Reaching the Peak of my Mountain free essay sample

Being enrolled into elementary school marked the day that the first brick on my pathway would be cemented to the ground never to be removed again. This marked just the beginning of my thirteen years of paperwork to prove my work ethic and intelligence to my peers and colleagues.However, working and worrying about other matters during these years seemed to occupy my workspace. I didn’t always care for grades and the ever so critical GPA that determines everything. Even though my grades aren’t the best of the century, I know I’m not a quitter. Just a few months ago in the summer of 2014, I remember a challenging task that I didn’t think would teach me such a great life lesson. Being with my friends in Colorado, visiting our friend that recently moved there for his dads work. Like any other person from Texas, seeing a mountain can be breathtaking. We will write a custom essay sample on Reaching the Peak of my Mountain or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Being in the youth age, I immediately wanted to reach the peak of a mountain once we settled into my friend’s home. Once we arrived to a mountain suitable for us to climb, looking at it from the basin truly made me feel meaningless to the scale of the Mountain, the Earth, and the Cosmos.Already, the altitude in Colorado knocks the breath out of me within just a few steps. Continually climbing upwards using my hands and feet for over four hours was one of the most difficult things I could have ever imagined. Although looking back now, the challenge improved me. Halfway up the mountain, once we found a clear spot for a beautiful scenery spot just seeing the size of our car at the bottom was jaw dropping.I wanted to keep going up the mountain to reach the peak and view a full panorama of the world around me. Things just got more challenging though, I kept wanting to turn around and travel down the mountain, but my friends kept continuing forward, so I couldn’t turn back now.We finally hit the steepest part of the mountain with rocks attached to breakable soil. I remember grabbing a rock to pull myself up, and when I was halfway up the rock it broke away from the surface which caused me to fall and slide into a tree. That fall made me realize I’m not immortal, and one wrong slip and my gravestone will be calling my name short noticed. I immediately stood up and marched onwards. Nearing the peak of the mountain was the most memorable thing I could ever experience, the clouds were just a few hundred feet above us, and we could see over the mountains across the valley leading to even more massive peaks covered with snow during the summer. Seeing Highway 70 with the ant line never stopping or ending, that is when I truly felt like a spec in this universe. Now I know this story wasn’t anything special, however it showed me that no matter how steep the road ahead of me gets, and what challenges come before me, I know that I can keep climbing no matter what. As long as I have the motivation to keep going, nothing is going to get in my way. The peak of the mountain symbolizes a milestone in the things I would like to achieve in life; I want to leave my footprint everywhere. I was put on this planet for a reason, and I intend to find out why.

Why Students Are Turning to Profile Samples in Their Essay Writing

Why Students Are Turning to Profile Samples in Their Essay WritingStudents everywhere are finding that essay samples essays are a valuable resource. These tools can offer insights to essay topics and practice essay subjects, and they are an important part of the academic writing process. Many students avoid using essay samples because they feel that they aren't used to the process of essay writing, but this is not the case.First, profiles can help students prepare for their essay by giving them practice in the actual writing of the essay. They give students ideas about how to structure the essay, how to organize their thoughts, and what to keep from them, including any anecdotes or other information. Essay samples help students when they need to write in a particular format or style. Even if they're not very familiar with it, the tips on how to conduct the essay and how to write it will be easy to learn from these samples.The second reason why essay writers and editors are using prof ile samples is that they offer information that is not readily available on the Internet. On the Internet, one usually finds information about current events in current affairs, which cannot be found in profile samples. Profile samples are helpful because they are usually from actual students or adults who have done the work and turn them in to the submission service. Profiles are designed to demonstrate how to do a sample essay, and thus they provide a much needed bridge between students and essay writing.The third reason why essay editors and writers are using profile samples is that they are useful in providing tools that can be used for other essay writing projects. Essay samples can be used in other formats, as well, including not only a profile sample but also how to write a research paper, a thesis statement, and a dissertation. If a student has an idea about how to structure an essay, and can come up with an essay topic of their own, then they will be able to use a profile s ample to begin writing.Some writers and editors also prefer using profile samples for their own use. While some people look at profile samples and see a list of all the things that should be in the essay, others enjoy looking at a profile sample because they feel like they're not only getting ideas from it, but from someone who is actually doing the writing themselves. This can be a great feeling for anyone.So, what is the best way to learn how to use profile samples? The answer is to try to go through several profiles so that you understand the guidelines for writing a profile. Once you have a good understanding of how to structure an essay, you can then ask a friend or family member to write a profile for you.The basic thing that you need to know about writing a profile, then, is that the profile samples should be tailored for the type of person that they are intended for. This means that the profile should speak directly to the reader and provide them with an insider's insight in to the life of the person that the profile is written for. It should also provide the student with useful information about the character, accomplishments, and lifestyle of the person so that the reader will be more interested in the student than simply on his or her good qualities.These are just a few reasons why students are turning to profile samples. If you are looking for a place to find a lot of great advice and insight, you should definitely consider signing up for a subscription to our free essay writing tips.

The Society Within Romania and Trompenaars principles †History Essay

The Society Within Romania and Trompenaars principles – History Essay Free Online Research Papers The Society Within Romania and Trompenaars principles History Essay The Power Distance Power distance describes the degree of equality between different people within a particular society or group. Also described Hofstede, as: â€Å"power distance is the extent to which people expect and are willing to accept that power is distributed unequally. Inequality of power is a basic fact of life. It cannot be 100% eliminated. It is impossible to have no power distance, because this means that everyone is exactly equal (skills, actions, genetics etc) unless you are on about a bunch of identical lumps of rocks. Inequality can take many forms – the differences of physical and mental characteristics, social status and prestige, wealth, political power, rights, privileges etc. All of these are somewhat independent of each other, and in fact the link between them is culturally dependant. Not to put too fine a point on it, Romania is obviously a country with a high power distance. First of all, Romanians seem to expect differences in power between people, yet they are often cynical about personas in positions of authority. They love to ridicule authority and people in position of power. For example, the president of the country is said to be the most popular person among the population due to his hilarious way of behaving in different situations. Furthermore, offices in Romania are ruled by formality. Subordinates are rarely allowed to call their supervisors by their first name. The same thing happens in schools too. While in American schools one can find sheer informality, in Romania is exactly the opposite. If the society wants a lower power distance level, someone should take steps to make this exaggerated formality from schools a thing of the past. In addition, even the ways to say HELLO in Romania are bound to follow up certain rules. For example, if you are the secretary you can’t greet the same way your working colleagues and your boss. Greetings are subject to the same strict rules of formality and informality. Some extremely important consequences of a high power distance level are the sudden changes in government and the autocratic / absolutist governments. In days gone by, this has been more than obvious in our country. Let’s think of the 1989 Revolution when the Communist leaders were killed. In this day and age we find a certain polarization of left / right wing parties which is another consequence of a high power distance. If we now summarize, it stands to reason that Romania has a high power distance level. INDIVIDUALISM Individualism – this dimension focuses on the degree to which a society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships. If a country has a high Individualism score, this indicates that individuality and individual rights are dominant. Individuals in these societies tend to form relationships with larger numbers of people, but with the relationships being weak. A low individualism score points to a society that is more collectivist in nature. In such countries, the ties between individuals are very strong and the family is given much more weight. In such societies members lean towards collective responsibility. In my opinion, Romania is among the most individualistic countries in the world. First of all, the combination of this individualism with the communist emphasis upon engineering and task skills has resulted in a nation with almost no sense of what the sociologist Ulrich Beck refers to as â€Å"the other†. People do not give much consideration to their group needs when making decisions. Witness the selfishness if the political class, or the greed of the national business elite, both on the back of great poverty and exploitation. Too frequently do Romanians show little concern for pride in their own work. This leads the task element of leadership being measured in quantitative rather than qualitative terms. For example, people often ask themselves â€Å"Did I finish all my paperwork† rather than â€Å"How much value did I add by doing so?† . Journalists, for example, complain every day about their subjects (politicians) but they do not take personal responsibilities for their own actions. Whilst such complaints can be heard the world over, the scale of the problem is more widespread, deep rooted and damaging here than anywhere else. Apart from this, there is another issue to present. Whenever something goes wrong in Romania, there is a strong tendency for people to consider themselves as victims of circumstance, which leads to two subsequent effects. First of all, they exhibit passivity in the face of gross public abuses. Secondly, they have the tendency to find outsiders to blame. This can be proved by a very good example: the Emma Nicholson scandal over children’s homes. Rather than face the issue, the country seemed to unite in outrage at how this foreign woman dared to expose the things that we don’t speak about. This, of course, underlines the weakness of the society. UNCERTIANTY AVOIDANCE Uncertainty avoidance – this dimension concerns the level of acceptance for uncertainty and ambiguity within a society. A country with a high uncertainty avoidance score will have a low tolerance towards uncertainty and ambiguity. As a result it is usually a very rule-orientated society and follows well defined and established laws, regulations and controls. A low uncertainty avoidance score points to a society that is less concerned about ambiguity and uncertainty and has more tolerance towards variety and experimentation. Such a society is less rule-orientated, readily accepts change and is willing to take risks. Another definition is given by Hofstede: â€Å"uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations†. The essence of uncertainty is that is a subjective experience. But according to Hofstede, feelings of uncertainty are not only personal, but may also be partly shared with other members of society. Risk taking is an important factor, which is usually associated with entrepreneurial activity. When a cultural distance between countries increases, also will the uncertainty and the perceived risk. Romania is part of the group of countries with a high uncertainty avoidance score. A good example to prove this fact is to use Sanna Sundqvist’s study, entitled â€Å"Cross-cultural adoption of wireless communications: effects of cultural distance and country characteristics†. The study tries to analyze the cultural differences in adoption of wireless communications. In order to test the effects of cultural similarity, the study groups some countries on the basis of their cultural dimensions. Based on Hofstede indices, the 48 countries were classified using hierarchical cluster analysis into five segments. For example, cluster five contained countries like Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Netherlands, cluster four: China, Hong Kong, Singapore, cluster two: USA, Austria, U.K., Australia etc, cluster one: Argentina, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Germany etc. while cluster three had countries like Chile, Baltic countries, ROMANIA, Venezuela, Taiwan, Thailand, Peru etc. The results proved that cluster V has adopted wireless communication earliest while cluster three has adopted significantly later. This proves the fact that Romania, situated in cluster 3, is a country that does not accept changes easily. Another reason for this high level of uncertainty avoidance could be the fact that the Romanian nation is very old, and it has survived numerous wars, political upheavals and economic changes. Hence, Romanians have a greater fear of the unknown. Moreover, it is known that a country with a high uncertainty avoidance level will adopt due to imitation or in order to diminish risks and uncertainty, in Romania’s case, F the integration in the E.U. We are among the last countries to make this step. While it is true to say that we don’t have the necessary economic standards to join the E.U. I nevertheless think that from a different point of view this delay is also due to the high uncertainty avoidance level. Citizens being critical of their own nation is another characteristic feature of a country with a high uncertainty avoidance level. Romania’s population is never satisfied by any performances of the country. They always find a reason to put the negative part of an achievement in front of the positive one. MASCULINITY Masculinity – this dimension pertains to the degree societies reinforce or do not reinforce, the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control and power. A high masculinity score indicates that a country experiences a higher degree of gender differentiation. In such cultures, males tend to dominate a significant portion of the society and power structure. A low masculinity score means a society has a lower level of level of differentiation and inequity between genders. In these cultures, females are treated equally to males in all aspects of the society. The IBM studies revealed that (a) women’s values differ less among societies than men’s values; (b) men’s values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women’s values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to woman’s values on the other side. The assertive pole has been called masculine and the modest, caring pole feminine. It stands to reason that Romania has a high masculinity score. To begin with, most of the VIP’s in Romania are men. The president is a man, the prime minister is a man, most of the other ministers are men, the secretaries of the state are men and so on. I would like to analyze the administration board of BNR, the national bank of my country, to prove my point. This board has the following structure: Governor: Ph.D Mugur Isarescu First Deputy Governor: Ph. D. Florin Georgescu Deputy Governor: Ph.D. Eugen Dijmarescu Deputy Governor: Ph.D. Cristian Popa Member: Ph.D. Silviu Cerna Member: Maria Ene Member: Agnes Nagy Member: Ph.D. Napoleon Pop Member: Ph.D. Virgiliu Stoenescu As we can see, 77.77% of the members are men while only 22.23% are women. Another important fact is that the inequalities between men and women in Romania are structural, rather than merely contingent, and a pervasive phenomena rather than a temporary consequences of the transition. It is a fact that the rising of unemployment has constantly affected women more than men, while women are over-represented in the lowest wage sectors of the economy (especially agriculture, healthcare and education). Furthermore, even the legislation from this country encourages masculinity. The best example to list here is the age of retirement which is not the same fro men and women. Women have lower retirement ages than men. Fewer years of contributing to the system combined with the data that indicates that women earn on average 83% of men’s earnings will result in lower average pensions for women. More worrying is the increase number of women moving from formal, paid employment to the informal sector or into unpaid family labor, situations in which it is unlikely that contributions will be made into the social, health or pensions system, resulting in a growing number of women potentially facing old age without pensions at all. The employers in Romania often regard the aspect of gender when hiring new people. For example, they prefer men engineers rather than women engineers, which is, of course, a discrimination as the only difference between men and women should be made when a job implies physical effort. By and large, I think that these characteristic features of Romania are really clear and that they are not unchangeable. In my opinion, each feature of each country varies in time. Maybe in some decades, the high level of masculinity and power distance will be a thing of the past, and we shall live in a better country with better people and smarter rules. Research Papers on The Society Within Romania and Trompenaar's principles - History EssayQuebec and CanadaCapital Punishment19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraBringing Democracy to AfricaEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenPETSTEL analysis of IndiaStandardized TestingAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

The History of Postage Stamps

The History of Postage Stamps Before adhesive paper stamps came along, letters were hand-stamped or postmarked with ink. Postmarks were invented by Henry Bishop and were at first called Bishop mark. Bishop marks were first used in 1661 at the London General Post Office. They marked the day and month the letter was mailed. The First Modern Postage Stamp: Penny Black The first issued postage stamp began with Great Britains Penny Post. On May 6, 1840, the British Penny Black stamp was released. The Penny Black engraved the profile of Queen Victorias head, who remained on all British stamps for the next 60 years.   Rowland Hill Invents Adhesive Postage Stamps A schoolmaster from England, Sir Rowland Hill invented the adhesive postage stamp in 1837, an act for which he was knighted. Through his efforts, the first stamp in the world was issued in England in 1840. Roland Hill also created the first uniform postage rates that were based on weight rather than size. Hills stamps made the prepayment of mail postage possible and practical. Hill had received a summons to provide evidence before the Commission for Post Office Enquiry in February 1837. In providing his evidence, he read from the letter he wrote to the Chancellor, including a statement the notation of paid postage could be created ...by using a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp and covered at the back with a glutinous wash....  This is the first publication of an unambiguous description of a modern adhesive postage stamp. Hill’s ideas for postage stamps and charging paid-postage based upon weight soon came to fruition and were adopted in many countries throughout the world. With the new policy of charging by weight, more people began using envelopes to mail documents. Hill’s brother Edwin Hill invented a prototype of the envelope-making machine that folded paper into envelopes quickly enough to match the pace of the growing demand for postage stamps. Rowland Hill and the postal reforms he introduced to the UK postal system are immortalized on several commemorative postage issues of the United Kingdom. William Dockwra In 1680, William Dockwra, an English merchant in London, and his partner  Robert Murray  established the  London Penny Post, a mail system that delivered letters and small parcels inside the city of London for a total of one penny. The postage for the mailed item was prepaid by the use of a hand-  stamp  to frank the mailed item, confirming payment of postage.   Shapes and Materials In addition to the most common rectangular shape, stamps have been printed in geometric (circular, triangular and pentagonal) and irregular shapes. The United States issued its first circular stamp in 2000 as a  hologram  of the earth.  Sierra Leone and Tonga have issued stamps in the shapes of fruit.   Stamps are most commonly made from paper designed specifically for them and are printed in sheets, rolls or small booklets. Less commonly, postage stamps are made of materials other than paper, such as  embossed  foil.

Effectiveness of Controversial Advertising (Marketing Communications) Essay

Effectiveness of Controversial Advertising (Marketing Communications) - Essay Example According to Hosford-Dunn, et al. (2000, p.163), the basic functions of advertising are: to inform, persuade, or remind and reinforce customers so that information about the products and services will be disseminated and eventually sell themselves. Advertising is one of the marketing strategies that is used in communicating information with a purpose of influencing individual about a certain product or services in order to stimulate market demand. Advertising is considered as a business activity for it involves money and time; however, this activity is naturally visible, in fact, it is prone to public criticisms particularly when it did not meet consumer expectations and satisfactions, and when it delivered false advertising. Advertisements are considered to be successful if they affect people purchase power and consequently increase sales turnover, sales revenue and elevate brand awareness. All advertising efforts are expected to originate from genuine, unique and eye catching idea; however, marketers nowadays are crossing the traditional line and run controversial advertisements. The main thrust of this paper is to discuss the effectiveness of controversial advertising as a method of successfully selling a product. Controversial Advertising During the 19th and the 20th century when competition is becoming more intense, companies have increased their interest in using advertisements just to be competitive. There are billions of advertisements appearing in a day and this number is growing rapidly. This overwhelming information received by the viewing public had made them saturated and lessen their attention toward every advertisements because they go unnoticed and viewed in an unconscious manner. In order for advertisers to hold new chances in gaining public attention and awareness, they downplay shocking advertisements that are morally daring and offensive to the public. According to Jeurissen (2007, p.158), â€Å"for those who have the courage to publish a c ontroversial advertisement, there is a chance that their message will become the subject of a lively discussion: people will start to talk about it...† Adventurous marketers preferred to use controversial advertising as a method of successfully selling a product because they believed it will cause curiosity in people awareness and make everyone remember. However, a great percentage of consumers said that these kinds of advertisements leave negative consequences. The Effectiveness of Controversial Advertising Nowadays, advertisements are made to execute themes that are beyond the line of creativity and are sometimes exaggerated, eye catching and more controversial than ever just to capture the attention of the viewing public. The print advertisements below are some of the controversial advertising campaigns whose concepts are extreme and shocking just to promote products or services (see figure 1). Figure 1: Controversial and Disturbing Print Ads Source: Huang, 2010 This patter n addresses organizational message that is beginning to emerge wherein advertisers use gore, violence, nudity, sexual connotation, etc., which used to show social, political, and moral conflicts. However, according to Wright (1997, p.141), â€Å"the messages of other controversial ads might be less bland, such as

Business Continuity and Crisis Management Essay

Business Continuity and Crisis Management - Essay Example As the study outlines most comments that arise in the use of business continuity and crisis management is that people tend to confuse its role with that of insurance companies. The manner in which business continuity and crisis management are also explored by providing an example from the City of London Resilience Forum. Introduction Business continuity management helps to ensure continuity of a business by focusing on the critical business process within and outside the organization. Unplanned events have a very devastating effect on both small and big businesses and they range from fire, damage to illness of key staff, IT system failure that makes it impossible to carry the smooth running operations of a business. The negative impact of business crisis is that it can make business loose customers who make an important component of the business and prevent the closure of businesses. Good planning of the business process helps minimize the potential impact of disaster thus prevent it from happening and spoiling for the business. Business continuity is an all-inclusive management process that recognizes potential effects that impends a business and gives an agenda for building elasticity and the ability for the organization to safeguard the interest of various stakeholders. According to Blyth, business continuity involves the management approving a strategic and tactical approach to dealing with emergency disasters that are unforeseen and may pose a negative effect to the company. In addition, business continuity can be defined as a cost-justified method aimed at reducing risks that may hinder the continuity of a business in the event of a disaster. Elliot, Swartz and Herbane in their book define business continuity as responding to a business interruption in such a way as to achieve the lowest level of inconvenience possible for the continued stability of the business. According to Regester and Larkini business continuity involves identifying the potential issu es that threaten to interfere with the existence of a business and formulate a framework that can effectively handle such issues whenever they arise. According to Kadam, business continuity management aims at managing risks in order to guarantee that the company endures in operating at the lowest prearranged risk level. An organization applies business continuity and crisis management practices to ensure continuity in the ways a business handles various crises. From this paper it is clear that the need for businesses to apply business continuity and crisis management strategies is conceived from the need to provide assurance for the continuity of the business process. The management should ensure that their business continuity and crisis management framework is able to restore a business to its earlier position and preserve all sectors of the business. Business continuity management is thus more than a crisis management since it is a comprehensive program that helps a business react quickly and effectively when faced with unplanned interruptions.

Drug Usage In Sports Physical Education Essay

Drug Usage In Sports Physical Education Essay Athletes normally use drugs while training and during an event to give themselves an unfair advantage over the other competitors. Drugs can be used during training to allow the person to train for longer, build muscle faster and to quicken the recovery after training, to allow them to train sooner than from the time taken to recover naturally. The world anti-doping agency (WADA) is the head of controlling the use of drugs within major sports, the Olympics, NBA etc.i WADA have banned many substances from use within sports for several reasons, the main reason to protect the athlete and their health as not everyone who takes then performance enhancers does it of their own free will. Other reasons include the prevention of aggressive behavior because some steroids can promote aggression and in a contact sport this could lead to fatal injuries to the opponent. Also the effect performance enhancers has on fair play, taking a substance that gives you an unfair advantage is pure and simple cheating. The use of drugs as an aid in sports dates back to ancient times, where mushrooms and herbs were used by the Greeks and Romans to enhance performance. In the 19th century these mushrooms and herbs were substituted for alcohol, opium and caffeine. In the present day there is a much larger cocktail of drugs used including; anabolic agents, ?2-agonists, diuretics, stimulants, narcotics and beta blockers to mention a few. The aim of this dissertation is to look into the classes of drugs used in the sporting world, how they affect the body, how they work in the body on a cellular level, how athletes are tested for drugs and the side effects of short and long term use. Examples of drugs used Androgenic anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of the male hormone Testosterone, in sports the more common steroids are Stanozolol (aka Stromba) and Nandrolone (aka Deca-Durabolin). WADA (world anti-doping agency) holds a list of all banned steroids from the major sporting organizations some of the oral administered steroids that are banned include Anadrol (oxymetholone), Oxandrin (oxandrolone) and Dianabol (methandrostenolone). Banned injectable steroids include Durabolin (nandrolone phenpropionate), Depo-Testosterone (testosterone cypionate), Equipoise (boldenone undecylenate). Stromba can come in the form of a 50mg/ml injection or a 5mg tablet where Nandrolone comes in a 2ml vial with a dosage of 100mg/ml, the effective dose is 250 1500 mg per week. These drugs when taken increase protein synthesis and enhance muscle development, when used in the medical world these drugs can decrease the itching of chronic biliary obstruction and they are used in the therapy of some aplastic anaemias. Steroids can also be used to compensate for people who can produce testosterone or can produce enough of it for their body to function normally, this is a symptom of 47, XXY males (Klinefelters syndrome).ii In sports the enhanced muscle development side of steroids is more important. It is more likely to observe this type of drug use in athletes who will be required to use a lot of strength, ie weight lifters, shot putters, discus throwers etc in the Olympics. The use of these drugs may also be observed in sports such as rugby and baseball. Normally ?2-agonists are used in the treatment of asthma by acting as a bronchodilator, which requires stimulation of ?2 adrenoceptors. Athletes exploit the ability of these drugs to dilate the airways and use ?2-agonists in order to gain advantage over the competition by being able to take deeper breaths than normal. This was mostly seen in swimming events where the athlete could stay under water longer and reduce resistance while swimming. Some ?2-agonists are still permitted for use by the International Olympic Charter (IOC)iii, the permited drugs are salbutamol, terbutaline, formoterol and salmeterol. However if an athlete is to take one of these drugs they must wait until the initial effects of the drug have passed before competing. This drug is normally taken orally through use of an inhaler. Narcotics are one of the earliest drugs used in medicine for pain relief; they work by acting on the brain to reduce the amount of pain felt. This is useful to athletes who maybe injured to allow themselves to force their bodies back into training. This is very risky, as forcing training upon an injured body can lead to further injury.iv Narcotics can be administered through many different methods, depending on what drug it is. Cocaine is normally inhaled through the nose, heroin is normally injected into a vein and morphine can be administered through IV drip or taken in the form of a tablet. The benefit of this class of drug is it allows the athlete to push themselves further, through what is known as the pain threshold. The pain threshold is like a wall that athletes will hit while training vigorously for extended periods of time, this wall is often difficult to overcome and the use of narcotics aids in this battle. This class of drug doesnt just include illegal drugs such as hero in or cocaine but also includes morphine, and although mild, codeine. Diuretics which include Frusimide, chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide come in a tablet form and can prevent the reabsorption of water from the kidneys, this is used in the medical world as treatment for heart failure and hypertension, and it can also be used in lower concentrations to reduce blood pressure. Diuretics are controlled in sports due to their ability to remove water from the body; this type of drug is mostly beneficial to athletes who are trying to make a weight class, ie boxing. If an athlete is meant to be in a middle class weight group and looses water to put him in a light weight class it gives him an unfair advantage over who he may be fighting. Diuretics can also be used to mask the effect anabolic steroids have on the body, as these steroids can cause the body to retain water. Diuretics have also been taken to try and cover drug usage when tests are carried out, as diuretics can control the excretion of water from the body they have been taken to try and dilute the concentration of other drugs in urine.v Beta-blockers are a primary therapeutic use in the fight against cardiovascular disease, but it was also found during treatment that these medicines stopped muscle tremors.vi This is of benefit to the sports of professional archery or shooting in the pentathlon and can also be used in snooker. The down side to this is the disadvantage it holds in activates that exert the body like long distance running, so to combat the use of beta-blocker so the officials of the pentathlon held the long distance running and shooting on the same day. However the athletes then started using beta-blockers with a shorter half life. Discussion The drugs used in sport all work to the same purpose which is to enhance ones performance in a specific event through non-natural means. Although all the drugs described work towards the same goal, they each work differently in the body on a cellular receptor level. In this section I will describe and discuss the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of some of these drugs. I will also look at the desired effects on the body and the unwanted effects as well as metabolism of drugs. Pharmacokinetics deals with the half life of drugs in the body, the metabolism and excretion of drugs from the body. Pharmacodynamics is how the drug produces its response, the receptors involved and where they may be located in the cell and what organs are affected by the drug in question. Pharmacokinetics The body is a very effective tool when it comes to transforming active chemicals into inactive ones. This process is done through the use of enzymes normally produced by the cells of the liver, but some other cells throughout the body are also used for metabolism. In relation to this topic metabolism is simple changes to an active chemical or drug into a safe metabolite which can then be excreted from the body.vii However metabolism does not always work this way, sometimes an active compound can be metabolized into another active compound which the same pharmacological effect with higher or lower potency or a completely different pharmacological effect. An active compound may also be changed into a toxic metabolite or an inactive drug can be activated. Drugs can be eliminated from the body through many means. The compounds can be passes through urine from the kidneys or in faeces from the rectum. They can also be passed from the bodys salivary glands as saliva, from the sweat glands, the pulmonary epithelium as exhaled gasses and from mammary glands in the form of mammary milk. The half life of a drug is the time taken for the concentration of a drug in your system to half; the half life varies from drug to drug. Normally a drug is taken at regular intervals to keep its concentration in the therapeutic level. Athletes however may only take one dose of the drug for their upcoming event. Pharmacodynamics Anabolic steroids bind to androgen receptors found in the prostate, skeletal muscle, the liver and the CNS. The highest expression level was observed in the prostate, adrenal gland and epididermis which were determined by real-time PCR reactions.viii The androgen receptors are located in the cytoplasm of a cell, which is why steroids have to be soluble compounds. Once testosterone or DHT binds to a receptor it is translocated to the nucleus. Androgen receptors are directly linked to the regulation of gene transcription, when a receptor is stimulated by testosterone it produces primary male characteristics by activating hormones in the wolffian duct. Wolffian ducts are embryonic structures which form the male internal genitalia.ix The secondary male characteristics such as hair follicles are a response to DHT binding to the androgen receptor; DHT is produced when 5-alpha-reductase acts on testosterone. One of the more common side effects of this drug is the inhibition of your own hormones. If more of a hormone is introduced into your body it will cause your body to react and produce less of the hormone. Other side effects include not being able to perform sexually, steroids can lead to an increase in LDLs (bad cholesterol), an increase in estrogen has also been observed which can lead to the development of breast tissue in men and steroids can also have a damaging effect on the liver. ?2-agonists as the name suggest work on ?2 adrenoceptors which are located on the cell membrane. When a ?2-agonist binds to a ?2 adrenoceptor it causes smooth muscle relaxation which in asthma sufferers dilates the airways and helps them to breathe normally, in athletes this allows them to take deeper breaths and inhale more oxygen which increases stamina and reduces fatigue. The major side effect from ?2-agonists is cardiac arrhythmia, this is due to an increased myocardial oxygen demand, ?2-agonists can also lead to angina in patients with coronary artery disease and tremors have also been observed. Narcotics are classed as opioids, which are any drug that produces morphine-like-effects, and bind to opioid receptors. Opioid recrptors are linked through G-proteins to inhibition of adenylate cyclase and facilitate the opening of Potassium channels which causes hyperpolarisation. This binding also inhibits the opening of calcium channels which inhibits transmitter release. The side effects of these drugs include respiratory depression, euphoria, sedation and dependence. There are three subcategories of opioid receptors, , ? and ? receptors. Pure opioid drugs have more of an affinity for receptors; this binding is what produces the euphoric effect of opioid drugs.xThe opioid receptors can be found both presynaptically and postsynaptically depending on the cell type. Receptors are mostly presynaptic in the periaqueductal grey region of the brain. These receptors can also be found in layers of the cerebral cortex and the intestinal tract. Diuretics are divided into two categories; loop diuretics which are of the most powerful and distal tubule diuretics. Normally less than 1% of sodium that is taken into the body is excreted but the use of loop diuretics causes fifteen to twenty percent of filtered sodium to be excreted with copious amounts of urine. Loop diuretics work by inhibiting sodium, potassium and chloride co-transporters in the thick ascending loop and increase potassium and calcium loss.xi The unwanted effects of this include dehydration and hypokalaemia (defined as a potassium level of less than 3.5 mEq/l). Beta-blockers attach to ? adrenoceptors on cells of the heart and produce no response in the cell. The body normally responds to stress by releasing lots of adrenaline which activates the bodies fight or flight response which is normally useful in the cases of being chased by a bear. Some athletes however have to keep their cool and take beta-blockers to stop this response from occurring.xii Athletes that require a steady hand for accurate aim in archery may be persuaded to take these. The undesired effects of this type of drug is it disallows your heart rate to increase, so if beta-blockers are taken before a race blood wont circulate oxygen around the body fast enough to maintain a fast pace. Conclusion From my research I can understand why some athletes may take performance enhancing drugs but I am not certain the short term gain outweighs the long term loss. Boxers who are a tiny bit heavy and have to go into a tougher weight class are understandably scared; they will be among the lightest in their class going up against bigger guys, where if they use diuretics and drop some water they become the bigger guys in a lower weight class. For some athletes they may be getting on in their career and want to end it with a win so they cheat in order to finish their career on a high. Athletes at the start of their career are out of their minds, to put it politely, to use these drugs because they have a whole career ahead of them to work on weakness in a natural way and better themselves each year until they achieve their victory. Is it not better to work hard at something and reap more self satisfaction knowing that you have trained hard and achieved your goal of your own doing without damaging your body, than to win a hollow victory through the use of drugs and then be disgraced when tests come back positive for drug use. All in all I think drugs should stay where they belong, in the hospitals where they are of most benefit to society. i World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) constitutive instrument of foundation, 1999, lausanne (www.wada-ama.org) ii Hormonal studies in klinefelters syndrome august 1974, C. Wang, H.W.G. Baker, D.M. DEKrester, B, Hudson iii International Olympic Charter against doping in sports, medical commission, IOC 1990 iv Drugs in sport fourth edition, 2005, David R. Mottram v The influence of diuretics on excretion and metabolism of doping agents, 1986, Delbeke FT, Debackere M vi Heart failure reviews, pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of beta-blockers in heart failure volume 9/issue 2 April 2004 , Springer Netherlands vii Drugs and the human body fifth edition 1996, Ken Liska viii The androgen receptor: a mediator of diverse response, 1996, Keller ET, Ershler WB, Chang C [pubmed] ix Regulation of wolffian duct development, 2007, Hannema SE, Hughes IA [pubmed] x A primer of drug action, A comprehensive guide to actions, uses and side effects of psychoactive drugs eleventh edition, 2007, Robert M. Julian, Clair D. Advokat, Joseph E. Comaty xi Rang and Dales pharmacology sixth edition, 2007, H.P. Rang, M. Maureen Dale, James M. Ritter xii Pharmacology fifth edition, 2003, H.P. Rang, M.M. Dale, J.M. Ritter, P.K. Moore