...The American people have always been infatuated with competitive play against one another. We owe this anomaly to the primeval mentalities left behind through human evolution; and, we certainly have much to thank for these actions. Sporting, as is explained by renowned sports author Richard Davies, is the “Organized competitive activity between participants that requires some combination of skill and physical prowess.”1 Though, something more complex and unusual also comes with activity of this nature, and this is the ability to forget the destitution and difficulty of everyday life and the capability to be on a level playing field with many people that believe the same way, no matter what socio-economic class they represent. One sport in particular has transcended all other games, has continually been a psychological shelter from pain and hardships of life, and also a cultural rocket breaking through the social barriers in the American society. That sport is simply the most beloved American game of all, baseball. The purpose of this essay is to critically explore a myriad of aspects of life that have been changed due to sports, all the while concentrating on baseball as the main focal point. Further, this work will continually pose the question of how it is conceivable that a single and simple sport could greatly impact a country the way baseball has the United States. At the time of the first foreign inhabitants of North America, life was more difficult than someone of the...
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...three times, Ali won 56 times in his 21-year professional career. Ali’s outspokenness on issues of race, religion and politics made him a controversial figure during his career, and the heavyweight’s quips and taunts were as quick as his fists.” This shows he was an amazing successful boxing champion, and so his viewpoints of issues on religion, race, and politics affected American's thoughts, in a way he was an ambassador for those races and religions. In the text "Why Muhammad Ali Was 'The Greatest' American Muslim." it says “It was a defiant stance at a time when Muslims and black athletes were expected to keep quiet and blend in. Ali would have none of it. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali, explaining that it means "beloved of God," and insisted that people use it. Biographer David Remnick wrote that Ali was attracted to the Nation of Islam's message of racial pride, self-sufficiency and almost militant sense of manhood.” This shows how his career exposed American's to his culture because it was more hidden before he became a hot shot...
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...Why American society needed heroes in the aftermath of World War II- Paul Gallico, described athletic stars as "the Golden People", nothing that in the years following World War I sport had " its first million-dollar prizefights, and the adulation of sports heroes rose to the point almost of national hysteria". As World War I came to a close, however, the " Golden People" were anything but. The horrible devastation of the war and its terrible new weapons had shattered the idealistic notions of the Progressive reformers. The decade of the 1920s was termed the "Golden Age of Sports", and the media's creation of sport heroes during this time provided a stabilizing influence in a rapidly changing American culture. Sports stars were lionized as All-American types who exemplified American cultural values. The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame represented the American ideology of spirit, teamwork, and assimilation of diverse groups within society. Babe Ruth, the most famous of all the athletic heroes, symbolized the American dream, the land of opportunity and meritocracy, where one could succeed despite humble origins. The depiction of such heroes presented a more homogenous culture and solidified an American cultural identity, but it also masked social tensions inherent in the United States in the aftermath of World War I and during the Great Depression and World War II The media's role in constructing a popular culture- The new communication medium of radio became commonplace...
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...Josh Booth Professor Pearson West Georgia Technical College 05/02/2015 History of Sports/Games Using A Ball Sports or games have played a large part in the history of the world in regards to culture and entertainment and in some cases even sacrificial beliefs. Games using spherical shaped balls have been recorded as early as 1,400 B.c. in MesoAmerica and have evolved into what are now the World’s most prominent sports such as soccer or fùtbol. Games have evolved into sport, which has taken modern society by storm and created one of the largest economical entertainment industries in the world today. The first recorded history of games played with round objects was known as Ōllamaliztli, or simply as, “The Ball Game.” This game had ritualistic associations and has been dated back to 1,400 B.C. Many cultures grew to involve this game into it’s culture and ritualistic lives but the great civilization of the Mayans was the prominent exerciser. “As best as is now known from archaeological and iconographical sources as well as the structure of the sport courts, this was a very physically taxing and important part of Mayan culture.” (Blümchen). Although the exact rules of the game are unknown to this day, historians have made certain hypothesis as too how it was played. The game was played in large courts found all over Central America and as far north as Arizona. Diagonally arched balls surrounded the court with rings at the top of each wall. “Evidence suggests that...
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...you better Know Baseball Baseball hits a home run when it comes to comparing it to the American identity. Both baseball and the American identity have three aspects that are exactly the same; both are very diverse, both are rather competitive, and both are driven by business and money. America is a diverse country, according to US Census Bureau (2013) quickfacts reference page, “Caucasians alone total 77.7%, Hispanic and Latino alone 17.1%, and African American alone 13.2%”. However, America has races from every inhabitable continent; we have a large number of Asians, mass amounts of Europeans, and growing amounts of Latinos and African ethnicities. These aspects all put together combine to make a huge part of the definition of American identity. Along with diversity, another aspect that is used in the definition of American identity is business and corporations. Corporate America is one of the largest and wealthiest forms of business in the world. Wall Street deals with billions of dollars daily, corporations throughout the country grow in size and significance. Lastly, competition is the last big part of the definition because of the international trade, emphasize on sports and athletics, and between other rivalries between other countries. The same is with baseball in America; it incorporates all of these aspects into one sport. Baseball is the best definition of American identity because of the growing diversity in the sport, the multi-billion dollar industries...
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...structure on page one of my handwritten evidence. In my notes I specifically write down the structure along with extra notes under some categories so I fully understand how to attack the assignment. This led to me getting a perfect ten score under the argumentative structure part on the grading rubric on my rhetorical analysis essay, which is titled “Exposing Education.” Since that learning moment from class I knew that having a well-designed structure was a key to my persuasive writing success. In all my papers after the rhetorical analysis my rubric scores were perfect tens. In my opinion if my thoughts are organized and presented neatly, then my argument will result in being strongly developed. Another in class assignment that had a major impact on my success in organization can be...
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...On September 11, 1985, Pete Rose did what most thought was impossible. With a base hit against the San Diego Padres, Rose broke Ty Cobb’s long-standing hit record to reach 4,192 hits in his career. A several minute long celebration followed Rose’s historic accomplishment. Once Rose hung up his cleats for the final time, he was the holder of several Major League Baseball records, many of which still stand today. Rose, also known as Charlie Hustle, was adored by the American population. He personified what the American dream was, starting “from a humble beginning he raised his stature in life by virtue of hard work and brute determination to succeed.” There was not a doubt in anyone’s mind that he had earned himself a place in Cooperstown,...
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...Since 1947, American history has portrayed Jackie Robinson as a hero, and he has been idolized as a role model to the African American baseball community. It is an unarguable fact that he was the first to tear down the color barriers within professional baseball. The topic of Robinson’s role in integration has long been a point of discussion amongst baseball historians. Researchers have accumulated thousands of accredited documents and interviews with friends and team mates such as short stop, Pee Wee Reese, and team owner, Branch Rickey. However, few journalists have asked why Robinson was selected and what was Branch Rickey’s motivation? While Robinson was the first Negro player to break into the ranks of professional baseball, it can be argued that he was not the first to attempt the undertaking. In actuality, Jackie possibly was not even the first player the Brooklyn Dodgers’ organization considered for the job. The Warner Brothers film, 42, The Jackie Robinson Story (2013), highlights the accomplishments of Jackie and rightfully so, as he was an amazing man. The story actually starts prior to 1947 and ends years later in 1959, three years after his retirement in 1956. Early in his career at Ohio Wesleyan University, where Branch Rickey played and coached baseball, an incident occurred with one of his young black players, Charlie Thomas, which would forever change Rickey’s life, the future of integration of major league baseball, and would have an impact on the civil...
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...infiltration and detection via the Intelligence Community (IC). Unfortunately, we have diverted all our resources towards bio-terrorism research, without realizing that it is the further development and accessibility of biological weapons information that has promoted the spread of deadly knowledge within the terrorist community. Instead of trying to develop research plans for specific pathogenic agents, we must try and directly detect the progress of bio-weapon development in other nations through secretive intelligence networking. While some may question the ability of the IC to forestall future bio-attack due to past failures, congress must communicate to the public the fact that the IC is our best bet at direct and early detection to protect American national security....
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...Corey Kirkland HIS 350L Bruce Hunt 12/11/13 Sports, Media, and the Fans: The Business of Selling Sports The relationship between sports and the media has evolved drastically thanks in part to the proliferation of electricity and its resulting technology. This relationship has now become the “defining commercial and cultural connection for both industries at the beginning of the 21st century. The media has transformed sports from an amateur pursuit into a hyper-commercialized industry, while sports have delivered massive audiences and advertising revenues to the media.”1 This symbiotic relationship has taken many shapes throughout the years, and each evolution in sports broadcasting has the intent of constructing larger audiences and markets to create higher revenues no matter the medium. In the long run, the only real loser in the sports broadcasting realm is the obsolete medium. As technology has evolved, the way in which sports have been presented has followed suit. “Over the course of the twentieth-century sport was transformed from a typically ad hoc unregulated amateur activity to one driven by professional standards and accountability at all levels.”2 This change came slowly at first, and has advanced rapidly over the past few decades. Now, due in part to advanced broadcasting techniques, watching live events and highlights of the day’s games can be brought to our fingertips with relative ease. Sports Coverage Before the Radio Before the broadcasting...
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...College hoops' black coaching issue Myron Medcalf [ARCHIVE] ESPN.com | July 18, 2013 When a national sportswriter calls to talk about minority hiring in college basketball, folks of all races seem to get nervous. As I sought feedback following last week's release of the "2012 Racial and Gender Report Card: College Sport" by Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport -- the report excludes historically black colleges and universities -- which states that the current pool of Division I African-American head coaches (18.6 percent through the 2011-12 season) is at its lowest mark since the 1995-96 season, people weren't sure what, if anything, they should say. Multiple administrators passed on the opportunity. The NCAA wanted to see my questions, and then it wanted a pre-interview phone conversation before it ultimately emailed its responses. The coaches who talked on the record always ended our chats with the same concern: "I didn't say anything that will make me look bad, right?" Shaka Smart Andy Lyons/Getty Images To reach Shaka Smart's level, black coaches often have to overcome certain labels. I don't blame them. It's an incendiary issue, because we're uncomfortable with race as dialogue. It's still a subject that makes athletic directors -- 89 percent of whom are white at the Division I level, per the report -- squirm. Minority coaches speak cautiously, because they don't want to be labeled as rebels or militants. That hesitancy...
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...EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION Two big events will frame the year ahead: America’s presidential election and the summer Olympic games in Beijing. The race for the White House will be a marathon, from the front-loaded primary season in January and February to the general election in November. The betting is that the winner will be a Democrat—with a strong chance that a Clinton will again be set to succeed a Bush as leader of the free world. China, meanwhile, will hope to use the Olympics to show the world what a splendid giant it has become. It will win the most gold medals, and bask in national pride and the global limelight. But it will also face awkward questions on its repressive politics. America and China will be prime players in the matters that will concentrate minds around the world in 2008. One of these is the world economy, which can no longer depend on America, with its housing and credit woes, to drive growth. America should—just—avoid recession, but it will be China (for the first time the biggest contributor to global growth) along with India and other emerging markets that will shine. Another focus of attention will be climate change. As China replaces America as the world’s biggest producer of greenhouse gases, serious efforts on global warming depend on the serious involvement of those two countries. If 2007 was the year when this rose to the top of the global agenda, in 2008 people will expect action. It is striking that green is a theme that links all the contributions...
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...500 IELTS Vocabulary (AWL,HK Univ.) 1 By examword.com The IELTS test AWL(Academic Word List) was rooted from a popular webpage of HONG KONG Univ. We re-organize it with new definitions and examples. In addition original Chinese explanation, more local language explanations are appended to help ESL people. This list is a proven short-cut to pass IELTS exam when your preparation is in a very narrow timeframe. abandon: /ə'bændən/ n. Syn. relinquish lacking restraint or control; feeling of extreme emotional intensity; unbounded enthusiasm With her parents out of town, Kelly danced all night with abandon. abstract: /'æbstrækt/ a. Syn. theoretical; abstruse theoretical; not concrete; not applied or practical; difficult to understand To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal. academy: /ə'kædəmɪ/ n. school for special instruction; society of scholars, scientists, or artists The mission of our academy is actually to ensure the health and the well-being of all children. access: /'æksɛs/ n. Syn. approach approach; entry; entrance It remains to be seen whether the multinationals like Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and BP will give in to Mr Chavez's brinksmanship as they know he needs them as much as they need access to his oil. accommodate: /ə'kɒmədeɪt/ v. Syn. adapt; oblige do a favor or service for; provide for; supply with; make suitable; adapt; allow for As for the stage in the public auditorium, it can easily be adjusted to accommodate...
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...OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY OUTLINE OF OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY C O N T E N T S CHAPTER 1 Early America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CHAPTER 2 The Colonial Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 CHAPTER 3 The Road to Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 CHAPTER 4 The Formation of a National Government . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 CHAPTER 5 Westward Expansion and Regional Differences . . . . . . . 110 CHAPTER 6 Sectional Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 CHAPTER 7 The Civil War and Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 CHAPTER 8 Growth and Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 CHAPTER 9 Discontent and Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 CHAPTER 10 War, Prosperity, and Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 CHAPTER 11 The New Deal and World War I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 CHAPTER 12 Postwar America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 CHAPTER 13 Decades of Change: 1960-1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 CHAPTER 14 The New Conservatism and a New World Order . . . . . . 304 CHAPTER 15 Bridge to the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 PICTURE PROFILES Becoming a Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....
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...® Academy of Management Journal 1999, Vol. 42, No. 1, 25-40. THE PERFORMANCE EFFECTS OF PAY DISPERSION ON INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS MATT BLOOM University of Notre Dame Pay distribution research is relatively scarce in the compensation literature, yet pay distributions are viewed as critically important by organizational decision makers. This study is a direct test of the relationship between one form of pay distribution—pay dispersion—and performance conducted in a field setting where individual and organizational performance could be reliably observed and measured. Findings suggest more compressed pay dispersions are positively related to multiple measures of individual and organizational performance. Among those who design and administer compensation systems, pay distributions have been an important issue for a long time, yet they have been studied relatively infrequently in the compensation research literature (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 1992; Meyer, 1975; O'Reilly, Main, & Crystal, 1988). The term pay distributions refers to the "array of compensation levels paid for differences in work responsibilities, human capital, or individual performance within a single organization" (Milkovich & Newman, 1996: 45). Although there seems to he agreement that pay distributions influence individual and organizational performance, there is little agreement over how or why they matter (Gerhart & Milkovich, 1992). In fact, there has been disagreement in the theoretical literature about the...
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