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Write a short (one page or less), but meaningful response to this article

Write a short (one page or less), but meaningful response to this article. I’m studying for my Sociology class and need an explanation.

Write a short (one page), but meaningful response to this article which includes:
-a brief summary of the content of the article (What is this article about? What are the key points?)
-A response to the ideas shared by the author (Do you agree or disagree with the author? Why?)
-A life connection (Can you relate to this material to your personal experiences?)
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html?pagewanted=all
Write a short (one page or less), but meaningful response to this article

Introduction Drug abuse among professional athletes has become a very hotly contested issue since the 1980s. There are a number of celebrated cases that have helped to shift the attention on this topic. This has been a coincidence with the attitude change in the society concerning drugs as the country shifted from the lax 1970s attitude to the more rigid and conservative attitude of 1980s. The US and the pro-sports agencies across the world reacted by developing drug control program. This succeeded in moving the subject from the headlines to the back pages. Hypothesis Requiring that professional athletes undergo mandatory drugs test is an unfounded requirement that has not major benefit. This article looks at the drug testing of professionals beginning from the contentious issues raised since the 1980s until the current times. The concern for the enhancement of performance by use of drugs has shifted the efforts from the traditional illicit use of substances. The advantaged of sports leagues are given the power to test athletes for drugs from a number of bargain accords and the by-laws of certain leagues. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) demands that employers should bargain collectively with the employee over important subjects like the salary and working hours and other terms of employment. Drug testing is one of the terms of employment and athlete unions have in most cases consented to drug testing (Manski, et al., 2001, p. 78). Literature Review In the modern society, the economic and intrinsic rewards for extraordinary performance by the athletes have been very great. As a result, there has been considerable. The athletes have seen this as a very big incentive for to increase their performance even more by enhancing it with the use of drugs (Lapchick, 2006, p. 174). Success on the field or any other performance by athletes is the main objective of being an athlete. It’s purported that virtually all athletes use some form of artificial enhancements to increase their performance (Lapchick, 2006, p. 174). There are a number of substance and training facilities that are not considered as unfair competition even when they are not available universally to all athletes due to different economic resources (Masteralexis, 2006, p. 776). Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Creatine as a muscle building agent is currently not regarded as illegal in sporting therefore it is considered not doping to use it to enhance performance (Manski, et al., 2001, p. 78). However, the use of federally controlled substances like androgenic steroids like the Tetrahydrogestrinone (THC) and other steroid precursors is identified as doping (Showalter, 2007, p. 661). If it is detected, the culprits are culpable of violation of sporting rules and this is punishable by imposing sanctions. Steroids are in most cases legitimate drugs used to treat muscle wasting problems but in the sporting world, the sports organizations prohibit athletes from using these drugs to boost their performance on the fields (Showalter, 2007, p. 661). Risk for Serious Sanctions Many athlete sometimes can risk the use of banned substances to enhance their performance even when they clearly understands that the sports agencies or organizations could seriously affect them as it is a violation of the rules of engagement (Manski, et al., 2001, p. 78). The consequences are often sanctions that serious affect them by being sanctions and being exposed to health problems (Lapchick, 2006, p. 174). There are a number of athletes who confess that drugs affected then in one way or another and the consequences were tough. Among them include baseball player Jose Canseco, sprinter Marion Jones and Jerome young among others. One major concern has been that is there a proper way or the limit that can differentiate between athletic performance enhancement through consumption of certain substance considered illegal or banned drugs in unethical doping to better their competitiveness (Manski, et al., 2001, p. 79). For instance, athlete can use artificial low oxygen environments and altitude training to improve their field performance while the use of erythropoietin to attain the same goal is prohibited. Perhaps the simple way of finding answers to such concerns is looking at the second issue first. The organizations that govern sports activities have a legitimate reason in ensuring that the rules apply uniformly to all the competitors so that the integrity of competition is maintained and that there is competitive balance (Lapchick, 2006, p. 175). Even though achieving the most excellent performance is the goal of every individual athlete in a competitor, the essence of the spots is that the competing person should be equal in terms of application of rule. We will write a custom Research Paper on Should We Have Mandatory Drug Testing For Professional Athletes? specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The anti-doping regulations need to be addressed keenly as they are integral in the rules of engagement just like the rules that deal with scoring, penalties, use of equipment among others (Manski, et al., 2001, p. 79). Although the sports industry may be characterized by arbitrary rules, nonetheless, the concerned organizations are duty-bound to ensure that all the laid-out rules are followed (Showalter, 2007, p. 661). Drugs are often banned because they have adverse effect on the users in the long run and also affect the integrity of competitions. For instance, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WAPA) has banned the use of substances that meets at least two of the following criteria Substances that enhance or have the potential to enhance athletes performance Substances that are potentially risky to health Substances that are seem to be in violation of the spirit of sporting activities. Essentially there is no one single reason that is strong enough to prohibit drug usage. For instance, the first criteria involved assessing the use of creatine and the areas that have low-oxygen levels to train and this are allowed because they do not pose health risks to the body therefore are satisfactory (Masteralexis, 2006, p. 776). On the contrary, using anabolic steroids is banned due to the fact that they meet all the above three criteria. A very interesting issue has been that whether mandatory drug testing for athletes with no targeted suspicions of usage of illegal drugs was a reasonable thing to do or is it violating the fourth amendment (Masteralexis, 2006, p. 776). Over the past few years, the Supreme Court has been supporting the mandatory random drug testing of athletes especially in high schools to test use of recreational drugs (Manski, et al., 2001, p. 79). This is usually in order to protect these student form the harmful damages of the drugs to their health. Some courts have on the other hand challenged the mandatory testing for drugs in athletes. The congress has a valid regulatory power but the law could affect the internal governance of the professional sports as this has been subject to government regulation (Masteralexis, 2006, p. 779). The athlete organization could be the only agencies that can set the rules as to whether or not to test athlete for drugs. The sports governing agencies should have the exclusive power to set rules, impose sanctions that are efficient in reducing the incentive to dope (Showalter, 2007, p. 661). The MLB has already adopted a testing program so that it can be able to test the players often on the enhancement substances (Ray, 2005, p. 275). The program has aimed at reducing the use of steroids by the players. Many people can on the government to concentrate on preventing access to the enhancement drugs that are risky to human health and prosecution of the dealers of these substances (Masteralexis, 2006, p. 782). The government should not focus of the external testing programs. Not sure if you can write a paper on Should We Have Mandatory Drug Testing For Professional Athletes? by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Pros and Cons of Mandatory Drug Testing Health Pro: If every individual should be free to assume the risk that people can take, the athletes should have the same freedom, especially when the athletes prefer to use the performance enhancing drugs. Together with the possible harm and less risk, Or any other factor, individual rights still stand (Lapchick, 2006, p. 175). After all smokers are not prohibited from risking their health when they smoke, it is unfair therefore to prohibit athlete seeking to boost performance. Con: steroids and other substances that enhance performance cause a negative impact on the health of people in long-term use. The users of these drugs are therefore causing harm to their bodies as they seek to meet the short terms benefits and goals. As long as the competitors consume harmful enhanced, they are at risk (Manski, et al., 2001, p. 78). The main reason for attempting to ban steroids is basically health concern. Unfair advantage Pro: the unfairness or lack of surrounding the issue of the use of performance enhancing drugs is quite ambiguous. Otherwise, one might as well argue that the activities of coaching and training of athletes is unfair as well and as such, these activities should also be banned. Competition can be unfair if there is not equal access to certain enhancements but the enhancements can be made equally accessible (Ray, 2005, p. 275). Con: basically athletes often take these drugs to gain and advantage over competitors and not to up or level their skill. Considering that everyone else can do that, then rather than using 10 grams or 10 cc or any other measure, the circle will keep on increasing from 10 to 20, to 30 and so on. Using the enhancement drugs was not a coincidence it is a deliberate concern and meticulously planned to attain unfair advantage (Ray, 2005, p. 275). Drugs vs. technology Pro: Sports are made to make people enjoy and eventually leads to improved performance. However, there is not much difference from the enhancement brought about by coaching and training. If it is not used of outside help them why would athlete use rope, crampons and oxygen. Team specialists are often hired to do the same join and be trained on attitude etc (Manski, et al., 2001, p. 78). Con: when the trained athletes use these drugs, performance is improved greatly. The cost is cheaper and when applied efficiently by trained athletes, then the outcomes of drug enhancement and other physiological substance, diet and other regimens cannot match the impact of drugs (Showalter, 2007, p. 661). Conclusion There are a number of reasons that are for and some that are against the idea of mandatory testing of drug enhance. However, the government is not in a better position to decide on this case. The only way would be to allow the bodies that have legitimate reasons like the sports union, athlete organizations among others. Reference List Lapchick, R.E. (2006). New Game Plan for College Sport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishers Man ski, C.F.,

Practical Approach to Alternative Dispute Resolution Discussion

Practical Approach to Alternative Dispute Resolution Discussion.

I’m working on a sociology discussion question and need an explanation to help me learn.

Conflict Analysis Practice (3 pages double spaced 12 font) apa formatView a clip of a conflict scene and analyze it through what you have learned in class through activities, discussions, readings and your own experience. Choose ONE of these three video clips:Couple conflict: Parents-son conflict: Work-related conflict: Your essay should cover:
Any 5 Core Concerns you observe (identify only those present in the video, not all 5, and be specific about how your evidence ties to the concern)
Feelings demonstrated by each party (refer to your Feelings Wheel)
Possible needs demonstrated by each party (refer to Marshall Rosenberg’s NVC text and the handouts on Blackboard)
Any observations you can make about nonverbal communication
Interests (stated in neutral language). Note that interests and positions are different: state interests only.
Any interventions used, with your own original analysis about their effectiveness. Consider what purpose the intervention was meant to serve, its possible benefits and risks, and how the other party(ies) responded. Cite evidence from the video. Alternatively, you can suggest interventions that you think would have improved the conflict conversations, and why.
Practical Approach to Alternative Dispute Resolution Discussion

Write a proposal (2-3 pp.) for the formal report. 

python assignment help Write a proposal (2-3 pp.) for the formal report. .

Use Facebook or Netflix for this assignment Report proposal The formal report proposal itself should be a memo addressed to your team organized with the following six topic headings. Unheaded introduction – a brief description of the issue or problem and formally propose to write a report addressing that issue. Title – a descriptive working title for the report that indicates what the report is about. Audience – one or two sentence description of who should read the report and why. Rationale – background information that describes the basic issue, problem, opportunity, or process covered by the report. The rationale statement should provide support for the needs statement in your audience section. Report contents – list of first order topics to be covered by the report and what sort of additional material you expect to include. You may make changes to this projection as you work on the report. Describing the content of the report now, however, forces you to think about it in terms of the constraints imposed by the format. Review of sources – describe the basic sources you expect to use in writing the report. Your source description for the proposal must include an annotated list of at least five current sources (see “Writing Annotated Bibliographies”) . Trust me on this requirement. Annotating five sources will not only vastly improve your writing on the proposal but also give you a head start on writing the report itself
Write a proposal (2-3 pp.) for the formal report. 

Writer’s Choice Essay

Would you be willing to pay a higher price for a good or service just because demand is high? Actually, you may already be doing so more often than you think. When demand is up, consumers pay higher prices for airline seats, hotel rooms, electricity (in some cities), theater tickets, and even newly minted and (seemingly scarce) iPhones. Some of these prices, such as those for airline seats, react quickly to changes in demand, changing even within minutes as bookings occur. Other prices shift over a longer period, as in price skimming or penetration pricing strategies you read about in the chapter. Of note, and as often commented on by the press and on social media, is a demand-based pricing strategy that is referred to as “surge pricing,” that is, pricing flexibly based on real-time market demand. One company that’s received a lot of attention for its implementation of surge pricing is the ride-sharing firm Uber. Uber currently completes about 40 million rides globally per month (that’s about 54,000 rides per hour). A key aspect of its business model is the fact that drivers are not considered employees of Uber, but rather independent contractors. This means that Uber cannot mandate specific hours a driver must work, and hence it’s entirely possible there might be a shortage of passenger capacity available when a particular rider wants to take a trip. To manage this, Uber has two forms of pricing: The first and more traditional approach bases a fare on variables such as route, traffic conditions, and number of riders. Most conventional taxis use this approach—after all, it makes sense to a customer that a 40-mile ride to the airport costs more than a ride to the supermarket 3 miles away. The value proposition to the customer of those two scenarios is clear. But the customer value proposition behind surge pricing is not so self-evident! Uber makes the switch to surge pricing at times of high demand. (For the record, Disney does the same thing at its theme parks, so don’t get the idea that surge pricing is evil.) As Uber explains it, “Fares may increase to make sure those who need a ride can get one. Surge rates are charged as a multiplier of X. For example, a rider in a surging area may see and accept a surge multiplier of 1.3x or 2.1x.” Breaking down the math simply, a surge multiplier of 2x on a fare that is normally $10 would mean the new fare is now $20, or twice as much. If customers were perfect economists, they would understand and accept that when the supply of drivers is down it’s reasonable for prices to go up as the customer is vying for a scarcer resource. But alas, many riders feel that Uber’s implementation of surge pricing is a form of price gouging. Perhaps it is the uncertainty and unpredictability of it—Uber’s surge pricing can kick in suddenly and frequently (up to 20 times an hour), and the multiplier does not have a known cap (there have been cases of local fares that were more than $300). This price variability makes it difficult for customers with some flexibility to decide when to request a ride, as they’re unsure if waiting a few minutes will result in a lower or higher price. Further exacerbating the issue is the fact that Uber has marketed the value of surge pricing almost exclusively to drivers, and not to riders. Professor Utpal Dholakia, a pricing expert at Rice University, suggests that Uber should instead be explaining the benefit of surge pricing to the customer, and that even the name “surge pricing” is focused on the driver side of the transaction rather than its riders. Put another way, it’s hard for the customer to think of surge pricing as adding value to them when it seems focused only on the upside to Uber of the supply/demand relationship. In the end, for marketing managers the concept of surge pricing is really not that new and is certainly not limited to just Uber (we’ve already mentioned that Disney uses it). In fact, even automated surge pricing has been tested in the past, with Coke deploying vending machines specially outfitted with thermometers in the price display to investigate the potential for raising the price of the soda as the temperature went up. Electronic shelf labels that would allow retail stores to change prices automatically based on stock and demand are already available, if not widely implemented. And some upscale restaurants have taken to selling prepaid meal tickets, with higher prices during peak dining times. Believe it or not, even the city of Chicago is getting into the act, as it is installing surge-priced parking meters near Wrigley Field to capture more revenue during games. So despite the negative attention Uber received for its surge pricing—which as we now understand may be more attributable to its implementation and communication with customers than the practice of surge pricing per se—it’s clearly a valid pricing strategy that we’ll all as customers likely experience more commonly in the future. Assignment Instructions and Materials: In a Word document (.docx), answer the following questions or situations using the information from the text and the case. Answer your questions individually and in detail. Failure to answer questions in detail will negatively effect your grade. If a questions asks for a plural response, you must provide more than one. While many consumers don’t like Uber’s surge pricing, it can’t easily be claimed that it is price-fixing (as it is not coordinated with competitors such as Lyft), price discrimination (as all customers in a surge area are subject to the same price increase), or deceptive pricing (Uber is nothing if not obvious about the price increase). Thus, despite the negative reactions, surge pricing is legal. Do you agree that it should be legal? Build a strong case either way, depending on your feelings about surge pricing. What adjustments and improvements to the implementation and communication with customers about Uber’s surge pricing strategy do you suggest in order to help those customers better understand the value proposition and improve acceptance? How might you explain surge pricing to consumers so the benefit they receive from it is better understood? If surge pricing were found to be illegal, do you think prices for Uber’s service would rise in general? Why or why not?

Developing Employees through Performance Management

Developing Employees through Performance Management.

A development plan is a key component of a performance management plan because it guides performance improvement. Create a short-term development plan (1-2 years) and a long-term development plan (3-5 years) for yourself. In your plan, address these items:Development objectivesHow skills will be acquiredA timeline for acquisitionStandards and measures for accessing improvement.Keep the following in mind:You are writing your own development plan. First, complete an assessment of your professional needs and/or deficiencies and career plans (e.g., complete MBA degree) and then write the plan. Assume you are submitting the development plan to your faculty member, the manager.With the exception of a cover page, no citations or references are required for this assignment. This should be an honest assessment of your professional needs/deficiencies and career plans. It can be written in a paragraph form or it can be bulleted in format with expanded comments.Your well-written paper should meet the following requirements:Be 4-5 pages in length, which does not include the title page, abstract or required reference page, which are never a part of the content minimum requirements.Review the grading rubric to see how you will be graded for this assignment.
Developing Employees through Performance Management