How Can Sports Help Kids Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How Can Sports Help Kids - Research Paper Example Not all sporting activities are beneficial to children, only organized sporting activities. Organized sporting activities help children feel satisfied and have a sense of achievement. It builds a spirit of teamwork and leadership in the children. Parents should not restrict their children from engaging in physical activities if they want their children to be exemplary leaders. However, sporting activities have been declining in the past years because of technological advancements with boys being the most affected (Active community guide, 2002). Children have just played computer and video games instead of physical activities. Girls are the greatest benefits of sporting activities as they take sports more seriously than boys. Warren Clark, 2008. Canadian Social Trends: Kids’ sports, Statistics Canada. Sports permit kids to develop teamwork, competition, leadership and communication skills. These aspects are particularly relevant in growing children. We need to instill these in all children and prepare them as future leaders. Sports also assist in the improvement of the health of children and reduce future health-related problems. In terms of health, it helps build healthy bones in children and enhances fitness. Games also endorse good posture and reinforce the heart. The kids involved in sports are more relaxed than their lazy partners, and this in general boosts proper growth and maturity. I think both the family and the instructors participate significantly in the development of kids through sports. As we all know, children learn through play it helps them learn about the societal context. As children involve themselves in sports and various games, they learn how to solve problems and help themselves. Their mind is developed, and they understand more easily on what they are being taught. Active community guide, 2002. Active kids, NSW Department of Sport and Recreation Sports help the children expand their physical skills which are learned as they find o ut how to climb and handle their toys. Parents should ensure that they have spent considerable time with their children so that the children will feel motivated. They need to be offering emotional support and rewarding them even when they fail. This will motivate them as they build skills. A parent should also not force their child to involve in a sport that they do not like. They should be allowed to make their own decisions at an early age. Sports as well help children enhance cognitive aspects such as solving problems and also improve their attention duration (Pivarnik and Pfeiffer, 2002). This not only helps the kid but also benefits the community as a whole. They gain the ability to do their homework without a lot of help and do their own things like finding socks, bathing themselves and making their beds. Through sporting activities, children learn imperative language skills. As a child plays with other children, the interaction allows them to develop their language in terms o f speaking and writing. Some games such as debates and telling jokes are an unusually vital way of improving language skills. Luepker, R.V. 1999. How physically active are American children and what can we do about it? Int. J. Obes. 23 (Suppl. 2): S12-S17. Children nowadays are becoming overweight because they just sit in front of televisions and computer instead of participating in active games (Luepker, 1999).

McDonald's and its cultural branding principle through effective Essay

McDonald's and its cultural branding principle through effective communication process - Essay Example Fast foods have become integral parts of everybody’s fast-paced life. With them, it is just easy to manage time. There is convenience and even saving of the most valuable resource one could potentially and relatively consider, time. As everybody is faced with very demanding daily schedules, fast foods have proven themselves effective at coping time and meeting deadlines. This specifically created a wonderful opportunity for McDonald’s to meet the prevailing needs in the market via comprehensive marketing techniques. Things did not simply come smoothly for McDonald’s the easy way around. It needed to substantially invest in creating its name through effective communication process. One important move it was able to successfully perform in order to achieve its place in the competition right now was its ability to differentiate its product service. It substantially aimed at giving the world its favorite foods, but in a unique way, which provides a greater value for customer experience. McDonald’s simply has marketing freedom. With this business privilege, McDonald’s has become a powerful company in the world, a producer of knowledge, opener of public consciousness and a great deceiver because there is freedom on its part to use the media with a corresponding advertising budget. This implies that media advertisements are considered to be great ways to influence people and keep the target consumers informed about the latest line of product and service offerings of McDonald’s.

Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Treatment

Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Treatment Comparison between anterior approaches and posterior approaches for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a meta analysis Abstract Objective: Both anterior and posterior approaches are used in the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) due to spinal stenosis or ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). However, the optimal strategy remains controversial. To compare the clinical results between the two approaches, a meta-analysis was conducted. Methods: PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library were searched up to July 2014 without language restriction. The reference lists of selected searches comparing anterior and posterior approaches were screened manually. Subgroup analysis was conducted according to the cause of MCSM. A fixed effect model was used for pool data, and a random effects model for heterogeneous data. Mean difference (MD) and odds ratio (OR) was used for continuous and dichotomous outcomes, respectively. Results: Seventeen articles were selected in this study, all of which were non-randomized controlled trials. There were significant difference between two approaches for post-Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score (MD=1.13, 95% CI=0.41, 1.86), operation time (MD=67.43, 95% CI=16.94, 117.91), post-range of motion (ROM) (MD=1.86, 95% CI=0.61, 3.12), length of stay (MD=-1.54, 95% CI=-2.25, -0.5)and complication rate (OR=2.28, 95% CI=1.52, 3.41). Meanwhile, there were no significant difference for pre-JOA, blood loss, neurological recovery rate, pre-ROM, pre- and post-Nurick grade. Conclusions: Based on this meta-analysis, post-JOA and length of stay are significantly better in the anterior group, but high complication rate and no apparent difference for neurological recovery rate made it necessary to conclude more trials with high quality to further confirm the conclusion. Keywords: multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy; clinical outcomes; meta-analysis Introduction Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is caused by compression of the spinal cord due to degeneration. Spinal stenosis and ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) have been considered as the two common causes of CSM. CSM can be treated by a variety of anterior, posterior, or combined anterior and posterior surgical approaches. The decision to use an anterior or a posterior approach depends on many factors, such as the reason of spinal cord compression, the number of vertebral segments, cervical alignment, and the surgeon’s familiarity with the techniques1. Anterior approaches usually include anterior cervical corpectomy with fusion (ACCF) and cervical discectomy with fusion (ACDF), whereas the typical posterior approaches involve laminectomy and laminoplasty2. Anterior decompression and fusion has been successfully used for CSM involving one or two levels3, 4. But failures will be observed when three or more levels are involved (multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy, MCSM) with anterior approaches5, 6. Compared with anterior approaches, posterior strategies provide an indirect canal decompression by allowing the spinal cord to float away from ventral compression. The disadvantages of posterior approach were also noted, for example, neck pain, loss of lordotic curvature, segmental instability, and late neurologic deterioration7. Although many studies comparing the two approaches have been done, the optimal approach providing satisfactory decompression remains to be determined. No systematic analysis of the two approaches in the treatment of MCSM has been published yet. In order to provide a basis for selecting, a meta-analysis of clinical results of anterior approaches compared with posterior approaches for patients with MCSM was performed. Materials and methods Literature search The authors searched multiple databases, includingPubMed, Embase and The Cochrane library up to June 11, 2014 without language restriction. Additionally, the reference lists of selected searches and related articles that not yet included in the electronic database were screened manually. The searching strings were (1) myelopathy or cervical spondylosis or cervical vertebrae or cervical stenosis; (2) Corpectomy or anterior cervical discectomy or anterior decompression or ventral; (3) laminoplasty or laminectomy or posterior decompression or dorsal, with the operator â€Å"AND†. Literature screening Articles were reviewed according to the following criteria: (1) The researches were designed as randomized controlled trials, case-control studies or cohort studies; (2) Patients with multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) due to spinal stenosis or ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL); (3) The anterior approaches group was treated by anterior cervical canal decompression; (4) The posterior approaches group was treated by posterior cervical canal decompression; (5) The outcomes was clinical endpoint, like neurological recovery rates, Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, range of motion (ROM), Nurick grade, complication rate, operation time, blood loss, and length of stay in hospital. Also, there are five exclusion criteria for literature screening. These were: (1) The cases followed up less than one year; (2) Patients with MSCM were caused by tumors, trauma, soft disk herniation, or previous surgery; (3) Patients without MSCM; (4) Researches without control; (5) non-nature literatures, such as reviews, letters and comments. Data extraction and studies quality assessment Two investigators respectively assessed each potentially eligible study and then extracted data from the included studies. Disagreements were resolved through discussion. The information extracted including the author, publication year, area, ages, sex, number of patients, follow-up period, surgical methods and outcomes. Furthermore, We used the Cochrane8 for assessing the quality of randomized studies, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS)9 for nonrandomised sudies or cohort studies. respectively. Statistical analysis The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the divergence of all outcomes, and all analyses were performed by RevMan5.2 software. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for Continuous variables, while Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CI were calculated for dichotomous data. Statistic heterogeneity was identified using chi-square test and I2 test. If P2 >50%, which indicated heterogeneity exists among all results, random effects model was applied. If P≠¥0.05 or I2 ≠¤50%, which indicated heterogeneity, the fixed effects model was selected10. The publication bias was tested by constructing a funnel plot. Results Search results A flow diagram of the literature search and study selection was shown in fig.1. Basing on the aforementioned criteria, we searched 1216, 1710, and 13 articles from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library respectively. A total of 2234 articles were remained after excluding duplicate publications. And a total of 2191 articles that mismatched the included criteria were excluded after screening titles and abstracts. Therefore, a total of 43 articles were identified. Of these, sixteen articles were excluded after reading the abstracts: ten articles did not compare the effects between anterior approaches and posterior approaches and six articles were reviews. Ten articles were excluded for the following reasons: two articles were not about multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy, one was self-controlled study, four were about MCSM due to soft disc herniation, and three articles did not have statistic data. Manual search of references did not find any additional articles. As a result, a total of 17 articles1, 6, 11-25 were identified for the Meta analysis. Baseline characteristics As shown in Table 1, seventeen studies were included for our meta analysis. Patients with MSCM in 10 studies1, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19-21, 24, 25 were caused by spinal stenosis, and 5 studies6, 13, 14, 18, 23 were caused by ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), two studies16, 22 caused by both types above. The articles were published from 1992 to 2013. The mean ages ranged from 51.8 to 66.8 years old. The sample size, gender ratio, follow-up period, and surgical methods of each study are listed in Table 1. All studies included were non-randomized controlled trails. The qualities of all studies were assessed using Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOQAS). The scale for non-randomized controlled trails and cohort studies was used to allocate a maximum of 9 points for the quality of selection (4), comparability (1), and exposure (3) or outcomes (3). As shown in supplement table 1, five studies scored 7 points and twelve scored 8 points. Hence, all studies were of a relatively high quality. Clinical outcomes The main outcomes in this Meta analysis were preoperative JOA score, postoperative JOA score, operation time, blood loss, complication rate and neurological recovery rates. According to patients type, studies were divided into three subgroups: subgroup spinal stenosis, subgroup OPLL, subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. The results of heterogeneity for preoperative JOA score was P=0.21, I2=22%, indicating no heterogeneity. So the fixed-effects model was selected and MD was 0.39 (95% CI =0.09, 0.69, P=0.01) (Fig. 2). However, except subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL had significantly differences, the other two subgroups had no significantly differences in the preoperative JOA. By contrast, there has a statistically significance in the postoperative JOA score (MD=1.13, 95% CI =0.41, 1.86) among the three subgroups. But both subgroup spinal stenosis and subgroup OPLL showed apparent heterogeneity (Fig. 3). We also analyzed operation time, blood loss, complication rate for subgroup OPLL and subgroup spinal stenosis, respectively. Comparison of operation time and blood loss of the two subgroups showed that subgroup spinal stenosis had heterogeneity but not for subgroup OPLL. The operation time for both subgroups had statistically significance (MD=67.43; 95% CI =16.94, 117.91), while blood loss did not (MD=52.43; 95% CI =-79.8, 184.66) (Fig. 4, Fig. 5). Furthermore, when we compared the two subgroups we found the following results. The complication rate of subgroup spinal stenosis was significantly higher in the anterior approaches than in posterior approaches (OR=2.60; 95% CI =1.63, 4.15; P2=38%), while subgroup OPLL was not significant (Fig. 6). The neurological recovery rates compared among three subgroups showed no significantly difference (MD=11.85, 95% CI=0.86, 22.84) (Fig. 7). Since few studies was reported, secondary outcomes like pre- and postoperative range of motion (ROM) , pre- and postoperative Nurick grade and length of stay are listed in table 2. Only postoperative ROM (MD=1.86, 95% CI=0.61, 3.12) and length of stay (MD=-1.54, 95% CI= -2.59, -0.50) showed significant difference (P=0.04). there were no statistical difference in pre-ROM, pre- and postoperative Nurick grade between anterior and posterior approaches. Publication bias A variety of clinical outcomes had been calculated, funnel plots only for preoperative JOA score and postoperative JOA score were displayed. As shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, all studies were within the confidential intervals and the shape of the funnel plots revealed symmetric distribution, which suggested there were no significant publication bias. Discussion The surgical treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) has been studied for a long time. Anterior approaches have been widely accepted as an effective and reliable method for the treatment of CSM. but which surgical strategy should be selected for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM) remains controversial and challenge. Therefore, we had compared the clinical outcomes of anterior and posterior approaches in the treatment of MCSM due to spinal stenosis or OPLL. In this study, we searched the PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library and found 17 articles comparing anterior and posterior approaches for treatment of MCSM. According to NOQAS, all included studies had high quality. And a meta-analysis was performed to determine which surgical treatment is more effective. Based on the cause of MCSM, the studies were divided into three subgroups: subgroup spinal stenosis, subgroup OPLL, subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. For the clinical results, there was significant difference in preoperative JOA scores in subgroup spinal stenosis and subgroup OPLL. Postoperative JOA scores was better in the anterior group compared with posterior group. This results show that the groups had similar baseline neural function, and the postoperative neural function condition was better in anterior group. Authors selected operation time and blood loss for meta analysis to estimate surgical trauma. In our study, the operation time was significant difference between the two groups, while blood loss had no statistically significance. This suggests that surgical trauma in anterior group was higher than that inposterior group in the treatment of MCSM. In addition, the post-ROM was better in posterior group while length of stay was shorter in anterior group. The preoperative ROM, pre- and post-Nurick grad did not differ significantly between the two groups. In the meta-analysis of neurological recovery rate, significant heterogeneity was found between the studies. Subsequent subgroup analysis was similar for the three subgroups. Complication rate was selected to evaluate complication-related outcomes by some authors. And they found a significantly higher incidence of complications in anterior group compared with the posterior group. Our analysis showed the same results. Subsequent subgroup analysis showed the complication rate of anterior group was higher in subgroup spinal stenosis. This suggests that the anterior approaches were associated with a higher incidence of complications for the treatment of MCSM. There are limitations in our study. First, all studies included in the meta-analysis were non-randomized controlled trails. Second, only few studies were included to evaluate pre- and post-ROM either in subgroup OPLL or subgroup spinal stenosis and OPLL. Therefore, it is necessary to include more prospective and randomized controlled trials with high quality to provide more data on the clinical results of both procedures. Hence, though anterior approaches seems have better clinical outcomes compared with posterior approaches in our study, we could not draw a strong conclusion about which strategy is preferred to the treatment of MCSM due to spinal stenosis or OPLL. Conclusions On the basis of the meta-analysis of anterior approaches and posterior approaches for the treatment of MCSM, we can conclude that the clinical outcomes of anterior approaches are superior to posterior approaches for post-JOA, length of stay, the outcomes blood loss, neurological recovery rate are equivalent between two groups. Because of the existing limitations of the study, future studies with high quality are needed for update meta-analysis in order to evaluate the strategy for MCSM treatment.

Class, Socialization, and Politics Essay -- Political Socialization an

Elections are at the core of the American political system. They are the way we choose our government, the source of government authority, and a means by which the people can influence public policy. For most Americans, voting is the only form of political participation. Essential questions to ask concerning these issues are: Who votes and why? What influences people to become voters? And what influences how they vote? It is important to approach these issues from a sociological standpoint addressing such matters as socialization and social stratification. Socialization is a gradual process that takes place as we grow up. It is the process that aids in developing attitudes and opinions that allow us get along within a society. These beliefs affect the political views we hold later in life. Through social agencies such as family, schools, peers, and media we become aware of social rules and develop a social identity. (Introduction to Sociology Pg. 96) A product of this development is political socialization, which is the process of learning political attitudes and behaviors. The idea of political socialization helps in providing the answers to the questions concerning who votes. It aids in explaining how and why people participate in politics. The strongest agent in political socialization is the family. What this means is that most children adopt beliefs similar to those held by their parents. Therefore most people will believe in and vote for issues that are important to members of their family’s. The extent to which an individ ual is involved in the political process is shaped by his or her family’s level of involvement. For example, a child is less likely to vote if they are raised by parents who don’t regularly go to the polls on Election Day. Children of course, don’t always copy their parents’ political learning’s, but are often heavily influenced by them. As a result, most people end up favoring the political party that their parents generally identify with. Social Characteristics also affect how an individual will participate in politics. Whether a person is young or old, black or white, rich or poor, northerner or southerner will have a heavy impact on his or her political opinions and behavior. Class may be just as important in shaping people’s political opinions and behaviors. The term social class refers to one of the systems of structured... ...rank of middle class tend to have a much lower level of involvement in politics while those who rise above the line feel quite the opposite. Granted there will be deviant cases that can on some level disprove these theories. But on the grand scale, class remains as the supreme cause of such severe division among the attitudes expressed by the American people. Bibliography 1.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hammond, John L. The Politics of Benevolence: Revival Religion and American Voting Behavior. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1979. 2.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doppelt, Jack C. and Shearer, Ellen. Non-Voters: America’s No Shows. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc., 1999 3.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bailey Jr., Harry A. and Katz, Ellis. Ethnic Group Politics. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1969. 4.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Houtman, Dick. Class and Politics in Contemporary Social Science. New York: Walter de Gruyter Inc., 2003. 5.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Catt, Helena. Voting Behavior: A Radical Critique. London: Leicester University Press, 1996. 6.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Giddens, Anthony, Duneier, Mitchell, and Appelbaum, Richard P. Introduction to Sociology: Fourth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2003.

Hunting Skills Essay

Without hunting we would all be dead. Our ancestors needed to hunt for food and clothing. Hunting is very important to our human history. Today hunting is not as significant to some people, the populaces who hunt these days hunt for food or they hunt for a hobby. To hunt successfully, you need patience, the equipment and skill. Patience is one of the key ingredients to a good hunt. One of the hardest things to do for me is being patience because half of the time you are sitting (or standing) in one spot looking for the animal and if you see the animal you got to debate whether you want it or to look for a better animal. If it is not in a good position you got to wait for it to move to get a good shot. Having patience is one of the best things to have when hunting. Having the right equipment when hunting is like going to school with a pencil it is common sense. The weapon is the most important so you can get the animal, but you need different weapons for different animals like 22. is good for hunting grouse, not for hunting a moose. Clothing is second; you do not want to go hunting in a T-shirt and jeans there is clothing made just for hunting. The right gear is vital to a successfully hunt. Skill is everything you need to be a great hunter. First a skilled hunter would know how to find the animal, where it lives. Second you need to be a good shot because you do not want to miss the animal then it would get scared and run away. Also you do not want to shot the animal more than once because the meat would get ruined. Skill is all you need to have a good hunt. Hunting is a way of life and a hobby to some. People have been hunting throughout the ages and are still hunting today.

Asses the View That Pressure Groups Benefit Democracy

Pressure groups have many features about them that determine whether they are democratic or undemocratic. If we have to determine whether Pressure Groups benefit democracy or not, we have to know what part they play in our society. As we know, pluralists have a very positive view on pressure group politics; believing that they promote healthy debate and discussion. This is true in some aspects of society and our democracy, but pressure groups also have many undemocratic features about them. Firstly, the most important democratic feature of pressure groups is their way of representing the people in our society. Their main function is to represent our interests and those who are of minority, making sure that their voice gets heard, whether we take an active part or not. To demonstrate how representative they really are, in virtually all our activities, there is probably a group which is seeking to secure favourable legislation or decisions and to avoid unfavourable ones. However, some pressure group leaders may not truly represent their members. Trade union leaders were charged with this and it remains a danger. Furthermore, party politicians are made accountable for their actions through the electoral process and through representative institutions; which is seen as vey democratic. Pressure Group leaders are not accountable, which means that if they don’t fulfil their representative aims we can’t do anything about it which conveys that pressure groups are undemocratic. However, pressure groups are seen as very democratic when it comes to participation, and how they are making many more people partake in politics, and make politics more aware to people. A passive citizenship is often seen as an extreme danger to democracy; many people do not involve themselves in political activity; producing the strong probability that the government will become dictatorial, safe in that they know that they’re power will probably not get challenged. Pressure groups are therefore important because firstly they prevent excessive accumulations of power and to ensure that government remains accountable to the people. It is known that especially young people enjoy taking part in demonstrations which is evidence for pressure groups trying to get people more politically aware as active. However, pressure groups are queried as undemocratic; due to their disproportionate influence. Some pressure groups do not conform to democratic principles around the nature of influence. If all groups enjoyed the amount of influence which their size and importance warranted, the outcome might be considered democratic however, some groups wield more power that their relative importance. For example, the farming community accounts for a tiny proportion of the total population but farms are responsible for much of our food supply. Finally, pressure groups most important democratic feature is the fact that they make sure all of us, in small or large groups, are taken account of, awarded an equal status, and protected. If this does not work, we will simply be ruled by the majority, which ultimately means that nothing would change. Majority rule also, is not a true democracy. Seeking majority support, political parties will inevitably have to ignore the interests of many minorities. Pressure groups therefore play a very vital part in ensuring that party rule is not converted into tyranny and minority groups are heard. Another undemocratic factor however that can balance how democratic pressure groups really is their size and finance. It is clear that some pressure groups are considerably more wealthy than others, having an unfair advantage. Everyone from sectional interests inevitably gain funds whereas charities have to get their funds from the public. It is seen as undemocratic, because with particular wealthy groups, they have adopted the practice of donating money to political parties in order to seek a sympathetic government. An example of this is the event â€Å"cash for peerages† where it was alleged that money was being donated in return for peerages. Furthermore pressure groups size is seen as a very undemocratic factor because even though some pressure groups have a sheer amount of numbers to go on to protest, it does not always reflect the public opinion. For example, The ban on hunting with dogs for example, 300,000 took to the streets and put the government into panic. However, the majority of those people wanted a full ban on fox hunting. In conclusion, weighing up the democratic and undemocratic features, overall, pressure groups do benefit democracy. Firstly they promote healthy debate and discussion. Pressure groups have made many more people politically aware and have increased the amount of political participation through demonstrations, protest, marches and even petitions. They may even be the reason for the increase of election turnout in 2010 elections due to them making people more politically aware. Another way that pressure groups benefit democracy is their role of representation towards minorities as well as everyone in our society. Even though pressure groups do have some aspects to them that are seen as very undemocratic, pressure group politics is a very healthy way of strengthening our government.