Back Injury of South African Female Gymnasts Research Paper

Back Injury of South African Female Gymnasts - Research Paper Example This study has employed a prospective testing program which was followed by a retrospective descriptive questionnaire-based study design. It was structured in this manner in order to establish an injury profile in both of the current and previous seasons and another one for the training program. There were 20 registered gymnastics clubs located in Gauteng. Seven of the twenty clubs were the only ones who offer a high quality of programs in terms of performance. It is only within these seven clubs that the respondents of this study have been chosen. However, only three of the seven clubs have allowed and agreed to partake in this research since the remaining four clubs do not have their current elite gymnasts. Respondents of the study were selected based on their age and training hours. Female artistic gymnasts who were born between 1990 and 2000 are the main participants. These gymnasts should be spending, at least 15 hours of training each week for a minimum of three years. Other respondents include the retired gymnasts who have already competed in the elite level while they were still active in the sports. They have been included in order to obtain information regarding the reasons behind their retirement and radiological data which were also compared to the data gathered from the current active gymnasts. The total number of the retired gymnasts is ten and each has filled a questionnaire. It was also made sure by the researcher that the data used in this study was provided with consent by the gymnasts who were participating in the study. Before conducting the initial study, the questionnaires were sent to gymnastics experts who include ten gymnasts who are not participating in this study and another two gymnastics coaches. The questionnaires were also checked and validated by a biokineticist and sports physician who works closely with gymnasts. This checking and verification of questionnaires was made in line with the content and construct validity as stated by Sim and Wright (2000). In the pilot study, which was conducted at the onset of the competition and was three months before the main study, the questionnaires were given to the participants. After a week, the completed questionnaires were sent back to the same respondents for the purpose of checking the reliability of the answers. When it comes to the X-ray test, it was taken by three radiographers who follow similar procedures for each of the view such as antero-posterior view, oblique view, and lateral view. Gathered data were analyzed through the use of a computerized statistical program which is the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 12. Descriptive analysis was obtained through means and standard deviations while tests of significance were achieved with inferential statistics. The level of significance used in the inferential statistics was set at 5%. Results of the study have identified that injuries, which commonly result to radiological changes, were generally caused by the training and the competition proper itself. Prevalence of injuries is very common in the ankle which has recorded 16.7% of the entire population of the participants. It was followed by the injuries occurring in the elbow. It can also be

The Impact of Counsellor Training on Students Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Counsellor Training on Students Essay The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) define counselling, along with psychotherapy, as being â€Å"umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies† (BACP, 2012: 1). In addition, counselling is provided by practitioners who â€Å"work with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective change or enhance their wellbeing† (BACP, 2012: 1). Those who practice counselling in a professional manner undergo intensive training and personal development, the latter of which has been â€Å"defined in terms of self-awareness and change† (Wheeler, 1996: 75). These changes, according to Johns, â€Å"influence the whole person† (Johns, 1997). This research proposal highlights how student counsellors’ significant relationships can be impacted by this intensive training regime. After discussing the literature on this topic, the aims, objectives and rationale for this research will be provided. 1. Research Aims and Objectives The aim of this small scale qualitative research is to explore the impact of the personal development element of counsellor training and how this affects the student counsellor’s significant relationships. The focus will be on, though not solely, student counsellors’ relationships with partners. However, reference will be made to other types of relationships. This aim will be achieved via semi-structured interviews examining the specific concepts of personal development, self-awareness, changes in personal relationships, as well as a full comprehensive exploration of student responsibilities in significant relationships. The data will be analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) (Smith, 2003), which will provide the lived experiences of participants. 2. Rationale The rationale for conducting this research is that personal development and self-awareness are key elements of counsellor training programmes designed to promote the trainee’s personal and professional development. Counsellor training has had both a positive and negative impact on many trainees’ significant and close relationships and this may be due to the amount of time spent by trainees engaging in self-awareness and personal development sessions. This study is designed to explore this issue in more detail using the lived experiences of counselling trainees. 3. Research Questions The following research questions are to be explored via semi-structured one-to-one interviews: * Have students noticed a change in their own personal development whilst training as a counselor? * Have students noticed any impact, positive or negative, of personal development and self-awareness training on their significant close relationships? * Is the student counsellor aware of any significant changes to these relationships and has help been available from the university? * Is the student counsellor aware of any help available for student’s families? * Is the student aware of the extent of their responsibilities to significant relationships? 4. Literature Review Using several different electronic databases, research has been conducted to find journal publications that are relevant to the aims and objectives of the proposed research. 4.1 Search Strategy A search of the literature was undertaken using Boolean logic, which allowed for a more sensitive search of the title and abstracts of the following databases: PsychInfo, Embase, Medline, and The Cochrane Library of systematic reviews. There were a number of keywords and phrases utilised to identify literature pertinent to this proposal, including: â€Å"counsellor training† OR â€Å"counselling training† â€Å"student counsellors† OR â€Å"trainee counsellors† AND â€Å"impact of training on significant relationships† OR â€Å"personal development† OR â€Å"personal relationships† OR â€Å"significant relationships.† The words ‘counselling’ and ‘counsellor’ were also searched with one ‘L’ in order to address differences in English and American spellings. 4.2 Results of Literature Review There is a considerable amount of information related to counsellor training and its impact on society (Scholl and Cascone 2010). There is, however, a paucity of research examining the impact of counselor training on student counsellors’ significant relationships (Macran and Shapiro, 1998). In 2012, the paucity of research in this area is as surprising as reported by Flynn-Piercy (2002) 10-years previously. It has long been established that personal development is a core aspect of counselor training (Wheeler, 2000), and yet the topic remains relatively under-researched, especially in terms of the impact this personal development has on trainees significant relationships. The changes that occur to student counsellors as a result of personal development can be likened to the same changes that occur in counseling clients. Indeed, Flynn-Piercy (2002) state that it is very similar to the therapeutic process, which is supported by observations from trainers (Mearns, 1997) and feedback from students (Harding Davies et al., 2004). Such changes are likely to impact significant relationships, as is also the case with clients who receive counselling (Fear, 2004). This was first highlighted by Mearns (1997), with there being a specific emphasis on the problems that might arise between student counsellors and their partners as a result of their training and subsequent personal development. Although this can introduce crisis, it can also, according to Mearns (1997) introduce opportunity. According to the literature, however, it is not clear whether crisis or opportunity is the predominant outcome in such circumstances (Looney et al., 1980; Guy, 1987). The literature suggests that one of the key issues that can impact student counsellors relationships is the anxiety that arises in partners as students develop close attachments to others (Cawkhill, 2002). In particular, confidentiality is a big part of these new relationships and can spark jealousy or feelings of exclusion from partners. As a result, it has been argued that students need to accept responsibility for helping their partners or significant others cope with any changes that will inevitably result from their training (Cawkhill, 2002). Flynn-Piercy (2002) conducted a heuristic study examining the impact of Relate counsellors training on their relationships with their partners. It was found that there was a significant impact on these relationships, which trainees had been unprepared for. The advantages of their training included improved communication, a disadvantage was that partners became â€Å"personally de-stablised† (Flynn-Piercy, 2002: 55). Despite the advantages, there was an overall threat to the relationships. This study is, however, not generalisable to all trainee counsellors since it only examined those training as Relate counsellors who specifically work in the area of relationships. A quantitative study conducted by Wright (2004) supported the findings of Flynn-Piercy’s (2002) qualitative study as it was found that student counsellors (n=200) did change as a result of their training and this did impact their relationships. Changes occurred in relationships with partners, friends, and family, but most markedly with partners. It was concluded, however, that changes were primarily positive. Again, however, there was a lack of preparation for these changes. As has been demonstrated, counseling training can have both positive and negative outcomes in the trainee counsellors relationships. To expand further on the positive, Crews et al. (2005) conducted a study to examine self-monitoring combined with counselling skills. The purpose of this study was to examine student counsellors who were undergoing training with responses to actual counselling performance. Results indicated that regardless of personal background or traits, counselling training improved social- and self-awareness for the participants involved. Despite the paucity of research on the impact of counseling training and, in particular, personal development on student counsellors relationships, the literature clearly shows that an impact is evident. This impact can be positive and negative, but more research is needed to establish details pertaining to the positive and negative impact, as well as the specific components of personal development that appear to have the most impact. This supports the need for the proposed research. 5. Methodology 5.1 Sample The sample will be purposive and will comprise four student counsellors who have undergone counsellor training on the BA (Hons) Counselling Studies Final Year Top-up programme. This sample size, although small, is sufficient for the chosen method of analysis, which is interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) (Smith, 2003). In respect of confidentiality, pseudonyms will be used in any written documents referring to each student. 5.2 Semi-Structured Interviews Semi-structured interviews lasting 30-45 minutes will be conducted by the researcher and taped for data analysis. If participants would like to speak for longer than 30-45 minutes, this will be allowed in order to gain as much rich data as possible. Potential interview questions, designed to address the research questions in 3, will be tested within a small focus group, with all questions being formed on the basis of evidence within the literature. Questions will be open-ended and non-leading, in line with best practice. Potential questions include, but are not restricted to: * What changes have you noticed in your personal development whilst training as a counsellor? * What changes have you noticed in your self-awareness whilst training as a counsellor? * Have these changes had any positive impact on any of your significant close relationships? * Have they had any negative impact on any of your significant close relationships? * What, if any, have been the key changes in any significant relationships since you started training? * Have you received any help from the university in terms of preparing for or coping with these changes? * Are you aware of any help available for student’s families? * What do you feel is the extent of your responsibilities to significant relationships?

Cultural Context Of Pregnancy And Childbirth Sociology Essay

Cultural Context Of Pregnancy And Childbirth Sociology Essay Childbirth, a universally experienced natural event is uniquely valued as a culturally relatable life experience. While common to all peoples and cultures it is deeply imbedded with significant beliefs, traditions and values unique to each culture. (Rassin, Klug, Nathanzon, Kan Silner, 2009) I will detail cultural variations found in Saudi Arabia with notations regarding how the Muslim religion places a significant influence on the experience of marriage, pregnancy and childrearing. The Muslim religion guides individual behavior in all aspects of life, including relationships between husband and wife, parent and child and between individual and society. Whereas western culture values the individual, independence and self-sufficiency and this outlook pervades all aspects of our society as well as influencing our perspectives on the world around us. By comparison Arabic Muslim societies reject the individual approach as a threat to social structure; sacrificing individuality to mainta in a collective way of life. (Achoui Dwairy, 2006) Historically, the American mans role in marriage, parenting and during childbirth has undergone a reconstruction in the last 50 years. Husbands used to be considered the dominant source of income and power in a marriage, a father functioned as a disciplinarian, in the birthing room a father was relegated to a separate location to wait till the delivery was over. Fathers today are considered partners in the marriage; they take a more nurturing roll in parenting and are considered an integral and vital member of the delivery team. Conversely, Arabian men and women have maintained more traditionally gender separated roles through all aspects of their lives from marriage, childbirth and the rearing of their young. Interestingly, the age at time of marriage is becoming closer between the two cultures, American women average marital age is 26 with mens average age being 27. Arabic women are tending to marry later in life in their early twenties instead of in their teens as the population moves toward urban life with greater emphasis on career. Arabic family life contrasts though with children being supported by their parents well into adulthood as the children mature they are expected to tend to the needs of their aging parents. (Rashad, Osman Roudi-Fahimi) Sexual virtue is highly valued in Muslim communities and there are stringent cultural norms that restrict the sexual and social behavior of women. (Papadopoulos, 2006) Marriage in this culture carries special social status, in particular on the bride as a rite of passage and is viewed as a socially, culturally and legally acceptable sexual relationship. (Rashad, Osman Roudi-Fahimi) Many Arabic couples choose a spouse for themselves although the marriage remains a social and economic contract between the two families. (Rashad, Osman Roudi-Fahimi) Early marriage is still seen, but tends to occur in lower socioeconomic and stricter religious sects or subcultures. There tends to be a wider age disparity between husband and wife the younger the female is in the marriage, with subsequently higher than average birth rates, lower levels of education, greater rates of sexually transmitted diseases and elevated mortality rates during pregnancy and delivery. (Rashad, Osman Roudi-Fahimi) Marriage creates pressure to begin bearing offspring regardless of the society, and here the number of children born to Americans and Arabs differs somewhat as Muslim women are virtually mandated by their Islamic religion to bear children, womens value and purpose is to build and raise a family, with pregnancy occurring earlier in an Arabic marriage often within the first few months. (Papadopoulos, 2006) Pregnancy is fundamentally the same throughout the world, but how we manage care of the pregnant women does differ. The number of women using birth control in Saudi Arabia is on the rise, (Rassin, Klug, Nathanzon, Kan Silner, 2009) yet women often require the permission of her husband for basic health care (Saudi Arabia: Womens, July) severely impacting womens health and ability to decide for herself the care she desires. Arabic women are much less likely to have genetic testing to assess for genetic anomalies or disorders despite the high rate of consanguinity found in the Arabic communities. (Rashad, Osman Roudi-Fahimi) Arabic women tend to not work outside the home during pregnancy and are less likely to have drivers licenses overall. (Rassin, Klug, Nathanzon, Kan Silner, 2009) Educational opportunities regarding pregnancy and the impending delivery are much less available to the Arabic woman as they are more often cared for by their mothers and mothers-in-law throughout their antenatal and post natal periods. (Rassin, Klug, Nathanzon, Kan Silner, 2009) The physical birth experience varies little and is universally regarded as one of the most joyous occasions but the social structures that surround labor and delivery varies greatly. Traditional Muslim deliveries are primarily a female only state of affair and the men are not expected to participate in the experience. (Linda Cassar, 2006) The delivery most often occurs at a hospital with the womans mother or mother-in-law in attendance. Arabic women tend to be more demonstrative expressing labor pain through screaming and crying yet they use epidural anesthesia less often. Almost all Arabic women also breast feed their newborns which may last on average 9 or more months. (Rassin, Klug, Nathanzon, Kan Silner, 2009) Many Muslim cultures have rituals that are used to protect the baby from evil spirits that may include the use of charms, amulets, stones, the reading of verses from the Quran, and the whispering of prayers in the newborns ears by the male family members. Circumcision of m ale children occurs among Arabic families though there is no prescribed time frame as is common to the Jewish faith. (Linda Cassar, 2006) The rearing of young is vastly different from culture to culture; the psychosocial development of children depends on how they are raised by their parents, and by their society. The behavior of the children influences the parents behavior just as the cultural values and norms influences the parents behaviors. Western cultures place emphasis on psychological individuation and tend to appreciate autonomy, fostering independence as the child matures to self-sufficiency. Arab societies tend to be collective and authoritarian, the extended and nuclear family are more important than the individual and the Muslim religion reinforces this collective point of view. Arabian children grow up with values of loyalty and respect for their families and are socialized with punishments to enforce these values, norms and behaviors. The Arab individual possesses an identity that is enmeshed in the collective family identity. (Achoui Dwairy, 2006) Achoui, M., Dwairy, M. (2006). Introduction to three cross-regional research studies on parenting styles, individuation, and mental health in arab societies. JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY, Vol. 37(No. 3), 221-229. Retrieved from http://ipac.kacst.edu.sa/eDoc/eBook/4465.pdf Cassar, L. (2006). Cultural expectations of Muslims and Orthodox Jews in regard to pregnancy and the postpartum period: a study in comparison and contrast. International Journal Of Childbirth Education, 21(2), 27. Papadopoulos, I. (2006). Transcultural health and social care: Development of culturally competent practitioners. Elsevier Health Sciences. Rashad, R., Osman, M., Roudi-Fahimi, F. (n.d.). Marriage in the arab world. In POPULATION REFERENCE BUREAU. Washington, DC: POPULATION REFERENCE BUREAU. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/pdf05/marriageinarabworld_eng.pdf Rassin, M., Klug, E., Nathanzon, H., Kan, A., Silner, D. (2009). Cultural differences in child delivery: comparisons between Jewish and Arab women in Israel. International Nursing Review, 56(1), 123-130. doi:10.1111/j.1466-7657.2008.00681.x Saudi arabia: Womens rights promises broken. (July, 2009 08). Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/news/2009/07/08/saudi-arabia-women-s-rights-promises-broken Selin, H. (2009). Childbirth across cultures: Ideas and practices of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum. New York: Springer Science and Business Media. (Selin, 2009)

Assess the work of Hjalmar Schacht in restoring Germanys economic :: Economics

Assess the work of Hjalmar Schacht in restoring Germany's economic situation. Germany at the beginning of 1933 had a high unemployment rate, which meant poverty was widespread. Those in work found that their wages declining which had consequences for those who produced consumer goods. International trade, industrial production and national income had all dropped. Schacht had been chosen by Hitler to solve Germany's economic problems due to a couple of reasons. The most important one was the fact he was the man who had solved hyperinflation in 1923 and had brought Germany's economy back on track then; the other reason was because Schacht was strongly right wing. Schacht became the Economic Minister in 1934 and used the financial facilities of the Reichsbank to help Germany rearm. He was then given dictatorial powers over the economy. The new plan of September 1934 provided control of all aspects of trade and currency exchange. Schacht had many ideas on how to get Germany's economy back up to full strength. One of his ideas was influenced by Keynes, a British economist. He adopted the policy of deficit financing; this idea was that money would be spent of public works to create jobs. The government would pay people to build motorways, which would then reduce unemployment. They then had money to spend, which would mean more products would be needed and companies would have to take on more workers, lowering unemployment further. The German government hoped that the secondary jobs, which were being created, would reemploy the majority of the population, instead of having to feed more money into the system. But this didn't just solve unemployment; it was useful to the public, it meant there were now modern roads, which eased travel over the country. This idea had one more advantage although this wasn't for the people; it was for the Nazi party. Building roads and updating the country was good propaganda; people liked what they were doing and had even more reason to want to keep them in power. Building wasn't the only scheme launched; afforestation was also used to create jobs. This idea paid off as unemployment was down to 2.5 million by mid 1934, and then by the middle of 1935 it had decreased further to 1.7 million. Hitler wanted 'autarky', which in principal was that Germany would become economically self-sufficient. This would then mean that Germany no longer would have to be dependent on other countries to import foodstuffs and raw materials. Another advantage was that Reichsmarks weren't wasted on import taxes. It also gave Germany the opportunity to strive towards a target and it would give them pride when it was

Goldilocks Point of Sale

1. 3 Statement of the problem There are several problems in computing the sales using calculator that the owner sometimes encountered. 1. 3. 1 General Problem This study will aim to answer this General question: Will it be useful for the company to have a Point of Sale? 1. 3. 2 Specific Problem Specially, this study sougth to answer the following question * What is the existing system of the company? * What is the advantages and disadvantages of a point of Sale (POS)? Will the company be able to see pictures of their products in the proposed system? 1. 4 Objective of the study The main aim of this study is to design a point of Sale for Goldilocks Macabebe Branch. 1. 4. 1 General Objectvie This study will make a point of sale for Goldilocks Macabebe Branch. And the most common problem in the store is having their difficult time in keeping the sale of record using the manual record method. The researcher had decided to make a system Exclusively for Goldilocks Macabebe Branch.To make th eir work easier and faster so that they can lessen the time they used in keeping records. 1. 4. 2 Specific Objective The study is design to fulfill this intent: * To design and develop a Point of Sales System for Goldilocks Macabebe Branch. * To have a computerized system that will be able to save filefor their products. * To have an automatic calculations of their daily sales. * To reveal the advantages and disadvantages of having a Point of sale (POS). * To make their work easier and faster. 1. 5 Hypothesis of the Study.The proponents hypothesized that the proposed Goldilocks Macabebe Branch Point of Sale (POS) will let the Company their computerized records and pictures of their products and an automatic computation of their sales every day. Most of their problem are on manual process taking a long time of work to encode the cakes and pastries. The proponents added more options related on other system like processing to make the system better. They only have a manual process that work slowly, the proponents assumed that the program processes work quickly. 1. 6

Impact of the Internet on Busi essays

Impact of the Internet on Busi essays Business-to-business (B2B) transactions were (and still are for some companies) based on a complex network of inter-connections, with every connection being different for each supplier or buyer. Errors of transactions, such as stock quantity and type, were commonplace. However, the Internet has provided a means, compared to EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), in making transactions flawless, easier and more profitable. "The Internet and the World Wide Web provide significant opportunities to make business-to-business more effective and efficient. The impact ranges from cutting the cost of paper and mailing, to shortening the time-to-market of products due to better supply-chain management" Segev has provided the most appropriate explanation of just what the Internet is doing to business-to-business commerce. The Cisco Systems Inc. website is a prime example of what can happen when the barriers of information, product and services are eliminated. [1] Before the website the order and delivery system seemed almost primitive. (2) 1 in 3 were rejected due to errors, (5) and at least 3 days processing time. The expenditure on their previous system was down to their inadequate paper system and human error, both eliminated by their website ordering system. (1) maximum order-to-delivery is 3 days, (2) impossible to enter mistakes on order, (3) a delivery date can be provided by 1 hour of the submittal, (4) orders, payments and reconciliation of returns against invoices can be tracked. Their new system allows buyers to optimise space, knowing the date of the arrival of their goods, also they get exactly what was supposed to be ordered, as it is impossible for the employee ordering to enter any mistakes. The advantages to Cisco Systems Inc. allowed them to reduce costs for documentation, technical support, configuration and order entry. Their savings have amounted to $230m a year. [1] However Cisco had to s...