With the creation of Facebook and Twitter among other social blogging networks in the early part of the twenty-first century, exchange of communication became a lot easier and wider. People became able to share photos, make new friends from different continents, share text messages amongst each other and even advertise their products online for free. Lorna Jane is an Australian wear company that recently decided to venture into the growing yoga clothing market. This is not traditional for the enterprise. Therefore, the company would like to understand Facebook as a potential marketing platform for their new product line. Social media has grown over the last decade from a social interaction site to an important marketing place for products of varying types. The essence of writing this consumer insight report is to analyze the behaviors and traits of social media audience as potential buyers for the Lorna Jane wear company’s new line of yoga outfit. In this project, emphasis will be put on Facebook as the primary target social media market.
Evaluation of the findings
According to the research findings, all the individuals who were sampled in the study had Facebook accounts. This shows that Facebook had a larger following of members compared to the other social media sites such as Instagram which came second, Twitter and the rest. 77 percent of the research sample had logged into their Facebook accounts less than an hour before the research was conducted. This shows that Facebook users, which are a majority of the social media users log into their accounts within hourly intervals. Most of the Facebook users also log into their accounts on daily basis. This shows that the social media site is very attractive among the youths. 16.3 percent of the interviewed people checked their Facebook accounts at least ten times per day. 16.6 percent of the sample spent at least two hours per day on Facebook. The highest number of people in the sample population spent their time on the Facebook reading newsfeed. Liking and viewing of photos and Facebook were some of the mostly performed activities.
The information from the first survey can be used to formulate an appropriate marketing policy for the new line of yoga outfit for the Lorna Jane were a company. From the information collected from the survey, Facebook is the most popular social network. Some of the most popular activities on the social network involve viewing timelines and exchanging photos. These traits are important for marketing of a product that depends on an impression to consumers. The posting of any comment or picture about a product on Facebook would lead to exposure to many potential customers. The high frequency with which Facebook users log into their accounts on Facebook presents a higher probability of a product being marketed on Facebook of being spotted by consumers.
In the second survey, many individuals interviewed were either just certified, at 34%, not sure whether satisfied or dissatisfied at 20% or dissatisfied at 22.7%. These statistics indicates that there is a high potential for the investment into the yoga outfits business. The dissatisfied people, 22.7% of all the sampled population, are a number large enough to warrant investment into products concerned with body fitness. The 20% of the sampled population who are not sure are also a target market as social media may also be used to influence people into not being satisfied with their unfit bodies and, therefore, start yoga. On the matter of importance of the looks in yoga pants, most of the sampled population was of the views that it was slightly important, moderately important and fairly important. This shows that at least people care about how they look in yoga pants. Therefore, they would prefer to buy a fashionable yoga outfit. This would be significant in choosing how to market the Lorna Jane Yoga line. The results for those planning to buy yoga pants in the subsequent 12 months showed that 62% of the participants would buy the pants within the period. This shows that there is an extremely potential market for yoga pants. Most of the participants also did not own the Lorna Jane line of pants. This showed that there is a need for a stronger marketing strategy to ensure that there is growth in the number of consumers of Lorna Jane yoga pants. The comments put along with the photos on Facebook influenced the people’s view of the brand. For instance, the second comment about Melanie was a bit selfish and self-centred. Therefore, people did not like the brand as much as they liked the pants in the first photo.
Recommendations and justifications
Lorna Jane Wear Company should employ Facebook as a marketing tool through paid ads. The company should also pick a famous sports person as a face for the campaign.
Based on the fact that Facebook utilizes both the consumer culture theory and the experimental consumer theory, the company should employ a strategy that takes advantage of both models. As seen from the analysis of the research above, most of the people are on Facebook and marketing via Facebook would expose the product to more potential consumers (Alizadeh, 2015). The investment into yoga wear is a risk that the company is willing to take, and it would, therefore, be correct for the enterprise to exploit any possible niche for their brand. Facebook is one of these niches (Shank & Lyberger, M.2014).
The choosing of an athlete as a face of the new Lorna Jane Yoga clothing line is based on the application of the two theories of consumption that Facebook exploits. The athlete must have a desirable athletic body as looks of people in yoga pants matter according to the research. The face of the campaign will be seen in ads of the new line around the internet and Facebook. This sports personality should be of attractive physic and popular among the youths (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). This is because the youths are the principal target of Facebook marketing. The face of the campaign will wear the clothing line during her yoga exercises and share nice photos of herself via her official Facebook fan page and the official Lorna Jane fun page. Facebook users will then be exposed to the photos of the athlete experiencing the use of the yoga outfit in different stages of consumption.
Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2010). Principles of marketing. Pearson Education.
Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business horizons, 52(4), 357-365.
Shank, M. D., & Lyberger, M. R. (2014). Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge.
Vij, S., & Sharma, J. (2013, January). An Empirical Study on Social Media Behaviour of Consumers and Social Media Marketing Practices of Marketers. In 5th IIMA Conference on Marketing in Emerging Economies.
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
The 1996 Atlanta Olympics Online Discussion As discussed in Tutorial 2, in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Linford Christie (in a media conference) wore Puma contact lenses prior to the 100m final (see
image below).
The 1996 Atlanta Olympics Online Discussion
Puma generated media coverage of over US$1 million as the images were portrayed in international media. This is a classic case of a brand using
a publicity stunt to reach audiences through various media.
Linford 1 Linford 2
Upload ONE case study (and related images) using a publicity stunt. Provide a brief overview and outline if it was it a success or failure? Support your
answer with evidence sourced from a variety of academic references and professional sources (apply the Harvard referencing format here). Also, check each
other’s main posting and avoid uploading similar case studies. Thereafter, comment on each other’s posts.
Note: a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract media attention to the promoters or their cause. For this task focus on a brand, product or
service organising a newsworthy event designed to attract coverage from various media, resulting in either increased awareness, influencing public perception, sales increase or any other set objectives. Refer to this statement when evaluating its success.
Paper 3: A Philosophy of Sport
Philosophy 3313: Sports Ethics and the Philosophy of Sport
Please write an academic paper in response to one of the following prompts, or on a topic of your own choosing (which
you have discussed with me in advance):
1. Explain the relationship between rules and winning in sport, according to Connor. What does Connor’s
philosophy of sport have to say about cheating?
2. Explain the relationship between continuity and discontinuity in sport, according to Connor. What does
Connor’s philosophy of sport have to say about movement?
3. Connor notes early in the book that “disabled sports are the only kind there are” (p. 18). What does he
mean? And how is this idea related to Connor’s understanding of the role equipment plays in sport?
Be sure to address yourself not only to answering the question, but also to providing your reader with an account of why
you believe your answer to be correct. What are your reasons for understanding A Philosophy of Sport in the way you do?
In order to justify the claims in your paper to your reader, you must offer substantiation for your claims with quotations from the text. Quotations are absolutely required; papers that do not use direct quotations from Connor’s A Philosophy of Sport to support the claims they make will receive a failing grade.
Please do not consult any sources or resources other than Connor’s A Philosophy of Sport. Papers that cite from other sources will not be acceptable; papers that rely significantly on other sources without citation will be considered plagiarism. Any paper that quotes from a source other than the texts assigned for class, or which can be shown to be reliant upon a source other than those texts, will receive a failing grade and its author will be subject to the appropriate
disciplinary procedures, detailed in the Academic Honesty Policy (available online, or in Student
Handbook). Please note: “a source other than those texts” includes anything not written by Connor in any copy, edition, or translation of his writings, such as editor’s and translator’s introductions, forewords, afterwords, epilogues, and notes.
The paper should be 5-to-6 pages long, typed and double-spaced. Use an 11- or 12-point font with reasonable margins.
Citations should be in either the MLA or Chicago Manual of Style formats (information on both of which is available on information for both texts in either a “works cited” (MLA) or bibliographical footnotes (Chicago). Quotations should be set off from the rest of the paper (typically by quotation marks), and you must cite the page numbers in the relevant text where the quoted passage appears.
SAMPLE ANSWER
A Philosophy of Sport
Question 1
The philosophy of sports is a field that is based on three key issues. To begin with, most philosophers focusing on various team games aim at presenting a detailed description of sports with reference to the main rules and principle. This aids in the demarcation of such activities from related social engagements. Moreover, some theorists consider sports as a self-directed ethical universe that is parallel to the broader moral space. However, this space has noteworthy concerns on integrity. Another key issue included in the fundamental philosophy of sports entails the artistic aspect of sports. This includes the integrated apparel. However, in A Philosophy of Sports, Stephen Connor avoids these philosophies by arguing that such discussions present sports symbolically. In order to substantiate this argument, he asserts that such philosophers use certain principles outside the sporting context to evaluate values and proceedings governing various sporting activities. by presenting his ideologies through a unique experience within the sporting context, Connor effectively evaluates such relevant categories as time and space from a perspective of the participants and observers. The concepts integrated in Connor’s A Philosophy of Sports is the basis of this discussion (Connor 213). By highlighting the embedded relationship between rules and winning in sports, this paper will present Connor’s arguments regarding cheating in an athletic arena. Subsequently, it will be easy to understand the principles associated with moral objections in various scenarios within a sporting arena. This is mainly because of the weightiness of winning in any game.
Based on Connor’s philosophy, the key function of rules is to establish sporting events by presenting the relevant goals, acceptable acts, and methods of winning. For this reason, the principles and rules defining various sports are ruthless as compared to the regulatory laws. This is mainly because a participant who disrespects the stipulated rules and principles of a particular game suffers the anguish of self-contradiction. Among these rules that cause substantial agony is the unstipulated principle that requires all participants to attempt to win. Theoretically, the rules governing any sporting activity provide an effective approach of converting the actions of an event into quantifiable and objective activities (Connor 218). This brings in a fresh perspective regarding the eventualities of sports. Sport-related restrictions naturally contribute to probability evaluations, statistical analysis, and gambling.
Furthermore, based on the principles and arguments presented by Connor in A Philosophy of Sports, winning revolves around the broad subject of competition. Connor indicates that one of the key paradoxes embedded in this subject matter with reference to the contemporary perspective of sports entails the argument that participants of various sporting activities ought to show the weightiness of the expected outcome (Connor 204). Despite its decisive nature, the weighty nature of winning is not manifested brutally in the contemporary sport setting. Nonetheless, Connor indicates the existence of rough treatment in modern sporting activities. This enhances the relationship between competition and violence in different contemporary games. Moreover, as part of his speculations regarding the outlook of various sports, this philosopher highlights the possibility of a gradual suppression of competitions governed by certain strict rules and principles. This is bound to result in certain encounters that promote “the nonhuman world of things and forces” as observed in extreme sports (Connor 210).
Similarly, by highlighting the existing relationship between rules and winning in sporting activities, the philosopher in question indicates that the principles governing such actions have changed significantly over the years. Despite the unstipulated rule of using all acceptable means to win, the contemporary sporting arena does not exhibit intense competition. However, participants have a way of manipulating the existing principles in order to acquire desirable outcomes within the legal framework (Connor 189). This is an indication of the transformations that have occurred in the sorting arena in the recent past with respect to the rules governing such activities.
In addition to the stipulated relationship between rules and winning in sports, Connor presents a detailed discussion regarding the violation of basic ethical principles with reference to the adherence of the set rules. In such scenarios, the moral values and principles play a crucial role in identifying the acceptable practices. This is mainly because sports and other related social engagements are an integral part of our daily lives. In line with our social norms and beliefs, there are certain situations where disregarding the stipulated rules is allowed. For instance, in football, committing a professional foul is often morally acceptable. In addition, after a competitive basketball game, the participants deliberately commit professional fouls as both parties evaluate the penalties of such an offense against the price of permitting their opponents to win (Connor 213). The principles and rules of such a game specify penalties and breaches, with the penalties being worth the risk in certain scenarios. Similarly, in soccer, a punishment based on the referee’s judgment may be harsher if the foul is deliberate as compared to an accidental foul. However, if the participant’s act is not hazardous, there are certain occasions when breaking the set rules are ethical. This is in line with the participants’ duty of considering the benefits of their team and supporters.
Based on Connor’s philosophical perspective, breaking the set rules often attracts moral criticism during two key occasions. This includes situations where there is a possibility of the participants and supporters being harmed or occasions indicating the intent to deceive. The initial situation often occurs in key physical sports with the latter scenario being observable in all gaming activities through cheating. Sometimes, cheating does not involve the aspect of lying. For instance, it is possible for card players to cheat by sharing certain crucial information with other participants. Moreover, athletes often take drugs aimed at enhancing their performance (Connor 202). Such sports persons may lie when challenges, an aspect that may be considered as an aggravation of the offense. Nonetheless, based on Connor’s argument, there exists a significant moral objection to such an act and the embedded lie. This philosopher argues that the actual moral concern occurs when the cheating participants sabotage the game by failing to take the sporting activity seriously. Connor indicates that when Lance Armstrong used performance-enhancing medications prior to a cycling event, the key moral issue was the fact that the contest lost its purpose as opposed to the disobedience of the rules regarding taking such drugs and lying about the act. The main purpose of a typical game is to identify the best competitors. Cheating is the key aspect that makes it difficult to attain this objective. Connor substantiates this argument by asserting, “…not an offence in the game but an ontological affront to it” (Connor 178). This assertion indicates that cheating triggers major moral concerns whose justification depends on the outcome of the sporting activity and the resultant benefits on the participants and supporters. This explains why team members evaluate the consequences of disregarding certain rules against the possibility of winning in such a contest.
In conclusion, Connor’s arguments in A Philosophy of Sports regarding the existing relationship between rules and winning are useful on highlighting the ethical aspects in sports. To begin with, stipulated rules in the sporting arena are useful in defining the objectives of a game and quantifying the embedded activities. Furthermore, based on the key ideology of competition, there are numerous tactics that team members often use with the key intent of enhancing their advantage over their opponents. In most cases, this forms the basis for cheating. In such sporting activities, cheating does not always involve lying. The deliberate disobedience of the stipulated rules is often because the participants intend to suppress the opportunities of their opponents to win the contest. This is because the needs and desires of one’s team and supporter may surpass the severity of the penalties associated with such unacceptable acts (Connor 195). In line with Connor’s argument regarding such scenarios, the moral objection of such unacceptable acts and the involved lies depends majorly on the consequences of one’s actions in relation to the team’s possibility of winning. While the stipulated rules in sports aim at defining the objectives and suitable winning methods, there are certain elements of cheating that are morally acceptable owing to the weightiness of winning. This substantiates the existing relationship between rules and winning in different games.
** Im also attaching an Essay Q&A(Question and answer) document. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me. My email is rohin360@hotmail.com**
You are to complete a ten page, typed, double-spaced essay on one of the following topics:
Violence in Sports
or
Fans and Sports Obsessions
The paper should include relevant research on your topic. You are to compare and contrast research and ideas that support your opinions with the research you have found. You are free to complete this paper using the style of your choice provided the following details are addressed:
Use a minimum of three references
The paper is a minimum length of ten pages, not including cover page and reference page (total 12 pages). You are welcome to go well beyond the 10 pages of written information keeping it within reasonable limits, not beyond 20 pages.
Papers are completed using APA style references and in-paper citations. Also, Wikis are acceptable as sources, but you can only use one for your essay.
Papers are to be submitted by the due dates outlined in the course schedule.
Submitted using the digital drop box.
Mark Breakdown
Essay is worth 40% of your final grade
70% of grade is content
20% (2 pages of opinion/validation)
10% correct referencing/APA style
When writing your essays, when I refer to compare and contrast, I am referring to comparing and contrasting the research/sources which is a part of writing an essay APA style. If the information you are using is all the same, then you will only be comparing. Also, when writing this essay, I do not require you to include an abstract.
Photos, graphs or charts are not allowed as they are not APA style! If anything other than 10 pages of solid writing content appears in the paper (charts, graphs, pictures, etc.,) this will result in an automatic 30% deduction from your overall grade!
NO BLUE FONTS ALLOWED! I need to warn students that when you copy and paste information directly from websites into the body of your essay or into the reference section, that is plagiarism and can be an automatic zero on the assignment. I should not see blue font in your essays or reference sections. If I do this could result in a major penalty or zero, be forewarned! I have seen this too much lately and do not want to see this in my course. Other instructors will not only fail you on the assignment but entire course for this! All of your writing content must be in black, 12 point font and some version of Times Roman, Century or Courier, no exceptions! Blue coloured fonts appearing in the essay is an automatic 20% deduction penalty.
Two pages of the essay are devoted to your opinion. I would like to see this at the end of the paper, and since it is in your own words, it is your ‘critique’ and this part of essay therefore does not have to include APA citations.
Penalty for late submissions is 10% per day! Essays must be due by 6 pm ET on specified dates, no exceptions.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Sports Psychology: Violence in Sports
Introduction
Sports encompass different genres of games such as football, athletics, and indoor games among many others. On several occasions, many games report violence across the world for various reasons. Violence entails use of excessive force that causes or has potential of causing harm or destruction to others. In sports, violence manifests differently or indirectly in various games. Some games are violent in nature and this is expected or is the norms. It also occurs in the field among players. There is on the field and off-the-field violence among players and violence among spectators that attend sports events and watch these games through media coverage. Solutions of violence in sports require understanding its history and various situations under which such violence occurs.
Sports Violence
Different people hold contrary views about violence in sports. Some argue that violence is part of many games and, therefore, is indispensable. Others hold view that it is wrong because it destroys or interferes with the dynamics of the games. Other still feel that it is a reflection of natural tendencies among male people in society whereas some argue that it promotes the idea that strength and physical size is a legitimate way of maintaining power (Guilbert, 2006). Studies assert that violence in sports has changed compared to the past years. In-depth research and survey is however, the only way to ascertain these assumptions and people’s feelings.
Different types of games require participants to engage in violence. Some games have rules that bar people from intentionally hurting others even if they come into contact like football. Games or sports such as wrestling have rules but the participants can physically assault others. This makes people to perceive violence as normal occurrence in such games.
According to Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald (2011), violence that involves deviant actions face severe sanctioning, hence, classified as illegal. However, violence is allowed when it happens with the intention of enforcing social norm or conforms to the norms. Emotions and psychological instincts among players and fans trigger violence. Sportsmen are human beings and they experience stress in their lives that affect their minds. Many instances, violence on the field results from inability to restrain or control one’s emotions or anger. It is important to understand the history of violence in sports to have a clear picture of the entire scenario to adopt appropriate measures to solve this menace.
Historical background of violence in sports
According to Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald (2011), violence in sports is not a new phenomenon as it continues to happen as it did in the past. In ancient Greeks and Roman Empire, blood sports were very popular. The sport was violent and participants nursed injuries. Similarly, among the Mayas and Aztecs, people lost their lives in ritual games (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). In medieval and early modern Europe, tournaments aimed to train people for wars and had warlike consequences. Some of the folk games had fewer rules hence; people nursed injuries and many succumbed to death. Games such as dog fighting, cockfighting, bearbaiting and other sports activities during the periods were brutal and violent.
However, as the Northern Americans and Europeans embraced civilization, modern sports emerged. These sports had more organized rules as opposed to the physical games that had limited rules. As the sports industry continued to develop, more games became organized and rules became formalized, certain form of violence became prohibitive (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Players were required to have self-control to restrict physical combat/contact and any expression of aggressive impulses as they competed.
Some social historians argue that violence in sports does not automatically decrease over time. However, emotional expression and actions have become more regulated and controlled in modern society hence it is something exciting and entertaining for the spectators (Guilbert, 2006). Furthermore, processes of globalization, commercialization and professionalization have led to new forms of instrumental and dramatic violence in various sports. This has contributed to increase in entertainment and goal oriented violence.
Regardless of these developments, violence is still a social issue in these modern days as the major goal is tension creation as opposed to relieving or discharging the tension. In some societies, patriarchal aggression and violence reproduce ideology that makes the power of men above that of women (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Sports are, therefore, given different meaning by place and time and understanding sports violence can only occur through analysis in relation to social, historical and cultural context that it to occur. Solutions to this problem emanates from clear understanding of these analysis and understanding of the circumstances that triggers such violence.
Violence on the field
Violence comes in many forms grounded on cultural and social factors related to commercialization, sport ethic, ideas about masculinity and gender ideology, and the dynamics of race, social class and strategies in sports (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Violence on the field typology is attributed to Mike Smith a Canadian sociologists. According to these sociologists, four common types of violence occur on the field. One of the types is brutal body contact, which includes physical practices in various games such as athletics and football. Examples of this kind of violence include hits, collisions, blocks, tackles, and many other forms of physical contacts that cause injuries to the participants (Guilbert, 2006). Such attacks fall under category of extreme and are not illegal or criminal or do not attract punishment. The rule of the games provides allowance to such attacks provided they are not committed intentionally (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011).
The second type of violence experienced on the field is borderline that includes practices that go contrary to the rules of the game, however, accepted by most coaches and players as consistent with the norms of the game (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Examples of these acts of violence include forcefully placed elbow in football and basketball, brush back pitch in baseball, strategic bump used by the distance runners to put their competitors of stride among many others. Even though these attacks are expected, they invoke retaliations from the competitors most of them attracting fines and sanctions that are not severe. Public pressure to increase punishment severity has increased and continues as in the recent past. The third category of violence witnessed in the field is the quasi-criminal that includes actions that violate the formal rules of the sports/game, public law and even the formal norms among the players. Good examples of such actions include late hits, cheap shots, sucker punches, and flagrant fouls that put players to danger of body injuries (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). These kinds of violence attract sanctions and fines. The last category is the criminal violence that encompasses actions that are outside the law and even the competitors question and condemn them without law enforcement officials (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Such crimes require persecution and may include assaults during a game such as hitting an opponent with a hockey stick.
Commercialization and violence in sports
Some of the athletes in competitive games or sports receive good benefits to engage in violence. This, however, does not come out directly because many do not cite money to be a sole cause of violence. Commercialization has widened opportunities for people to play certain contact sports and media coverage makes the sports more visible (Guilbert, 2006). Media contributes in making these sports appear more violent than they are. Some of sports such as wrestling and boxing attract higher benefits and therefore, participants as they aspire to get the crown they are involved in serious physical combat that may injure them. Children that watch these violent sports may become violent by emulation what the sportsmen do. However, this does not justify the conclusion that commercialization causes violence in sports.
Masculinity is another reason why many sportsmen and sportswomen engage in violence in the field. Men, for instance, are socialized to be strong and not failures, hence, will use all means possible to remain victors in their sports. This euphoria of masculinity propels them to take drastic measures such as kicking others just to win over them. Violence is also sometimes institutionalized in essence that it is used as strategy to win over competitors. This kind of violence is accepted in some of the games but the aim should not be to cause injuries.
This kind of violence such as brutality may be difficult to manage but it requires that people or sportsmen and women use violence strategy. They must change their ideology and cultural paradigm when playing any sports. Furthermore, it is important that stringent measures be put in place such as severe sanctions and fines as way of discouraging such kinds of violence.
Violence off the field
Research indicates that there is tendency for many of sportsmen to be violent off the field (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). These violent behaviors among these sportsmen manifest because of many factors. Most of people playing violent sports may have used violence to achieve their success and status (Teitel, 2014). People comfortable with violence sports are mostly likely to participate in violent behaviors. Unique situational factors that athletes encounter on the field encourage them to engage in violence acts off the field. They want to demonstrate their toughness on the field to the members of the public.
This psychological problem will require cognitive directed measures to overcome. People will have to change their perception about violence. Programs to create awareness on need to respect one another and sort out differences in a civilized manner need to be encouraged.
Violence at sports event
Rarely does violence happen at the sports events. Spectators, most of the time attend games to get fulfillment and to support their teams. They may be emotionally expressive verbally but they may not direct their violent behaviors to their fellow colleagues, coaches, players and referees and even police officers (Teitel, 2014). However, this does not mean that violent incident does not happen. Various incidences of violence have happened in many sports events leading to injuries. Over-charged emotions among fans and spectators may result to physical combat and even verbal violence between the fans and the referees and police officers. In 1993 for example, a tennis player Monica Seles sustained injuries after violence erupted in the event (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). This is just one of the cases where violence occurred. Many of the violence cases have arisen because of poor referencing, losing of an important match on perception of unfair referencing and various misunderstanding between the fans and the match officiators.
Police have also been involved in this violence. They faced a hard time trying to restore order especially when the fans attack each other during an event. During such events, many people are hurt as they are hit by tear gas ganisters while others are hit with blunt objects and stones scrambling for an escape route.
Research indicates that crowd violence is a complex social phenomenon relating to three general factors including the action in that particular sport event (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Sports that have a lot of physical combat are likely to trigger crowd violence. Another factor is the dynamics of the crowd and the situation in which the fan watch the match (Teitel, 2014). For instance, if the crowd is made up of young and violent energetic people, the chances of violence erupting is higher. Likewise, when the match or game is perceived to be of great importance in deciding the winning side, tension is higher and this is likely to trigger violence among the crowd. The size of the crowd and the standing or pattern of sitting of the spectators is also very critical contributor to violence. Other factors include; race, social class, ethnicity of the crowd, importance of the event, crowd control strategies available such as surveillance cameras, dogs, police, and security measures. Others are alcohol consumption among the fans, location of the event, reasons for attending the event, importance of the team such as source of identity and history of relationship between the teams and the fans (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). The last factor is the social, historical, economic and political contexts that the event is planned and played. For instance, if the event is played at a time when political undertones are high, the level of animosity and tension increases and this is likely to trigger tension among the crowd.
Managing or controlling crowd violent behaviors
One of the ways to maintain social control is by establishing meaningful and visible connections between the teams and the members of the community. This will help to diffuse dangerous feelings among the fans and communities. Team players must establish positive relationship with the members of the community to ensure cohesion and unity.
The authority should also be aware of the social, historical, economic, and political issues that underlie crowd violence (Stafford, Alexander & Fry, 2013). There should be restrictive laws and order to ensure that crowd or spectator does not engage in these violent episodes during an event. Understanding some of the things such as unemployment and racial discrimination may help to provide an early mitigation of violence by planning on the appropriate strategies to counter such incidences.
Awareness of crowd dynamics and conditions that lead to violence is critical in ensuring that such incidences are prevented (Stafford, Alexander & Fry, 2013). History of violence among the spectators is required to know whether they are capable of causing distraction to provide appropriate measures to deal with the same.
There needs to be supporting procedures for managing any instances of violence that happen during an event. Such procedures should begin with the way officials manage or handle the game. Players require briefing on how they should contact themselves (Coakley, Hallinan & McDonald, 2011). Community sporting organizations should as well have procedures to manage and to prevent violence on the field and off the field by promoting these procedures to the members on how they need to conduct themselves during such events.
Conclusion
Sports violence is an occurrence that dates back from ancient period in Greek and other nations. Research studies have provided various types of violence in different games. Many of these violence incidences in sports occur in various situations such as on-the field, off the field, among the fans and through commercialization. The magnitude of this violence may vary from various situations. This is a problem that has seen various bodies and entities come up with rules and regulations governing sports as one of the strategies of alleviating this problem. It has become very important to understand these situations or circumstances in which violence occurs to tailor solutions. Apart from the rules and regulations on governing the games, there has been need to come up with policies that will as well control off and on the field and violence among the fans. A number of solutions to prevent sports violence include, stiffer disciplinary measures, creation of awareness among the fans and players, fines and sanctions control of emotions, establishing meaningful connection between players and community, understanding procedures of managing crowds among many others. I do believe that violence in sports is something that requires more interrogations with the concerned parties. Sports should promote brotherhood as well as fair challenge where the competitors compete on fair basis without violence. Peace in any sports is the responsibility of all of us.
Personal Opinion
Sport remains one of the major fabrics of society that unite people and allows them to display their talents. Millions of people across the globe cherish and embrace games such as athletics and footballs, baseball, basketball and yet violence manifests in some of these games in many forms such as verbal and physical forms that cause psychological as well as physical injuries, and even death.
Even though some sports allow violence, stakeholders have an obligation to abide by the rules. Sports such as wrestling and boxing even though are violent, the players or the competitors are psychologically prepared to encounter violence. Therefore, it may not have greater impact on their psychology as opposed to those that are not psychologically prepared. Some forms of violence such as biting a fellow player or kicking an opponent in a football match may attract sanctions and fines. A good example is the case where Suarez bit his fellow player during a world cup match in Brazil. The payer received a sanction for a number of months. Therefore, when violence goes overboard and fails to factor in the official rules of the game, it is punishable.
In a sporting event, as a mechanism of restricting any violence from either the players or spectators, it requires putting in place appropriate strategies. The players must be aware of the consequences involved when they get involved in any acts of violence. They should be aware of the heavy penalties, fines, bans and sanctions that they will face. There is also need to put stringent laws that curtail any form of hooliganism from either the players or the fans. Laws should take their course when certain individuals fail to respect the law in any games or sports.
In most instances, violence starts with verbal abuses of players, administrators, players, officials, and spectators. This boils emotions that overflow into physical abuse. Fans must be able to restrain from verbal insults and any one found preparing such immediate cause of actions is required.
The way parents raise up their children as well contributes to violence experienced in the field. Families, therefore, must raise their children in a good manner by instilling into them good societal values. For instance, parents who engage in violent behaviors in front of their children will definitely teach their children the same behaviors and such children may continue with the behaviors even when in competitions.
In my opinion, violence in sports is something that can end if the concerned parties would work together to implement various strategies. It is important to encourage promotions of fair play by coaches, players, officials, administrators, and spectators. Sports need to entertain and provide fulfillment not to trigger emotions that lead to physical violence. Respect among players, fans, referees, and other stakeholders is critical.
Stiff penalties should be provided to violence perpetrators as a deterrent. Any person spotted promoting violent behaviors in a sports event should face dire consequences. Protocol development to manage behavior associated with sport is important in fighting the violence menace in sports. There should also be accreditation and training for officials, coaches and key volunteers such as first aid personnel and administrators on management of games to avoid incidences of violence.
Violence, even though has a long history, I believe that it is the responsibility for each one of us to help overcome the menace. It is something created through our mental processes. Learning how to control our mental processes and emotions is very important towards eliminating violence. Players, officials, spectators and fans must understand that any sports event aims to find a winner and loser. To be a winner, it depends with one’s determination, tactics, and every team has a decision to choose whether they want to be a winner or a loser. Therefore, people must be mature enough when competing as this will mark the end of violence in sports.
This paper provides a comprehensive discussion on what makes baseball really beautiful, for Gumbrecht that is. It also discusses what makes the performance of a baseball athlete worthy of praise, as well as the role that gratitude plays in watching baseball. In addition, this essay provides an account of why I believe my answers to the questions are actually correct. Substantiation for claims made in this essay are offered with quotations from the text In Praise of Athletic Beauty by Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht.
Baseball is a beautiful game and performance of a baseball athlete is worthy of praise
Baseball is essentially a ball-and-bat game that is played between 2 teams each comprising 9 players who take turns in batting and fielding, and it is a particularly beautiful game owing to its fascination. According to Gumbrecht (151), fascination is understood as the eye as indeed paralyzed by, attracted to, the appeal of something perceived, which in this case is athletic performance. It also encompasses the added dimension contributed by those watching the game. The various dispositions on the side of the watcher contribute to the shaping of dissimilar fascinations (Gumbrecht 151). If a novice spectator and a seasoned baseball coach watch a baseball game, both of them can enjoy what they watch. However, their fascination will be different since their engagement and knowledge are very different. Baseball can be seen as a beautiful game and the performance of a baseball athlete worthy of praise by taking into consideration seven different sport fascinations. These include: (i) sculpted bodies; (ii) grace; (iii) suffering in the face of death; (iv) embodied forms; (v) tools that improve the potential of the body; (vi) good timing; and (vii) plays as epiphanies (Gumbrecht 152).
Sculpted bodies: there is always continuous admiration of the beautifully sculpted bodies of baseball players. The bodies of baseball players such as those of Mark Teixeira of New York Yankees, Prince Fielder of Texas Rangers, and Ryan Howard of Philadelphia Phillies contribute to the sort of pleasure that centrally concerns people, that is, the pleasure taken by those watching the game – the spectators. Viewers of baseball also admire the movement of the athlete’s body and this really makes the sport beautiful.
Grace: “grace is a function of how distant a body and its movements actually seem to be from subjectivity, consciousness, as well as their expression” (Gumbrecht 168). Grace turns upside down all the accepted knowledge as regards the relation between human mind and human body. In baseball, grace is seen in the challenge when the player pushes faster, higher, and farther in a given sequence of body movements – throwing and running – which are performed under and shaped through detailed constraints. As the baseball athletes perform these movements continuously, they program their bodies in such a way that knowledge moves from their brains to their muscles and nerves in the arms and legs. The performance of the athlete “may undeniably improve in proportion to the distance that he gains from consciousness as well as from the realm of intentions” (Gumbrecht 170). As such, the grace displayed by baseball athletes is an important reason as to why his performance is worthy of praise and what really makes the game beautiful.
Suffering in the face of death: the devastating violence for both the spectators and athletes is another fascination according to Gumbrecht (158). In baseball, the closeness to death comes from the extreme physical exhaustion of the player. It is of note baseball entails a considerably high level of physical tiredness, and this is another important reason that makes the performance of a baseball athlete really worthy of praise. The fact that the baseball athletes suffer so much in spite of death because of too much exhaustion makes this game really beautiful. Embodied forms and plays as epiphanies: Gumbrecht (177) stated that “a beautiful game in baseball, that particular element of fascination on whose every expert fan can concur, independently of the defeat or victory of the team for which they are supporting, is essentially the epiphany of an intricate and embodied form”. As an epiphany, Gumbrecht (182) stated that “a beautiful play is usually an event because the viewers may never predict when or whether it would emerge. If it really emerges, one does not know how it would look like, and it undoes itself as it emerges.” A baseball game can be seen as epiphany in that the spectators can never predict which team will win or lose, and this aspect of baseball sports contributes to making the game beautiful. Just like other ballgames, baseball has fascinated large crowds throughout the world; baseball is highly popular in Korea, the Caribbean, Japan, and the United States.
Tools that improve the potential of the body: a tool is important to an athlete as it enhances his human abilities. Athletes also adapt their bodies to the movements, form or function of the tool (Gumbrecht 175). Success in baseball depends on an intrinsic paradox: the more rightly a player manages to adapt his body to both the movements and form of a bat and the ball, the better this athlete will control them and the more he will make the most of the effectiveness of his body. This important aspect makes the performance of a baseball athlete actually worthy of praise. A baseball player knows that to win, he must score runs by hitting the ball as hard as possible using a bat thrown at him by the pitcher and then he must run counter-clockwise encircling 4 bases: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and home plate. A run will be scored when a player moves round the bases and comes back to the home plate. Good timing:in a game of baseball, the spectators admire the good timing that is involved when a shortstop stretches for a line drive and throws to first base for a double play in a continuous pivot. In addition, they also think highly of the execution of a strategic play at home plate. In essence, a number of fascinations can, and commonly do, come together as a spectator watches a baseball game. Baseball, besides emphasizing the grace of the players of the two teams, also makes those watching the game to be ardently aware of the agony as well as exhaustion that those players suffer, and this makes the game beautiful (Gumbrecht 152).
The role of gratitude in watching baseball
Gratitude is of major importance in watching baseball. Gumbretch (231) stated that gratitude is the main source of beauty in athletics and it is in fact the impetus for praising athletes as well their achievements. According to Gumbretch (231) on gratitude, “watching sports is essentially a way of waiting for something that may rarely occur; something that is not guaranteed to take place since it is not within the pre-calculated limits of human performance.” To let occur and to see occur, infrequently, what people have no right to anticipate, this might without a doubt be the sort of experience towards which fans are open when they are watching a baseball game. Gratitude is the ultimate source of fascination in baseball. There is a sort of gratitude which ties the spectators to the presence as well as to the memory of their favorite athletes such as Robinson Cano of Seattle Mariners, Joe Mauer of Minnesota Twins, Albert Pujols of Los Angeles Angels, and Brian McCann of New York Yankees to name just a few.
The appeal of a National League Championship Series (NLCS) tournament lies exactly in the possibility of the unanticipated happening several times or sometime during the event. This occurrence could be a superior baseball team such as Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals or the New York Yankees somehow getting defeated by the underdog team, or a score being made within the last seconds of the match to seal victory. In essence, the baseball tournament every year provides moments when the fantastical, unexpected conclusion becomes a reality. In his explanation of gratitude, Gumbrecht (235) points that “for all the strategy and statistics involved in sports which are included to create a body of sports knowledge as well as rational anticipations, both for the competitors and watchers, it is the very possibility of the irrational occurrence that inexorably glues the viewer to his/her seat.” As a result, in a baseball game, the happening of what at first appeared not possible will unglue the watcher from that seat, throwing him/her into joyful gusto for having seen the feat. Thoughtful reflection will then replace this excitement when the ecstasy of the moment subsides, and the baseball fan will then become thankful for having the privilege of seeing the event – this is the gratitude of watching the baseball match.
Work Cited
Gumbrecht, Hans Ulrich. In Praise of Athletic Beauty. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press. Print. 2006.
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Comparing Crawford Report before and after Relative to Australian Soccer
Comparing Crawford Report before and after Relative to Australian Soccer
Order Instructions:
• Examine the Crawford reports findings and describe how and why it considered that the administration of soccer needed to be changed.
• Complete a table to compare before Crawford with after Crawford in terms of the similarities and differences in the sport and its administrative structure.
• Analyse how the organisational culture of the sport is different now compared with before the Crawford report was implemented?
• Describe and justify whether post Crawford is an improvement on pre Crawford outcomes and conditions.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Comparing Crawford Report before and after Relative to Australian Soccer
Introduction
The Crawford report gets its name from its author, David Crawford who was the chair of a series of investigations into the administration of professional sports in Australia. The report was formulated against a backdrop of improper management of soccer in the country leading to the poor performance of the country on international competitions such as the FIFA world cup and also the Confederations cup (Allison and Monnington, 2002). The then governing body of Soccer in the country had been accused of massive corruption and incompetence through different media outlets. With respect to football in Australia, the 2003 Independent sports panel findings will be analyzed with special attention being given to the manner in which this influenced the state of soccer in the country (Independent Soccer Review Committee and Crawford, 2003).
The reason why a commission was reconvened to formulate this report was that football in Australia at the time was in a state of disarray, leading to the demand for urgent action so as to restore the sport to its previous glory or a level similar to that. Many of the challenges that were found to be plaguing soccer in Australia were thought to have their origins in the lowest levels of the sport (Ferkins et al, 2005).
A major challenge that was pointed out was the fact that facilities were seriously lacking in the grass root levels (Moore, 2004). These facilities include the soccer pitches, stadia and also training equipment which facilitate the growth of the sport through sharpening the skills of armature players (Brabzon, 2004).
Another challenge that was facing soccer in Australia was the disconnect that existed between the clubs and schools. What this meant was that there was no clear-cut path that was in place to facilitate the transition of players in the school leagues into professional and semi-professional clubs (Simmons, 2006). This meant that the major league was missing out on an intake of quality players due to the disconnect (Dabscheck, 2004).
Another challenge that was facing Australia’s soccer is the fact that promotional efforts largely marginalized the indigenous communities thus making the sport exclusive rather than inclusive as is the trend worldwide (Jupp et al, 2007).
Another challenge that Australia’s football was facing was the fact that the existent club football categories were operating as separate entities rather than conducting their activities under a unified banner. This is to say that women’s football, Senior men and also the junior men categories were operating independently rather than being integrated so as to synergize the resources that are available for the sport nationally (Dabscheck, 2003; Hess, 2000).
Last but not least, there was an urgent need for reforms in Australia’s soccer because of the significant decline in participation from the junior and senior sections of the population. This effectively meant that the participation of Australians in soccer was on its deathbed and this, more than anything else would have surely led to the end of the sport in the country (Hay, 2006).
The inquiry sought to rectify these challenges through the implementation of several objectives that it set. The first of these was to make sure the country’s football continued to excel sustainably.
Secondly, the sport of football was to be made part of the government’s multidisciplinary approach towards better healthcare for it citizens through its preventive healthcare campaign. This is because like other sports, soccer is highly demanding and this would automatically translate into it being part of many a fitness plan.
Another objective was to ensure that the pathways used by school leavers who were involved in soccer are strengthened so as to ensure they have an easy time getting into club football.
The fourth objective that was captured in the Crawford Report was to ensure that soccer as well as other sports is prioritized in the same manner that the country does for science, technology and research. The vehicle that will be used for this is sports science.
The report also recommended that the relevant authorities had to put in extra effort towards sourcing for a wide range of funding options so as to ensure the sport receives the relevant resources necessary for its survival at the different levels soccer is played in Australia. This would require a lot of creativity as well as the empowering of the Australia Sports Foundation so as to enhance its effectiveness in improving the state of the sport in Australia (Lock et al, 2008).
Before Crawford
After Crawford
The management body, Soccer Australia was in debt to the tune of 2.5 million dollars
Soccer Australia was Undercapitalized
There was widespread mismanagement due to improper leadership taking center stage in the soccer sector.
The then governing body was unable to effectively support the national soccer team, leading it to borrow funds from member organizations.
The National league for soccer was also undergoing financial difficulties (Cohen, 2008).
The main focus of soccer Australia was international soccer, it used the few resources at its disposal to get some national teams to participate in international events while no attention whatsoever was given to community soccer (Stewart, 2007).
Relationship between Soccer Australia and its member associations was not productive in any way
Those in charge of the sport were against the idea of bringing about reforms in the sector. They essentially let it continue in its state of disrepair.
The management of soccer was largely one-sided and tyrannical leading to the disenfranchisement of many at the lower levels (Skinner, 2007; Tatz, 2000).
A new soccer body, Soccer Association Limited was constituted to replace the ailing Soccer Australia (Perrine, 2001). This was seen as an important task in performing a radical surgery on Australia’s management of soccer.
The management of the newly formed Soccer Association Limited conducted their business with much more accountability and this was seen in the establishment of the nature of the financial challenges (Barton, 2006).
Deliberate steps were being taken to ensure that Australia’s soccer was on the right track and this was seen through the audits and the total restructure of the management of the sport at national level.
The focus of key stakeholders in Australia’s soccer shifted towards the development of the grassroots through community leagues that were in dire need of funding and also professional contributions.
The new management of Australia’s soccer was welcoming to the idea of reforming the manner in which the sport was being administrated since they acknowledged the challenges it was facing.
Democracy became a widespread feature of the administration of soccer since it became much more inclusive of groups that had been previously excluded from participation and decision making (Rosso, 2007).
Organizational Structure of Australia’s Football at present compared to the situation prior to the formulation of the Crawford Report.
The organizational structure of Australian football today has a greater emphasis on horizontal relationships between the players rather than vertical relationships. This is to say that there is a lot more peer to peer coordination of Australia’s football compared to the past when the management focused only on soccer at the highest levels.
Another difference is the fact that information and contributions now flow in a bottom-up fashion rather than the past when it was an ineffective version of top-down management. This is due to the renewed emphasis on the importance of the grass root level of soccer as this is more inclusive.
Another change in Australian football is the fact that it is more open today with more emphasis being laid on the accountability of its leadership than before when whoever was in charge did as they pleased so to say (Halabi, 2007).
Justification for Post-Crawford Improvements
From the above analysis, it is evident that the post-Crawford scenario in Australia’s football is a profound improvement of the previous situation. This is because soccer is once again on an upward trend growth and development-wise. The reintroduction of effective leadership and all-inclusive coordination of the sport taking into account the contribution of key players at all levels of the sport. In the previous scenario Australian soccer was clearly on its death bed and it would most likely have ended up being one of the sports played by a select few while the international community worked towards the inclusiveness of the sport in their respective countries. Money is one of the most important resources in the management of a social venture such as soccer. If the previous management were allowed to have their day, they would have further plunged the sector into chaos due to the lack of adequate resources for basic operations.
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