Definition Rewrite-Icedcoffeeislife

Posted on March 7, 2021 by icedcoffeeislife

The Anxiety of the Splash 

Often, people hold the stereotypical notion that athletes and mental health have little to do with one another. Regarding student athletes, a lot of the time IT is overlooked that there is a large amount of student athletes dealing with mental health concerns and issues. Some argue that student athletes suffer mentally because of the stress of training and pressure of academics; in reality, there is a deep amount of outliers and variables that can affect how a person feels. Every athlete has different struggles, just as every unique individual has struggles. Popular swimmers that have suffered from mental illness include Michael Phelps, Alisson Schmitt, and Missy Franklin. As certain individuals never have to struggle with anxiety or depression, but some often do, IT introduces the question of why athletes often suffer from them and their intense pressures. This is important to examine, because mental health can affect how a student athlete will perform in training, as well as in school. By examining research about mental health and its effect on student athletes, looking at the specific cases of student athletes, IT is illustrated that swimmers are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and stress throughout their athletic and academic career. 

Anxiety and depression can go hand in hand with each other, but they both have different effects on athletes. With anxiety, IT affects how they approach a situation and how some may feel an over wheeling amount of stress that comes with performing. With depression, IT can make an athlete unmotivated to come to their training sessions or stay on top of their workload. These effects are illustrated in a study done by Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, by Rosalyn Stoa, Jana Fogaça, and Logan Johnsen. The purpose of the study was to look at the stress that is put on student athletes special swimmers. Stress has a large role on someone that suffers from anxiety and depression. Most of the stress that comes out of a swim season is from training, school, and making time cuts for championship seasons. The study states, “intrinsic motivation changed over the season in a quadratic manner, hitting its lowest point where stress was also at its highest”. With this quote, we are able to see that even when a swimmer or student athlete is at their highest point in their career, they are also struggling with the amount of stress they have to face. With the added stress of school and competition season, THIS heightens the level of anxiety that a college swimmer has to face.

 The Sport Psychologist, by Stephen Pages, focuses on female college students’ experiences with anxiety. The purpose of the study was to see if imaginary techniques could help lower a swimmers stress. Over the course of their season a swim season, a group of swimmers took a test before their first competition and their last. There was a decrease in the amount of stress that the swimmers faced. Steph Pages writes, “ this study suggests that imagery may be able to improve an individual’s perception of anxiety from less positive to more positive”. With this IT brings in a new perspective that, maybe not all anxiety, a swimmer has a negative effect on their performances. Both of these studies show what kind of stress that can affect college swimmers. With this kind of stress on college swimmers, IT will slowly start to cause the stress to turn into anxiety.  

Student athletes have a higher chance of experiencing anxiety and depression due to the amount of workload they experience from their training and athletes. With swimmers, THEY are one of the most common groups that have suffered from anxiety throughout their sport. Looking at the study done by Sean Cia, THAT focused on techniques that can help swimmers worth through their anxiety. They used different methods to help work through their anxiety, the methods were, Tia chi, a calming atmosphere, and a lesson where athletes received what they learned before. The student athletes did this over the courses of 8 weeks, the groups that practice tai chi have a lower level of anxiety and depression.

However it is noted that two weeks after the courses were completed, swimmers’ anxiety went back to the same level before the study had happened. According to Sean Cia’s conclusion, “the main reason that the short-tenor practice of relaxation exercises did not produce significant differences in the participants’ anxiety and depression levels compared to the self defense exercise”. Out of all the methods, tai chi was able to help out the athletes. Without the structure of the courses, athletes were unable to keep the anxiety levels low. It is clear to see that anxiety does not affect everyone one person the same. Which sometimes make it hard to identify if someone is struggling with anxiety because it looks different in each athlete. When it comes to swimmers it can affect their motivation to train and continue their school work. 

This different study has shown how anxiety affects a student athlete, especially in a swimmer. Two of the studies had to do with imagery work to help lower a person’s anxiety. Where another looks at how stress can affect a swimmer’s outcome in their season. [What] this all has in common is that they helped lower a swimmer’s anxiety. Swimmers are one of the high groups of athletes to experience anxiety that has been shown by the examples. There are methods that are used to cope with anxiety, but it will always have an influence on a swimmer. As a swimmer, there is a truth behind how it affects a person’s performance. There have been times where the anxiety of the idea of swimming has brought me to the point where the idea of swimming turned from a safe place, to a place of pain. Anxiety and depression are not things that should be overlooked by coaches or athletic trainers; they are things that need to be addressed and talked about.

References

Cia, S. (2000). Physical exercise and mental health: A content integrated approach in coping with college students’ anxiety and depression. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/233005480?fromopenview=true&pq-origsite=gscholar

Page, S. J. (1999). The Effects of imaginary on Female College Swimmer’s Perceptions of Anxiety. Retrieved from https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=c4ad7709-1034-4531-92a9-a2bc6d2cd265%40sdc-v-sessmgr01

Stoa, R., Fogaça, J., & Johnsen, L. (2020). Feel the Pressure: Stress and Intrinsic Motivation in Collegiate Swimmers. Retrieved 2021, from http://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RA_2020_13.pdf

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Definition Rewrite- imgoingswimming

Posted on March 7, 2021 by imgoingswimming

Tailpipe Emissions from Electric Vehicles

Electric cars have always come in and out of popularity since their creation. In 1900 they were popular as they were 28% of all cars created at that time says the American Census from 1905. As we have become more concerned over our environmental impact on our earth we have tried to find what we can do to save our planet. The newest and most promising way to help save the environment is by bringing back these electric cars. With current technology these cars have advanced to now become better in many ways than traditional gas or diesel powered vehicles. The downsides is that these electric cars still find ways to run on gas, diesel, and even coal just as electric cars did over one hundred years ago. While many believe that these electric cars are going to save the earth we tend not to focus on the dirty side of clean energy. 

We have come to the conclusion that electric cars are going to save us even though this isn’t exactly correct yet. We have focused on eliminating gasoline cars instead of cleaning our energy. Coultura is an organization that’s target is to have a gasoline free America and has documents all of the states and countries playing to go electric with their vehicles. According to Coultura, nine of the fifty states in the US and even some countries around the globe are making plans to phase out gas powered cars. Some have even passed legislation to ban the selling of new gasoline powered cars by certain dates. New Jersey is an example of this as legislation has been made to ban the selling of new gas powered cars by 2040. Most countries are just making plans on the matter, while Ireland has started to propose legislation to do this by 2030. Norway is ahead of this as they plan on banning new electric cars by 2025 as already 60% of their vehicles are already electric. Iceland’s plan is to do this by 2030, but also plans to eliminate half of its gas stations by 2025. This should be good steps to help the environment but while patting ourselves on the back we have completely shifted our focus in the wrong direction.  The only downside of patting ourselves on the back for these large leaps is that we don’t see the way in which electricity is produced. 

In the United States we tend to believe that our electricity comes from clean sources, but most of it does not. Electric cars are powered by coal and natural gases which are fossil fuels. This produced the exact opposite result that we are trying to achieve, the only difference is that it does not produce direct tailpipe emissions. The percentages of electricity usage in the United States can be found in documents by the US Energy Administration. According to the US Energy Administration, In the United States the total electricity produced is only made up of 17% renewable resources such as hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, wind, and solar. The rest is 20% nuclear, 23% coal, and 38% natural gases. Less than 1% of the energy was produced with petroleum. Cars then run on almost a quarter coal does not seem like the future, but they would be if this were to change. 

Coal has been a source of energy since the late 1880s and still to this day has been an extremely large source of the world’s energy. Coal has extreme downsides that can not be overlooked especially because it is being used so much to produce energy. According to the US Energy Administration coal causes many sources of pollution such as emitting sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and even mercury and heavy metals. What some of these chemicals do is sulfur dioxide causes acid rain and nitrogen oxides cause smog and lung illnesses. This means that coal isn’t just bad for the environment but also bad for our health. This is why coal is the most dangerous of all of the ways to produce electricity and also the most concerning because many countries still continue to use it despite the environmental and health effects.

Our Usage of coal has thankfully decreased since about 2008 when our usage of coal was at its highest but our usage of natural gas has just taken its place as its use in the production of energy has increased. The amount of electricity produced with coal in 2008 went from 1,986 billion kilowatt hours to 996 billion kilowatt hours in 2019. The usage of renewable energy has been growing since the early 1950s, and the different kinds and effectiveness of renewable energy has also grown. Solar and wind power have skyrocketed in popularity since the early 2000s. This has been good results from the United States but still not enough to call electric cars clean energy, rather it is dirty energy.

China is one of the worst examples of how these cars will run on dirty energy. While China has not made any plans yet Hong Kong specifically has plans to get rid of gasoline and diesel powered vehicles by 2030 or 2040 says Coltura. According to the US Energy Administration, while an electric car in the United States would run on 23% coal, a car in China would run on 58% coal. China electricity also runs on 20% petroleum and other liquids, 8% natural gas, 8% hydroelectricity, 2% nuclear, and 5% other renewable resources. This means that electric cars actually run on 78% coal and fuel in China. This means that electric cars are actually more inefficient in China than almost anywhere else in the world apart from India whose coal usage is 74% of there electricity production. China is the largest energy consumer and producer in the world and has the fastest growing population. This means that China is creating a large amount of pollution through their energy which many believe to be clean.

Reaching our goals by 2035 are far out of reach, but this does not mean that we will not see electric vehicles running on clean energy within the next 30 years. The amount of coal used can be cut down and almost eliminated as we see from exemplary countries such as Norway, but this may take until 2050 for the United States. Norway’s energy sources were 97% renewable resources in 2011, and in 2019, 93.4% of all of its energy comes from just hydroelectric alone. In Norway 60% of all cars are electric and they run on some of the cleanest energy that can be found. Norway is the best example of a completely clean system of energy production to use that can and should be followed across the world.

References

Gasoline Phaseouts Around The World. (n.d.). Coltura – Moving beyond Gasoline. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

Hydroelectric battery of the north. (2012, October 5). Nordic Energy Research. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

Commerford, T. M. C. (1905)Electrical Apparatuses and Supplies.. US Census Bereau, Retrieved March 29 2021.

Coal and the environment – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (n.d.). U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

Electricity in the U.S..- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (n.d.). U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

International China- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).(n.d.). U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 3, 2021.

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Definition Essay- imgoingswimming

Posted on March 7, 2021 by imgoingswimming

Environmental Friendliness of Electric Vehicles

Electric cars have always come in and out of popularity since their creation. In 1900 they were popular as they were 28% of all cars created at that time says the American Census from 1905. As we have become more concerned over our environmental impact on our earth we have tried to find what we can do to save our planet. This has been by reducing plastic usage, recycling, and trying to cut down on using non reusable resources. The newest and most promising way to help save the environment is by bringing back these electric cars. With current technology these cars have advanced to now become better in many ways than traditional gas or diesel powered vehicles. The downsides is that these electric cars still find ways to run on gas, diesel, and even coal. While many believe that these electric cars are going to save the earth we tend not to focus on the dirty side of clean energy. 

We have come to the conclusion that electric cars are going to save us even though this isn’t exactly correct yet. Coultura is an organization that’s target is to have a gasoline free America and has documents all of the states and countries playing to go electric with their vehicles. According to Coultura, nine of the fifty states in the US and even some countries around the globe are making plans to phase out gas powered cars. Some have even passed legislation to ban the selling of new gasoline powered cars by certain dates. New Jersey is an example of this as legislation has been made to ban the selling of new gas powered cars by 2040. Most countries are just making plans on the matter, while Ireland has started to propose legislation to do this by 2030. Norway is ahead of this as they plan on banning new electric cars by 2025 as already 60% of their vehicles are already electric. Iceland’s plan is to do this by 2030, but also plans to eliminate half of its gas stations by 2025. This overall is a fantastic push by these countries and many other to in order to try to help the environment and usage of fossil fuels. The only downside of patting ourselves on the back for these large leaps is that we don’t see the way in which electricity is produced. 

In the United States we tend to believe that our electricity comes from clean sources, but most of it does not. The percentages of electricity usage in the United States can be found documents by the US Energy Administration. According the the US Energy Administration, In the United States the total electricity produced is only made up of 17% renewable resources such as hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal, wind, and solar. The rest is 20% nuclear, 23% coal, and 38% natural gases. Less than 1% of the energy was produced with petroleum. Cars than run on almost a quarter coal does not seem like the future, but they would be if this were to change.

Our Usage of coal has thankfully decreased since about 2008 when our usage of coal was at its highest. The amount of electricity produced with coal in 2008 went from 1,986 billion kilowatt hours to 996 billion kilowatt hours in 2019. The usage of renewable energy has been growing sing the early 1950s, and the different kinds and effectiveness of renewable energy has also grew. Solar and wind power have skyrocketed in popularity since the early 2000s. This has been good results from the United States but still not enough to call electric cars clean energy, rather it is dirty energy.

China is one of the worst examples of how these cars will run on dirty energy. While China has not made any plans yet Hong Kong specifically has plans to get rid of gasoline and diesel powered vehicles by 2030 or 2040 says Coltura. According to the US Energy Administration, while an electric car in the United States would run on 23% coal, a car in China would run on 58% coal. China electricity also runs on 20% petroleum and other liquids, 8% natural gas, 8% hydroelectricity, 2% nuclear, and 5% other renewable resources. This means that electric cars actually run on 78% coal and fuel in China. This means that electric cars are actually more inefficient in China than almost anywhere else in the world apart from India whose coal usage is 74% of there electricity production. China is the largest energy consumer and producer in the world and has the fastest growing population. This means that China is creating a large amount of pollution through their energy which many believe to be clean. These extremely large countries are using large amount of coal so what are the downsides towards the environment?

Coal has been a source of energy since the late 1880s and still to this day has been an extremely large source of the worlds energy. Coal has extreme downsides that can not be overlooked especially because it is being used so much to produce energy. According to the US Energy Administration coal causes many sources of pollution such as emitting sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and even mercury and heavy metals. What some of these chemicals do is sulfur dioxide causes acid rain and nitrogen oxides cause smog and lung illnesses. This means that coal isn’t just bad for the environment but also bad for our health. This is why coal is the most dangerous of all of the ways to produce electricity and also the most concerning because many countries still continue to use it despite the environmental and health effects. If the amount of coal used can be cut down and almost eliminated as we see from exemplary countries such as Norway. Norway’s energy sources are 97% renewable resources in 2011, and in 2019, 93.4% of all of its energy comes from just hydroelectric alone. In Norway 60% of all cars are electric and they run on some of the cleanest energy that can be found.

Resources

Steuart, William M., and Thomas Commerford Martin. Census of Manufactures: 1905. Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, and Supplies. Govt. Print. Off., 1907.

“Hydroelectric Battery of the North – Nordic Energy Research.” Hydroelectric Battery of the North –, http://www.nordicenergy.org/figure/two-thirds-renewable/hydroelectric-battery-of-the-north/.

“Gasoline Phaseouts Around The World – Coltura – Moving beyond Gasoline.” Coltura, http://www.coltura.org/world-gasoline-phaseouts#:~:text=New%20Jersey%3A%20In%20October%202020,sales%20being%20electric%20by%202040.

“U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis.” Electricity in the U.S. – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php#:~:text=Most%20electricity%20is%20generated%20with,wind%20turbines%2C%20and%20solar%20photovoltaics.

“U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis.” International – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), http://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/CHN.

“U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis.” Coal and the Environment – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/coal/coal-and-the-environment.php.

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Definition Rewrite – carsonwentz1186

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Chris McGee

The Art of Team Building

Cooperation between athletes and organizations is the most important aspect needed to successfully build a contending roster in the NFL. While the salary cap continues to get higher and higher every year, the market set for the salary of certain positions also continues to grow exponentially annually. General managers of sports franchises now face the difficult challenge of allocating their salary resources to an entire 53-man roster while some positions, namely the quarterbacks, continue to command close to a quarter of the salary cap yearly.

It is my belief the NFL should institute a policy limiting just how much of the salary cap a single player can receive which would result in a better product for the league rather than allowing franchises to be handicapped and hamstrung by their most important players. Accordingly, while the players themselves should also sacrifice some of their earnings in order to create ultimate team success as displayed by longtime New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady. To support this belief, a 2015 study conducted by Max Winsberg of Claremont McKenna College on the relationship between player compensation and team performance found that there is no real positive correlation between the overcompensation of  players and overall team performance.

This type of policy has been successfully instituted among giant corporations and businesses successfully in the past. An article released in The Baltimore Sun written by Blanca Torres outlines the general overview of CEO salaries and what he or she means to their respective companies. Torres suggests that the system for setting CEO pay is “flawed and not based enough on performance.” This can be very similar to the NFL in that the absurd amount of money the Quarterback receives can cause teammates to become resentful as they are who help him win games and he is restricting them from getting the money they feel they deserve.

Being a “team player” is one of the most important qualities to have being a professional athlete. Former Patriots Quarterback, Tom Brady, is the prime example of how working with your organization can result in much success in the athletic industry. Logically speaking, taking less money would result in an organization or franchise having more money to move around the rest of the roster and better the 21 other positions to take the field on Sundays during the NFL season. 

Tom Brady spent every season while in a Patriots uniform taking less money “sacrificing to put his team in a better position” as stated in Business Insider’s Scott Davis in his article “Tom Brady sacrificed at least $60 million in his career helping the Patriots buld Super Bowl-winning rosters”. Davis in his investigation found that if Brady consistently signed equal deals to the top Quarterback contracts in his contract years, he would have made $60 million more than the $287.6 million he actually made in those seasons. Through all of his negotiations and contract restructures, he allowed for his team to re-sign key players in free agency resulting in successful roster constructions and one of, if not the best dynasty in all of professional sports.

Winning the Super Bowl is the goal of every franchise heading into each NFL season. One of the best ways to do this ironically enough has nothing to do with on field player performance. While players and their performance are very important for teams and their championship quests, the events behind the scenes of player development and evaluation can have just as big of an effect on a teams success as on field performance. 

The 2013 Seattle Seahawks are a perfect example of how successful drafting can lead a team to success. Bleacher Report reporter Ty Schalter and his article “The Art of Navigating the NFL Salary Cap” details just how the Seahawks were able to successfully win a championship through number crunching and player evaluation. The Seahawks offensive and defensive units were led by two elite level players at premium positions who were signed to mid round rookie deals in QB Russell Wilson and Cornerback Richard Sherman allowing for the cap flexibility to address their other needs heading into the season. 

How you may ask, was this accomplished? Through the advantages of rookie contracts. Having that type of cap flexibility allowed for the team to bite the bullet on certain players who did not perform up to the standards of their contracts, such as Percy Harvin in particular on that Seahawks roster who was essentially paid millions to play ONE complete game for that entire season. While it may not be the most ‘sexy’ method of roster construction, being a General Manager or a Scouting Director has just as big of an effect on the performance of a team than the players do. 

A study done by the International Journal of Forecasting on the effectiveness of allocating resources revealed that the Seattle Seahawks were among the teams with the highest uncompensated wins from 2011-2015 due to their successful drafting and high level production from players on low rookie-contract salaries (Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman).

As previously stated, Quarterbacks are almost always the highest paid players on any roster because of their importance to overall team performance. As important as the Quarterback is to an NFL team, these utterly massive contracts being doled out to them are having a serious effect on their teams ability to surround them with enough talent to allow them to succeed as a team. For example, FanNation’s Conner Christopherson in his article “Do Massive Quarterback Contracts Limit Teams in the Long Run” talks about the most recent massive extension given to Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes which was worth $500 million. 

The most important factor in the Chiefs recent success has been the complete roster that has taken the field year after year around Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes has been very successful in the past 2 seasons with that complete roster which leads many to question when the extension begins, will this level of success be sustainable? Recent history points to no.

References

Christopherson, Conner. “Do Massive Quarterback Contracts Limit Teams in the Long Run?” Sports Illustrated Kansas City Chiefs News, Analysis and More, Sports Illustrated Kansas City Chiefs News, Analysis and More, 28 Aug. 2020, http://www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/gm-report/do-massive-quarterback-contracts-limit-teams-in-the-long-run. 

Davis, Scott. “Tom Brady Sacrificed at Least $60 Million in His Career Helping the Patriots Build Super Bowl-Winning Rosters.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 Mar. 2020, http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-contract-discounts-patriots-bargain-2018-7. 

Mulholland, Jason. “Optimizing the allocation of funds of an NFL team under the salary cap.” 28 Dec. 2018, https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/science/article/pii/S0169207018301559#b11.

Schalter, Ty. “The Art of Navigating the NFL Salary Cap.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 19 Sept. 2017, bleacherreport.com/articles/1956430-the-art-of-navigating-the-nfl-salary-cap. 

Torres, Blanca. “Debate Swirls around CEO Pay.” Baltimoresun.com, Baltimore Sun, 6 Apr. 2019, http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.ex.payequity15may15-story.html. 

Winsberg, Max. “Player Compensation and Team Performance: Salary Cap Allocation Strategies across the NFL.” 1 Dec. 2014, https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2080&context=cmc_theses.

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Definition Essay – carsonwentz1186

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Chris McGee

The Art of Team Building

Cooperation between athletes and organizations is the most important aspect needed to successfully build a contending roster in the NFL. While the salary cap continues to grow bigger and bigger every year, the market set for the salary of certain positions also continues to grow exponentially annually. General Managers of sports franchises now face the difficult challenge of distributing their salary cap to an entire 53 man roster while some positions, namely the Quarterbacks, continue to occupy close to a quarter of the salary cap yearly. It is my belief the NFL should institute a policy limiting just how much of the salary cap a single player can occupy which would result in a more product for the league rather than allowing franchises to be handicapped and hamstrung by their most important players while the players themselves should also sacrifice some of their earnings in order to create ultimate team success as displayed by longtime New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady.

This type of policy has been instituted among giant corporations and businesses successfully in the past. An article released in The Baltimore Sun written by Blanca Torres outlines the general overview of CEO salaries and what he or she means to their respective companies. Torres suggests that the system for setting CEO pay is “flawed and not based enough on performance.” Torres also notes the possibility that giving CEOs a percentage increase “causes resentment among many workers who have endured earning lower wages” offering a view of the salary situation in a new light. An example used by Torres in this article implementing this policy was that of the Veramont Ice cream maker Ben and Jerry’s who instituted a policy limiting CEO pay to “no more than five times what the lowest-paid worker was paid” which capped CEO pay at a mere $81,000. The presented situation can compare to that of an NFL roster complication as the most important player on a roster absorbing most of the team’s salary cap can cause jealousy amongst the locker room and create a rift in on-field production just as the loss of company employees would reduce production of company products.

Being a “team player” is one of the most important qualities to have being a professional athlete. Former Patriots Quarterback, Tom Brady, is the prime example of how working with your organization can result in much success in the athletic industry. Logically speaking, taking less money would result in an organization or franchise having more money to move around the rest of the roster and better the 21 other positions to take the field on Sundays during the NFL season. Tom Brady spent every season while in a Patriots uniform taking less money “sacrificing to put his team in a better position” as stated in Business Insider’s Scott Davis in his article “Tom Brady sacrificed at least $60 million in his career helping the Patriots buld Super Bowl-winning rosters”. Davis in his investigation found that if Brady consistently signed equal deals to the top Quarterback contracts in his contract years, he would have made $60 million more than the $287.6 million he actually made in those seasons. Through all of his negotiations and contract restructures, he allowed for his team to re-sign key players in free agency resulting in successful roster constructions and one of, if not the best dynasty in all of professional sports.

Winning the Super Bowl is the goal of every franchise heading into each NFL season. One of the best ways to do this ironically enough has nothing to do with on field player performance. While players and their performance are very important for teams and their championship quests, the events behind the scenes of player development and evaluation can have just as big of an effect on a teams success as on field performance. The 2013 Seattle Seahawks are a perfect example of how player evaluation and drafting can lead a team to success. Bleacher Report reporter Ty Schalter and his article “The Art of Navigating the NFL Salary Cap” details just how the Seahawks were able to successfully win a championship through number crunching and player evaluation. The Seahawks offensive and defensive units were led by two elite level players at premium positions who were signed to mid round rookie deals in Quarterback Russell Wilson and Cornerback Richard Sherman allowing for the cap flexibility to address their other needs heading into the season. How you may ask, was this accomplished? Through player evaluation. Having that type of cap flexibility allowed for the team to bite the bullet on certain players who did not perform up to the standards of their contracts, such as Percy Harvin in particular on that Seahawks roster who was essentially paid millions to play ONE complete game for that entire season. While it may not be the most ‘sexy’ method of roster construction, being a General Manager or a Scouting Director has just as big of an effect on the performance of a team than the players do.

As previously stated, Quarterbacks are almost always the highest paid players on any roster because of their importance to overall team performance. As important as the Quarterback is to an NFL team, these utterly massive contracts being doled out to them are having a serious effect on their teams ability to surround them with enough talent to allow them to succeed as a team. For example, FanNation’s Conner Christopherson in his article “Do Massive Quarterback Contracts Limit Teams in the Long Run” talks about the most recent massive extension given to Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes which was worth $500 million. The most important factor in the Chiefs recent success has been the complete roster that has taken the field year after year around Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes has been very successful in the past 2 seasons with that complete roster which leads many to question when the extension begins, will this level of success be sustainable? Recent history points to no.

References

Christopherson, Conner. “Do Massive Quarterback Contracts Limit Teams in the Long Run?” Sports Illustrated Kansas City Chiefs News, Analysis and More, Sports Illustrated Kansas City Chiefs News, Analysis and More, 28 Aug. 2020, http://www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/gm-report/do-massive-quarterback-contracts-limit-teams-in-the-long-run. 

Davis, Scott. “Tom Brady Sacrificed at Least $60 Million in His Career Helping the Patriots Build Super Bowl-Winning Rosters.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 Mar. 2020, http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-contract-discounts-patriots-bargain-2018-7. 

Schalter, Ty. “The Art of Navigating the NFL Salary Cap.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 19 Sept. 2017, bleacherreport.com/articles/1956430-the-art-of-navigating-the-nfl-salary-cap. 

Torres, Blanca. “Debate Swirls around CEO Pay.” Baltimoresun.com, Baltimore Sun, 6 Apr. 2019, http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.ex.payequity15may15-story.html. 

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Definition Essay-Icedcoffeeislife

Posted on March 7, 2021 by icedcoffeeislife

The Anxiety of the Splash

Often, people hold the stereotypical notion that athletes and mental health have little to do with one another. Regarding student athletes, a lot of the time it is overlooked that there is a large amount of student athletes dealing with mental health concerns and issues.

Some say that student athletes suffer metaly because of the stress of training and pressure of academics; in reality, there is a deep amount of outliers and variables that can affect how a person feels. Every athlete has different struggles, just as every unique individual has struggles.  

Some people do not have any struggle with a mental illness, where another person could be struggling a lot with their mental health. In itself what event categories as a mental health issue in a person. Some people never have to struggle with anxiety or depression, so what makes an athlete have this kind of pressure. If it is caused by influences of their training environment or how they are dealing with how their school works. There are different forms of mental health that can affect a person, from depression to anxiety. These things can all affect how a student athlete will perform in training as well as in school. 

By examining research about meanth health and its effect on student athletes, looking at the specific cases of student athletes, it is illustrated that swimmers are more likely to experience anxiety  throughout their athletic and academic career. 

Anxiety and depression can go hand in hand with each other, but they both have different effects on athletes. With anxiety, it affects how they approach a situation and how some may feel an over wheeling amount of stress that comes with performing. With depression, it can make an athlete unmotivated to come to their training sessions or stay on top of their workload. In a study done by Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics, by Rosalyn Stoa, Jana Fogaça, and Logan Johnsen. The purpose of the case was to look at the stress that is put on student athletes special swimmers. Stress has a large role on someone that suffers from anxiety and depression. Most of the stress that comes out of a swim season is from training, school, and making time cuts for championship seasons. The study states, “intrinsic motivation changed over the season in a quadratic manner, hitting its lowest point where stress was also at its highest,” (284). With this quote we are able to see that even when a swimmer or student athlete is at their highest point in their career, they are also struggling with the amount of stress they have to face. With the added stress of school and competition season, it heightens the level of anxiety that an athlete faces.

 In The Sport Psychologist, by Stephen Pages, that focuses on female college students’ experiences with anxiety. The purpose of the study was to see if imaginary tequics could help lower a swimmers stress. Over the course of their season a swim season, a group of swimmers took a test before their first competition and their last. There was a decrease in the amount of stress that the swimmers faced. Stephh Pages writes, “ this study suggests that imagery may be able to improve an individual’s perception of anxiety from less positive to more positive”( page 466). With this it brings in a new perspective that, maybe not all anxiety, that a swimmer has a negative effect on their performances. Both of these studies show what kind of stress that can affect college swimmers. It may not always have to

Student athletes have a higher chance of experiencing anxiety and depression due to the amount of workload they experience from their training and athletes. With swimmers there is one of the most common groups that have suffered from anxiety throughout their sport. Looking at the study done by Sean Cia, that focused on techniques that can help swimmers worth through their anxiety. They used different methods to help to help work through their anxiety, the methods where, Tia chi, a calming atmosphere, and a lesson where athletes received what they learned before. The student athletes did this over the courses of 8 weeks, the groups that practice tia chi have a lower level of anxiety and depression. However it is noted that  two weeks after the courses were completed, swimmers’ anxiety went back to the same level before the study had happened. According to Seans Cia conclusion, “ the main reason that the short-tenor practice of relaxation exercises did not produce significant differences in the participants’ anxiety and depression levels compared to the self defense exercise”(paragraph 22). Out of all the methods tia chi was able to help out the athletes. Without the structure of the courses, athletes were unable to keep the anityx levels low. It is clear to see that anxiety does not affect everyone one person the same. When it comes to swimmers it can affect their motivation to train and continue their school work. 

This different study has shown how anxiety affects a student athlete, especially in a swimmer. Two of the studies had to do with imagery work to help lower a person’s anxiety. Where another looks at how stress can affect a swimmer’s outcome in their season. This all has in common is that they helped lower a swimmer’s anxiety. Swimmers are one of the hgh groups of athletes to experience anxiety that has been shown by the examples. There are methods that are used to cope with anxiety, but it will always have an influence on a swimmer. As a swimmer, there is a truth behind how it affects a person performans. There have been times where the anxiety of the idea of swimming has brought me to the point where the idea of swimming turned from a safe place, to a place of pain. Anxiety is not something that should be overlooked by coaches or athletic trainers, it is something that needs to be addressed and talked about. 

References: 

Cia, S. (2000). Physical exercise and mental health: A content integrated approach in coping with college students’ anxiety and depression. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/233005480?fromopenview=true&pq-origsite=gscholar

Page, S. J. (1999). The Effects of imaginary on Female College Swimmer’s Perceptions of Anxiety. Retrieved from https://web-a-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=c4ad7709-1034-4531-92a9-a2bc6d2cd265%40sdc-v-sessmgr01

Stoa, R., Fogaça, J., & Johnsen, L. (2020). Feel the Pressure: Stress and Intrinsic Motivation in Collegiate Swimmers. Retrieved 2021, from http://csri-jiia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RA_2020_13.pdf

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Definition Rewrite-honeysucklelilac

Posted on March 7, 2021 by honeysucklelilac

The Fall of Fast Fashion

The price of the $3 top we find online is as low as it can go. But the cost of that top to the environment is way higher than we ever stop to think. The popularity of inexpensive clothing websites has increased significantly over recent years. These fast fashion websites have begun to dominate the world of online shopping. The appeal of these sites is that the clothes are in style and obtainable at low price. 

The rise of fast fashion websites and the poor quality clothes they offer has consumers shortening the clothes service life. The cycle of fast fashion and the want to stay trendy also has the majority of clothes bought from these sites to end up in landfills after they have served their short lived purpose. “Fast fashion” is the term that has been coined to describe these websites that have become favorable to consumers looking for cheap, trendy clothes. According to the EPA on their website, on their page “Textiles-Material Specific Data,” it was “estimated that the generation of textiles in 2018 was 17 million tons.” Specifically in the United States, the volume of clothing that is thrown away each year has doubled in the last 20 years. It’s important to note that out of the 17 million tons of clothes, only 14.7 percent is recycled. Less than 15 percent means that there is room for improvement in how we dispose of clothes when we no longer find them useful. 

Fashion is among the world’s most polluting industries: it requires large quantities of raw materials, creates high levels of pollution, leaves a significant carbon footprint, and generates copious levels of waste. The relationship between the fashion industry’s need to continually evolve to satisfy consumers’ insatiable desire to acquire the latest trends and the loss of exclusivity as consumers acquire the most popular garments, shows that the fashion industry is inherently opposed to sustainability.

Solene Rauturier in the article, “What Is Fast Fashion” for good on you, made the point, “Clothes shopping used to be an occasional event—something that happened a few times a year when the seasons changed or when we outgrew what we had. But about 20 years ago, something changed.” The main goal of fast fashion is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible. Then these companies hope that consumers grab these clothes while they’re at the pinnacle of popularity and then discard them after a few years. This cycle contributes to the idea that wearing the same outfit more than once is looked down upon. This mindset promotes the current system of overproduction that has made fashion one of the largest polluters. 

A movement to combat fast-fashion has arisen known as slow fashion which places emphasis on more sustainable practices. This movement naturally promotes sustainability through more ethical sourcing and production techniques as well as by using organic, recycled, or more durable materials. The labor involved in the production of such garments receives higher wages and greater protection than those in the supply chain of the fast fashion industry. While finished garments may cost more, they last longer and incorporate more timeless styles to combat the need for only wearing the latest trends. One example of slow fashion that is most popular is collaborative consumption. In a broad sense of the term, collaborative consumption, is the shared use of a service or good by a group of people. The main example used for collaborative consumption when talking about clothing is thrift stores. By donating and buying clothes that were donated, consumers are able to extend the longevity of the clothes instead of throwing them away.

There is a solution that promotes collaborative consumption and the slow fashion movement. Going to thrift stores to seek out pieces of clothing that are timeless rather than focusing on the latest trend is a huge step in the right direction of lowering the environmental impact of clothes. Taking the time to look for clothes that will be able to stay in your wardrobe long term is worth the environmental payoff.

References

Bahareh Zamani, Gustav Sandin, Greg M. Peters, Life cycle assessment of clothing libraries: can collaborative consumption reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion?, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 162, 2017, Pages 1368-1375, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.128.

Brown, R. (2021, January 08). The environmental crisis caused by Textile Waste. Retrieved April 06, 2021

Rauturier, S. (2021, March 29). What is fast fashion? Retrieved April 06, 2021Textiles: Material-specific data. (2020, October 07). Retrieved March 08, 2021

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Definition Essay-honeysucklelilac

Posted on March 7, 2021 by honeysucklelilac

The Fall of Fast Fashion

The price of the $3 top you just ordered online has a greater cost on the environment than you think. As the popularity of inexpensive clothing websites increases it it time to take into account what the environmental impacts are before the effects become irreversible. Since the beginning of the pandemic, which forced several people to spend the majority of their time inside, these fast fashion websites have gained large amounts of popularity. It’s easy to see why these websites have become so popular, the combination of people being forced to stay inside and the loss of countless jobs makes the websites extremely attractive to people with a small budget and the want for something new to add to their wardrobe. What several people have failed to think about when making their purchases is that there is a detrimental environmental impact that occurs every time an article of clothing is purchased from one of these sites.

The rise of fast fashion websites has shortened the service life of clothes and increased the amount of garments in landfills. “Fast fashion” is the term that has been coined to describe these websites that have become favorable to consumers looking for cheap, trendy clothes. According to the EPA on their website, on their page Textiles: Material-Specific Data, it was “estimated that the generation of textiles in 2018 was 17 million tons.” An even more shocking fact is that of those 17 million tons, only 14.7 percent of those textiles were recycled. Trends are constantly changing, making the practical service life of the clothes being purchased much shorter than the technical service life. The clothes are being thrown away before they have been worn to their full potential. They were inexpensive to begin with and therefore are thrown away without much thought, leading to a huge environmental impact.

But, there are ways to lower your environmental impact when you purchase clothes. Consumers just need to be aware of all of the options. There are three important theories to look at when considering the sustainability governance framework; sustainability theory, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and supply chain governance (SCG).First, sustainability theory measures the performance of the fast fashion supply chain in its entirety. It focuses on the benefit maximization which is based on the balance among society, environment and economy. Sustainability means the development of products meets the needs of the current generation without negatively affecting the needs of future generations. The “Triple Bottom Line” of sustainability is used because it encompasses the importance of economic, environmental and social performances. This forces corporations to change their objectives to no longer only focus on the economical aspects.

Second, corporate social responsibility is applicable when companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their businesses. CSR is consistent with social expectations, which increases the corporation’s benefits and also improves its competitiveness and reputation. There are 2 ways a company can benefit from when implementing a strong strategic CSR. First, they can receive long-term benefits through participation in social projects that communicate the relationship of CSR and the corporate strategy. Second, they will attract customers who pay more attention to the sustainable attributes of a product. Strategic CSR is an effective tactic to combine and facilitate the sustainability governance of the fast fashion supply chain.

Finally, supply chain governance focuses on gathering resources of all participants in a supply chain. SCG focuses on the institution, the structures and the mechanisms that guide, regulate and control the activities which emerge from stakeholders of the supply chain. SCG is a framework for how decision making is carried out in a supply chain. The focal company can ensure the maximum benefit for all supply chain participants by coordinating them and focusing on the sustainability of the supply chain.

What also needs to be explained is collaborative consumption and how it has a low environmental impact. According to Bahareh Zamani, Gustav Sandin and Greg M. Peters in “Life cycle assessment of clothing libraries: can collaborative consumption reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion?”, collaborative consumption is consumers exchanging the ownership distribution of a resource for a fee or other compensation. This includes when a resource is borrowed, swapped, traded or rented. Collaborative consumption is part of the sharing economy. By using these other ways of consumerism, the clothing is worn for much longer than if it was only bought to be worn for a few months or less, and then thrown away.

Fashion is among the world’s most polluting industries: it requires large quantities of raw materials, creates high levels of pollution, leaves a significant carbon footprint, and generates copious levels of waste. The relationship between the fashion industry’s need to continually evolve to satisfy consumers’ insatiable desire to acquire the latest trends and the loss of exclusivity as consumers acquire the most popular garments, shows that the fashion industry is inherently opposed to sustainability.

A movement to combat fast-fashion has arisen known as slow fashion which places emphasis on more sustainable practices. This movement naturally promotes sustainability through more ethical sourcing and production techniques as well as by using organic, recycled, or more durable materials. The labor involved in the production of such garments receives higher wages and greater protection than those in the supply chain of the fast fashion industry. While finished garments may cost more, they last longer and incorporate more timeless styles to combat the need for only wearing the latest trends. While this movement faces a hard battle against mass marketed designs it is important to recognize that there are movements out there trying to compete with fast fashion. Companies that do slow fashion practices should provide a template for the future of the global fashion industry.

There is a solution that promotes collaborative consumption and the slow fashion movement. Going to thrift stores to seek out pieces of clothing that are timeless rather than focusing on the latest trend is a huge step in the right direction of lowering the environmental impact of clothes. Taking the time to look for clothes that will be able to stay in your wardrobe long term is worth the environmental payoff.

References

Bahareh Zamani, Gustav Sandin, Greg M. Peters, Life cycle assessment of clothing libraries: can collaborative consumption reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion?, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 162, 2017, Pages 1368-1375, ISSN 0959-6526, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.128.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617312982

Textiles: Material-specific data. (2020, October 07). Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data

Yongjian Li, Xiukun Zhao, Dan Shi, Xiang Li,Governance of sustainable supply chains in the fast fashion industry,European Management Journal,Volume 32, Issue 5,2014,Pages 823-836,ISSN 0263-2373,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2014.03.001.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263237314000371

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Definition- Thecommoncase

Posted on March 7, 2021 by thecommoncase

In the midst of the United States’ opioid epidemic, it is troubling to think that opioids are still one of the most commonly prescribed drugs. Everyone is well aware that taking drugs comes with many implications, but there is a reason that doctors and patients are willing to take this potentially huge risk. Prescription opioid use is quite prominent, due to its effectiveness against short-term and long-term pain. The risk clearly outweighs the reward, but opioid use prevails over all other types of pain medication. The reason for this is because opioids are in surplus supply, readily available, and heavily researched. The United States government has not looked into many other options that could potentially decrease the use of prescription opioids, but if they did, perhaps researchers will be able to come up with a safer alternative. In order to lessen the use of this drug, there needs to be a drug with the benefit opioids give without the high risk of addiction.

The natural chemical found in the opium poppy plant is called opiate, and this is what professionals use to make the type of drug known as opioids. Opioid is an umbrella term that identifies drugs that are used as painkillers; not including over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen and tylenol. Opioids are able to ease varying degrees of pain, and are incredibly helpful when a patient is physically suffering from surgery, injury, or a chronic disease. When someone takes an opioid like OxyContin, the chemical interacts with pain receptors throughout the nervous system, lessening the intensity of pain. Just like any other medication, there are side effects to taking opioids. Of course, the most obvious side effects would be dependence and addiction, but opioids can cause other health problems, as well. Opioids can cause nausea, memory loss, and can decrease blood pressure and heart rate. This can be difficult for people who are taking other medications, who could benefit from the use of opioids but cannot take them due to the mixture of all the strong medications in their body.

The CDC has spent many years gathering information about the risks and benefits of opioids, and have published the Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain which states that “clinicians should prescribe immediate-release opioids instead of extended-release /long-acting (ER/LA) opioids.” These modifications allow doctors to use opioids for many types of situations. A patient suffering an injury from a car accident may be prescribed a short-term opioid medication, where the effects of the drug only last a few hours. On the other hand, a person with chronic pain who has tried every other treatment option may benefit from a long-acting opioid. 

It is bittersweet, but medical professionals have been able to gather so much research and data about opioid use and opioid addiction due to the opioid epidemic. The United States government is willing to put a lot of money and man-power into studying the effects of opioids and opioid addiction since it has been plaguing the country for many years. There is not much that researchers do not know about opioids, and scientists have found ways to change and manipulate the duration of opioids effects thanks to all the research the United States government has supported. 

Not only can opioids be modified to fit a person’s degree of pain, but they are also widely available in the United States. In 2019 the CDC released the total number of opioids that were described in that year, and over 153 million were given to patients across the U.S.. Opioids sole purpose is to help people manage pain, so it makes sense that it would be used vastly. In the United States, accidents are incredibly common and thousands of people suffer from injuries daily. Opioids are very effective in treating short-term pain from things like accidents, but that is not exactly what makes people addicted to opioids.

Not only do opioids block pain receptors in the brain and spinal cord, they also create a feeling of euphoria in those taking it. This is the feeling that people are likely to succumb to when they take opioids. It does not matter if the treatment was meant to help with short-term or long-term pain, the combined power of not feeling pain and an overwhelming feeling of euphoria makes the risk of addiction incredibly high. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that “regular use- even as prescribed by a doctor- can lead to dependence and, when misused, can lead to addiction, overdose incidents, and deaths.” If this feeling of euphoria, or the “high” that people feel were nonexistent, no one would become addicted to opioid medications.

There is no doubt that opioid abuse is a huge problem in the United States. In order to lessen the damage of the opioid epidemic, there needs to be a safer alternative that can still help patients that are dealing with long-term or short-term pain. This drug would need to be able to block pain receptors in the brain and nervous system at the same, or at least a similar, level of strength as opioids. Not only does it have to be powerful, but it cannot give patients a sense of euphoria when they take it. Instead, that component should be replaced with something that makes people feel mildly uncomfortable. That way, opioid users do not feel compelled to continue taking the drug once they are no longer prescribed to it.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with this idea is that there is not enough funding for researchers to run tests and evaluate possible replacements. Opioids have been thoroughly tested and studied by scientists and medical professionals, and they are well aware of the benefits and every possible risk. Since opioids are so variable, there can be a different type of opioid medication that will properly fit a patient’s needs. In order for an alternative drug to take the place of opioids, researchers will need to know all that they can to make sure every patient receives the right type of medication. 

References

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021, March 03). Opioids. Retrieved March 07, 2021, from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids

U.S. opioid Dispensing RATE MAPS. (2020, December 07). Retrieved March 07, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/maps/rxrate-maps.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2016) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.3109/15360288.2016.1173761?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Butanis, B. (2018, April 30). What are opioids? Retrieved March 07, 2021, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/opioids/what-are-opioids.html

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Definition Rewrite- Justheretopass

Posted on March 7, 2021 by justheretopass

Online Learning Vs Traditional Learning 

Education can be very important to a person’s life. It can show or teach them new things that they never knew and help guide them in life. Traditional learning was in full effect until the Coronavirus took full effect, killing 2.57 million people worldwide. This virus caused schools to move fully online in hopes of slowing the spread and transmission of the virus. Some students were most likely relieved to be away from the school building and atmosphere, but others were scared, anxious, confused and worried about how this online school system was going to work and how they were really going to learn. This virus was something that the world had never faced before and it took all of us by surprise and turned our entire lives upside. Even through all this some people still ask the question “will schools reopen back to normal or will it still be online.” 

Traditional education and online education have numerous similarities. The main similarity is the education students gain. Whether the class is being taught online or in person, students are given the opportunity to learn and become successful. In both settings, it is mandatory that students attend class, participate, do homework, take quizzes, and take exams, which are all needed to have a sustainable learning experience. Whether you are sitting in a traditional setting or an online setting, students tend to have access to the internet, textbooks, e-books, other online resources, and teachers. These two types of learning depend on an instructor. Whether you are seeing your teacher in person and asking questions, or having an online class where you only get to email your teacher, you still are able to gain contact with them. Meaning, if you were to have any questions on the lesson, you are still getting the help you needed no matter where you are. But depending on the type of online program a student is attending, they may get to view a pre-recorded lecture or a live lecture that lets them ask the same exact questions that they would ask in a traditional setting. If you want to learn applied technical skills, online learning is a great place to enhance them. When studying online, you are challenged to step outside your comfort zone. 

Although online learning and traditional have numerous similarities, they also have plenty of differences. The main difference is that the communication and the lecture style is different. Online courses can be done at any location, which means the student does not have to worry about the transportation, whether they are walking, taking an uber, getting a ride from a friend, riding the subway, etc. For example, “if a student were to wake up 15 minutes after their online class were to begin, they can easily open their computer, join the class, and turn off their camera.” Meanwhile, if a student who attended traditional classes woke up late for their class, they would be a lot more than 15 minutes tardy. They would have to prepare for their class, find transportation to school, and then when they finally get to the school, they would have to walk all the way to their class, now making them 30-40 minutes late. Instructors teaching online can either decide to pre-record their lecture the day before, meaning that the class gets to listen to the lecture but not ask their questions right away, or they can attend synchronous classes which are known as “live online” classes. This is when students and their teachers meet virtually on specific days and times. Live online allows the students to ask their questions while the teacher is giving the lecture, but must continuously mute and unmute themselves. Some students may continuously have to move their cursor around to click and unclick the mute button when they have a simple question which they could find inconvenient at times, but in a traditional setting, the only thing necessary in order to ask or answer a question is raising your hand. 

Online learning may have a negative impact on children and adolescents due to Covid-19. Covid-19 is keeping kids awake at night longer than usual. The kids are being forced to be confined in the house due to strict rules that means less exercise which will ultimately mean kids putting more weight on which can interfere with their sleep school. Students deprived of sleep will result in longer naps during the day disrupting their sleep schedule at night. All that results in students being on their phones later in the night being exposed to “blue light,” which disrupts melatonin, the body’s cue to sleep. 

Students who took online classes have also seen an increase in mental health such as depression, anxiety and stress. An article ran a test on college students in New Jersey and it was shown that there was a high level of depression associated with the difficulties of being able to focus in school. Covid-19 has taken a toll mentally on college students who are trying to learn for their majors and get their life in order but they have to learn online which is an unfamiliar, unorthodox way of learning. 

Students who take online classes do in fact miss out on the “normal” learning experiences that prepare them for any of their careers. There are a lot of skills traditional classes teach individuals that online classes can not. Basic communication skills, even if that includes speaking with classmates and collaborating with them. Although you can collaborate in online classes, it contrasts when you are within the same vicinity as the people you are working with. You can develop a chemistry that will help turn the work that much better, the teacher will be able to see that these students have really worked together. The second learning experience an online student misses is presentation skills, online students are not under the pressure of having to face 30 or more faces and presenting a topic, “they can easily turn off their cameras and give a presentation depending on the class and the instructor.” For example, if a student were to enter the business world and have to give a presentation, if they took online classes their whole college career, they would likely not feel as prepared as a traditional student who has given multiple face to face presentations. Traditional school helped students have a stable and consistent game plan from Monday to Friday.

References 

Becker, S. P., & Gregory, A. M. (2020). Editorial Perspective: Perils and promise for child and adolescent sleep and associated psychopathology during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(7), 757-759. doi:10.1111/jcpp.13278

Iwai, Yoshiko. “Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2020, blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/online-learning-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/. 

Kecojevic, A., Basch, C. H., Sullivan, M., & Davi, N. K. (2020, September 30). The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on mental health of undergraduate students in New Jersey, cross-sectional study. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239696

Tucker, Kristine. “Synonym.” Classroom.synonym.com, 2017, classroom.synonym.com/. 

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