Monday, January 27, 2020

The Delivery Of Social Work Services

The Delivery Of Social Work Services The second part of the report concentrates on to understand process of ageing. It will then assess the role and function of social work within wider socio-political policy context especially in terms of poverty and inequalities. Finally it will be demonstrated how the identified issues may inform the policy and organisational context and the points raised will be summarised in the conclusion. According to World Health Organisation, most developed world countries have accepted the age of 65 years as a definition of elderly or older person. (WHO: 2012) However, in the United Kingdom the Friendly Societies Act 1972 S7(1)(e) defines old age as, any age after fifty, where pension schemes mostly are used age 60 or 65 years for eligibility. (Scottish Government: 1972) Ageism can be defined as process of discrimination and stereotyping against people because of their age. It affects many institutions in society and has a number of dimensions such as job discrimination, loss of status, stereotyping and dehumanization. Ageism is about assuming that all older people are the same despite different life histories, needs and expectation. (Phillipson: 2011) According to Erikson (1995) psychosocial stages of life older age has been defined as the period of integrity versus despair. This stage involves the acceptance and reflection on ones life. The authors describe older people as a group of marginal concern that has moved to one of central importance in social work profession (Phillipson: 2011) This is caused by the speed of demographical change that is most remarkable in its expand. The number of older people is increasing both in absolute numbers and as a proportion of the total population. The ageing of the population indicates two main factors such as the downward trend in the birth rate and improvements in life expectancy. (Phillipson: 2011) In Scotland in 2010 there were an estimated 1.047 million older people age over 60, where older people are one fifth of Scottish population. (Age Scotland: 2012) In the last hundred years Scotlands life expectancy has doubled from 40 in 1900, to just over 74 for males and just over 79 for females in 2004. By 2031 the number of people aged 50+ is projected to rise by 28% and the number aged 75+ is projected to increase by 75% (All our future: 2007) It has been estimated that in the UK in 2005, 683,597 people suffered from dementia, the number is expected to triple by 2051 to 1,735,087 people. (Alzheimers research trust: 2010)The issue require to be deeply analysed in terms of how society will be able to respond effectively to the complex needs of older people. Look beneath the surface the needs and issues of older people The policy All our future (Scottish Government: 2007) indicates the age over fifty as a stage where life circumstances start to change in ways that can be significant for the future. An example of this can be; children leave home, change in working patterns, people have less work and more time for themselves and perhaps more money. It is worth pointing out that caring responsibilities for elderly relatives at this stage can also increase. The time fifty upwards is a time when physical health can deteriorate causing possible health problems such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis or coronary heart disease. What is more, the state of health after that time decrease substantially and become greater in its extend. People must face changes in appearance such as wrinkles, hair lost or change of hair colour to grey. In addition, they physical state deteriorates and they are not as fit as they used to be. Form psychological point of view this must be difficult to accept it. However, ageing can also concerns some psychological effects such as changes in memory function, decline in intellectual abilities or even memory loss. As a result of a degenerative condition of brains nerve cells or brain disorders many people may suffer dementia, Alzheimer or Parkinson disease. Wilson et al. (2008) who draws attention to physical, biological and psychological effects of the ageing, pointing out that ageing is not itself a disease but some specific diseases may be associated with this process. (Wilson: 2008) Social work underwent fundamental changes from the 1960s following broader ideological, political and economic developments. To understand the current role of social work within society and wider policy framework, particularly with older people, it is important to analyse the past socio-political and economic trends that have reflected on contemporary practice. By the 1960s, more attention was beginning to be paid to the social consequences of capitalism that started to be seen as the economic order of an unequal and unfair society. The strong critique of that system is known as radical social work that grew on the ideology of Marxism. (Howe: 2008) The publication of the Kilbrandon (1964) consequently led to introduction of Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, which embedded social work firmly within state sector with the voluntary sector as complementary. (Ferguson Woodward) Social work wanted to be seen as unified profession that offered generic services, to overcome earlier fragmenta tion and overspecialisation of services. Social workers were obligated by law to assess needs and promote social welfare by providing services. However, the government of Margaret Thatcher began to weaken state welfare responsibilities to help people in need leading to the major ideological shift in 1980s called neoliberalism. As a result Barclay Report (1982) intended to clarify the role and task of social workers employed within statutory or voluntary sector, the later Griffiths Report (1988) were similar to Barclay Report in terms of promoting greater choice, participation and independence of service user and carers. However, neoliberalism undermines the role of welfare professionals, allow the rich become richer and marginalise the poorest and most vulnerable individuals. Woodward and Ferguson (2011) argue that neoliberal trend has been continued under New labour government, leading to managerialism and bureaucratisation. Therefore, contemporary practice is drawn by extreme pres sure through the forces of marketisation, managerialism and consumerism, that led to profession dominated by stress, frustration and strongly focus on meeting deadlines. The labour government has also been driven by the development associated with consumerists ideas such as personalisation that place service user at the centre of service design and delivery or direct payments that emphasise independence and individual choice through giving service user their own money to buy own services. For a long time neoliberal economic and social policies in the UK speculated a very different concept of what social work should be about. The Changing Lives report of the 21st Century Social Work Review (Scottish Government: 2006) has brought significant shift within social work polices through an expression of dissatisfaction of social work that was mainly caused by lack of opportunity for relationship based work with service user. The policy has reshaped social work practice towards providing social workers with additional space to develop good social work practice. There have been initiatives to improve recruitment and increase professionalism and standards within workforce as well as improve integration in the planning and provision of social work services. Integration has been developed through Modernising Community Care: An Action Plan (1998) and Community Care Joint Future (2000) that introduce Single Shared Assessment (SSA). In Scotland Joint Future is the driving policy on joint working between local authorities and the NHS. The other key policy themes are personalisation, self-directed support, early intervention and prevention as well as mixed economy of care on the grounds of more effective partnership. (Scottish Parliament: 2008) Another significant report that brought about change in policy and later in Scottish legislation is the Sutherland Report (1999) that provided free personal and nursing car e on the basis of assessed needs. (Petch: 2008) The above review of social work policy framework is a good illustration of constantly changing role and function of social work. Social work operates within socio-political framework of constantly developing policies and legislation of health and social care. The reality and ideology constantly has changed people and society faceing new challenges. Social work makes a key contribution to tackle these issues by working with other agencies to deliver coordinated support and to increase the wellbeing of older people. The critical analyse of needs of older people and current issues in the delivery of social work services. The first issues when working with older people is partnership of health and social care within four main areas: assessment, care management, intermediate care and hospital discharge. (Wilson: 2008) The main problem is tight budget this is in particular importance especially in statutory setting. (Wilson: 2008) The problem increases when local authority must, as normally is a case, work in collaboration with other bodies. This raises an external question who are going to pay for services? That causes unnecessary delays and constraints. One might expect that new Integration of Adult Health and Social Care Bill (Scottish Government: 2012) will resolve problem by the joint budget and equal responsibilities of Health Boards and Local Authorities. Wilson et al. stresses the importance of rationing services in social work due to low budget that lead to delays in provision of services and lack of time to develop more creative forms of practice. The next issue is the assessment process that is seen as balance between needs and resources. A major element during assessment is the relationship with service user and appropriate methods of communication to understand and be understood. Practitioner must take the time to get know the older person and resist pressure from other professional to do a quick assessment. (Mackay: 2008) The problem of autonomy and protection is the other one in relation to work with older people. This raises the question of capacity, consent and the deprivation of liberty of older people. This group of service users is often a subject of legislation that deprives their rights and liberty, this is because they are likely to be affected by cognitive disorder such as dementia. The term dementia include Alzheimers disease, vascular and unspecified dementia, as well as dementia in other diseases such as Parkinsons. It has been estimated that in the UK the number of patients diagnosed is 821,884, representing 1.3% of the UK population. (Alzheimers research trust: 2010) The assessment of incapacity or mental disorder is not straightforward and ethically and morally difficult for both service user and social worker. Social workers have to manage the balance between acting in accordance with the wishes of the individual and their best interest. It has been suggested by policy and legislation that the views and wishes of people expressed through self-assessment would remain at the heart of intervention. (Department of Health: 2005) The another issue is abuse of older that may have many forms and can be very severe in its extend. Older people are vulnerable to abuse or to not having their rights fully respected and protected. The problem came to public awareness not as long as few years ago. Despite the fact that legislation came into force through Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 it is estimated that elder abuse affects 22,700 people in the Scotland each year. (Age Scotland: 2012) Older people are a subject of physical, psychological abuse, neglect, sexual or financial harm, that normally takes place at home, in hospital, residential care or day centre. Age discrimination is next issue to consider around 24 per cent of older adults in the UK report experiencing age discrimination. (Age Scotland: 2012) The new NHS policy that came to force 1st of October this year, states that it is unlawful for service providers, policy makers and commissioners to discriminate, victimise, or harass a person because of age. A person will be protected when requesting and being provided with services. If anybody will be treated less favourably because of their age, they will be able to take organisations or individuals to court and may be awarded compensation. This mainly relates to health boards individual clinicians such as consultants, GPs or other health professionals. (Department of Health: 2012) Older people are disadvantaged based on the relatively low socio-political and cultural status in contemporary society. They are repeatedly presents as a drain on resources as they no longer actively contribute to grow of society. They do not work and do not pay taxes anymore. Older people are systematically disadvantaged by the place they occupy within society. Wilson et al. (2008: p. 620) rightly suggests that old age is socially constructed. A good example of this is retirement that makes people officially old and unavailable to work, despite factual physical and emotional state of the individual. Other forms of social construction that significantly affect the experience of old age is class, gender, race and ethnicity. (Wilson: 2008) An illustration of this can be statement that older people have much more in common with younger people from their class then they do with older people from other classes. (Philipson: 2011) Disadvantages and inequalities experiences during life can m agnified the process of ageing through differences in access to health facilities, health status and lifestyle that may influence life expectancy. There is no doubt that experience of ageing is subjective and depends on many factors but it seems to be a matter to consider class, gender and race at first place. When discussing poverty and inequalities the things that have to be in mind are issues of discrimination of older women who are less likely to have as a great pension as male due to the fact many women are paid a lower wage then men. Moreover, women tend to live longer than men so they are more vulnerable to live alone and in poverty. (Age UK: 2012) There are many forms of disadvantage associated with older people in poverty such as; low income, low wealth and pension, debts or financial difficulties, feel worse off, financial exclusion, material deprivation and cold home. The first three are experiences by around 20% of older people, half of older people experienced at least one of the nine forms of poverty described above, and 25% had two or more. A minority 3% suffered from three or more forms of poverty. (Age UK: 2012) In terms of ethnicity and race there are significant inequalities in the process of ageing. An illustration of this can be the black community of older people who are more likely to face greater level of poverty, live in poorer housing. In addition, they are more susceptible to physical and mental illness due to often heavy manual work, racism and cultural pressures. (Phillipson: 2011) Most of older people want to say at home as long as possible this is supported by policy All Our Future (Scottish Government: 2007) that helps people through services such as free personal care, telecare development programme, care and repairs services or travel scheme free bus passes. The policy aims to improve opportunities for older people, foster better understanding towards this group of service user, create better links between generation to work together and exchange experiences, to improve health and quality of life: promote well being and active life within community, improve care support and protection, housing and transport as well as promote lifelong learning. The role of social work in working with older people is described by Marshalls text (1990) and cited by Scottish Government (2005) It has been suggested that a key issues are: communication, including sensitive listening and awareness of non-verbal communication, taking time to assess needs always in the presence of service user. Supporting people in managing crises that arise through loss or change such as bereavement, mental health issues or physical constrains like illness or disability. Offer practical help and organise resources. Working with other professionals and people involve in the process of intervention and together combat ageism. Ageing can be defined as discrimination against older people m The current trends in adults social care have began through Green paper Independence, Well-being and Choice (Department of Health: 2005) and the subsequent White Paper , Our Health, Our Care, Our Say (Department of Health: 2006) these documents set out the agenda for future. This is based on the principle that service users should be able to have greater control over their own lives, with strategies that services deliver will be more personalised than uniform, this is referred to as personalisation. Personalisation enables the individual to participate and to be actively involved in the delivery of services. Personalisation also means that people become more involved in how services are designed by shaping and selecting services to receive to support that is most suited to them (Scottish Government: 2009) Personalisation is a wide term covering a range of approaches to providing individualised services, choice and control. The programme directly response to wants and wishes of servic e user regarding service provision. Personalisation consists of person centre approach, early intervention and prevention, is based on an empowering philosophy of choice and control. It shifts power from professionals to people who use services. (Department of Health: 2010) However, it could be argued that approaches extending service user control in realty can be seen as transferring risk and responsibilities form the local authority to the individual service user (Ferguson: 2007) Another option recently promoting by government is Self Directed Support (SDS), a Bill has been introduced into the Scottish Parliament last year and recently has passed stage three. The bill seeks to introduce legislative provision for SDS and the personalisation of services and to extend the provisions relating to direct payments. (Scottish Parliament: 2012) The SDS approach before has been brought into Parliament were reflected in many reports and policy initiatives such as: Changing Lives, Reshaping Care for Older People. SDS let people to make informed choices about the way support is provided, they can have greater control over how their needs are met, and by whom. Social worker working on behalf of local authority will have a duty to offer SDS if the individual met eligibility criteria. The four options to consider are: direct payment to the individual in order that that person will arrange own support, the person chooses the available support and local authority will make arr angement for services on behalf of that person, social worker will select support and make arrangement for provision, the last option is a mix of the above options. (IRISS: 2012) There is no doubt that the ideas of SDS are glorious because express a great opportunity for service user to expand their control over services provided. However, this raises a question of how many people will be ready to utilise option one of SDS, if a ordinary person who use services will have skills and knowledge to take responsibility for own care such as to employ own carers or personal assistance and to buy own services. One could envisage that it could be possible if the role of social worker will change from care management to brokerage and advocacy. The new model of care requires also to support communication, have experience in employment practice, manage record keeping and pay roll services. A potential care broker will provide assistance to obtain and manage a support package, drawing on individ ualised funding. It can be questioned if social workers who are mostly employed by local authority and accountable to statutory agencies are reliable to perform this task working across three sectors. Service User Involvement Dalrymple and Burke (2006) discuss issues that influence contemporary social work such as social justice, empowerment, partnership and minimal intervention. The service user participation has began in 1990 through NHS and Community Care Act. (Ray, 2012) There is still increasing acceptance that people who receive services should be seen as own experts in defining their own needs. This is in accordance with exchange model of assessment presented by Smile and Tuson et al. (1993), where social worker view the individuals as experts of own problems. The role of practitioner is to help service user to organise resources in order to reach goals that are define by the service user. Government policy addressing to older people highlights the importance of developing services that focus on maintaining independence, encouraging choice and promoting autonomy such as Independent living in Scotland (2011), Reshaping Care for Older People (2011), All our Future(2007). The policies highlights the i mportance of user participation in risk management and risk taking within independent community living for older adults. One of the action enhance independent living is direct payments. This has been seen as a way of improving choice and autonomy of older people. Social workers have a moral obligation to ensure that direct payment, when offered, do in fact provide better opportunity for this group of service user to meet their needs in creative way. (Ray: 2009) One may expect that active involvement and participation in service provision will have a crucial role not only in exercise more control and choice but also in challenging social exclusion. Shaping our lives is a notional independent user network that aims to make sure the voice of older people are heard so they have equal chance in defining outcomes in social care. (Crawford Walker: 2008) It could be argued that one of the main needs of older people is the importance of active listening of this group of service user, who are often because of age ignored or disregard. This is supported by Kydd (2009) who highlights how important it is for older people to feel that they are being listened too. In social work there is constant need to evidence based practice on the grounds of empirical knowledge that guide decision making process. An example of this can be three stages of theory cycle presented by Collinwood and Davies. (2011) There is no doubt evidence based practice is important but the view undermine relationship based practice that is equally important. Rightly Wilson (2008) refers to relationship-based as a main feature of social work practice that shape the nature and purpose of the intervention. It is a unique interaction between the service user and the practitioner that help to obtain more information and define the best way of intervention. A fundamental part of working with older people is to recognise and respond to the way in which they may be marginalized. An example can be the role of social worker as advocate that seek; to provide accurate information in relation to the services the individual is entitled and to enable the person to live where she/he wants to live. (Dalrymple Burke: 2006)

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Bias in Abstinence-Only Education

In addition to being an ineffective deterrent to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, abstinence only education prevents young women from making well informed decisions about their sexuality. Cases of teen pregnancy and STD/HIV infections is on the rise despite the government allocating funds for abstinence only programs. This paper seeks to look at the government policies with regard to abstinence-only education programs and its relationship with unwanted pregnancies.It is a known fact that sexual abstinence is being practiced in all countries in the world as a sure way of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Men and women of all ages who are not ready to accept the risks that accompany sexual activity embrace abstinence which is a normal and acceptable practice. As a way of expressing love, affection and tenderness, majority resort to intercourse and sexual activity. Sex is also being used by couples to strengthen their relationships.However, it has often been argued that using sex to cement relationships can distort one’s judgment. Among women, having sex may strengthen the feeling of love but do not actually cement or deepen the relationship. Exploring sexual behavior within an environment of deep commitment where having children is considered as a possibility is always rewarding. Majority of people are however not prepared for commitment hence opt for abstinence until they develop a stable relationship. Abstinence is 100% effective in protecting an individual from sexually transmitted.However, if the majority of the population could realize its effectiveness, then we would not be having such headlines like the ones we have seen in the past of teen births being on the rise. However, abstinence is not an easy practice considering how strong sexual drives are among humans. The rate of teen births steadily declined since 1991 and this could have been because of the intensive educational campaigns that were initiated d uring that period. These campaigns included encouraging people to use contraceptives and condoms and enlightening people on the risks of Aids and sexually transmitted diseases.However, today statistics now show an increase by 3% in teen births the first time ever in 14 years. (Wilson, Kelly, Patricia,2005) Is it that the sex education programs that the government adopted are no longer working? The government has tried to show some effort in curbing STDs and unwanted pregnancies. The first federal abstinence-only program was enacted in 1981 and this was designed primarily to support pregnant and parenting teenagers. This came through the adolescent Family Life Act which was also passed the same year.AFLA also funded â€Å"abstinence-only† programs meant to encourage responsibility and self discipline among teenagers (Abstinence Only Programs 2008, p. 2). Abstinence-only program’s purpose was to teach the general population and especially the teenagers how they stand to gain from abstinence. It also sought to teach abstinence from pre-marital to all schooling children. The abstinence-only program was supposed to teach the values of abstinence with regard to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.According to this program, the expected standard of human sexual activity revolved around a mutually faithful monogamous relationship. However, with all these well clarified goals, current scientific research shows that this program is ineffective. A study of ‘abstinence-only-until marriages’ program inferred that the classes fail to serve its goal of delaying the onset of sexual activity the young people. An evaluation of 11 of these programs showed that they do not have a lasting positive effect on the asexual behavior of young people (Ibid 4).Instead of a positive effect on the young people they showed a negative willingness to use contraceptive because the program emphasized on contraceptive failure. It has often been reiter ated that abstinence-only programs endanger the youths because adolescents are denied complete information. These programs fail to provide contraception information and in some cases, they have been accused of providing wrong information which may lead to youths forgoing contraceptive use. Teens are exposed to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases because of lack of responsible sex education.Only safer sex intervention can reduce unprotected sexual intercourse as compared to abstinence only programs. The Federal Fund for abstinence -only programs have negatively influenced schools. Avery good example involves the Gloucester High school in Massachusetts with the summer vacations beginning 17 girls at the school are expecting babies (Kathleen Kingsbury, Wednesday June 18, 2008). This proves further the failure of the program to curb pre-marital pregnancies. In order to reduce the prevalence of this at the school a local pediatrician advocated for the prescription of contraceptiv es.However, this has been met with hostility. Amazingly it is the desire of these teens to get pregnant and this only proves how distorted their perception towards life is. An effective sex education program should include teaching teenagers about abstinence even though it is not sufficient in itself. A complete and accurate information about reproductive health should be the core of teenage education. This should include abstinence prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and above all prevention of pregnancy.Teenagers can only make informed and appropriate decisions if they have access to reliable information about their productive health. Cases like the one at Gloucester High School can only be prevented through enlightening the students on the dangers involved in early pregnancy. Schools should be at the forefront in teaching the science behind sex and factually based reproductive health education. However, much of the sex education should be done at home and young gi rls should be at the core of advice into the dangers of playing with boys.They should be taught the virtues of responsibility and accountability so they may grow up with the full knowledge of the science of reproduction and its purpose. Work Cited Abstinence Only Programs, Center for Gender Studies. 2005 Kingsbury, Kathleen. Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High. â€Å"Time†. Wednesday June 18, 2008 Wilson, Kelly L. Goodson, Patricia Pruit. â€Å"A review of 21 curricula for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. â€Å", Journal of School Health, March 2005 Issue

Friday, January 10, 2020

Instant Replay Would Ruin the World’s Most Popular Sport Essay

The quarterback gets the snap, lobs it to the corner of the end zone, the wide receiver jumps up†¦.. it’s a catch! But did he get his feet in? Let’s look at the replay. Over 25 years ago on March 11th, 1986, the National Football League (NFL) introduced â€Å"instant replay† into the sports world (Wired, 2009, p.1). This recording technology has slowly worked its way into professional basketball, tennis, baseball & many other sports around the world. Soccer, often called Football outside of the United States, is one of the few sports that have resisted the temptation to introduce technology to the officiating of its games. Although the implementation may make the game more precise, this resistance has kept soccer â€Å"pure,† embracing its imperfections and old tradition. To put it in the most basic of terms, instant replay is â€Å"a recording of an action in a sports event that can be shown on television immediately after the original play happens† (Merriam-Webster, 2013, p.1). Instant replay may appear to be nothing but a tool to help officials make the right call, but with benefits comes consequences. One of the consequences of instant replay is an intense slowdown of the time it takes a sporting match to be completed. For example, in the NFL, a 2010 study breaking down a four-game playoff marathon (around 12 hours of broadcast time) resulted in fans watching on average for each of the four games: 67 mins of players standing around, 17 mins of instant replays, 11 mins of actual playing time, and 3 seconds of cheerleaders (The Wall Street Journal, 2010). When replays take up more time then the â€Å"live game,† our priorities, as players, announcers, and fans clearly need to be adjusted. Focusing on these replays often takes the attention away from what is currently going on in the game, which in my opinion takes away from the joy and passion that comes with sport. NFL football, although hugely popular, can’t compete with the fluidity and beauty of Soccer football. The word â€Å"beauty† is often thrown around loosely in describing soccer because of the games continuous ability to surprise. With soccer, the fans have two 45-minute halves sandwiching a 15-minute break. The clock never stops and in many respects, the players and ball never stops. This elegance of 11 players on each side keeping continuous play of one round ball for minutes on end, making passes and runs, and connecting 45-yard balls is where the â€Å"beauty† of the game is established. The simplicity of the game is what makes it so special. This simplicity can’t be compromised by technology, which in turn would cloud the games purity. â€Å"The beauty of sport is its humanity and the sense that it is peopled with people and not automatons.† (The New York Times, 1989, p.2). Berkow in his New York Times editorial puts this idea in the simplest of terms, stating that people play and officiate sports, and to take just a little part of that away is when sport loses its integrity. The technological advances in sport and society in the last 30 years have been unimaginable and the biggest challenge society has had is to know when to use these technologies. The first official rules of soccer were drawn-up by the English Football Association in 1863. Nothing much has changed since then. (Livestrong, 2010, p.3). There is a great source of pride and passion knowing that rules have been roughly the same since this time. The requirement of the players and referees to have the stamina to run for 45 uninterrupted minutes is truly demanding. It requires a dedication not only physical but spiritually, knowing the game has been virtually the same for over a 120 years. The biggest promoters of instant replay technology has been media companies in every sport that instant replays exist. But why? One of the key reasons is the opportunity to stop games and therefore play more commercials, which results in more profits for the networks. The New York Times commented in 2010 that its important to â€Å"never stop the game (of soccer), because that leads to television sticking its grubby commercials where they do not belong.† In fact, purists actually spit up at the thought of â€Å"The Beautiful Game† being interrupted by referees peering at replay video screens (NBC Sports, 2010, p.3). Also from a purely technical approach, there is absolutely no time periods long enough to review any calls. Referees often have 3-5 seconds to make a call. This constant demand to make a call and keep the game flowing is not only what makes soccer beautiful but is how the game needs to be officiated. â€Å"Test cricket, for instance, is made up of 540 separate moments of play — balls — each day; tennis is a series of points; rugby has regular breakdowns† (Sports Illustrated, 2010, p.1). Other sports have this segmented structured to them, which give them these constant opportunities to review or questions calls. All else aside, soccer can’t have instant replays implemented because that would mean the entire structure and rules would have to change along with them. Many soccer fanatics, particularly in the 2010 World Cup, which there were multiply questionable calls, are fed up with referees missing/making bad calls. Certainly, an argument can be made that instant replay may help change a bad officiating decision. But â€Å"indisputable visual evidence† to overturn a goal or call by a referee on the field could result in a 5 minute pause, which results in the referee returning to announce that there is no conclusive evidence, so the call on the field remains. How satisfying is that to any spectator or competitor? The â€Å"human error† element of game is sometimes an issue but also is a beautiful part of the game. If we had technology run every call, the element of surprise within the game would be lost. There is nothing better than teams fighting back from a few bad calls to come out on top; this ability of athletes to overcome obstacles (bad referees) makes watching soccer all the more worth it. Yet the controversy remains and the fans will continue to be mad at the referees. In the modern age technology is viewed as a solution to almost anything. If you have a hot room, buy an air conditioner to cool it down. But is soccer’s problem that black and white? Can we implement instant replay and we will fix the underlying issue? â€Å"The main difficulty underlying the use of technology to solve social problems is that these problems are fundamentally different from technical problems† (Society and Technological Change, 2014, pg. 31). Now many may argue that officiating mistakes aren’t a social problem, but something like soccer so ingrained into society and culture makes for a different situation. People world-wide have a loyalty and in their mind an obligation to the sport even though many never even step on a field. The implementation of instant replays could cause an absolute outcry world wide because we would be trying to â€Å"fix,† (missed/wrong calls) something that doesn’t need fixing to begin with. In many respects, Soccer is and has become a universal language. Spanning across the globe with over a thousand professional leagues, most ever country has at least one professional league for people to view. Other sports are also played worldwide but not nearly at the magnitude that soccer is at a professional level. Instant replay, if implemented in soccer, would completely change the playing field and spectator’s view of the game. Tarnishing the 100 years of soccer world-wide may cause a loss in the universal language that has been cherished and appreciated for so long. An even playing field for every professional team is just another beautiful part of the game that cannot be tampered with. Finally, I believe soccer allows fans and announcers to get lost in the game. Almost removing themselves from all external forces such as social media, texting, and technology in general and putting focus on the simple game of â€Å"football.† Other sports give you the ability to stay distanced from the game because the most critical points will always be showed over and over again between plays, sets, & points. With no stops or ability to look away, real soccer fans stay true to their selves when their team is on because otherwise they may miss something spectacular. The absence of technology in soccer is just another reason why the game is so simple, yet so beautiful. So risking an occasional bad call to retain the fluidity of the sport is something I embrace. â€Å"If one picture is worth a thousand words, moving pictures can speak volumes.† (American Journal Sports Medicine, 2007, pg. 358). The real world has mistakes and the real world doesn’t stop for a 60-second commercial. I vote yes for the real world and all its warts, particularly when it results in allowing myself and the rest of the world to watch and play in the world’s most popular and beautiful game! Bibliography Berkow, Ira. â€Å"SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Bloodless Instant Replays.† The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Nov. 1989. 26 Sept. 2013. . Biderman, David. â€Å"11 Minutes of Action.† The Wall Street Journal 10 Jan. 2010: Print. â€Å"FIFA Shows It’s Still Leery of Instant Replay.† Yahoo Sports. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . â€Å"FIFA’s Plan To Quash Bad Call Controversy: Censor In-Stadium Replays.† SportsGrid RSS. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . â€Å"Instant Replay Controversy in Baseball Rears Its Ugly Head Again.† Bob Long Sports. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . â€Å"Instant Replay.† Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . â€Å"Length of a Regulation Soccer Game.† LIVESTRONG.COM. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . â€Å"March 11, 1986: NFL Adopts Instant Replay.† Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . â€Å"Off the Bench.† Off the Bench. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . â€Å"Soccer Could Use Instant Replay, but Not at Expense of the Sport’s Flow.† Soccer Could Use Instant Replay, but Not at Expense of Flow. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. . â€Å"Soccer Resists Instant Replay Despite Criticism.† Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 30 Nov. 2009. 26 Sept. 2013.. â€Å"World Football.† Bleacher Report. N.p., n.d. 26 Sept. 2013. .

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Darners, Family Aeshnidae

Darners (Family Aeshnidae) are large, robust dragonflies and strong fliers. Theyre usually the first odonates youll notice zipping around a pond. The family name, Aeshnidae, was likely derived from the Greek word aeschna, meaning ugly. Description Darners command attention as they hover and fly around ponds and rivers. The largest species can reach 116 mm in length (4.5 inches), but most measure between 65 and 85 mm long (3 inches). Typically, a darner dragonfly has a thick thorax and a long abdomen, and the abdomen is slightly narrower just behind the thorax. Darners have huge eyes that meet broadly on the dorsal surface of the head, and this is one of the key characteristics to differentiate members of the family Aeshnidae from other dragonfly groups. Also, in darners, all four wings have a triangle-shaped section that extends lengthwise along the wing axis (see an illustration here). Classification Kingdom – Animalia Phylum – Arthropoda Class – Insecta Order – Odonata Suborder  - Anisoptera Family - Aeshnidae Diet Adult darners prey on other insects, including butterflies, bees, and beetles, and will fly considerable distances in pursuit of prey. Darners can catch small insects with their mouths while in flight. For larger prey, they form a basket with their legs and snatch the insect out of the air. The darner may then retreat to a perch to consume the meal. Darner naiads are also predaceous and are quite skilled at sneaking up on prey. The dragonfly naiad will hide within the aquatic vegetation, slowly crawling closer and closer to another insect, a tadpole, or a small fish, until it can strike quickly and catch it. Life Cycle Like all dragonflies and damselflies, darners undergo simple or incomplete metamorphosis with three life stages: egg, nymph (also called larva), and adult. Female darners cut a slit into an aquatic plant stem and insert their eggs (which is where they get the common name darners). When the young emerges from the egg, it makes its way down the stem into the water. The naiad molts and grows over time, and may take several years to reach maturity depending on the climate and species. It will emerge from the water and molt a final time into adulthood. Special Behaviors and Defenses: Darners have a sophisticated nervous system, which enables them to visually track and then intercept prey in flight. They fly almost constantly in pursuit of prey, and males will patrol back and forth across their territories in search of females. Darners are also better adapted to handle cool temperatures than other dragonflies. Their range extends farther north than many of their odonate cousins for this reason, and darners often fly later in the season when cool temperatures prevent other dragonflies from doing so. Range and Distribution Darners are widely distributed throughout the world, and the family Aeshnidae includes over 440 described species. Just 41 species inhabit North America. Sources Aeshna vs. Aeschna. Opinions and declarations rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (1958). Vol. 1B, pages 79-81.Borror and Delongs Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson.Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East, by Dennis Paulson.Aeshnidae: The Darners, Digital Atlas of Idaho, Idaho Museum of Natural History website. Accessed online May 7, 2014.World Odonata List, Slater Museum of Natural History website. Accessed online May 7, 2014.Dragonfly Behavior, Minnesota Odonata Survey Project. Accessed online May 7, 2014.Aeshnidae, by Dr. John Meyer, North Carolina State University. Accessed online May 7, 2014.Family Aeshnidae – Darners, Bugguide.net. Accessed online May 7, 2014.Dragonflies and Damselflies, University of Florida. Accessed online May 7, 2014.Eight pairs of descending visual neurons in the dragonfly give wing motor centers accurate population vector of prey direction, Paloma T. Gonz alez-Bellido et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, January 8, 2013. Accessed online May 7, 2014.