all that we as a race know about the world is what the world wishes to tell us.Empiricism states that only information garnered using ones senses should be decreed as credible when making a decision An essential characteristic of it is its commitment to the position that all knowledge is dependent on experience.. It is directly in opposition with the fundamental ideas and attitudes associated with another philosophical doctrine, Rationalism. Rationalism champions a ll knowledge which is gathered through reason as opposed to through the senses. Essentially Rationalism vs Empiricism is a battle of reason vs. experience.Empiricism has been largely discredited as a discipline in an academic Geographical context but is still widely used in both human and physical geography. The Empirical Method is defined as a method of using a collection of data to form the basis of a theory and essentially form a scientific conclusion. The word empirical means information gained by experience, observation, or  experiment. The central theme in  scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical which means it is based on evidence. There are two prominent men who are credited with the development of modern empiricism.Francis Bacon was termed the ‘father’ of empiricism. He deemed that the human mind gained their knowledge only through the senses and that the development of the ability to free the mind of all biases and consciences that could i nhibit the truth about certain things. This method was called inductive reasoning. Following Bacon’s death in 1626 other philosophers were free to elaborate on the groundwork he had laid down. One such influential figure was John Locke. Locke believed that from birth human beings are ignorant and all that we know is derived from experience.It was lock who coined the term synonymous with empiricism, ‘tabula rasa’ which basically means blank slate. The reading from Ward et al (2007) is entitled ‘Living and Working in Urban Class Communities’. It was compiled by Kevin Ward, Collete Fagan, Linda McDowell, Diane Perrins and Kath Ray. All the authors hold esteemed positions in prestigious third level institutes in the United Kingdom, among them the University of Manchester, the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics. This fact alone leads the reader to automatically assume that the reading is a credible piece of work.All but one author are in the geographical field. Collete Fagan is part of a school of Sociology and therefore she brings a social viewpoint to the table. The reading was completed fully in May 2006 making it 6 years old at present. It focuses on an area of Manchester, England called Sharston. Sharston is a smaller district of the larger Manchester region called Wythenshawe. Sharston is predominately what the reading terms a ‘disadvantaged’ area which suffers from social and economic deprivation. Most of the residents are involved in semi or unskilled work in the local area with low rates of pay.There are also low levels of home ownership in Wythenshawe and the levels of people who are on permanent sick leave and disability are above average. Also to add onto all of this four in ten people there have no formal qualification. The reading focuses on the way that low income mothers cope in Sharston as they perform paid and unpaid work while at the same time juggling to maintain the social repro duction of the household. Manchester is the 2nd most deprived local authority district according to the 2004 index.Wythenshawe, where Sharston is located is the most deprived region of Manchester. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that the authors would choose Wythenshawe as the basis for their study. The reading discusses the mass emergence of a working class in Sharston and how most families have to rely on either one and a half or 2 incomes to support themselves financially. A high proportion of women choose to maintain part time hours in employment so that they can be there for their children when they come home from school and begin their caring and nurturing duties within their home.In the study, it became clear that the majority of women are employed in one of the 5 c’s of employment: cashiering, caring, cleaning, clerical and catering. The researchers gathered their information through the process of 20 interviews with women from the area. These interviews took place in the women’s homes. The interviews were recorded transcribed and analysed. They asked the women to think of their past, present and future and most women were frustrated when they thought of their situation. Questions like here they lived and why they made the decisions they made were asked. The results of the interviews were all recorded in tables. There are six tables present in the paper. The tables were on the following: socio economic indicators of Sharston in comparison with the city region and nation, work performed by participants, summary of statistics of households in Wythenshawe, intergenerational mobility, paid work and the mix of unpaid and paid childcare. The results were illustrated on the paper in said tables. The tables were clear and easily legible, even to the untrained eye.Upon a quick scan of the figures presented on the tables it was easy to ascertain the direction in which the trend of the women’s answers and other numerical data was going. The re were clear links to what the authors outlined they were intending to research in the abstract at the beginning of the paper and to the data contained in the tables. They had spoken about how low income families who were mostly women had to live and depended on their jobs in order to just get by, along with being the primary carers of the children as well.The authors of this paper clearly use the empirical method throughout their research. Seeing as they all were college educated, their own personal experience of the problems faced by the women in Wythenshawe as regards low income struggles would be low. They would not have had any previous experience of the women in Wythenshawe’s lifestyle. They also collected data from the women and used this to back up their findings which were outlined in the text and represented in table format on the paper.However, that being said there is an area where this paper would not be on par with the empirical methods approach. As all of the compilers of this paper reside in the United Kingdom, they would have been aware of some of the answers they were going to receive from the women before they received them. In geography it is practically impossible to have completely empirical approach as they would have went in to this paper with some idea of what they were going to meet.The authors of this article had set out to examine and use statistics to illustrate the area of Wythenshawe in the context of it’s deprived state and the effect its underdeveloped facilities had on the female residents and their families. It set out to investigate the women’s attitudes to Wythenshawe, their home. So it is true to say that they authors had an idea of the response they were going to get and just used the material gathered as a means to statistically illustrate it through empirical methods.

Reading Philosophies

Reading Philosophies Katy J. Kaldenberg Grand Canyon University: EED-470 Curriculum, Methods and Assessment: Literacy and Language Arts K-3 Monday, March 11, 2013 Reading Philosophies Chart Reading Philosophy| Brief Description| Reading Activities| Reading Assessments| Constructivist Reading Instruction| Constructivists view the student as an active participant in the learning process who constructs a personal meaning from each experience (Ying-Tien & Chin-Chung, 2005). One Constructivist reading activity for teaching a student a new word is that the student is taught to use picture cues to learn to read (Ying-Tien, & Chin-Chung, 2005). For example, if the student cannot read a word, he or she is taught to look at the picture then go back and to the word and guess the meaning. Another activity for constructivist reading instruction would be that the teacher would have students work in small groups to discuss a book that was read to the class. The small groups of students may then als o create their own story. Constructivist reading assessments would include the teacher collecting daily performance samples of work, observing and recording student’s behavior, audio and videotaping students in different situations, and building a portfolio filled with information about each student (Ying-Tien & Chin-Chung, 2005). The evaluation process is for the teacher, parent, and child. Conferences can also be held to discuss progress. | Explicit Reading Instruction| Explicit reading instruction is teacher directed (Goeke, 2009).The teacher uses explanation and demonstration to teach specific reading skills and strategies (Goeke, 2009). The teacher also provides corrective feedback to his or her students as the students attempt to apply the new knowledge (Goeke, 2009). | An example of explicit reading instruction would be that the teacher would state the sound and spelling of a specific letter-sound correspondence and then demonstrate by modeling how to read words that i nclude that feature to the class (Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002).The students then would practice but only after the teacher has modeled the process first. A second example of explicit reading instruction would be to teach decoding to students that have deficits in word reading. A third example of explicit reading instruction would be having students use the mnemonic DISSECT (Discover the context, Isolate the prefix, Separate the suffix, Say the stem, Examine the stem, Check with someone, and Try the dictionary) to read unknown words (Adams & Engelmann, 1996). The teacher would teach each strategy step explicitly (Adams & Engelmann, 1996).An important part of explicit reading instruction is that the teacher always describes the strategy, provides the rationale for its use, and states how and when to implement a strategy explicitly to the students and the instruction is always implemented systematically (Adams & Engelmann, 1996). | Explicit reading assessments would in clude having student answer multiple-choice questions about selected text passage; decoding assessments can also be given (Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002).One example of a decoding assessment would be that the student is given isolated words one at a time, and the student is asked to say the word aloud. The words selected for a decoding assessment should be words that are within the student’s spoken vocabulary, and should contain a mix of phonetically regular and phonetically irregular words (Goeke, 2009). Another type of assessment is that of standardized tests such as the Diagnostic Assessments of Reading (DAR) and the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR). | Reading Philosophies Summary The educational realm is not free from disputes.Disputes on reading instructional practices have been ongoing for more than half a century. On one side of this debate is composed of those who believe that students learn best when they are able to discover and c onstruct the essential information for themselves. This type of instruction is often called student-centered or constructivist instruction (Confrey, 1990). On the opposite side of this debate are those who believe that students only thrive when full, explicit instruction is given and student should not have to discover essential content (Goeke, 2009).This type of instruction is often referred to as direct or explicit instruction (Goeke, 2009). When speaking about reading instruction, this debate has often been coined as the â€Å"reading wars†. Constructivist Reading Instruction is derived from the theory of constructivism. One could assume that constructivism is derived from Piaget’s own reference to his views as being a â€Å"constructivist† or possible from Bruner’s description of learning discovery as â€Å"constructionist† (Gruber & Voheche, 1977).Some other terms that have been used to reference a constructivist way of learning include genera tive learning, situated learning, authentic learning, and educational semiotic (Wittrock, 1985; Cunningham, 1992). Constructivists believe that all learning should be student centered. They think that knowledge is obtained only during a meaning-making search where the student is involved in the process of constructing their own interpretations of their experiences.Constructivist generally agree that students much construct their own learning, all new learning is dependent on the student’s existing understanding, social interaction plays a critical role in learning, and authentic learning tasks are necessary for learning to be meaningful (Bruning, Schraw, & Ronning, 1995; Pressley, Harris, & Marks, 1992). According to constructivists, in order for a student to construct new meaning he or she needs to make every effort to make sense of all new experiences and then must relate those to experiences to what is already known (Confrey, 1990).Constructivists also claim that a catalys t for acquiring knowledge is dialogue and social interaction facilitates understanding (Brown, 1994). Constructivist teachers aim to provide cooperative learning tasks and peer tutoring for their students. Constructivist teacher often believe that students learn faster when they are actively involved in dialog with their peers about significant problems (Brooks & Brooks, 1993). The constructivist classroom would be filled with students roaming about the classroom obtaining supplies, conferring with peers or the teacher, and working on self-directed projects (Brooks & Brooks, 1993).Constructivist teachers pride themselves in asking big questions, providing time for student to think and explore to find answers (Brooks & Brooks, 1993). In an actual classroom, there are many flaws involved in practicing constructivist instruction. The first major problem is that often only the brightest students make the discovery that is needed (Pace, 2011). Another issue is that many students become f rustrated. This frustration many cause some students to disengage and other students may simply copy whatever their peers are doing regardless in either case the students never actually discover anything (Pace, 2011).A third issue is that some students may believe they have made a discovery but in fact, they have only learned a misconception (Pace, 2011). These misconceptions can then interfere with future learning and problem solving (Pace, 2011). Studies have shown that once a student has believed one of these misconceptions that even after they have been show the correct answer they are still likely to recall the original discovery and not the correction (Pace, 2011). Along with the above four issues studies have shown that constructivist instruction can result in an increase in achievement gap (Pace, 2011).Decades of research has validated that explicit instruction is much more effective for reading instruction when compared to constructivist reading instruction. Kirschner, Swel ler, and Clark (2006) states, â€Å"After a half-century of advocacy associated with instruction using minimal guidance, it appears that there is no body of research supporting the technique. In so far as there is any evidence from controlled studies, it almost uniformly supports direct, strong instructional guidance rather than constructivist-based minimal guidance. Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) also reports, â€Å"†¦ Not only is unguided instruction normally less effective; there is also evidence that it may have negative results when students acquire misconceptions or incomplete or disorganized knowledge. † Research has shown that when teaching new skills and content to students, providing explicit instructions accompanied with practice and feedback is more effective than requiring students to discover many aspects of what they are to learn (Hall, 2002). Explicit instruction is teacher directed.The teacher provides the students with a full explanation of the n ew skill or concept that the student is required to learn (Hall, 2002). The teacher also uses a variety of accommodations such as lecturing, modeling, videos and other media, and demonstration to provide the students with proper guidance (Hall, 2002). Students need to be explicitly shown what to do and how to do something first and then they need to be given the opportunity to practice doing it while they receive corrective feedback from the teacher (Hall, 2002). Extensive research supports explicit instruction’s success as an evidence-based practice.Adams and Engelmann (1996) found thirty-seven research publications validating the effectiveness of explicit instruction. These research publications all reported that explicit instruction had a significant outcome on reading instruction. Research also found explicit instruction to be as valuable for typical students, as for students with disabilities. The National Follow-Through Project studied multiple models of instruction to determine the most effective instructional models for students who were economically disadvantaged (Rosenshine, 1995; Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002).The results concluded that children who received explicit instruction in literacy and mathematics scored above those taught with other approaches. An additional result was increased self-esteem due to success in school (Rosenshine, 1995; Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002). The National Follow-Through Project belonged to a group of studies on teacher effectiveness, which determined that explicit instruction effectively taught students what they needed to learn (Rosenshine, 1995; Taylor, Peterson, Pearson, & Rodriguez, 2002).Baumann and Duffy (2001) reported on five years of research that showed that reading skills and strategies are most effectively taught with systematic and explicit instruction. In conclusion, explicit instruction is vital for initial instruction in skill acquisition (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). This is especially the case for struggling readers, who often require intense support to acquire reading skills (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). Beginning reading instruction should emphasize explicit instruction, particularly for phonics instruction (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989).Constructivist instruction is important when generalizing skills to other contexts (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). It can also be used when children explore children’s literature. Story structure can be taught with constructivist instruction and may be more meaningful to children than teaching it explicitly (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). The Whole Language Movement is built upon Constructivist principles (Goodman, Goodman, & Hood, 1989). References Adams, G. and Engelmann, S. (1996).Research on Direct Instruction: 25 years beyond DISTAR. Seattle, WA: Educational Achievement Systems. Brooks, J. G. & Brooks, M. G. (1994). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classroo ms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Brown, A. L. (1994). The advancement of learning. Educational Researcher 23: 4-12. Bruning, R. H. , Schraw, G. J. & Ronning, R. R (1995). Cognitive psychology and instruction, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Baumann, J. F. , & Duffy, A.M. (2001). Teacher-research methodology: Themes, variations, and possibilities. The Reading Teacher, 54, 608-615. Confrey, J. (1990). What constructivism implies for teaching. In R. B. Davis, C. A. Maher & N. Noddings (Eds. ), Constructivist views of the teaching and learning of mathematics (Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Monograph No. 4, pp. 107-122). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Cunningham, D. J. (1992). Beyond educational psychology: Steps toward an educational semiotic.Educational Psychology Review 4: 165-194. Goeke J. L. (2009). Explicit instruction: Strategies for meaningful direct teaching. Boston: Merrill/Pearson . Goodman, K. , Goodman, Y. & Hood, W. (1989). The whole language evaluation book. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Hall, T. (2002). Explicit instruction. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved Wednesday, March 13, 2013 from http://aim. cast. org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/explicit_instruction. Kirschner, P. A. , Sweller, J. , & Clark, R. (2006).Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41, 75–86 Pace, D. (2011). Best practice: The use of explicit instruction and culturally responsive teaching. Insights on Learning Disabilities, 8(2), 5-14. Pressley, M. , Harris, K. R. , & Marks, M. B. (1992). But good strategy instructors are constructivists! Educational Psychology Review 4: 3-31. Rosenshine, B. (1995). Advances in research on instruction. Journal of Educational Research, 88, 262â⠂¬â€œ268.Stanovich, K. E. (1994). Constructivism in reading education. Journal of Special Education, 28(3), 259. Taylor, B. M. , Peterson, D. S. , Pearson, P. D. , & Rodriguez, M. C. (2002). Looking inside classrooms: Reflecting on the â€Å"how† as well as the â€Å"what† in effective reading instruction. The Reading Teacher, 56, 270–279. Wittrock, W. C. (1985). The generative learning model and its implications for science education. Studies in Science Education 12: 59-87. Ying-Tien, W. , & Chin-Chung, T. (2005). Effects of constructivist-oriented instruction on

Professional Athletes Are Overpaid

Athletes are talented human beings but are they worth the millions that they are paid? Male athletes are among the most highly paid people in the world. Especially in basketball and football, every player is enormously paid. Though economics is the key to understanding why these athletes earn such tremendous salaries, still, it fails to explain why they actually do deserve it. Giving athlete’s high wages does not only distort them, but also bring downfall to clubs and the country’s economy. The growth and the development of a sport maybe reflected from the wages of the athletes and that is all it does.In conclusion, Team owners pay more to keep athletes on the team to be a winning streak, but whether the drive to win is justifiable remains in doubt. Giving these athletes high wages does not only distort the players, but it also bring downfall to clubs, the country’s economy, and even to the game itself. A normal, typical professional basketball player makes more money playing for only fifteen minutes of a game than a professor can make in the whole year. In addition, that player may perform badly and his only discipline is less playing time.He still receives the same amount of money despite how much he plays, while people Who have the â€Å"real† jobs has to perform well or else they will be dismissed from their place of work. This spoils some athletes and makes them believe that they are special and are above the law. An example of a â€Å"spoiled† athlete is Patrick Ewing, a basketball player who is making millions of dollars per year. He once makes a very absurd comment that said, â€Å"With the money I’m making now, I can’t afford to support my family. † In addition to spoiling the athlete, high wages also cripple the football club itself.For example, the Italian football league, with millions of watchers and viewers, used to be called, â€Å"the greatest league on the planet. † However, they ar e suffering from giving players too much money than they deserved. Up to this date, the clubs in the league face numerous and countless amounts of debts. Many clubs have gone bankrupt and forced to be sold out. In addition, many clubs have quickly gone from thrilling and successful to boring and troubled. Moreover, the football game itself has been disturbed. The pressure to win at any cost means the absence of coaches and ways for new ones.Few coaches are allowed to stick with a club long enough to build a solid, unified team. Many coaches are forced to play a defensive style because playing an open game with risks of losing is not as important as playing for a tie and a job security. The result is hideous and tedious football. In Italy does this not only happen, but also even to the most successful league today, the English premier league. In the summer of the year 2003, a Russian oil-tycoon, Mr. Roman Abramovich, bought an English football club, Chelsea, for one hundred million p ounds.In addition, three hundred million pounds were paid on clearing debts, another one hundred-eleven million pounds for buying new players for the club and of course, outrageous wages for players. Take into consideration that the price of winning the premiership is a measly 15 million pounds, so is it worth buying a club for mil In today's society, many will argue whether or not professional athletes are overpaid. In the present time, athletes are being paid phenomenally large amounts of money for their entertainment.It is my claim that all professional athletes are overpaid because they do not offer society an essential function that improves or enhances our world in comparison to other professionals such as medical doctors, lawyers, and teachers. Society does not value entertainment enough to warrant such high salaries such as those of many professional athletes. There is no reason that these athletes should demand these tremendous amounts of money. This is why you have to put into question their reasoning for demanding such high salaries.When addressing the value of entertainment, there is without a doubt, that we as a society value entertainment highly. Nevertheless, there is no reason that these athletes, who are here merely to entertain us, are paid higher wages than those that save our lives and teach us such as medical doctors and teachers. I find it ridiculous that players make millions of dollars a year, and yet demand more. The entertainment that these athletes provide is solely entertainment; it is not essential to the function or productivity of society.If I were to become a professional football player, I would not complain about my salary for many reasons. I am playing the sport that I love and being paid for it. The minimum wage for football is well over $100,000 a year, as is for many professional sports. These reasons by their lonesome are enough to warrant that the salary professional athletes are paid is suffice. Athletes are paid large amounts of money. It can also be argued whether or not these large sums of money have somewhat â€Å"spoiled† these athletes into settling for nothing less then what they think is a sufficient contract.In an article from the New York Times Patrick Ewing quotes â€Å"with the money I'm making now I can't afford to support my family. † (E13). This comment is ridiculous; there is no way that a multi-millionaire should have a problem supporting their family. These athletes have to set their priorities logically and realistically, a person does not â€Å"need† a multi-million dollar estate they just want one; this is what angers me. Another aspect that can be touched upon is whether they respect the people who provide their paychecks; those being their fans.Athletes argue that they are role models for children and endorse products. This is true, but it is what goes along with the job. I would be prodding if I knew that billions and billions of young impressionable ch ildren wanted to be just like me. You should not have to be paid to be a role model, there is no reason that one should be negative, commit crimes, and do â€Å"bad† things regardless of you being an athlete or not. It should be an honour to be praised and loved by billions; this is why I feel the reasoning of the professional athletes that demand higher wages are illegitimate. .Although sports are a major contribution to our society’s source of entertainment, it is not essential. Medical doctors and teachers, who are essential to the development of our society, do not demand outrageous pay; they can be described as underpaid people. The fans of these athletes are the means of which their paycheck is provided. Some of these overpaid athletes do not respect their fans, so why should they demand higher pay when they do not respect the provider of their 0paycheck. Athletes are role models, this is true, but there are many other societal figures that are role models.I feel that every person should try to be a role model, and inspire the younger generation to be successful. Professional athletes also endorse items such as sneakers, clothing, etcetera; but they chose to do so, it is not forced upon them. The athletes that do endorsements make money from the products they endorse, thus adding to their income. These athletes cry poverty, meanwhile they have various sources of income, and it is just ridiculous. Athletes do have to endure injuries, but that is the risk they have to take when they decide to play a professional sport.They should have acquired other skills that will enable them to enter another profession if they are injured while participating in a professional sport. Athletes have higher standards of living by choice; if for example, a single parent can raise three children on an inadequate salary, there is no reason an individual cannot survive on well over 100,000 dollars a year. I am not saying these athletes should lower their standards to be equal with the level of an indigent, but they should be realistic when saying they cannot survive on several millions of dollars per year. In conclusion, my proposal to this problem is arbitration.Not all of the professional athletes demand outrageous contracts. In many sports, there are already salary caps, which will help remedy this. The athletes have to agree to settle for less and in compensation a possible retirement plan or some form of benefits should be assembled. The only athletes that I truly disagree with are the ones that cannot differentiate between â€Å"needs† and â€Å"wants†. Luxuries are wants, and necessities are needs; if they could settle for less (yet still reasonable) money they would avoid lockouts and holdouts, and continue to entertain our society, which is their whole purpose.The American lifestyle is one in which one is encouraged to obtain as much success as they are willing to pursue. Athletes for example, are earning millions of d ollars a year to perform what many people consider being hobbies or leisure activity. Gone are the days where one played for the â€Å"love of the sport. † Instead, athletes are constantly searching for a new outlet to earn a profit whether it is deserved or not. These individuals are earning nine figure salaries, yet such a contract has become a common procedure and the public has accepted this as reasonable.Unfortunately, the salaries of athletes have become outrageous and beyond the point of just enough to live comfortably. Hitting a baseball three hundred feet does not justify owning ten million dollar mansions on each coast of the United States. Therefore, there should be a system implemented in which professional athletes are limited to a specific salary depending on their performance. Their salary cap can then be adjusted to earn more or less, if one’s production has increased or declined. While the probability of this occurring is uncertain, there is at least o ne certainty.Athletes are some of the most overpaid individuals today in modern society. If athletes truly deserve the money, they make, then why are other professions helping the lives of others and yet make only a small fraction of these gifted men and women. Doctors, police officers, and teachers spend their careers saving lives or educating future generations who will â€Å"hopefully† accomplish great things themselves. Yet, they earn measly paychecks and have few benefits or days off. Athletes would not be half of their potential without a coach or teacher to educate them towards peak performance.An athlete is being paid for entertainment and audience turnout. This has no benefit to others, besides a few hours of reality escape. Somehow, that legitimizes a Nike contract worth ninety million dollars in the sports industry†¦. Every young child who has ever been involved in athletics has dreamed of being a Professional in sports. Why do you think that everyone wants to be a professional athlete? Sure, it is because they get to play for a living. In addition, they get the big bucks. Why Would a person not want to get paid millions and millions of dollars just to play a Sport.Many professional athletes are highly overpaid though. When they sign these 20 and 30 million dollar contracts they are getting paid hundreds of times more than a school Teacher or even a police officer or firefighter. This is ridiculous. They are giving us nothing but entertainment. They are giving us nothing that could help us in the future. When a Player signs a big multi million-dollar contract; it seems that it always has a downfall To it. When this happens, there is an incredible amount of pressure put on the athlete.Once they are paid, the big bucks they are instantly changed from blue collar hard workers To overpaid millionaires. The players might not have changed at all, but everyone’s Perception of them has. They are now expected to make every tackle, get a ba se hit every time and make every jump shot. No one can do this no matter how much money they are Being paid. If players were not being paid so much money then organizations would not Have to charge such incredibly high prices for tickets to the games and for concessions. This can also cause turmoil on the team.If a player is making the millions of dollars And not performing the way that he should be, then the player next to him who is Performing at a higher level is thinking why I cannot get this big money. How greedy are These players when they ask for more money when they are already getting paid 2 million Dollars a year. Ninety percent of the people in this world would give anything to be paid two Million dollars a year. Many people seem to forget that these athletes are doing work That is a game that people played for recreation when they were younger.Sure anyone Admires a man who can hit a baseball 500 feet or can throw a football 75 yards with Incredible accuracy, but should t hese people be getting paid millions of dollars for this. Here is an example of how much some players are being paid these days. Michael Jordan will make up to $300,000 a game and $10,000 dollars a minute assuming he plays 30 Minutes a game. He will also make $52,000 every night he sleeps for 7 hours. Also Consider the $40 million dollars that he makes in endorsements per year. He will be making $170,000 a day. That is a little absurd don't you think.Professional sports have become no more than a human auction where men are bought and sold like inanimate objects. Don't get me wrong I love professional sports and to this day still have the Dream of one day playing them, but lets be serious these guys are drastically overpaid In addition, some of the money should be going to the hardworking every day people. Not to Say that these guys have not worked there entire life for where they are now and they Should be commended for it, but not by paying them millions of dollars for playing a G ame.The richest of the rich in our country are not the hardworking businesspersons anymore, but rather our professional athletes. The salaries of these athletes have grown considerably over the last 20 years who now make obscene amounts for playing a sport. Professional sports athletes should not be paid as much as they now earn. Right now, the President of the United States makes around $200,000 a year. In 1997, in Major League Baseball, the average salary was $1. 4 per year, though that is only the average. Barry Bonds, one of the highest paid in the league, earned $11. in a two-year contract made in 1998. Once again, the President of the United States makes $200,000 a year†¦. not $5. 75 million. Professional athletes create an entire market of supply and demand in the sports obsessed world of some Americans. Teachers, fire fighters and police officers and are jobs that earn salaries of less than $50,000 a year. An athlete is running around playing a simple game, and winning the adoration of fans everywhere while teachers, the most important job above all, receive no respect and barely enough money to live on.Even secondary athletes, not the starters, but the ones you see warming the bench, earn close to what the primary athletes earn, for doing nothing. While the President of the United States is protecting our country, working hard so that we Americans are safe, he is earning a mere $200,000 a year. Is our country worth a meagre $200,000 while our football games are worth $1. 5 million? The athletes’ salaries do not end at their on-field work, but rather with the continuous flow of advertisement and endorsement deals. Spectators have done this to themselves.As they live for sports and create the supply, the demand will always be there for more money. The economy in the sports world is like a never-ending black hole that sucks up everything in its path. As the demand for sports is ever increasing, so will the prices of athletes and sports entert ainment. This high price of talent from athletes causes prices of tickets to rise as well because the sports managers need to bring in more money to feed the greed. At this rate, the only spectators at sporting events will be their fellow athletes. Professional athletes are not overworked and underpaid, but rather under-worked and overpaid.The President of the United States is an example of someone who is overworked and underpaid, not someone who does what they love all day and grosses up to 10 times that of the leader of our country, who defends our liberties so that we are able to have sports at all. Sports will continue to dominate and professional athletes will rule. Spectators create the addiction to sports, and in turn, there will be games to watch and teams to root for. With Thanksgiving football coming near, just remember: is Drew Bledsoe really worth $10. 3 million dollars a year?When our country is in need of millions of dollars, why not take some from the sports-entertain ment business; it seems they have money to burn. Sports athletes are paid outrageous amounts of money to produce the simple entertainment of a game, while the most respected positions in society are robbed of the money that they deserve. Running a country seems to be a lesser duty than kicking a field goal, but if the public wants it, you can watch it. The supply and demand factor will continue as long as the demand is there; but when will our society put an end to this obscenity? Some people complain that professional athletes are paid more.They note that they are paid more that lawyers and doctors who often have many years of formal education. Other people point out that there are relatively few professional athletes compared to the number of members that other professions have and that professional athletes have short careers. Thus, in conclusion professional athletes are overpaid. The issue of whether the professional athletes are overpaid is categorically a perplexing question. Nevertheless, if we look deeper into this question, I believe that the professional athletes do not deserve to be overpaid because of number of reasons that are to be delineated in this essay.Yes, professional athletes are overpaid just like any other professionals such as lawyers, doctors and executives even though they do not have many years of formal education like other professionals from other area of study. Professional athletes are being over paid while hard working Americans are being paid a lot less. Athletes don't offer society anything that will help improve our economy, unlike doctors, the military , firefighters, and other jobs that are needed on an everyday basis. Being a professional athlete is just a waste of time and money.Many Americans believe that athletes are not overpaid; they say that their jobs are harder than ours are and we would not be able to survive [pic] Photo credit: Shirley L. , Chino Hills, CA Author's comments about this article: a day in their sho es. Then you ask yourself this, would someone who plays a professional sport be able to survive a day in your shoes? Do they believe that all of our jobs mean nothing and they are harder? No, we work just as much as or harder than they do. Sports players do not spend their day saving people’s lives from burning buildings, or fighting a war across the world people who believes that athletes are not overpaid there only reason is that they are being paid what they are worth, and how much their contract is worth. If your saying they are paid based on their contract then people whose jobs are more important should have been offered some close or more than their salary. There saying that Americans that have jobs that are needed in today’s society are not worth much at all. If we were to get rid of all the professional sports from being a job, we would not be at wits end, but if we get rid of the jobs that improve ever day life and kept the professional athletes.Then how woul d they get supplies when they get sick who would help them if there house caught on fire or someone broke in, and who would they send over there to fight the war. Professional athletes would not be able to survive in this world and continue doing their job if there was nobody caring for them. Why is it that some children aspire to be a professional athlete? It might be because you have a fun job, but what about the money? The average professional athlete makes over a million dollars a year. That might be why some children want to be athletes.It is unnecessary for someone who plays a game to make that much money (Hoffman, Greenberg, 3). Most parents plan what they want their child to be, so the child grows up liking that not giving any other professional a solitary thought when children are little and they tell you that they want to be a football player or a basketball player. Do you really think that it is for the money, fame or just because it something they like to do. Most childr en see them playing on television and that is the main thing that interest them. They do not get a chance to see all the other hard workers, because they are not worried about being on television.They are worried about doing what is important, stretching the little money they have each day to make sure that there family is fed and taken care of. Hard workers are living pay check to pay check, while athletes are worried about not making as much money as the next sport is making. People are not recognized enough for the jobs they do they way professional athletes are. You might hear about them in the news for a week about what type of tremendous jobs they did of saving thousands of people’s lives, but you never hear about each person individually like you do when some athlete core an unbelievable touchdown, or a slam dunk. If hard workers were making half as much money as pro athletes were than more people would be willing to work at different places all around the world. We wo uld be able to have more job openings. More people would be interested in starting their own business, making a name for themselves somewhere other than in the sports business. Their name will live on, and not die off when your career is over because; you had an injury that made you unable to play for the rest of your life. Where is all the money coming from?The answer is sports fans like you. We pay for the tickets, T-shirts, and apparel of these teams. They can afford to sign new players when they are charging anywhere from $45 to $55 dollars a seat for football and anywhere from $25 to $12 for a basket ball game (direct essay). By paying this amount of money, you are saying that there is nothing wrong with the amount of money they are paying the athletes even though you are not making nearly as much. Sport fans are contributing to the athlete’s paycheck without even knowing it. They might as well be flushing all of their money down the drain.The bad part about it is that i s if pro sports players get a reduction in pay then they will raise all kinds of no =sense saying that they will quit if they don’t get their money. One other thing is that most athletes only do charitable work because it looks good on their half. Do not get me wrong there are plenty of athletes that do good deeds because they have been through just as much as thoughts people are going through now so, they are trying to reach out and let them know that they are there. Nevertheless, that doesn’t give them a reason to get paid more plenty of people who participate in those activates daily that every day.They are just never recognized for them good they do just like fire fighters and police officers as mentioned before. They money that is made at basket ball games and football and any other pro sports should be given to the people who are in need not who are in want. †¢ Professional athletes are exciting to watch, this is no doubt. However, when it comes time to unde rstand and realize how much it is that they make to play the game, whether it be baseball, football and basketball, our heads have to be swimming. This has to be especially true while the United States, if not the world over is in a terrible economic and financial collapse. pic]Granted, we are beginning to see signs that we are coming out of the recession. This only means that the sports team owners and their players are going to continue to make millions more for what they do for only a certain period of time. Professional athletes are well over-paid for what they do. Take baseball for example. Baseball consists of one hundred and sixty games. These games are played between April and October. Granted, some teams go to the playoffs and then two teams battle it out in what we call The World Series. Talking with some people who somewhat like baseball, say, they find it boring.The games can go on for hours upon hours until one team has at least one more run than the other. Most profess ional baseball players, especially those who sign a contract worth ninety million dollars, say for an eight-year run, only perform with a mediocrity that we cannot stand it. So, what do we fans do? We still pay the exorbitant prices of tickets so that we can go and scream and holler to get them to either play better or hope that the umpires get glasses. Professional athletes have to come to a realization that most do not think about. What happens if they are injured? Oh, forgive this writer.They still are paid. What if they are injured and it is a career ending injury? Most still is paid, some do not. Over the years, we have also seen overpaid professional athletes get way over their heads and get caught doing illegal drugs or end up drinking and getting into car accidents or we hear that they have a domestic disturbance because they just cannot handle the success that they have come upon. There are professions out there, which are much more important than a professional athlete is. For instance, there are police officers and firefighters whose lives are on the line each day. They make a mediocre salary.Then there are those who are called soldiers, aviators, sailors, marines and coastguardsmen who put their lives on the line for our freedom and get paid â€Å"peanuts† for doing so. We tend to forget what it is that they do. However, when the ball game comes on television, we cannot wait to make the popcorn, the hotdogs and the apple pie and sit our rear ends down on the couch and again, scream and holler and tell them to go, go, and go. There has to be some kind of overhaul of the professional sports pay plan. If the government can tell us how much we can make when it comes to our salaries, why not tell professional athletes to do the same.Professional athletes are among the most wealthy and well-known people in the United States and around the world. Millions of people for their impressive athletic abilities admire all athletes such as Derek Jeter, Mic hael Jordan, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods. Most professional athletes are very talented, dedicated, and very hard workers. However, do they truly deserve all the praise people give them and multimillion dollar contracts simply because they are good at playing sports? Some athletes truly do not, because even while knowing thousands of young boys and girls are looking up to them, they still set bad examples.However, regardless of if they are good role models or not, no one should be paid millions of dollars merely because they are good at playing sports. Most professional athletes worked very hard throughout their lives to end up on the teams they are on today. Then once they make the team, they most likely still work very hard by exercising vigorously in practice and weight rooms, trying their hardest on game days, and doing what they can on a regular basis to improve themselves. Although this takes much commitment and hard, physical work, they do not deserve millions of dollars f or it.This year, the median salary in the NFL is around $770,000 for one season! The Washington Redskins have the highest payroll at $123 million and the New York Giants have the lowest at $76 million. The national average that a teacher makes in one year is $53,000. It is not logical for someone who is playing football, basketball or any other sport to be making hundreds of thousands more a year than a teacher who helps other people on a day-to-day basis. Professional athletes do nothing to improve the lives of others—other than themselves and their teammates when they do their jobs. All they do for other people while on the job is to entertain.Other professions such as a nurse, firefighter, police officer, or teacher help others on a daily basis, possibly risking their own lives, and still do not get as much credit, respect, or money as people who play sports for a living. However, too many Americans, sports and entertainment have a greater priority over these people and th erefore professional athletes are well paid and well known. As a result, professional athletes are treated like celebrities, and unfortunately can get away with doing practically anything. One example was when a NFL player murdered a man and only received an insignificant punishment.In June of 2009, Dante Stall worth of the Cleveland Browns was sentenced to thirty days in jail for manslaughter after making a confidential, financial settlement with the family of the victim. Dante was driving after a night of drinking in Miami Beach and hit Mario Reyes, age 59 while he was on his way to the bus stop after getting off from work. Although this was an accident, it was an accident that was caused by and illegal action by Stall worth. He could have faced up to fifteen years in prison, but because he co-operated and had the money to make a settlement, he was treated differently.Unfortunately, cases like this occur all the time with professional athletes and rich and famous people. It is not fair for people to be treated differently (especially when it comes to the law) only because they are rich and famous. If anyone else in the public, who was not wealthy, had committed the same crime, they would have had to carry out the jail sentence. Something needs to be done to stop these kinds of things from happening because this is not true justice. Also, professional athletes need to be more aware of what they are doing because there are millions of people—including young children—who look up to them.Professional athletes are role models for young boys and girls everywhere and should consider those before they do things they really should not be doing. Several athletes have set bad examples for children by doing drugs, being involved in shootings, taking steroids, and participating in many other illegal activities. One example was when Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was caught in a photograph of him smoking marijuana. The picture was released three months after he won a record of eight gold medals in the Beijing games and it was broadcasted on the news and online everywhere.Either many young children most likely saw this and were disappointed or it may have encouraged some to try it because they just witnessed their favourite athlete doing it. Although, several professional athletes learn from their mistakes and usually turn them around by correcting their behaviours. Others do not even do anything wrong at all and make great role models for kids. Several professional athletes make great role models by performing well in games, expressing good sportsmanship, donating to charities, and getting involved in their communities.All professional athletes should behave this way because they have such great influences on the lives of other people. Although even if they are great athletes and role models, they still do not deserve to make as much money as they do and they should not be treated differently than the public when it comes to the law. I t is sad that in society today our priorities are so messed up that we give those who play sports for a living, hundreds of thousands more a year than other people who make a difference in the world every day.If we lived in a world without professional sports to entertain us, life would be a little more boring, but we would live on. But if we lived in a world without doctors, firefighters, policemen, teachers, or construction workers, life as we know it would cease to exist. Paying professional athletes as much as we do is ethically wrong and we should give other people such as teachers the respect and payroll they deserve, because they make a difference in the lives of others every day. Would not it be great to make nearly $111 million a year simply to play a game?Many professional athletes, such as Tiger Woods, apparently think so; or else they would not be cashing their paychecks. However, do these athletes really deserve all that money? In my view, not. If you ask me, profession al athletes are making far more than they deserve, and in a society where salaries and wages are traditionally based on the value of one’s work, that seems wrong. I believe a person should be paid according to the job’s economic importance and value to society. Take education, for instance. Teaching is one of the most economically important occupations if you really think about it.Our future economies rely on how well we educate our youth, and yet teachers are paid a mere fraction of what a professional athlete receives. If you were to calculate how much Kobe Bryant is paid for every basket he scores, I am sure it earns him the equivalent of the average teacher’s yearly salary. That is simply outrageous. Yet, some would argue that the teacher only provides service to a single classroom, while superstar athletes like Kobe Bryant are entertaining fans all around the world; bringing them both excitement and relaxation with their athletic exploits.Perhaps those maki ng such an argument are not aware that Kobe Bryant’s salary also dwarfs that of the president of the United States, Barrack Obama, who only makes approximately $400,000 a year. Obama’s critical decisions affect the entire world every day, as he is hard at work trying to revive our nation’s economy and protect our nation’s security, and yet the newest unproven rookie in the NBA will earn more than the president this year. Again, simply outrageous when you really think about it. Moreover, teachers aren’t the only ones deserving of higher wages.Police officers, firefighters, and doctors throughout the country both risk their lives and save the lives of others for a fraction of what many sports, stars make. Those in the military leave their families at home for months at a time to defend and protect our country’s freedoms, knowing they may never return, and all for a pittance compared to what even many scrubs in the NBA make. If you ask me, it i s a shameful that these heroes aren’t given the same recognition by society that is afforded Brett Favre, Michael Jordan, or LeBron James.Do not mistake what I am saying for some sense that these athletes have had it easy getting where they are, either. I fully understand that making it to the pros isn’t an easy thing to accomplish. It takes a tremendous amount of dedication and talent on the part of the athlete, not to mention an incredible number of hours of hard work every day just to earn the privilege. However, in the end, all athletes do is entertain. Is that actually worth the price we pay them?I believe it’s not, and that at the very least, that if these athletes want to continue to reap the rewards of their fame, they must begin to prove they can be positive role models for both future athletes to follow, and the children who grow up admiring and practically worshipping them. They must begin to show that they are more deserving of the fortune that (I be lieve) is unfairly bestowed upon them by our society. How often have we heard about an athlete drinking and driving, using drugs, or sexually harassing some woman?If you ask me, there should be a zero tolerance policy in every single sports league for such behaviour, precisely because they are so highly paid. Simply put, if Alex Rodriguez (or any athlete) believes he deserves to make, as much money each year as he does, then he must also recognize that he should be allowed to cheat and take steroids. This is because if we, as a society allow that, then what we are teaching our children is that it’s okay to use illegal substances such as steroids, because in the long run it will pay off.In order for these high-priced athletes to gain more respect, they will need to have a more significant impact on their communities. They will have to become more involved, and willingly give back in terms of time and resources to those who have made it possible for them to live in such luxury. In addition, a system needs to be put into place that prevents players who have never even really proven their value in professional sports from hijacking teams for all they can get.Now, of course the owners themselves are partially to blame, as they just keep on spending and spending, but something must be done. Take the case of JaMarcus Russell for instance. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, despite being recognized as being one of the biggest busts in NFL history, will still walk away an incredibly wealthy man. That is because the deal he was given by the Raiders when he came into the league (a six-year $68 million contract) included $31 million in guaranteed money.Simply put, this person did nothing for the Raiders whatsoever, and is walking away a multi-millionaire. Again, that is outrageous. In any job in the real world, if you don’t perform to your employer’s expectations, you’re fired, and there’s no guaranteed money (unless of course you’re the CEO of BP or Enron). Finally, it all comes down to the fact the system of paying professional athletes is broken. They are swimming in money, much of it totally undeserved or unearned, and it needs to stop. When asking people whether they think athletes are paid excessively much money, most agree with me. Do you?