SLA Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

SLA Theories - Essay Example From this study it is clear that the problem that therefore arises is that there is no common medium of communication in regards to the difference in language and therefore the acquisition of the second language for the communication and proper understanding to be very effective. One major factor that needs to be accepted and owned is that when it comes to the learning of the second language or foreign language, processes that are undergone while learning the language and the persons who are engaged in the learning of this kind of language are very much essential. This study highlights that the social condition arises to difficult in second language acquisition due to various situations that students find themselves in. Learners typically interact with other learners and some speakers of the target language are affected by through this process. Particular utterances, moves, and verbal exchange are the ones that determine the learners’ caption of the second language acquisition during learning. In such cases, hearing can be learnt in a different way opposite to understanding what has been said. This limits the acquiring of the new words or vocabularies and the sounds of those words. Activities also relate or contribute a lot to problems related to second language acquisition as used by new learners where a unique part is to be played to enhance it. Linguistic features if ignored they can contribute a lot to failure to adopt a second language acquisition during the TL which in full refers to target language. These feature s if limited can result to its limit due to the influence of the vernacular which can outdo the second language. In the provision of the solution to the problem, it is therefore quite in order for the putting into using various theories in the Second Language Acquisition (SLA).  

Jake in Transition Essay Example for Free

Jake in Transition Essay The following essay is in response to the Jake in Transition exhibit which displayed the many psychological and physical stages Jake went through to change his gender from a woman to a man. The artist of the exhibition demonstrated different stages of Jake’s transition from female to male. As the artists discussed in his interview, he felt â€Å"awkward† at first when photographing Jake. This awkwardness is to be expected, society has socialized us to feel certain ways about gender, creating stereotypical feelings. Since the time an individual is born, they are taught by society what is expected of them as either a male or female. However, in some cases such as Jake’s, some individuals are born one gender and feel as though their gender is a wrong fit. In Jakes case, he was born a female but was so uncomfortable in his own body that he felt he had to physically change it to a male body in order to be comfortable. I believe Jake felt the need to conform to society’s gender ‘norms†; his body was female but he felt he did not demonstrate typical female attributes as depicted by society. Jake went to extreme measures to conform. Jake discussed how he felt being a woman, his fear of being considered a â€Å"freak† because he was trapped inside a woman’s body with the mentality and tendencies of a man are a result of society’s ideology of gender roles. Jake went against this ideology when deciding to take surgical measures to become a man. Jake demonstrates his â€Å"natural† male instincts after his surgical procedure when he marries the woman he loves. Other activities he enjoys, such as, horse riding and playing the guitar are not typically attributed to either gender; as both men and women enjoy partaking in such activities but Jake however feels these are masculine activities. The exhibit displayed Jakes surgery photos, which caused me antagonistic feelings at first. I had not expected to be effected by this, breast surgeries are broadcasted on the television daily. Jake however, was removing her female identity, I am still unsure if this is a personal feeling or one that I have been trained by society to believe is wrong. I am leaning towards the latter, since I can not identify with Jake’s unhappiness with his born gender. I can not say I agree with changing ones gender through surgery. I do however understand Jake’s need to share his experience, in hopes to find acceptance in a society with such rigid gender norms. I question the underlying factor that caused Jake to go through such extremes as to remove all traces of femininity. I feel there must have been a deep resentment of his female body for him to go against nature and wipe out his female gender. If it were just a matter of sexuality, that Jake was attracted to females, I doubt it would have led to him getting surgery. I was deeply disturbed by the story of â€Å"x†. It disgusted me that anyone could have given birth to a baby for the sole purpose of using it for an experiment; and inevitably ruining its future. Baby X was raised without an identity. Gender roles, while drastically influenced by society, gives an individual a purpose. Jake was confused by his feelings which he did not associate with being female and thus changed his physical image to match his feelings of masculinity. X however, had no basis in which to judge its feelings. X was not socialized in a way that would help him understand his identity. Although we are not told what happens to X past elementary school, I foresee him having extreme emotional problems; more specifically, a lack of identity. Jake felt he did not fit in with females but X has no reference in which to judge if he fits in or not. Society influences how we see â€Å"normal† gender roles. Many, if not all, cultures have an essentialist view of what roles are contributed to males and females. While some individuals may feel that they do not conform to this ideology; Jake took drastic measures in which to conform. I think this says a lot for the extreme influence society has on gender roles. Jake wanted his body to look as masculine as he felt; so he would not feel like a contradiction to societies norms.

Tools And Techniques In Environmental Analysis Commerce Essay

Tools And Techniques In Environmental Analysis Commerce Essay Strategic management is also called institutional management. It is the art and science of making, implementing and evaluating cross-functional decision making that helps an organization to achieve its long-term objectives. In this process the organizations mission, vision and objectives are discussed and developed. After these objectives are developed, the policies, plans, with respect to projects and programs, are designed, and then resources are allocated or budgeted to implement them and achieve the objectives. (wikipedia n.d.) Strategic management consists of a set of activities that come under setting goals and over the process of putting together tactics to achieve these goals and objectives. How strategic management is carried out depends on the organizational structure of the company. The Board of Directors, the management team as well as other stake holders of the company can be involved in these activities that fall under strategic management. Strategy can be defined as unified, comprehensive and integrated plan that relates to the strategic advantages of the firm to the challenges of the environment. It is designed to ensure that the basic objectives of the enterprise are achieved through the proper execution by the organization. (Jauch and Glueck 1988) Formulating a strategy for achieving an objective or a set of objectives is a combines three main processes which are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ By analyzing the situation, self-evaluation and competitor analysis: both internal and external, both micro-environmental and macro-environmental. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ After this assessment, objectives are set. These objectives should be parallel to a time-line; some are in the short-term and others on the long-term. This involves creating vision statements (which is the long term view of a possible future), mission statements (which is the role that the organization gives itself in society), overall corporate objectives (both financial and strategic), strategic business unit objectives (both financial and strategic), and tactical objectives. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ These objectives should be studied along with the results of the situation analysis and a strategic plan can be formulated. The plan provides the details of how to achieve these objectives. Environmental analysis is a process that begins from identification of environmental factors, assessing their nature and impact, auditing them to find their impact to the business, and making various profiles for positioning. All the decisions taken by the organization and the impact of these decisions depend on the organizations internal and external environmental factors. These environmental factors should be carefully analyzed before taking any decisions. Environmental analysis is made up of the processes of scanning, monitoring, analyzing, and forecasting the business situations and variables of the environment. Scanning is done to get information from the environment. Monitoring is done to check the nature of the environmental factors. Analyzing requires data collection and the use of tools and techniques. Forecasting is a method to find the future possibilities based on the past results and present scenario. (Business Environment Analysis n.d.) Different types of methods, tools, and techniques are used for environmental analysis. Some of the major methods of analysis are Scenario Building, Benchmarking, and Network methods. Scenario building gives an overall picture of the total system with the factors which affect it. Benchmarking is to find the best standard in an industry and to compare the ones strengths and weakness with the standard. Network method is to assess organizational systems and its outside environment to find the strength and weakness, opportunity and threats of an organization. Some of the techniques of primary information collection can be Delphi, Brainstorming, Survey, and Historical enquiry. Delphi technique collects independent information from the experts without mixing them. Brainstorming is information collection technique being open minded without criticizing others. Survey is to design questions and to ask them to the participants whereas the historical enquiry is a kind of case analysis of past period. Analysis tools can be statistical such general descriptive tools as mean, median, mode, frequency or tools can be inferential as ANOVA, correlation, regression, factor, cluster, and multiple regression analysis. (BADU 2002) SWOT Analysis A scan of the internal and external environment is an important part of the strategic planning process. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually can be classified as strengths (S) or weaknesses (W), and those external to the firm can be classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T). This is called SWOT analysis. (QuickMBA n.d.) The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firms resources and capabilities to the environment in which it operates. The SWOT Matrix A matrix of these factors can be constructed. This matrix will be helpful in developing the strategies for the firm. The SWOT matrix (also known as a TOWS Matrix) is shown in the next page: SWOT / TOWS Matrix Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities S-O strategies W-O strategies Threats S-T strategies W-T strategies S-O strategies pursue opportunities that are a good fit to the companys strengths. W-O strategies overcome weaknesses to pursue opportunities. S-T strategies identify ways that the firm can use its strengths to reduce its vulnerability to external threats. W-T strategies establish a defensive plan to prevent the firms weaknesses from making it highly susceptible to external threats. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OR EXTERNAL AUDIT The organizations should adapt themselves and their strategy to the external environment which is constantly changing. The external environment is also called macro environment. These forces of the external environment cannot be controlled and can be analyzed using a variety of tools and techniques such as Environmental Scanning and PEST analysis. Environmental Scanning Environmental scanning is defined as the process that seeks information about events and relationships in a firms environment, the knowledge of which help top management chart the firms future. In this process, the external environment is divided into sectors or areas such as political, economic, cultural, technological and further analysis such as Pest analysis can be done after scanning the environment. Information is collected by monitoring and forecasting any changes that occur to the variables of the environment that have been identified earlier. This collection of information helps the organizations to find out where they are lacking and what exactly they need which helps them in formulating the strategies. (Acar 1995) Environmental scanning is used to gather information from the environment. PEST Analysis A PEST analysis looks at the Political, Economic, Social and Technological drivers or the external forces that affect the organization. It is most useful when used together with other tools such as the SWOT analysis. Political Factors These factors may have direct or indirect impact on the organizations operation. Decisions made by the government may have an effect on the business. The political arena has a big influence on how organization operates. Economic Factors Economic factors such as the market prices and market cycles affect the purchasing power and behavior of the consumers. Sociological Factors These factors include the demography, lifestyle, cultural aspects of the consumers. These factors have a big influence on the consumer needs and wants. Sociological factors also affect the size of potential markets. Technological Factors Technological changes play an important role in shaping how organizations operate. Technological factor is very important to gain competitive advantage. Technological innovation can also improve the production efficiency, quality and speed. New technology is changing how organizations operate. Porters Five Forces Analysis Porter identified the following five forces model of competitive strategy: The threat of new entrants and the appearance of new competitors The degree of rivalry among existing competitors in the market The bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of suppliers The threat of substitute products or services which could shrink the market The strength of each of these forces varies from industry to industry, but taken together they determine long-term profitability. These five factors affect the strategy of the organization. It is important to analyze and study these five forces to be able to craft a successful strategy. To be successful, the organization must respond effectively to the pressures of these five forces. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The resources, strengths, behaviors, weakness and distinctive competences are major components of the internal environment of an organization. An organization uses different types of resources which help them achieve their objectives and the way in which they utilize their resources can be the source of their strengths or weaknesses. This can also be defined as organizational capability which is used to develop the strategies and objectives which the organization can achieve and these should not unrealistic according to its capabilities. Some of the components of the internal environment of an organization are: Organizational Resources These are all the tangible and intangible inputs used in the organization to create outputs in the firm of product or services through a transformation process. Organizational Behavior The behavior of an organization demonstrates is the result of forces operating internally which will determine the ability or constraints in the usage of resources. Competency Competency of an organization is the ability to do what its competitors cannot do or the ability to do better than what they can do. This concept is used for strategy formulation. CONCLUSION It can be seen that the analysis of the environment is critical to the success of the decisions that managers have to make which have widespread impact on the functions and processes of the business.

Analysis of NFL Injuries

Analysis of NFL Injuries INTRODUCTION Achilles tendon (AT) ruptures are increasing in incidence across all populations[1-9]. Recent large-scale analyses put the incidence as high as 7-40 ruptures per 100,000 person-years[3-5, 10]. A 33-year study from Finland discovered from 1979 to 2011 the injury rate increased from 2.1 to 21.5 ruptures per 100 person-years in all age groups and activities[6]. Even in the athlete population, the number of athletes suffering AT ruptures is increasing which poses a potentially career-altering and even ending injury[1, 6, 11-13]. Nearly a third (27.5-32%) of all National Football League (NFL) players who suffer an AT rupture are unable to return to competition[13, 14]. In the NFL from 1980-2001, around 4 AT ruptures that required surgical intervention occurred each year[11]. From 2009 to 2014 in the NFL, there was an average of 14.67 (Standard deviation: 4.13) AT ruptures each season[15]. These ruptures are seen most frequently in running, jumping and cutting movements[6, 12, 16]. Achilles tendon ruptures typically occur from a non-contact mechanism during explosive acceleration or a sudden change of direction with an eccentrically loaded foot[14]. The AT has elastic properties that are required for locomotion and is the strongest tendon in the human body[12, 17, 18]. This elastic nature and strength allows it to transmit high forces, up to 12 times ones body weight[17, 19, 20]. Durability requirements of the AT create a unique set of challenges in proper treatment decisions. Current reconstruction concepts differ behind the ideal treatment strategy[9, 21]. The recovery process from all surgical techniques is an arduous challenge involving significant physical therapy and medical treatment. Unfortunately a majority of patients, especially those in the general population are able to return to a pre-injury level, with the current exception being elite athletes[22]. Although several studies evaluate AT ruptures in multiple populations, including professional athletics, studies that assess trends in professional football are scarce. NFL athletes provide an interesting patient population due to the intricate details and variables reported for every game where data is archived and widely available. A recent NFL Injury Surveillance System (ISS) analysis by Mai HT et al., discovered only a 72.5% return to play rate for athletes who suffered an AT rupture. If the athlete was able to return, the average return was 375.1 days, similar to the recovery period for ACL reconstruction (378.1 days)[13]. Athletes fortunate enough to return to competitive action frequently experience a significant decline in performance, and their competitive athletic longevity may be shortened[13, 14, 23]. The potential devastating effect on high-level athletes has required the development of ideas to optimize treatment management and improve return to play rates[23]. Previously, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries have been scrutinized due to their high incidence, long rehabilitative process and potential career-threatening nature of the injury[24]. A recent review by Balazs et al. identified four studies that found an increased risk of ACL injury on artificial playing surfaces in football cohorts, although these findings are not consistent across all studies[24]. Current research evaluates multiple variables in efforts to find potential contributing risk factors, including playing surface, that may increase the risk and rate of these devastating injuries[24, 25]. Identifying and understanding risk factors from prior research has been used to develop and improve protocols and outcomes after ACL injuries[24]. With the growing incidence of AT injuries, research is necessary to improve management and prevention of AT ruptures, especially in football players where the current literature is limited. This study performed an extensive review of reported NFL injuries from public injury records and injury reports during the 2009-10 to 2016-17 seasons. This data was compiled to monitor the incidence and injury rates of AT injuries that occurred during the regular season to evaluate the influence of playing surface on rupture rate. Additionally, further analysis to identify potential effects of position and frequency of injury at different periods of the season on AT ruptures was performed to guide future studies. Our hypothesis is that playing surface has no impact on the incidence and injury rate of AT ruptures in professional football players despite a recent overall increase in AT ruptures. METHODS A thorough online review was conducted by three co-authors to document AT ruptures sustained in the NFL between the 2009-10 and 2016-17 seasons. Online search criteria consisted of information acquired from Rotoworld.com, NFL.com, ESPN.com, SBNation.com, SI.com and from each teams local sports reports and blogs covering the team. Open searches through Google.com utilized combinations of the words Achilles and tendon along with the player, team and year of injury. Published weekly injury reports and team injury reserve lists were utilized to identify players who suffered injuries to their lower extremity or leg. Their names were added to the open internet search key words in attempts to improve accuracy of documenting all AT ruptures of NFL athletes. Only injuries with corresponding reports that confirmed the injury were included. Additional information gathered through the online search and acquired reports included player-specific details including team, position, approximate date of injury, activity at time of injury and other injury specific details including mechanism and playing surface when available. Injury incidence was recorded for each season. A season was defined as the day after the prior Super Bowl until the day of the Super Bowl in each given season. Descriptive statistics characterizing the injuries by playing surface, time in the season (broken up in to four game segments specific to each team considering their bye week) and players participating on offense, defense or being a specialist (i.e. kicker, punter, long-snapper) were determined for analysis. As previously described by Lawrence et al., injury rates were calculated per 100 team-games (TG)[26]. A TG is defined as one team exposure to a game[26]. One regular season or post-season game is equal to two TG as there are two individual teams participating in each game[26]. Mid-P exact tests were calculated to evaluate differences in IRs with statistical significance established at p Team and schedule information was gathered through Pro Football Reference and official team websites. The yearly team schedules and location of games played was recorded to help determine the home team and playing surface for all injuries suffered in games. Adjustments were made when games did not take place at the stadium of the home team and corrected accordingly. An analysis of the number of AT injuries per game for each variable was calculated. An NFL game in this study included the participation of two teams. Injury rate ratios were used to compare the incidence of AT injuries on different playing surfaces (i.e. natural grass and artificial turf). RESULTS Between the 2009-10 and 2016-17 seasons, there were a total of 45 Achilles tendon ruptures reported in the NFL during games (Figure 1). There was a subtle increase in the number of ruptures suffered each year. The most Achilles tendon ruptures occurred during the 2013-14 and 2016-17 season (N = 9) and the incidence of ruptures on grass was 24 (IR: 1.00 per 100 TG) compared to 21 (IR: 1.13 per 100 TG) on artificial turf playing surfaces (Figure 2). The difference in rate was not statistically significant (p = .67). Of the 45 Achilles tendon ruptured over the eight years, 32 (71.1%) were suffered by defensive players.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Offensive players only sustained 13 ruptures and specialists reported no ruptures over that time (Figure 3). Defensive players suffered the greatest number of Achilles tendon ruptures every season monitored except for 2015-16. Defensive players had a significantly increased IR (p = .005) compared to offensive players (Table 1). When factoring in the playing surface, offensive players suffered a higher percentage of their ruptures on turf (N = 8, 61.5%) compared to defensive players that sustained a great number of their ruptures on natural grass (N = 19, 59.4%). Achilles tendon ruptures were most likely to occur early in the season. The greatest incidence was reported in the 1st or 2nd 4 game segments of the regular season schedule (N = 17 and N = 14 respectively). These 31 ruptures in the first 8 games of the regular season made up 68.9% of all Achilles ruptures in games over eight seasons (Table 2). There was a significant rate difference between the first four games of the regular season with the last four games of the regular season (IRR: 3.40, p = .01). The second four games of the regular season also demonstrated a significant rate difference with the final four games of the regular season (IRR: 2.80, p = .04). DISCUSSION Previous studies have documented the increased incidence of acute Achilles tendon ruptures in the general population. After the NFL lockout, the increasing incidence of Achilles tendon ruptures in the NFL was noted and gained national attention[11]. The purpose of this study was to document the incidence and injury rates of Achilles tendon ruptures in games over eight NFL seasons. Using this data, we were able to evaluate the potential influence of playing surface on the rate of Achilles tendon ruptures between grass and artificial turf to improve our understanding of the growing injury. Game information provides playing surface details for each game for analysis. Since this injury compilation is from public records, the ability to accurately identify the playing surface for training and practice injuries is limited. Analysis of 4,272 regular season and playoff team-games reported 45 Achilles tendon ruptures. The overall game injury rate was 1.05 AT ruptures per 100 TG. As the current literature on AT rupture epidemiology in professional football is limited, this is one of the few studies in the past decade reporting IRs. The IR for artificial turf was 1.13 per 100 TG and 1.00 per 100 TG on natural grass. There was no demonstrated difference between rates on artificial turf and natural grass (p = .67). These early findings support that playing surface does not affect the rate of AT ruptures. Other studies evaluating injury patterns have confirmed that certain injuries are more likely during certain activities or periods of the season, like hamstring strains in the NFL preseason[27]. To further understand our findings, overall AT ruptures were broken down in to four game segments of the regular season and the post-season. The greatest IR was observed in the first and second four-game portions of the regular season (IR: 1.66 and 1.37 per 100 TG respectively). The only significant rate difference occurred between those two four-game segments with the final four games of the regular season (p = .01 and .04 respectively). These findings support the significantly increased rate of injury early in the season. A further analysis of all AT ruptures in practice and games is important to help understand the significance of these early findings. Previously between the 1997 and 2002 seasons, a total AT analysis reported that Achilles tendon ruptures sustained were evenly distributed[ 14]. Our game findings do not support this earlier analysis; however, the overall incidence has increased substantially since the previous study[14]. Further evaluation may confirm these findings and help identify risk factors that lead to an increased risk of AT rupture early in the season. Additionally, further evaluation should identify if this increase is only during the beginning of the regular season or is also distributed throughout pre-season training camps. Immediately following the NFL lockout in the 2011 season, there were 10 reported Achilles tendon ruptures in the first 12 days of training camp[11]. That off-season was unique for at least the last decade due to the elimination of rookie mini-camps and off-season training sessions (OTAs), but potentially highlighted the importance of adequate preparation for current physical demands of professional football players[11]. Ultrasound evaluation found that subjects who are less active have a thinner Achilles tendon compared to athletes[18, 28]. A recent meta-analysis of 27 studies identified that differences in the loading conditions affected the adaptive responses (tendon stiffness, Youngs modulus, and tendon cross-sectional area)[29]. Additionally, although shorter high intensity programs may induce adaptive tendon responses, intervention programs of longer duration appears to be more efficient and clearly demonstrated increased adaptive responses (greater than or equal to 12 weeks)[29 ].   The combination of findings after an NFL Lockout off-season preventing team-affiliated practice and the meta-analysis findings stress the significance of adequate player preparation[29]. An adequate player preparation programs involves sufficient high level intensity training of significant length that prepares the athlete and allows for tendon adaptations to prepare them for training camp exposures. Continued efforts to identify the best training protocols to prepare athletes for the demands of football training camp is crucial for optimal injury prevention. Additional analyses identify specific positions or position groups most likely to sustain specific injuries[14, 27]. We were interested if the reactive nature of defensive players increased their likelihood for injury. Of the 45 AT ruptures identified, a majority (N = 32, 71.1%) were sustained by defensive players that demonstrated a significantly increased rate in games compared to offensive players (p = .005). Eccentric movements increase the tendon length[29, 30]. The Achilles tendon functions as both a spring and a shock absorber[18]. Previously, athletes have been found to have a thicker Achilles tendon than subjects who are less active[18, 28]. Currently, ruptures are believed to be caused due to the overloading of the taut tendon, but other studies have also discovered degenerative changes within the ruptured tendon[8, 29, 30]. Although research demonstrates a genetic influence on the predisposition of a person towards an Achilles tendon injury[31], these findings clearly demonstrate an additional risk experienced by defensive players.   We suspect one factor that increased the incidence of AT injuries for defensive players is the reactive nature of the position and movements required of defensive players compared to the movements utilized by offensive and specialist players. A further analysis may be able to confirm this hypothesis and if practice injuries are included may be able to provide an adequate sample size to identify specific positions more susceptible to injuries. CONCLUSION Utilizing game data, there is no apparent correlation between playing surface and rate of AT ruptures. Our findings identify significant rate differences in AT ruptures in the first and second four game segments of the regular season compared to the final four games. Additionally, our findings are some of the most recent published game IRs for AT ruptures. Defensive players suffered a majority of ruptures compared to offensive or specialist players. Further analysis to identify an overall IR including practices and additional analysis of player position and time of the season of injury will improve our understanding of AT ruptures in professional football. LIMITATIONS This analysis of the NFL relies on publicly available data. We are aided in our analysis as the NFL requires all teams to report and publish injury reports each week of the season in addition to every game of the season televised. This allows the accuracy of game data to be of increased accuracy compared to practice information that is not as widely publicly available. Even with the precautions, there are possibilities for AT ruptures to not be documented. With the current attention to long-term injuries, there is potential bias from an increased attention and publication of athletes who sustained AT ruptures compared to the beginning of our study. REFERENCES [1] Fox G, Gabbe BJ, Richardson M, et al. Twelve-month outcomes following surgical repair of the Achilles tendon. Injury 2016; 47: 2370-2374. [2] Ganestam A, Kallemose T, Troelsen A, et al. Increasing incidence of acute Achilles tendon rupture and a noticeable decline in surgical treatment from 1994 to 2013. A nationwide registry study of 33,160 patients. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 2016; 24: 3730-3737. [3] Huttunen TT, Kannus P, Rolf C, et al. Acute Achilles Tendon Ruptures: Incidence of Injury and Surgery in Sweden Between 2001 and 2012. Am J Sports Med 2014; 42: 2419-2423. [4] Mattila VM, Huttunen TT, Haapasalo H, et al. 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Sports Med. Epub ahead of print 3 October 2016. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-016-0629-3. [21] Gulati V. Management of achilles tendon injury: A current concepts systematic review. World J Orthop 2015; 6: 380. [22] Egger AC, Berkowitz MJ. Achilles tendon injuries. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. Epub ahead of print 13 February 2017. DOI: 10.1007/s12178-017-9386-7. [23] McCullough KA, Shaw CM, Anderson RB. Mini-open repair of achilles rupture in the national football league. J Surg Orthop Adv 2014; 23: 179-183. [24] Balazs GC, Pavey GJ, Brelin AM, et al. Risk of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Athletes on Synthetic Playing Surfaces: A Systematic Review. Am J Sports Med 2015; 43: 1798-1804. [25] Hershman EB, Anderson R, Bergfeld JA, et al. An Analysis of Specific Lower Extremity Injury Rates on Grass and FieldTurf Playing Surfaces in National Football League Games: 2000-2009 Seasons. Am J Sports Med 2012; 40: 2200-2205. [26] Lawrence DW, Hutchison MG, Comper P. 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Muscles Ligaments Tendons J 2013; 3: 173-189. FIGURES Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Table 1. IncidenceIRaIRRbp-value Defense320.752.46 (1.31-4.85).005 Offense130.30 a Injury rate based on 4,272 TG (4,096 regular season and 176 post-season TG) bInjury rate ratios with 95% confidence limits Table 2. IncidenceIRaIRRbp-value 1st 4 games171.66 1.21 (0.59-2.51)c.60 2.13 (0.93-5.21)d.08 3.4 (1.30-10.31)e.01 2.92 (0.53-61.68)f.29 2nd 4 games141.37 1.75 (0.74-4.40)d.21 2.80 (1.04-8.67)e.04 2.41 (0.43-51.37)f.42 3rd 4 games80.78 1.6 (0.52-5.38)e.42 1.38 (0.22-30.76)f.85 4th 4 games50.49 0.86 (0.12-20.45)f.83 Post-season10.57 aInjury rate based on 4,096 regular season (1,024 each 4-game period) or 176 post-season TG bInjury rate ratios with 95% confidence limits Compared with c2nd 4 games of the regular season, d3rd 4 games of the regular season, e4th 4 games of the regular season, or fpost-season

A Brief Overview of Feminism Essay example -- essays papers

A Brief Overview of Feminism Feminism can be roughly described as a movement that seeks to enhance the quality of women’s lives by impacting the norms and moves of a society based on male dominance and subsequent female subordination. Although feminist literary writings began to gain popularity in the 20th century, feminist characters have been around for ages. â€Å"Feminist criticism’s self transformations over the past several decades as it engages with both critiques from within and encounters from without- encounters with psychoanalysis, Marxism, Post-Structuralisms, ethnic studies, post-colonial theory, and lesbian and gay studies- have produced a complex proliferation of work not easily subsumed to a single description. (Rivkin 527)†. According to Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan in their essay â€Å"Feminist Paradigms†, feminist criticism includes several other ideas. Gayle Rubin, author of â€Å"The Traffic in Women: Notes on the ‘Political Economy’ of Sexà ¢â‚¬ , also adds: The literature on women- both feminist and anti-feminist- is a long rumination on the question of the nature and genesis of women’s oppression and social subordination.† Some of the earlier feminist characters include Kate, from The Taming of the Shrew and The Wife of Bath from the Canterbury Tales. Unfortunately, during their times these women were viewed as either crazy or troublesome. There was little respect for their opinions and ideas. Trailblazers such as Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Geo...

Reality and Illusion in Shakespeares Hamlet - Reality, Appearance and

Reality and Illusion in Hamlet    Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, begins with the appearance of a ghost, an apparition, possibly a hallucination. Thus, from the beginning, Shakespeare presents the air of uncertainty, of the unnatural, which drives the action of the play and develops in the protagonist as a struggle to clarify what only seems to be absolute and what is actually reality. Hamlet's mind, therefore, becomes the central force of the play, choosing the direction of the conflict by his decisions regarding his revenge and defining the outcome. Shakespeare begins Hamlet's struggle with recognition of Hamlet's sincere grief and anger following his father's untimely death. A taste of the conflict is expressed in the dialogue between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude. Here Hamlet forcefully declares his pain and adds a discerning remark that defines seems as "actions that a man might play." (I.2 ln 84) By acknowledging Hamlet's comprehension of the separation between appearances and truth, Shakespeare gives the audience a reasonable belief in Hamlet's eventual success despite the obstacles he creates for himself.    Developing a convincing scheme by which to determine the goodness of the ghost and to achieve revenge is Hamlet's first action. Hamlet asks his friend Horatio to refrain from commenting on any strange behavior he may exhibit in the future. (I.5 ln 170-179) Later in the play, Hamlet alludes to his actual sanity when conversing with his school friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. "I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw." (II.2 ln 377-378) After adequately concealing his intentions, Hamlet begins to doubt his own character. He compares himself to an actor who... ...struggle for revenge. Nevertheless, the central driving force of the play remains Hamlet's mind. The new king, Fortinbras, assures the audience that Hamlet "was likely, had he been put on, to have proved most royal." (V.2 ln 391-392)    Works Cited and Consulted: Heilman, Robert B. "The Role We Give Shakespeare." Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. Gerald Chapman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965. Levin, Harry. General Introduction. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974. Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html

Gorgias, Socrates, and Justice :: Philosophy Philosophical Justice Morals Essays

Gorgias, Socrates, and Justice When a person’s back is against the wall and the stakes are the highest, how should they handle the pressure? When the lines between right and wrong become so blurred, how is one to know what is the ethical choice in the matter? Imagine being accused of first degree murder, a crime in which you did not commit. However, the evidence against you is stacked so high, it seems you do not have a chance. Your lawyer says he could have you acquitted, but in order to do so he must engage in some unethical courtroom tricks. So with your life on the line, what is the right thing to do? Do you keep the lawyer or should you stand by the truth? I believe the nice thing for everyone to say is that they would stand by the truth. That would be if we, as a society, could really believe that the truth always wins out. However, realistically we know that bad things happen to good people and not always does good triumph over evil. I know that for myself I honestly think that being trapped like that, I would stick with the lawyer. For me being in that situation, I would be too scared to take the chance that the lawyer with the good, honest tactics could get me off. I would be too scared to not go with what seems to be a good thing. My attitude would probably be that since I am being falsely accused in the first place, then it would be fine to use whatever means necessary to have me acquitted. In this situation, I believe that Gorgias would have the same opinion as I would. Gorgias would have rather stayed with the same lawyer, because he would have more belief in the power of oratory. He believed that through oratory anyone or anything could be convinced even though that person might not be a professional on the subject he was expounding on. Through oratory, Gorgias believed that a person gains his personal freedom. In a courtroom, oratory could be used to convince the jury system of anything. Oratory, Gorgias believed, had the total power to persuade. Gorgias thought that oratory had the ability â€Å"to persuade the jurors in the court, the members of the council, and the citizens attending the assembly - in short, to win over any and every form of public meeting of the citizen body.