Drugs in sports

Abstract Drug use in sports has gained momentum in the recent past. The drug is used for performance enhancing (Coe, p. 224). Different sports have set up laws that are used to curb drug doping. Sports personalities use drugs to gain an advantage over the others. Performance enhancing drugs have been used in the Olympics by different people. For example, Thomas Hicks won the marathon after using strychnine.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Drugs in sports specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the use of stimulating substances was banned in 1928 by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (Hartgens, p. 513). Although the ban was instituted a long time ago, athletes still use drugs to enhance performance. In 1976, East Germany nearly won all the swimming gold medals after the players were given steroids (Longman, p. 124). There is a debate about whether to allow drugs to be used in sports or impose a total ban. The proponents of this debate argue that drug use alone does not guarantee success in the field. A magnificent performance is a combination of proper nutrition and practice. However, this is not true because some drugs enhance the performance of an individual. Drug usage in sports should be banned because of its effects. These effects include; it provides an avenue for some athletes to cheat, it compromises the credibility and integrity of the results and it is illegal (Coe, p. 224). Introduction A drug is a natural substance that is taken to alter the general body functions (Wilson, p. 180). Drugs are used for several purposes. The nature in which a drug is used depends on the purpose of the drug. It can be used for; curative, stimulating, performance enhancing or as food. People consider any substance to be a drug based on the existing culture or legislature. Some traditions consider some drugs as food. Laws have been established about drugs based on the effects of the drug i n the body. It is illegal to use a drug that has been prohibited by a government or any organization. However, some drugs have been prohibited but can be used in the treatment of patients. Additionally, some drugs can be taken without the knowledge of an individual. In such a case, the drug is found in a substance that is taken as food. Using drugs to boost performance should be banned because it makes the sport lose its original intended meaning and it also causes several environmental and health problems (Hartgens, p. 513). Drugs should be used in sports Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed to be used in sports. Drugs that enhance performance satisfy the expectation of spectators watching games. People expect to watch a unique ability in the sports personality. This is made possible through the use of drugs because it gives an athlete the ability to demonstrate sports creativity.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Many fans watch athletes with the expectation to watch unique traits in the athletes (Wannamethee, p. 163). This makes the sport to become interesting. It is difficult to display a unique trait that is different from the human traits without the influence of performance enhancing drugs (Longman, p. 124). The major expectation of the fans is players to demonstrate creativity during the game. Therefore, many people consider a competition to be fair if all the players are allowed to use the drug. Here, all the players will have the same effect of the drug and the best will come out based on his creativity. It is upon the players to manipulate the drug through excellent training to obtain the best results (Wannamethee, p. 163). Technology has been introduced into sports. All people around the globe are comfortable with the use of technology in sports and disregard drugs. Technology is a result of creativity in the sports. Since the genetic m ake up of athletes is the same, drugs would not provide an advantage over other players (Warburton, p. 78). Performance enhancing drugs have been used in other aspects of the human life. For example, many classical musicians use drugs to enhance their performance on stage. An excellent classical presentation requires a proper control of the pulse rate and blood pressure (Russell, p. 442). The musicians use the beta blockers to enhance the stage performance. A low pulse rate and blood pressure contributed by the beta blockers reduces the effects of stress and this gives the musician confidence to exhibit a sterling performance (Brantigan, p. 90). An outstanding stage performance is the expectation of the classical music fans. Using drugs to enhance a stage performance does not give the musician an advantage over others. It depends on the human creativity and practice (Brantigan, p. 90). Drugs should not be allowed in sports Drugs should not be allowed in sports because it provides an avenue for some athletes to cheat (Haugen, p. 67). The doping process for athletes is not accurate. This gives some athletes who use the drugs an added advantage over those who do not use the drugs (Haugen, p. 67). The doping process is not used in all games. Therefore, there is no level playing field for the players. Consequently, a total ban on the use of drugs to enhance performance should be instituted to ensure that all the players have been given a level playing field. Players who use drugs and win competitions are not the genuine winners. Although other people argue that a level usage of drugs will make the players level in the field, the actual performance in the field does not reflect the potential of the player. A total ban on drugs in all sports gives a level playing field that reflects the exact potential of the players (Longman, p. 124).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Drugs in sports specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Additionally, different players from different countries have varying abilities to access the drugs. Therefore, if the drugs should be allowed, athletes from developing countries will not access the best drugs. The only way to have a level playing field for all players is through a total ban on the drugs in sports. Integrity in sports is the driving force behind the sports events. Using drugs by a section of players compromises the credibility and integrity of the results (Wilson, p. 214). To maintain credibility and integrity, drugs should be banned. Other players win after using drugs that have been prohibited. Here, the integrity of the results is compromised. The results obtained as a result of using prohibited drugs are illegitimate (Warburton, p. 78). Also, they lack authenticity. The spirit of any competition is to allow for a level playing where every player is given an opportunity to express his ability. A winner in such a competition is accepted by all the fans around the globe. When a winner is declared after using drugs, the value of the sport is reduced. Therefore, the value of the sport remains a major issue in any sport or competition. Additionally, good personalities are expected to be role models (Browne, p. 497). Using drugs is prohibited and illegal. Allowing athletes to use drugs is itself an act of breaking the law. Good role models should obtain success through hard work and determination as opposed to using drugs (Browne, p. 497). In conclusion, drug use in sports should be based on the purpose of the drug. When the drug is used to enhance creativity, then it makes the sport interesting. However, these give the athletes a competitive advantage over the others. As such, the natural ability of the athletes is not properly rewarded. Although drugs make sports interesting, it makes the sport’s lack integrity. Additionally, drugs make the results of a competition to lack integrity and lose value. Additionally, diffe rent players from different countries have varying abilities to access the drugs. Therefore, if the drugs should be allowed, athletes from developing countries will not access the best drugs. The only way to have a level playing field for all players is through a total ban on the drugs in sports. The best way to ban using drugs is through a global organization. This institution should be equipped with excellent doping mechanisms to ensure that all the players are screened properly before participating in a competition. In addition, drug use in sports should be banned because of it adds a competitive advantage, and causes severe effects to the users. These effects include; it provides an avenue for some athletes to cheat, it compromises the credibility and integrity of the results and it is illegal.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Brantigan, C 2005, ‘Effect of beta blockade and beta stimulation on stage fright’, American Journal of Medicine, vol. 5. no. 72, pp. 88–94. Browne, A 2009, ‘The ethics of blood testing as an element of doping control in sport’, Journal of Medical Science Sports, vol. 3. no. 31, pp. 497–501. Coe, s 2004, ‘We cannot move from strict liability rule’, The Daily Telegraph, 25 Feb, p.21. Hartgens, F 2004, ‘Effects of androgenic-anabolic steroids in athletes’, Sports Medical Journal, vol. 9. no. 34, pp. 513–554. Haugen, K 2004, ‘The performance-enhancing drug game’, Journal of Sports Economics, vol. 4. no. 5, pp. 67–87. Longman, J 2004, East German steroids’ toll: ‘they killed Heid, Oxford University Press, New York. Russell, G 2002, ‘Effects of prolonged low doses of recombinant human erythropoietin during sub maximal and maximal exercise’, European Journal App lied Physiology, vol. 30. no. 86, pp. 442–449. Wannamethee, G 2004, ‘Haematocrit, hypertension and risk of stroke’, J Intern Med, vol. 23. no. 235, pp. 163–168. Warburton, C 2007, The Economic results of prohibition, Columbia University Press, New York. Wilson, B 2004, Hall overcomes cancer, then red tape to reach Olympics, Associated Press, London. This essay on Drugs in sports was written and submitted by user Moshe G. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The monster and Victor Essay Example

The monster and Victor Essay Example The monster and Victor Essay The monster and Victor Essay Essay Topic: A Woman Killed With Kindness Throughout the novel it becomes apparent the Frankenstein is a morally weak person. His creation kills Frankensteins younger brother, William, and Justine Moritz, a young girl adopted into the Frankenstein household, is blamed for the murder. Although Frankenstein knows Justine is innocent, he doesnt come forward because he fears no one would believe him. His courage does not match his arrogance and his grandiose ideas of himself. He might feel bad that Justine would have to hang, but he isnt brave enough to do anything about it. I was firmly convinced in my own mind that Justine, and indeed every human being, was guiltless of this murder. p. 62 Towards the end of the novel, many changes, somewhat ironic, become apparent. Firstly is the transformation of Victor Frankenstein from a happy, innocent and bright little boy with a loving family and a contented childhood to a guilt-ridden man, obsessed by his work. He becomes despondent, and at times suicidal, not to mention homicidal. By the end of the novel Frankenstein is ill beyond cure and so traumatised from his lifelong battle with his creation that he has little strength to recount his tale to a his friend, Robert Walton. The Monster has murdered most of his family, and those left of his family are distant from him. Another ironic change to Frankenstein is that at the start of the novel he is so obsessed with the creation of a super human being that he gives up everything else in his life to focus on this work. Then, through the rest of the novel, Frankenstein becomes possessed with destroying his creation, because of the wrong it has done to him. Although Frankenstein realises that he has made a mistake, and regrets bringing the being to life and recognising that he has ventured beyond the acceptable boundaries of science, by the end of the novel, when he is with his friend Walton on a boat in the Arctic, hunting down the monster, he urges them forward even though they will probably die, showing that he never really learned his lesson that sometimes there is point when you should stop, even if it is possible to go on. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall not. p. 164 In contrast, his friend Walton is more sensible and concerned about the lives of the seamen and does not want to go on. Alas! yes; I cannot withstand their demands. I cannot lead them unwillingly to danger, and I must return p. 165 He is taking responsibility for his crew; something that Frankenstein could never to do. Walton learns that you have to consider other peoples lives and feelings before trying to achieve your own goal. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein hardly ever thinks about other peoples feelings, whether it is his creation, his father, Justine, or Walton and his crew. Frankensteins Creation The second main character of the story is Frankensteins creation. His creation is also a complex character and it is through him that Shelley deals with issues of identity, prejudice and responsibility. Frankenstein doesnt give his creation a name, something that denies the Monster an identity. This implies that the Monster is not unique or an individual, which at first denies him a real existence. Frankenstein calls the creature various names such as It showing he doesnt regard the creation as having a soul, Monster, Wretch which are both derogatory terms implying monstrosity and Daemon implying he is naturally evil or even possessed by an evil spirit. Ultimately, Frankenstein implies that the being belongs in Hell. From this, the Monster starts to believe he truly is a fiend and actually a fallen angel but refuses to accept that it is his own fault and warns Frankenstein to take responsibility for his actions. One night the creature takes refuge in a small hovel adjacent to a cottage. In the morning, he discovers that he can see into the cottage through a crack in the wall. Observing his neighbours for an extended period of time, the monster notices that they often seem unhappy, though he is unsure why. He eventually realizes, however, that their despair results from their poverty, to which he has been contributing by surreptitiously stealing their food. Torn by his guilty conscience, he stops stealing their food and does what he can to reduce their hardship, gathering wood at night to leave at the door for their use. Vowing to learn their language he acquires a basic knowledge of the language, including the names of the young man and woman, Felix and Agatha. Unobserved and well protected from the elements, he grows increasingly affectionate toward his unwitting hosts. The monsters growing understanding of the social significance of family is connected to his sense of otherness and solitude. The cottagers devotion to each other underscores Victors total abandonment of the monster; ironically, observing their kindness actually causes the monster to suffer, as he realizes how truly alone, and how far from being the recipient of such kindness, he is. This lack of interaction with others, in addition to his namelessness, compounds the monsters woeful lack of social identity. Formerly a mysterious, grotesque, completely physical being, the monster gradually becomes a verbal, emotional, sensitive, almost human figure that communicates his past to his creator, Victor Frankenstein in eloquent and moving terms. But, far from seeing the monsters humanity beneath his grotesque appearance Victor just fears him more. Before, it was the monsters physical strength, endurance, and apparent ill will that made him such a threat; now, it is his intellect. The monster clearly understands his position in the world, the tragedy of his existence and abandonment by his creator, and is out to seek either redress or revenge. For the first time, Victor starts to realize that what he has created is not merely the scientific product of an experiment on dead matter but an actual living being with needs and wants. While Victor curses the monster as a demon, the monster responds to Victors coarseness with surprising sensitivity, proving him an educated, emotional, exquisitely human being. For the reader, whose experience with the monsters ugliness is second-hand, it is easy to identify the human sensitivity within him and sympathize with his plight, especially in light of Victors relentless contempt for him. The gap between the monster and Victor, and between the monster and human beings in general, is thus narrowed. One of the ways in which the monster demonstrates his eloquence is by alluding to John Miltons Paradise Lost, one of the books he reads while living in the peasants hovel. The first of these allusions occurs in these chapters, when the monster tries to convince Victor to listen to his story. He entreats Victor: Remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel. P. 73 By comparing Victor to God, the monster heaps responsibility for his evil actions upon Victor, scolding him for his neglectful failure to provide a nourishing environment. In this part of the novel, the Monster starts to question his own existence, after reading work of literature. This shows he is now intelligent and philosophical. In contrast to this, Frankenstein takes life for granted. Without a real identity, the Monster needs more information about himself. He is self-aware, which is the main quality that separates the Monster from animals. This is unlike Frankenstein who has little self-awareness. My person was hideous and my stature gigantic. What did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination? These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them. P. 99 The Monster also questions why humans are always the victimised ones, and why he is always the perpetrator. He is bemoaning mans narrow-mindedness and injustice. While everyone else has rejected and committed crimes against him, he is still the one to be prosecuted. He then talks of the innocent people he has killed, and begins to feel remorse for his deeds: You hate me; but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself This shows his guilt for what he has done, in contrast with Frankenstein who never seems to learn his lesson and never shows remorse. The Monster requests a partner from Frankenstein, a basic request and a basic counterbalance to the immense loneliness the Monster feels. What I ask of you is reasonable and moderate; I demand a creature of another sex and it shall content me. Oh! my creator, make me happy do not deny me my request! This shows the Monster is very realistic compared to Frankenstein and also that he desires someone that will accept him for who/what he really is. This is compared to Frankensteins ideas which are God-like in proportion. Through out the novel the two main characters take on reversed roles. The monster starts to hate Victor because he has no one to relate to and so tries to make Victor feel the pain of his loneliness and so kills anyone close to Victor, finally killing Victors new wife and indirectly Victors father, who dies a few days later, of the shock. Like the monster, Frankenstein finds himself utterly alone in the world, but instead of pity for his creation, he just feels hatred and with his hatred he soon takes on very inhumanity of which he accuses the monster. He becomes very ill by his worry and obsession and follows the monster to the barren Arctic north to track him down to murder him, just as the monster has murdered his loved ones. There he meets his friend Walton who helps him search for the monster. They become trapped in ice and Victor, knowing that he is near death, urges his friend Walton to carry on their search. Frankenstein dies and Walton finds the monster crying over his creator. The monster tells Walton of his sufferings and how he regrets killing people and now that his creator is dead, the only person he ever related to, he, too, is ready to die so he leaves for the Northern ice. This open ending leaves the questions in the mind of the reader to ponder. 1) Through the character of Victor Frankenstein, we are invited to ask what makes us human and what are our limits. 2) Through the character of the monster, we are left asking, was he Adam or Satan? Was he a victim or a criminal? And so what does it mean to be human?

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Compare and contrast - Essay Example Some studies have argued that the nutritional value of both fresh and frozen food is the same, and in some cases, can be higher for frozen/canned foods. This is exactly what has been suggested by a research conducted in 1997 by the concerned department in one of the American universities. Furthermore, research has concluded that canned pumpkins may provide 540% of Vitamin A versus 26% for the same amount of fresh pumpkins (Squires, 1997). Similarly, canned poultry and fish, which are high in protein content, remain unaffected by heat and, therefore, possess the same nutritional value as that of their fresh counterparts. In fact, the canning process ensures higher calcium content in canned poultry and fish than otherwise. On the other hand, differences in nutritional value between fresh and canned produce have been observed. This is because of the time at which the food is picked. Fresh food (including fruits and vegetables) contains highest nutritional value when purchased in season. Grocery stores often indulge in the practice of picking fresh produce before it is fully ripe. On the contrary, food picked for canning is often fully ripe. Thereafter, the heating process during the canning process destroys the vitamins resulting is lower nutritional value (Rinzler, 2011). According to one study, the amount of carotenoids (convertible into Vitamin A by human body) is depleted by the heating process in canned foods (Edwards & Lee, 1986). Furthermore, the use of chemical preservatives to prolong the shelf life of canned foods can prove to be highly unhealthy, yet deceptive. This is because, while the food may â€Å"appear† to be fresh, it may have become toxic or stale by being kept that way for a long time. I have personally experienced this when using a can of mushrooms where the mushrooms ‘appeared’ fresh but gave me food poisoning the next day of consuming it. Next, there exists controversy related to the cost of canned vs. fresh food. Most p eople seem to believe that canned food is more costly than fresh food. This is true, to some extent, because canned food costs groceries more to purchase compared to fresh foods (Price, 2012). Therefore, these high costs of purchase may be passed on to customers as high prices. Furthermore, the higher costs of canned food reflect the added convenience that people purchase when they pay a higher price for such food. Canned food can technically be bought at any grocery store or supermarket and may be ready to consume, requiring no prior preparations. The lower costs of fresh food are attributed to the lower convenience attached to such food as fresh food, including fruits and vegetables, may have to be cleaned, washed or prepared prior to consuming it. Owing to the convenience (no prior preparation required) offered by canned foods, it is no wonder that the working class has been drawn towards them in their busy routines (Strasser, McGovern, & Judt, 1998). On the contrary, there are s ufficient reasons to suggest that fresh and organic food costs significantly more than canned food. The term â€Å"organic† has given a new meaning to what was previously known as ‘fresh’ food. This label has increased the cost of the food possessing the label as organic produce, unlike canned and processed food, is usually free from harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides (Ricke, Loo, & Johnson, 2012). Most