The Relationship between Sports and Media Essays - Sports Journalism

RUNNING HEAD: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPORTS AND MEDIA: CAN SPORTS SURVIVE WITHOUT MEDIA? By Claudette Jackson Palmer Abstract Since the beginning of time media has been responsible for getting the news and information out to the public. Media exists in many different forms such as magazines, television, newspapers, internet, motion pictures, and even plays. When communication is spread not just between two individuals but rather between tens of millions of people it is known as mass media. Mass media is known as the central nervous system of society and it functions as a medium of exchange of information across the globe. Media has many different purposes, such as providing information, entertaining, persuading and also by carrying a vague general function of culture to millions of people (Zimmerbucher, 2008). In order for media to exist, there must be an audience. Today's society is very selective; each receiver reacts differently through his or her own experience and orientation. Sports is used not only to make a living, but also to entertain the masses. When sports and media are combined, the opportunity to make millions of dollars increases. Today, millions if not billions of dollars are being made from athletic events from high school to college all the way to professional sports. The focus of this paper is to discuss the relationship of sports and media: Can sports survive without media? Introduction Media and sports has evoked such interest because of the powerful influence they both have on the ideals and perceptions of the American public (Cunningham, 2003). The relationship between the media and sport is long-standing. The media generates interest and excitement and, without it, sports would not be able to attract so much advertising and sponsorship. In return, sports supply the media with drama, conflict and entertainment. Whilst there is nothing new about this, the amount of media coverage dedicated to sports has increased significantly. In recent years, the arrival of satellite television and a new generation of sports-oriented magazines, and the style of coverage has changed beyond recognition (Phillips, 1998). When media and sports are connected, Bruce and Saunders (2005) defines this as any sport that is not watched live and in person but instead is consumed via mainstream media sources such as newspapers, television, radio, internet, magazines, fanzines, video games, advertising or movies (Bruce & Saunders, 2005). There are some people that question why a relationship between media and sports even exist. An example of this relationship is when sports properties sold their rights to the media, who then sold the sports content to advertisers, who gained audiences and potential customers for their products. The model was primarily built on network television and was largely responsible for turning professional and college sports into multibillion-dollar businesses (Rein, Kotler & Sheilds , 2007). If you honestly think about it every time you are flipping through the channels on television you are bound to see either a sporting event on or advertisement for an upcoming game or merchandise. Sports celebrities are widely used in product advertising to drive sales, by improving consumers' product recall and positively influencing their brand choice behavior. Such endorsements enhance consumer recognition and image awareness of brands the athletes represents (Brody, Runyan & Lear, 2010). With the amount of advertising that goes on within the world of sports it?s clear to see how they attract the public. Advertisements and endorsements are not only a part of the sports world but they are another means of a star athlete to make more money for themselves. Product endorsements often provide professional athletes more money than they earn through playing sports. In 2005, the world's top-ranked golfer Tiger Woods earned nearly $12 million in golf prize money and another $75 million thro ugh endorsements and appearance fees. Basketball great Michael Jordan blazed the trail for these and other star athletes when in 1997 he earned $40 million in endorsements alone (Brody, Runyan & Lear, 2010). Through sports the media has given athletes the power to make millions of dollars for not only themselves but companies, owners, and corporations. Celebrity endorsements are considered valuable and mutually beneficial partnerships for brand owners and celebrities, and involve more than just the transfer of money in exchange for image. However, there has been

Manage your boss’s emails and phone calls like a pro

Manage your boss’s emails and phone calls like a pro As an assistant, you will often be asked to manage your boss’s correspondence, including emails. This can often be a tricky task, particularly because its hard to know the correct tone to strike. Should you write in your voice? In his or hers? What if your boss just leaves it up to you?Representing someone else is a huge responsibility, but one you can weather with dignity and poise. Here are a few things to keep in mind to make sure you don’t lose the privilege or fumble the ball.Keep it confidential.It should go without saying that whatever you read in your boss’s email isn’t meant to be repeated- to anyone. Don’t discuss personal items you might come across with anyone, least of all your boss (unless he brings something up). And don’t blab about professional developments within your company to your colleagues either- not even to warn them of impending changes.When in doubt, ask.Don’t just accept the email task as yours, silently and resolutely. Ask questions. What is it she wants you to accomplish? Are you authorized to unsubscribe her from unnecessary mailing lists? Are you monitoring so she doesn’t have to weed through everything, or are you actually in charge of triaging, organizing, and (eep) responding. And, if so, how would she like you to do that- as yourself (Sincerely, Your Name, Personal Assistant to Her Name) or as your boss? The more you know going in and the more you two are on the same page, the fewer misunderstandings will crop up.Read them, and take notes.Even if some of this stuff might be over your head, the more you know, the more you can help. Make sure to read carefully and have a sense at any given time of who’s asking for what and which things need to happen first. Make sure to note impending deadlines, appointments, timely actions, etc., and flag them immediately. Make note of these in your own calendar, as well as in your boss’s. That way you can send reminders.Sta y professional.When discussing the content of these emails with your boss or when responding to them yourself, make sure to act the part. Be every bit as professional and polished as your boss is. Remember, you are acting on his behalf.Come up with a system.If you’re given the leeway, try to come up with a system that will work for both of you. For example, you can file everything non-essential into folders like Junk, Personal, and News. Then everything else is work stuff and you can both focus on that. Come up with a flagging system- using different colors or labels- so you can communicate to each other what needs to be done first. Keep it sensible and simple.Check twice.Make sure to bookend your workday by checking emails first thing and then going through for anything urgent at the end of the day. Making sure you do a thorough check in the morning and the evening means that whatever system you came up with for organizing will keep functioning smoothly, rather than falling apart overnight.Stay cool.Don’t bother your boss with a question every time you aren’t sure what to do with a given email- even at the beginning. Try instead to keep a running list of questions you want to ask and save them for the end of the day. In a few days, you’ll find you have far fewer questions.Don’t forget to do your own work.Don’t let your boss’s emails swallow your whole work day, eclipse your projects, or make you neglect your own inbox. Develop a system that works for you so that you can balance both of your correspondences. This will make the arrangement more stable and sustainable for both of you.

Book Review of Aleph by Paulo Coelho

Book Review of 'Aleph' by Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelhos (The Alchemist, The Winner Stands Alone) novel takes readers on an adventurous journey that spans all 9,288 kilometers of the Trans-Siberian railroad from Moscow to Vladivostok, and a parallel mystical journey that transports its narrator through space and time. In his most personal novel to date, Coelho presents himself as a pilgrim seeking to regain his spiritual fire, much like Santiago, the beloved main character of his runaway bestseller The Alchemist. Paulo Coelhos books have sold more than 130 million copies and have been translated into 72 languages. Besides The Alchemist, his international bestsellers include Eleven Minutes, The Pilgrimage, and many other books whose characters grapple with seemingly simple spiritual themes: light and darkness, good and evil, temptation and redemption. But never before has Coelho chosen to place himself as a character so profoundly in the midst of that struggle - until now. In Aleph  (Knopf, September 2011), Coelho writes in the first person, as a character and a man wrestling with his own spiritual stagnation. Hes 59 years old, a successful but discontented writer, a man who has traveled all over the world and become widely acclaimed for his work. However, he cant shake the sense that hes lost and deeply dissatisfied. Through the leadership of his mentor J., Coelho comes to the conclusion that he must change everything and move forward, but he doesnt quite know what that means until he reads an article about Chinese bamboo. Coelho becomes inspired by the thought of how bamboo exists only as a tiny green shoot for five years while its root system grows underground, invisible to the naked eye. Then, after five years of apparent inactivity, it shoots up and grows to a height of twenty-five meters. Taking what sounds like the advice hes written in his previous books, Coelho begins to trust and follow the signs and live [his] Personal Legend, an act that takes him from a simple book signing in London to a whirlwind tour of six countries in five weeks. Filled with the euphoria of once again being in motion, he commits to a journey through Russia to meet with his readers and to realize his lifelong dream of traveling the entire length of the Trans-Siberian railroad. He arrives in Moscow to begin the journey and meets more than what hes expecting in a young woman and violin virtuoso named Hilal, who shows up at his hotel and announces that shes there to accompany him for the duration of the trip. When Hilal wont take no for an answer, Coelho lets her tag along, and together the two embark on a journey of much greater significance. By sharing deeply profound moments lost in the Aleph, Coelho begins to realize that Hilal can unlock the secrets of a parallel spiritual universe in which he had betrayed her five hundred years earlier. In the language of technical mathematics, Aleph means the number that contains all numbers, but in this story, it represents a mystical voyage wherein two people experience a spiritual unleashing that has a profound impact on their present lives. Sometimes throughout the story, Coelhos tendency to describe spiritual concepts in simple terms borders on clichà ©. A life without cause is a life without effect, he repeats, along with other pithy sayings such as Life is the train, not the station. These sayings take on greater depth, however, as this storys narrator travels back in time and returns to the present with experiences that give them new meaning.The tension in Aleph builds as the train nears its destination at Vladivostok, the final stop on the Trans-Siberian railroad. The narrator Coelho and Hilal have become entangled in a spiritual web that must be broken if they are to continue on in their separate lives. Through their delicate negotiations, readers will come to understand the interconnectedness of people throughout time and find inspiration in this story of love and forgiveness. Like many of Coelhos other novels, the story in Aleph is one that will appeal to those who view life as a journey. Just as Santiago of The Alchemist sought the fulfillment of his Personal Legend, here we see Coelho writing himself into the fabric of a novel that traces his own spiritual growth and renewal. In this way, its the story of Coelho, the story of his characters, and the story of each of us who read it. Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

Strategy of international business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategy of international business - Essay Example Centralization happens when a company focuses the centralization of authority from the whole towards a particular group, which usually happens to be the top management since top management assumes the decision making authority. On the other hand, decision-making authority in a decentralized organization is passed over to the lower tiers that may be the organization’s branches, subsidiaries, or divisions. Advantages of centralization include uniformity of standards, reduction in the cost of operation, and increased profitability of business while disadvantages of centralization include conflict between the internal organizational culture and external culture, and the need of a very efficient IT-based system. Advantages of decentralization include increased competition whereas the disadvantages of decentralization include increased need of training and customization of employees’ skills. One advantage of centralization is uniformity of standards. Since the company has a centralized system, the product or service generated by the company has the same quality wherever it is made in the world. Another advantage of a centralized organizational structure of an international company is that it reduces the cost of operation in three fundamental ways. Firstly, the company is able to exploit the economies of scale. The international company can benefit from its products’ or services’ special pricing in numerous ways that include but are not limited to bulk pricing, single orders or multiple orders, and volume discounts. Secondly, in a centralized system, an international company escapes the need to duplicate the procedures or efforts to address the needs of branches in different parts of the world. Thirdly, centralization of the system reduces the regulatory costs. In addition to that, centralization promotes a culture of more consistency and accountability

Collaboration and Consultation in Education Research Paper

Collaboration and Consultation in Education - Research Paper Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that collaborative learning is accomplished through the use of active engagement activities designed to exploit knowledge and to facilitate the sharing of the workload. In this method, learners can generate their individual parts of a larger assignment and then the parts are compiled as a group work. Collaboration is also a style employed by professionals in order to achieve a common and a shared goal. There are several terminologies that may be used interchangeably when discussing cooperation strategies. These terms include consultation, teamwork, collaborative work and collaborative consultation. However, the collaboration will be employed in this paper as the umbrella concept for the various collaborative strategies. Furthermore, there are different forms in which collaboration techniques are created. These are the student collaboration, teacher-student collaboration, teacher-parent collaboration, and student-parent co llaboration. All these forms of cooperation are primarily meant to help enhance the learning process of a student and to ensure they achieve the best in education. Collaboration is both advantageous in teaching and learning when it happens on various levels. Collective prioritizing of education by the students, teachers, members of a family, and the community as a whole is beneficial to teaching and learning process. The benefits will be more felt when all the stakeholders engage in activities that promote learning institutions, educators, and students. Additionally, the advantage of collaboration becomes more evident when teachers collaborate with other teachers to support innovative classroom practices. And aim at the high level of expectations for themselves and students as well. Further, the benefits of collaboration can be achieved more when students are granted the chance to work together for common academic goals in manners that improve learning.

Things Fall Apart :: essays research papers

Things Fall Apart Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe definitely has a fitting title. It explains how two cultures with different ideas and beliefs can clash and be intolerant towards one another. Most of the theme is developed through the plot of the story and through a man and his struggle against fear and anger (the main character, Okonkwo). Throughout the book he tries to resolve the problems that develop all around him and within himself. As the story progresses, conflict overwhelms him and leads to his downfall and the downfall of the Ibo culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One part of the book that shows how the title is developed is when Okonkwo's character is introduced and explained to the reader. The author tells how he is shameful of his father and that he is belligerent and cold-hearted. Pointing out these flaws in Okonkwo's character seems to foreshadow his downfall. Since Okonkwo probably represents the 'intolerant culture';, that culture's downfall is also foreshadowed. Later more obvious instances occur. Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna, who is like a son to him. His decision of killing the boy is definitely unreasonable, and he only acts on what he was told was right. Just like the rest of the clan he follows these customs that seem immoral and unjust to other cultures. In another part of the story, Okonkwo is banished from his fatherland. This incident is the first where he is punished greatly for his actions. It marks a turning point in Okonkwo's downfall, and therefore the downfall of the traditional culture that he stands for. His hopes and aspirations are almost forgotten while he is away from Umuofia, and he desperately tries to regain his status when he returns. During this period of time, Okonkwo also discovers that his son has converted to his enemy's ways and beliefs. He abandons his son, and doesn't want to be his father any longer. This shows that his relationships with family and other people are beginning to 'fall apart';. The most obvious development of the theme and title takes place at the end of the book, when the final clash of cultures occurs.

Writing Response to Freedom Writers

People spend a good portion of their lives learning. We all sit in classrooms, we observe, we listen, and while there is someone there for us, someone to shed light on, to teach, and to guide. There is without a doubt that teachers are an important part of a someone's life, whether a child or a young adult, teachers are always there. A teacher has an impact on the person a child becomes, and also the person a child strives to be. The movie Freedom Writer is an inspiring story that throughout the film, Mrs.Erin Gruwell managed to be different as a commendable teacher, careless of the difficulties that surround her learning environment. She was fresh-faced, idealist and was ready to take on the world as she steps inside Wilson High School for her first day of teaching. Her class, a diverse group of racially charged teenagers from different walks of life (African Americans, Latinos, Asians, juvenile delinquents, gang members, and underprivileged students from poor neighborhoods) hopes f or nothing more than to make it through the day.More and more, teachers are becoming a crucial influence in children’s lives. It stands to reason that a teacher’s personality and teaching style can have an impact on children’s academic performance and general development. Mrs. Gruwell illustrated this beautifully in the film, in the beginning of the movie, her class hated each other and the understanding that they are simply being warehoused in the educational system until they are old enough to disappear. Despite her students' persistent refusal to participate in class, Mrs.Gruwell tries several means to engage them on a daily basis. However, at first, Mrs. Gruwell was timid and obviously new at her job, the kids caught onto that right away and had no respect for her. To break the ice, Mrs. Gruwell wanted to connect with them and brought music in that all of them would know and can relate to, but that didn’t do much. She took another step and moved the s tudent’s seats in the classroom because they all segregated themselves in racial groups, this definitely caused tension throughout the room and the students took it out on each other.One of the students drew an offensive picture of another student and passed it around class, this made Mrs. Gruwell furious and explained that it starts with a drawing like this, and then some kid dies in a drive-by, never even knowing what hit him. She then told the students about how the Jews went through the very same thing and they are amateurs compared to the most famous gang, the Nazis. This really opened the students’ eyes and they started to respect Mrs. Gruwell little by little. Mrs.Gruwell thought one more ice breaker would be good to show them that they are all the same and to bring them together. She put a line of duct tape in the middle of the room and asked the students various questions and if it related to them they had to step on the line. One of the questions she asked wa s if the students knew anyone that died from gang related violence and most of the students stepped onto the line. That line represented the students coming together because in reality they are all the same. Mrs. Gruwell literally threw her life away to help those kids out.While she was having problems with her personal life, she took on the responsibility of having three jobs to afford to give her students the best education, whether it was books, school trips and more. One of the books that she bought for her students was The Diary of Anne Frank, it would be a good idea for the students to read literature from another kind of ghetto and with these simple tools she opens her students' eyes to the experiences of those suffering bigotry throughout the world and the struggles of those outside their own communities.But then reality steps in to focus when a racially motivated gang shooting witnessed by a girl in Mrs. Gruwell's class became the most unsuspectingly vigorous teaching aid. It sparked a transformation in the classroom, compelled them to listen and forced her to take off her idealistic blinders. Knowing that every one of her students has a story to tell, Mrs. Gruwell encourages them to keep a daily journal (which she bought for them) of their thoughts and experiences.After sharing their stories with one another, the students see their shared experience for the first time and open up to the idea that there are possibilities in life outside of making it to the age of eighteen. A teacher plays a great role in developing a student‘s character. It is very difficult, because character is formed not only in the classroom. Despite the fact, the classroom climate influenced by a teacher has a major impact on the students’ motivation, attitude towards learning and character development. Mrs.Gruwell’s students could see how passionate she was to see them succeed and they got more comfortable and actually wanted to learn. One of her students ask ed if they could meet with Holocaust survivors and she agreed and got them to come, however, that wasn’t enough for her students, they wanted more. Mrs. Gruwell had the kids write a letter to the woman who hid Anne Frank in the attic and the students got really excited and couldn’t wait. Even after that her students wanted more, they wanted to make a difference, be heard, leave something behind and they soon did.Mrs. Gruwell made their journals that they were writing into a book ,The Freedom Writers Diary. Lastly the children who grew up in more affluent neighborhoods often do better in school but the poorer the neighborhood on an average have higher crime rates, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse. Mrs. Gruwell experience verbally and visually how her students neighborhood affected them in such a degree. Surely there was nothing she could do to prevent such thing to happen but the only thing she did was to provide them respect, loyalty, dreams and trust overall. Mrs.Gruw ell had faith on her students that no matter what is your social position, or education or where you grew up, what matter is you maintain respect and love and faith in those in need. She finally grew a tough skin and took charge instead of letting them walk all over her, which is how she succeeded in getting their attention. Once she got them to focus on what really mattered and to understand that each clique had some common ground, they hit the ground running and the rest was history. She successfully turned the classroom into a safe haven in the crazy high school they attended.A teacher is like a sculptor, they mold a personality out of a child like a sculptor creates a beautiful statue out of clay. So a teacher has the greatest impact on student‘s character, knowledge, values and this affect can go on for years even after they are not in contact with one another. Being very knowledgeable will not immediately qualify as a good teacher. What is more important, is the attitude and the skill of being able to transfer the lessons effectively to the students. Teaching requires dedication and selflessness to be able to impart your learning and knowledge to the students.