International Finance Paper (Home Depot) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Finance Paper (Home Depot) - Essay Example During the years 2008 and 2009, the company was forced to lay off more than a thousand employees and 54 stores across US had to be closed. This includes the whole of the EXPO Design Centre Chain, which was engaged in high end retailing. In the year 2009 the company logged a sales figure of $71.288 billion, which was $20 billion less than was at it was in 2007. This paper deals with the various financial issues encountered by Home Depot during the course of its operation and talks about the measures, which the company is undertaking to deal with the same. As a business policy, HDI was engaged in mergers and acquisitions from the early days of its operations. The company also later on diversified its operation into other countries like Canada and Mexico, where in it needed expert advice on the various complex issues related to international finance. In these circumstances the company made a deal with Invemed Associates, who are engaged in the business of investment banking. An investment bank has departments like the Corporate Finance, which deals in the areas of mergers and acquisitions along with providing finance related consultancy to the clients. Another important division in the company is of the Research, which is concerned with analysis and valuation of shares and bonds, the recommendations on which are then presented to the clients. An investment bank also provides consultancy to their client’s for raising debts and equity from the market. Invemed Associates is required to constantly monitor the financial health of HDI and report on the same to the Board of Directors of HDI. Invemed is also required to inform the board on any economic trend that is relevant to the type of business in which the company is engaged in. Invemed Associates advises HDI every time it wishes to borrow money from the market or issue securities to the public.  (FindLaw, 2009) Before the sale of Home depot supply in

Artificial Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Artificial Intelligence - Essay Example Alan Turing, then, modified the ‘imitation game’ and put a man or woman, and a computer in another separate room. The judge’s job was to decide who is a man or machine among the two contestants. Based on the second version of the experiment, Turing argued that if the ‘judge’ can pick a computer or a human using his mind, then, the computer is a simulation of a human and hence it is intelligent. The Turing has been modified further in that the imitation game has changed where there is a single contestant, a human or a computer. The judge’s job in this test is to decide whether the single contestant is a human or a machine (Moor 143).  Alan Turing proposes that the definition of intelligence can be passed to machines (computers) in that he believes that computers can be programmed to act like humans. He advocates for the question and answer method because it includes the human behaviour of talking by responding to queries. In his 1951 paper, Tu ring writes that â€Å"in fifty years’ time, computers can be programmed to play the imitation game such that any average interrogator (judge) will have less than 70% chance of identifying the correct contestant after asking questions for five minutes.† The Turing test supports the fact that if a human being is replaced by a computer and the game’s results remain unaffected, then, the machine would be equally intelligent as a human and capable of thought (Moor 144).  Turing supports his arguments by stating that machines are capable of thought if only they cannot be distinguished.

Prototype of 3D Cadaster Polygonal Model

Prototype of 3D Cadaster Polygonal Model Abhijit Gujar Table of Contents 1.Introduction 1.1.Background and Justification 1.2.Literature review 1.2.1.Review on concept though and ideas 1.2.2.Review on approaches 1.3.Research problem 1.4.Research objective 1.4.1.General objective 1.4.2.Specific objective 1.5.Research questions 1.6.Research limitations 2.Research design and methods 2.1.Study area 2.2.Data 2.3.Software and hardware requirement 2.4.Research design matrix 3.Framework 3.1.Research framework 3.2.Thesis framework 3.3.Work plan framework 4.Reference 1. Introduction 1.1. Background and Justification Urbanization is an inevitable part of the economic development process for any country and is considered a global phenomenon (Rigg et al., 2009) . However, it is only in recent years that the rate of urbanization has begun to accelerate. More than half of the world population is dwelling in urban area. Urbanization is one of the inevitable phenomenon right now, as the result of this there is need and growth of high rise buildings which are having many types of uses and new types of shared ownership and also underground infrastructure such as sewage, train tunnels (subway), electrical and communication network is becoming dense and complex more over multi-use of land parcel creates new problems and challenges. (Jazayeri, Rajabifard, Kalantari, 2014) Traditionally the land parcel information which includes geometric, visual and legal data is managed in 2D. It is difficult in 2D map to make simple operation such as volume of space, cannot perform various spatial analysis that is necessary in various other field of urban planning as the data is in 2D. 3D visualization for dissemination is very difficult using just the 2D data in cadaster system (Mohamed Anders, 2012). This is where the 3D cadaster comes into light.endi One of the biggest hurdle in developing the 3D cadaster is the creating the 3D building geometry representation that are suitable for 3D cadaster. Although there are CAD model available that represent the 3D blue print of the building, the real on ground situation can be different then what is on the CAD model so it is necessary to calculate the 3D measurements of actual built building. I want to research how we can create a 3D model that is suitable for 3D cadaster, one of the possible methods can be using laser scanning data. Laser scanning data has very high accuracy which is suitable for land administration needs. AHN -2 (Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland) is the project in Netherlands that aims to collect high resolution laser data of entire country (van der Sande, Soudarissanane, Khoshelham, 2010). Although AHN-2 data is accurate the point density is not enough to be able to convert it into a polygonal geometry model as the AHN-2 is taken from high altitude it covers the roof of buildings adequately but the facades of the building generally have less point density which results in anomalies. The proposed solution to take multiple images of the building from all the sides (facades) to construct a point cloud of that building, the minimum number of images required will be analyzed using techniques discussed in (Alsadik, B., Gerke, M., Vosselman, G., Daham, A., Jasim, L. ,2014), then register this point cloud with the AHN-2 point cloud then this point cloud is used to generate 3D model 1.2. Literature review This section talks about the concepts, ideas that are discussed throughout this proposal. Cadaster: Urbanization is a process by which town cities are slowly transformed from rural form to urban form 3D cadaster: Cadaster registers real status of real estate objects until now the spatial information use to register the legal status of land in two dimensional systems that is a parcel is defined by 2D juridical boundaries. 3D cadaster What is a 3D Model A 3D Model is a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional object (real or imagined) in a 3D software environment. Unlike a 2D image, 3D models can be viewed in specialized software suites from any angle, and can be scaled, rotated, or freely modified. The process of creating and shaping a 3D model is known as 3d modeling Laser scanning Laser scanning is technique of controlled deflection of laser beam visible or invisible to capture the information of target in 3D from airborne or terrestrial platform. Airborne laser scanning is carried out from aircraft while terrestrial laser scanning can be done from a stationary or moving platform. Point cloud: point cloud is a set of 3D points in the same coordinate system. Often intended to represent a external surface of an object. Point cloud file is just the set of numbers representing X, Y, Z in coordinate system. Point cloud registration: Point cloud registration is a process of merging 2 separate point cloud having different origin and into one . Stratified sampling method: Stratified is probability sampling technique in which the researcher divides the entire population into different groups and then sample is collected from equally from each group. So that the selected sample can represent the population well. 1.3. Problem statement In past recent years there has been a lot of development in 3D. Netherlands is actively promoting for participation of over 65 private, public and scientific organizations to promote the use of 3D information covering issues such as acquisition, standardization, storage and use (Elberink, Stoter, Ledoux, Commandeur, 2013). Although there are many paper that suggest different methods to extract building from point cloud I want to look into alternative way of designing a 3D model of building by combining two point cloud from different sources. 1.4. Motivation 1.5. Research objective Research objectives are divided into general objective and specific objective. General objective is overall goal of research and specific objective are the objectives that are needed to complete general objective. 1.5.1. General objective To develop and test a prototype of 3D cadaster Polygonal model of building by combing the AHN-2 data with point cloud created by multiple high quality images of the building from all the facades. 1.5.2. Specific objective To formalize a benchmark for constructing a prototype 3D modelof buildingsatisfying the requirement for 3D cadaster. To create a prototype 3D model of a building using the benchmark. To evaluate applicability of developed 3D model based on developed benchmark. 1.6. Research questions Specific objective 1: To formalize a benchmark for constructing a prototype 3D model of building satisfying the requirement for 3D cadaster. What are important feature, constrain and requirement to construct a 3D model of a building for 3D cadaster? What are the criteria of sampling buildings (e.g height, type, length, width, building complexity of structure) Specific objective 2: To create a prototype 3D model of a building using thebenchmark. Which image processing techniques are better for 3D cadaster? Which is appropriate 3D model for 3D cadaster? And why? (wireframe , surface or solid) Specific objective 3: To evaluate applicability of developed 3D model based ondeveloped benchmark. What is the strength and weakness of derived 3D model? What are the reasons of strength and weakness? How can we access the accuracy (X,Y) of the 3D model using the existing 2D cadastral database? How can we access the accuracy (Z) of the 3D model using the CAD model? What are the possible recommendations to improve developed method? 1.7. Research limitations The current research limits extracting the model of building from the exterior of the building and does not covers the interior design and structure of the building. 2. Research design and methods In this section briefly describes the how the research will attempt to accomplish the formulated research questions. It includes the description of study area, people, data requirement, software to be used, proposed workflow/methodology. 2.1. Study area Study area for this project is Enschede. Results from the specific objective one will be used to select sample building of different type, height, volume so that it can represent the building population well. 2.2. Data Data description Data use Data source Airborne laser data for study area To create model PDOK Images of building taken from all the sides For Image base modeling field work CAD model of the building To assess accuracy (z) of developed model Cadaster, Netherlands. 2D Cadastral data of the selected buildings To assess accuracy (x,y) of developed model Cadaster, Netherlands. 2.3. Software and hardware requirement Software / Hardware Use/ application PCM Point cloud segmentation, manipulation and visual interpretation ImageModeler To convert point cloud to 3D model Matlab Coordinate system transformation 3DF Samantha AutoCAD CAD model analysis Endnote Reference management Microsoft Word Thesis preparation Professional camera To capture building images 2.4. Research design matrix Research Sub-Objective Research Question Research Method Required input data Anticipated Output To determine important factors for constructing 3D model ofbuilding satisfying the requirement for 3D cadaster. What are important feature, constrain and requirement to construct a 3D model of a building for 3D cadaster? Literature review, expert consultation, Case study, previous research papers, Case study, Literature, research paper, sample data from cadaster. List of important characteristics/functions/ features. In order to select the buildings for modeling, what are the parameters of sampling (selection)? Stratified sampling method Building type database Selection of types of building to study for modeling To create a prototype 3D model of a building. How can we create a point cloud from the images of building? Literature review, expert consultation, Case study, previous research papers High quality images of the building from all facades. Point cloud data How can we filter unwanted data (noise) from both of the point cloud? Literature review, expert consultation, Case study, previous research papers Two point cloud from previous objective Noise free point cloud How can we create a 3D model of building from point cloud? Literature review, expert consultation, Case study, previous research papers Noise free point cloud 3D model of a building To evaluate applicability of developed 3D model in context of 3D cadaster standards derived from objective one. What is the strength and weakness of derived 3D model? What are the reasons of strength and weakness? Comparison with the result derived from first objective. Visual and statistical analysis. Output from the first objective. Output from second objective. A summarizing list of strength and weakness of the derived output, discussion, conclusion and recommendation. How can we access the accuracy (X,Y) of the 3D model using the existing 2D Kadastral database? Output from second objective. Database for that specific building from Kadaster Table of accuracy analysis. How can we access the accuracy (Z) of the 3D model using the CAD model? Output from second objective. CAD model of same building 3. Framework Framework is structure to organize concepts or steps of the research process for better communication with intended readers. 3.1. Research framework Research framework will depict the overall structure and sequence of the major activities, task within each activity are of equal importance and cannot be skipped. Figure 2: Research Framework 3.2. Thesis framework Thesis framework describes and introduces the chapters that will be included in the main thesis. Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter one offers the justification background of research it also discusses the research problem, research objective, research questions, any previous work done related to this research Chapter 2: Literature Review and concepts Chapter two will go more deep into the concepts and the terms their meaning.Various terminology used in research. Chapter 3: 3D Cadaster In this chapter we will talk about what is 3D cadaster? Why it is useful? Which countries are implementing/ implemented 3D cadaster? How these countries have implemented it? Chapter 6: Field work This chapter discuses about the pre field work and field work . Chapter 5: Source of 3D data In this chapter we will discuss about the various sources of the 3d data that are available in Netherlands. We will compare the advantages and disadvantages of each one. Chapter 6: Technique of modeling In this chapter we will discuss about the various methods, procedure, software’s, algorithms related to 3D modeling. Chapter 7: Accuracy assessment In this chapter we will discuss technique and method of analysis and comparison of the derived model with the benchmark that we obtained from the first objective of research. Chapter 8: Prototype In this chapter we will display the obtained results and then will discuss the finding of the prototype. Chapter 9: Conclusion and Recommendation This chapter consists of the conclusion derived from the results and recommendation for further improvement. 3.3. Work plan framework Work plan framework depicts the activity and time allocated for each activity. Table 1: Work Plan 4. Reference Elberink, S. O., Stoter, J., Ledoux, H., Commandeur, T. (2013). Generation and Dissemination of a National Virtual 3D City and Landscape Model for the Netherlands. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 79(2), 147-158. Jazayeri, I., Rajabifard, A., Kalantari, M. (2014). A geometric and semantic evaluation of 3D data sourcing methods for land and property information. Land Use Policy, 36(0), 219-230. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.08.004 Mohamed, E.-M., Anders, Ãâ€". (2012). Feasibility of Building Information Models for 3D Cadastre in Unified City Models. International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), 1(4), 35-58. doi: 10.4018/ijepr.2012100103 van der Sande, C., Soudarissanane, S., Khoshelham, K. (2010). Assessment of Relative Accuracy of AHN-2 Laser Scanning Data Using Planar Features. Sensors, 10(9), 8198-8214. doi: 10.3390/s100908198 Rigg, J., Bebbington, A., Gough, K. V, Bryceson, D. F., Agergaard, J., Fold, N., Tacoli, C. (2009). The World Development Report 2009 â€Å"reshapes economic geography†: geographical reflections. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 34(2), 128–136. doi:10.1111/j.1475-5661.2009.00340.x FACULTY OF GEO-INFORMATION SCIENCE AND EARTH OBSERVATION – UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE

Tradegy in Greek Literature :: essays research papers

Tragedy in Greek Literature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When one hears the word tragedy, they might think of someone dying in a car wreck, being killed in a plane crash, or even a massive tsunami that wipes out nations. This type of tragedy is the most common, but when referring to Greek literature, a tragedy is an outstanding piece of drama originating in Ancient Greece. Greek tragedy originated in honor of the god of wine, Dionysus, the patron god of tragedy. The performance took place in an open-air theater. The work tragedy is derived from the word â€Å"tragedia† or â€Å"goat song.† Aristotle said, â€Å"Tragedy is largely based on life’s pity and splendor (Lucas).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Greek tragedy would not be complete with out a tragic hero. Sophocles, the great writer of tragedy, wrote of noble and courageous heroes with specific â€Å"tragic flaws† that lead the hero to his downfall. In Aristotle’s analysis of Greek tragedy he states, â€Å"Greek tragedy has an effect on the audience called â€Å"catharsis,† or purging of the emotions (Mcavoy).† The two specific emotions that Sophocles provokes are pity and fear. Sophocles wrote Antigone with a specific character in mind for this noble hero. Creon fits the image of the hero with the â€Å"tragic flaw.† Creon is significant because he is the king. The hard decisions that Creon is faced with, is what makes him fit Aristotle’s image of a tragic hero. Creon faced decisions that lead to a no-win situation. He believes that Polyneices should not be buried because he was a traitor to his family. This decision affected Antigone greatly, and Creon knew that the decision would be hard on some people. Family and burials are very important in society, and Creon is asking Antigone to not consider them, to only consider that Polyneices was a traitor to his home city. Creon is then faced with the knowledge that Antigone went against his will and law, and buried her brother. Again, Creon is faced with a hard decision. He must choose to kill his own family member and uphold the law, or punish her less severely and show that he is not serious about death as a punishment to his law. Creon doesn’t want to show weakness, even for family, but he doesn’t want to kill Antigone, who is not only his niece and sister, but engaged to his son. The final decision that Creon must make is whether or not to revoke his death sentence on Antigone.

Martin Luther King V. Malcolm X

Alan Mason Period 8 Martin Luther King v. Malcolm X Martin Luther King has been known for using peace to help him get equality among all people but especially African-Americans. He was not the type of leader that resorted to violence in order to get the equality that he fought for. King has been known for moving people by the use of his speeches like King's I Have a Dream and Vie Been to the Mountaintop speeches. King shows through these speeches that even though he was determined to get equal rights for every African-American, he as only going to stick to subtle, nonviolent ways like court cases, protest, and boycotts.This philosophy is the exact opposite to Malcolm X, another Civil Rights Leader, who thought that African American should not waste their time on protest and boycotts (Document 7). Malcolm, like King, was not in favor of violence but believe that African Americans should by all meaner use violence to protect themselves when they â€Å"attacked by racists† (Docum ent 9). But, Martin Luther King's philosophy was more beneficial for the African-American community then Malcolm Ax's because the effort that he put Into his nonviolent philosophy made gaining rights more successful and more meaningful.Martin Luther King showed that he had the better philosophy compared to Malcolm X because of his stance on violence. One way King upheld his beliefs was through protest. King said In his Our God Is Marching speech, â€Å"We are on the move now. The burning of our churches will not deter us. We are on the move now. The bombing of our homes will not dissuade us† (Document 4). So Protesters, Including King himself were having their homes burned down for retesting for what they believe Is right. In March of 1965 King and other protesters walked In order to raise awareness of the need for a Voting Right Act. This Act was passed later that year.But even though they achieved their goal for voting right does not mean that the protesters did not receive opposition for their actions. Mass arrest, police attacks, and state troopers blockading all occurred throughout the walk. If King chose to fight back then that could have either delayed getting the Voting Right Act approved, or It may have been felt that African-Americans did not deserve to get the Act approved. But King Just showed by obtaining from violence you can still get what you want. Martin Luther King showed that there were other ways to fight for what you want aside form fighting Itself.King did this by using boycotts and strikes. He said, â€Å"There Is nothing quite so effective as refusal to cooperate economically with the forces and Institutions. † King realized that one of the ways he was going to get American to give them the rights that African-Americans wanted was by disrupting the flow of money that was going Into the Caucasian shops. This meaner by not buying from places that o not offer Jobs for African-Americans then those businesses would see how much they needed the African-American community, even If It meant having to hire African- American workers.Malcolm X did not agree with boycotts and strikes he said, â€Å"We have to learn how to own and operate the businesses of our community and develop to be involved in picketing and boycotting other people in other communities in order to get a Job† (Document 7). But this idea completely went against the philosophy of being together not separate. If this would have happened then the country would eave always been separate and things would have never been equal.Martin Luther king has been known for using his words instead of his fist when it comes to defending what he many thousands of others believed to be correct. King once said in his I Have a Dream speech that he had a dream that â€Å"former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood†¦ They will not be Judged by the color of their skin but by their charac ter†¦ We will be able to work together, pray together, to struggle together, to go o Jail together, to climb up for freedom together† (Document 2).King fought for African Americans rights by using his words. He told the people of his desires for and equal and fair life where people could live in harmony with each other and not be judged by their skin tone. He thought of a time where there would be no more separate but equal as were stated prior, people would be able to â€Å"work together†¦ And go to Jail together. † (Document 2) So by using his speeches where thousands of people came to listen to him talk, he moved a nation to be in favor of his reasoning's.In conclusion, Martin Luther Kings philosophy was more beneficial for the African- American community then Malcolm Ax's because the effort that he put into his nonviolent philosophy made gaining rights more successful and more meaningful. King kept up with his no violence idea by participating in other thi ngs that got America's attention like protest, boycotts and speeches. King strives to achieve equality and because of his hard efforts he has succeeded in more ways than one to help African-Americans get the same civil rights as Caucasian Americans.

Children in Competitive Sports Essay

As more parents enroll their children into competitive sports like football, gymnastics, and swimming to name a few, the controversy whether this type of competitive participation is beneficial or not continue to grow. Supporters for competitive sports propose arguments like it encourages physical activity and teaches good character while opponents claim that sports are no longer fun for the children and promote an inappropriate win-at-all cost mentality. [ The best compromise would be to offer a low-pressure fun environment from the coaches and parents that emphasize that children have an enjoyable time.] The main supporting argument to allow children to play sports is because it offers a healthy avenue for physical activity. A study had linked a sedentary lifestyle with â€Å"the development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity† in adults with their origins rooted in their childhood (Massin ). Even more, many of today’s children do not get enough physical activity, spending nearly 20 hours a week in front of a television, making it the most time spent on any one activity besides sleeping (Boyse and Song â€Å"Television†). As a result, nearly a quarter of all children in America are considered obese according to Boyse (Obesity and Overweight). One reason is probably due to the lack of physical activity today’s children engage in. An easy way to prevent children from becoming obese is to encourage them to play a sport which requires them to stay physically active. Also, according to the results of a research done by a group on the cardiorespiratory system of children, they recommended â€Å"controlled physical competitive activity in children because of its benefits on cardiorespiratory function and the absence of adverse effects† (Caballero 371). Children also learn many good values from participating in sports and from winning and losing games. Sheehy learned the value of working hard and persevering through difficult times. Many times he wanted to quit because he wasn’t good enough for the team, but he was encouraged by his father to continue practicing and as an end result of his hard work, he made his high school varsity basketball team (Sheehy 19-21). In addition, Sheehy believes losing is a great way to teach many important lessons to children like controlling their emotions and finding positive aspects in a bad situation. Furthermore, Sheehy believes that a team has much more room for improvement after experiencing a loss than a win (70-73). Finally, winning is a good thing too. It gives children a goal to work hard towards and the feeling of victory is a great reward for an entire season’s worth of hard work and practice (Sundberg 71). In addition, participation in competitive sports is a great way to teach children many important lessons that can be applied later in life. A study found that children who participated in sports generally scored higher for competitiveness. However, in the same study, they found that children who didn’t play sports exhibited higher signs of impatience and aggression ( Kanda). This was probably because the children who participated in sports had developed a better character through playing sports. Furthermore, according to Heckler, some form of competition in young children is a good thing because it is one of the main motivational factors behind success in the real world beyond sports. If a person lacks a competitive drive to succeed and puts no effort into anything they do, then they will never get anywhere in life (Heckler). Also, most sports require some degree of teamwork and cooperation in order to be successful. Therefore, teamwork can teach children from an early age that it is necessary to work together and relate with one another in order to succeed (Sundberg 72). In addition, it is possible for children to know who they truly are and their own physical and mental limits through sports. They will be able to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are and can improve their own character by participating in sports (Sundberg 71) However, there are many reasons why children quit competitive sports; the number one being because it was no longer fun (Engh 132). According to the National Alliance for Sports, 70 percent of children quit competitive sports by the age of 13 and never return to play competitively again (Kendrick). Most of the time, these children quit because their coaches and parents began to emphasize other things like winning instead of having fun. The coach might not give everyone equal playing time, only putting out his best players for games and not giving some of the lesser skilled players any time at all (Engh 85). Furthermore, according to a poll of 26,000 children, the number one reason why they played sports was â€Å"for fun† (Team Sports). Children usually have fun in sports because there is little pressure to excel and they enjoy learning the basic skills and fundamentals of a game. However, â€Å"making kids concentrate on one sport often takes the fun out of it† (Senay 239). When parents start forcing their children to attend practice against their will, the children begin to perceive it as work and not as fun and that is when they want to quit. The number two reason why children quit competitive sports was that there was too much pressure on winning (Engh 132). Many children’s enthusiasm for the sport declines as the coach begins to emphasize winning. In the same poll asking 26,000 children why they played sports, winning came in tenth after improving skills and staying in shape (Team Sports). Obviously, winning means much more to the parents and coaches than to the actual participants themselves. It is important to remember that these games are supposed to be for the children and not a way for parents to live their hopes and dreams or past regrets and failures through their children. Parents and coaches should keep in mind that the participants of these competitive sports are children who are looking for a fun time, not professional athletes whose only job is to win. Another argument that opponents cite is that it is not safe for the children. An overwhelming majority of volunteer coaches are not properly trained for safely teaching children how to play sports (Engh 81). Many of these volunteer coaches are usually fathers who have volunteered for the position because no one else was willing to do it. Therefore, many of them have not gone through basic training to give lessons properly and safely. Even worse, sometimes even the properly trained coaches may disregard warning symptoms of exhaustion, heatstroke, or pain by forcing the children to â€Å"tough it out† and have a macho attitude during practice and ignore any discomfort they might experience. However this â€Å"no pain, no gain† mentality may have unforeseen consequences by causing serious sport injuries instead of making the children stronger and tougher athletes (Senay 242). Also, some coaches may utilize unsafe practices so they can have an advantage over the competition. One story went like this. A mother came to practice early to pick up her son and found him in the coach’s car with the heat turned on high while wrapped in plastic bags. The coach’s plan was to force the boy to sweat out 7 pounds so he could make the 98 pound weight limit. Unfortunately, the coach’s ignorance and negligence put a child’s life at risk just so his team could have an advantage in the upcoming season. Even worse, stories like these can be seen in newspapers across the country on a daily basis (Engh 91). Finally, children may not develop good character because they are surrounded by and learning from poor examples. The idea that children learn by example and not words is even more applicable in competitive sports. Children are surprisingly observant about an adult’s actions. A study which interviewed youth sports participants for moral issues they encountered in sports found that there were three main problems they had experienced which were fairness of adult’s actions, negative game behaviors, and negative team behaviors (Stuart). Also, the activities of unruly parents during sporting events are probably the farthest thing from teaching good character to their children. Some parents can become overly enthusiastic especially when their children are playing and may cause disruptive scenes if they believe that there was an unfair ruling against their children. Furthermore, these disruptive scenes may escalate into actual physical fights among parents. In one news story, one hockey player’s father started a fight with another player’s father on the opposing team over a small disagreement. It ended with one man killed and the other charged with manslaughter. As the story goes, while one dad was beating on the other man, his son begged for him to stop and tried to pull his dad off while he continued to assault the other man (Hegedus, â€Å"Sports Rage†). Another story made headlines when a brawl started in Los Angeles involving more than 30 adults while they were watching a football game of 14 year olds (Parents Fight. ). Even though these are extreme examples, they are starting to become common occurrences in the bleachers. Finally, I have to ask, is this really the kind of character that parents want to exhibit and teach to their children? In summary, there are strong reasons on both sides why competitive sports should be prohibited or allowed. Research shows and recommends that playing sports is a great way for children to stay healthy. Also, by playing sports, children can learn how to deal with the realities of life and experience the rewards of hard work. On the contrary though, many children enroll in competitive sports because they originally perceived it to be fun. However, as children grow older and competition becomes more intense, sports may start being seen as work and not play. Furthermore, competitive sports may not be as safe for children as it is currently perceived. Untrained coach volunteers and unsafe practices may lead to permanent injury to children. Finally, because children can be exposed to poor role models like unruly parents and coaches, they may not be able to develop a good moral character if they are to learn from them by example. I think that the best compromise between the two sides would be to offer a low pressure environment that emphasizes having fun in sports. The main reason children participate in sports is so they can have fun so it would be in the children’s best interest to offer them just that. One way to create a low pressure environment is to not keep scores or statistics like points made or batting averages. In fact, it may also be beneficial if the scores were not displayed during games too. Instead, points would be marked secretly and quietly so that the parents would not become unruly especially if the game becomes intense. In addition, there should be a requirement by all family members of players to sign a code of conduct that they will â€Å"uphold a certain standard of behavior and exhibit good sportsmanship† as some leagues have already implemented (Hegedus, â€Å"Silent Saturdays and Oaths†). Finally, it may be a good idea to assign people to constantly monitor the parents and stop any disruptive behavior before it can get out of control (Engh 158). In addition, all coaches should be properly trained in teaching children and monitoring their health. They should stress maintaining a healthy practice environment like ensuring that their players get adequate water and take necessary breaks if the day is extremely hot or if they experience any sort of bad pain. Furthermore, volunteers should be required to take some basic classes and have some type of certification so that they are properly trained in teaching children safely. Also, contrary to belief, a certification requirement would not deter volunteers. A study done by Northern Kentucky University found that people would rather volunteer for a team that required certified volunteers and that a training requirement and fee â€Å"would not discourage them from volunteering to coach† (Engh 160). Finally, coaches should be well aware that every single one of their actions can have an impact, whether positive or negative, on their team. The children are looking up to the coaches as a leader and it is the coach’s job to be a good role model for them. In addition to coaches, parents should be well educated about how their actions can impact their children. Coaches should hold regular mandatory meetings with only parents and explain in detail what the season will entail, how the children are expected to behave, and most importantly, what the role of the parents should be. Also, if the parents are not able to attend these meetings, then the child should not be able to play. According to Engh, he has found this method of forced participation to be very effective in convincing the parents to attend these types of meetings (154). Children should also be informed that it is appropriate if they complain about a certain practice the coach is doing. The children should be encouraged and feel safe to talk about anything and everything with their parents who should in turn listen carefully for any signs of bad practice or abuse. Also, I think that implementing a confidential hotline to report abusive practices for each region could help reduce bad coaching practices. In conclusion, I think that competitive sports are a great way for kids to just have fun and enjoy their youth. However, it is important that sports stays fun for the children and not have overly enthusiastic parents or coaches who are willing to win at all costs ruin their fun. Even though there are many good reasons why competitive sports should be banned, there are equally valid reasons why competitive sports should be allowed. Finally, children originally started playing sports because they wanted a fun and enjoyable time with other kids. It is time that we returned the fun to the children playing sports and stop trying to impose adult standards on them. 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