Sport

The Mexican people are known to adopt the game of soccer as their cultural heritage and they have great importance of this game. Psychologically these Mexican immigrants are deeply attached with soccer as they made it their cultural and sociological baggage towards the communities as Salinas, Watsonville and Gonzalez. It is being said by many people that soccer is a recent sport in the United States but Mexican people are practicing it since 30 years and they kept it in a very organized and well structured form. These immigrants brought their cultural practice of soccer from California up to many other communities. The transformation of this practice basically started from the Mexican people. The people of Salinas annually celebrate a soccer league to remind this practice.

The major objective of this annual league is not only to celebrate and have fun  enjoyment but they have a perspective of socializing the people attached and included to their specific ethnic group. It is very much amazing that the people of Salinas love to interact with their social agents such as their family, peers and relatives and they suppose and utilize this annual league of soccer as the only source of interaction with each other. In this way these people have given a very strong concept to the game of soccer and for them soccer is not only a game but it also has a traditional and cultural heritage that they are following since several years. This soccer league is conducted to strongly promote their culture. They utilize this game in the process of acculturation for them. From the year of 1970 soccer game got more and more popularity and fame in Salinas. These people manage and monitor their soccer community in a very well structured form and all issues are discussed and solved with ease and soft negotiations. The charisma for this game let many younger boys to develop their own professional teams to participate I nthe annual soccer league. Later on time by time soccer became an important activity in the Salinas. As far as symbolic interaction is concerned, soccer has become a symbol of culture for Mexican people from their homeland. It is quite much visible that the most soccer teams that are professional are sponsored by private business or agribusiness companies.  

The Mexican immigrants when moved to United States they created their own values, culture, norms and modified communities and also brought the tradition of soccer along with them due to the fact that the Mexican immigrants were basically farmers in occupation and are consistently contributing indirectly toward the development of this game. These great Mexican people have collectively formed their practices and behaviors towards soccer as they had in their homeland and completely adapted their related communities with a great influence of soccer in United States. Mexican people produced many professional players in the game of soccer and they gained fame too. This culture of Mexican people is now very well developed. They still organize several soccer leagues that are highly paid by the sponsors. These matches are properly broadcasted via satellite channels to the whole world of sports.

This is the only game that can even paralyze them in a way because they dont take soccer as a game but it worth a lot to them because of the cultural and sociological significance attached between them. 90 of the population is now a fan of soccer. Soccer players like Edoardo Isella and Melvin Brown made the Afro-Mexican community more and more famous in the world of soccer. In conclusion the Mexican people supported their national game as much as they can and they proved that if any game has given concept of sociological or cultural heritage then they know it very well how to live within it and how to respect it.

There are two classes of drugs commonly known as steroid corticosteroids and anabolic-androgenic. Corticosteroids, e.g. cortisone, are typically prescribed by doctors to help control body inflammation. They are usually used to control lupus and asthma, and are different from anabolic steroids that get a lot of media attention due to their widespread usage by athletes and bodybuilders (Dowshen, 2007). Anabolic steroids are used to promote anabolic effects, i.e. skeletal-muscle growth and androgenic effects male sexual characteristics development in males as well as females. They help in muscle-building, performance-enhancement and improvement of a persons appearance. These drugs anabolic effects help retain body protein, which is necessary for muscle building (Volkow, 2006). In the US, it is illegal to use the drugs without prescription (Dowshen, 2007). Steroid use poses many dangers to their users, but their dangers are considered much greater for women than for men because the androgens they contain are usually more foreign than their bodies. Thus, side effects are more likely to appear in women (Tolliver, 2004). Considering the various adverse effects of steroids, there is need for stricter professional policies and concentrated education regarding the use of steroids.

A Brief History of steroids
It was in the late 1930s that steroids were first developed principally to treat hypogonadism, a condition involving underproduction of testosterone (responsible for normal growth and development and also for sexual functioning) by the testes. These compounds main medical uses are treatment of delayed puberty, some impotence types, HIV-infection-caused body wasting, etc. It was in the 1930s when scientists found out that steroids were capable of facilitating skeletal muscle growth in animals in the laboratory, a discovery that led to steroid abuse by weightlifters and bodybuilders and later on, by other athletes in various sports. Steroid is now so widely abused in athletics, to the extent of affecting the results of contests (NIDA, 2010).

The Wonder Girls
Sports event in the world have continued to be affected by the use of steroids by sportspeople. When East Germanys Swim Team of 1976 Olympics suddenly dominated swimming, the world was stunned. The teams medals doubled the previous Olympics with the womens swim team dominating by scooping eleven out of the thirteen gold medals in the swimming sport and went on to dominate the sport for close to twenty years. These women were named the Wonder Girls. However, when the Berlin Wall fell, it was revealed that these women were being given steroids but were made to believe they were only vitamins. The womens team members would be given up to thirty pills of steroid every day, besides receiving injections from their trainers and coaches. The Official Olympic Committee never takes athletes steroid use lightly. Fair play is something athletes, audiences and judges in the Olympics really value. The World Anti-Doping Agencys mission statement is against doping which is, as it clearly affirms, fundamentally against the ethos of the spirit of the Olympic Games the fair play (Naimzadeh, 2010).

Benefits of and Myths about Steroid Usage
These days, many people are willingly taking great risk in order to excel in different sports and improve performance in their respective jobs. In todays society too, image has become of great importance to some people, hence the popularity if steroids. Despite the illegality of steroid usage and their banning by several sports authorities and governing bodies, its abuse is still of great concern (Tolliver, 2004).

As is the case with every other controversial issue, the steroid case has two sides to it. There are those against steroid use and who generally think them to be life-threatening and cheating. On the other hand are those who believe that their use by healthy adults is neither unhealthy nor cheating. All in all, the media rarely highlights the latter group of people (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

Medical doctors sometimes prescribe steroids, in order to treat patients with specific mostly rare disorders, and the drugs are administered to patients in doses as low as possible in order to minimize their harmful side effects (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

Some benefits of using steroids are increased confidence, libido and sex drive, increased energy and aggressiveness, decreased body fat, increased training effectiveness and enhanced recovery rate (Robinson, 2010). Some athletes use steroids so as to enhance their running speed, weight-lifting ability, stamina amongst other reasons. Body builders, cyclists, and runners are some of the sportspeople who use steroids, most of the times illegally (Dowshen, 2007). Steroids are also used by people in occupations calling for a lot of physical strength like construction workers, body guards, and law-enforcement officers. It is also believed that steroids reduce the time of recovery between work-outs, making it possible to train harder, thereby improving physical strength and stamina. However, it is not only athletes who use steroids other people use them to increase their stamina, muscle size, strength, and decrease body fat in the hope of improving personal appearance (Tolliver, 2004).

People are always looking for quick fixes. The truth is that using steroids can never help change a bodys composition quickly hard work and maintenance of healthy lifestyle is required in order to improve body appearance. Only with healthy diets, sleep schedules, work-outs, and consistency will steroids be of any use. Also, many people believe that oral steroids are liver-toxic, and therefore using them is riskier than using inject-able steroids. There are, however, unsafe and safe steroids in both categories (RoidReport, 2010).

Negative Effects of Steroids
The abuse of steroids is associated with many adverse side-effects, ranging from the physically unattractiveness like acne to life-threatening ones like liver cancer and heart attacks. Most of these effects are reversible if abusers cease steroid abuse, while some of them are permanent (SteroidAbuse, 2010). Most of the data on steroids long-term effects is derived from case reports as opposed to formal-epidemiological studies. Animal-study derived data seem to support the possibility that case reports life-threatening incidences seem low, although it may be due to the side-effects being under-reported or under-recognized. One study involving mice established that when exposed to a fifth of their whole life-span to doses of steroids, compared to athletes, mice were subjected to pre-mature deaths (NIDA, 2000).

Steroids usually affect women in different ways than men, in some instances, dramatically so. Women using steroids can also experience many of the risky effects experienced by men, like high-cholesterol, liver damage, and high blood-pressure. Like men, women can also experience violent outbursts or increased aggressiveness, also called roid rage. However, many women get characteristics that are typically male like balding, voice-deepening, growth of facial hair, body hair, and skin-coarsening (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

Effects in the Hormonal system
Steroids cause masculine female body, increase in breast size and decrease in body fat, coarsening of the skin, voice-deepening, clitoris enlargement, heightened libido, and confused, irregular menstrual cycles (NIDA, 2000). Other traits may include shrinking breasts, baldness, anxiety, depression, and high levels of stress. Also, the relationship between steroids and aggressiveness has been reported (SteroidAbuse, 2010). Some women in the Wonder Girls list have reported having birth defects as well as gynecological problems  including multiple miscarriages (Naimzadeh, 2010). Women may also experience excessive growth of their body hair and loss of scalp hair. If steroids are continually administered, some of the effects may become permanent (NIDA, 2000).

Steroid abuse also has long-term effects on the brains neurological pathways, effects that can be permanent depending on the age they are taken. For instance, steroid abuse by teenagers has an effect on serotonin production by the brain. Serotonin is the enzyme linked with the sense of happiness or well-being. Tampering serotonin may cause permanent increase in users depressionaggression. In women, it can also cause significantly lower progesteroneestrogen levels, and probably upset of the female chemistrys delicate balance and induction of severe anxietydepression (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

Acne
Acne onset is one of the most common effects and in case of adolescents who already have acne, more severe acne cases may occur (NIDA, 2000).  Steroids enlarge skins sebaceous glands, causing increased oil or sebum production, which in effect leads to formation of plug, serving as bacterias food. Normal hormones reach peaks at puberty, causing development of pubic and armpit hair (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

Effects in the Musculoskeletal System
Rise in testosterone (as well as other sex-hormone) levels may trigger the pubertyadolescence growth spurt. Consequently, when they reach specific levels, these hormones send signals to halt growth of the bones. When the bone-growth ceases pre-maturely, a person remains shorter than they ought to have been (NIDA, 2000).

Injury of Ligaments and Joints
Increase in the mass and strength of muscles increase strain too much on ligaments whose increase is not stimulated by steroid use  making it hard for them to support the newly-gained muscle strength. This may lead to injury of the ligaments (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

High Blood-pressure
Steroid abuse is associated with cardiovascular diseases like strokes and heart attacks, even in young athletes below thirty years (NIDA, 2000). Blood pressure occurs when steroid intake compels the body to keep hold of more salt and water, instead of washing it out like usual. Steroids also lead to increased hematocrit levels and red-blood-cell count, causing higher blood-pressure. The long-term high blood-pressures effects cause heart-enlargement and eventual heart failure. Small bulges or aneurysms in blood-vessels, aorta, brain, intestines and legs can form, causing the spleen. The kidneys blood vessels can narrow, causing kidney failure. Arteries all over the body can become hard faster, particularly in the brain, kidneys, heart, and legs, causing heart attack, stroke, kidney failure or leg-amputation. The eyes blood vessels can burst and bleed, causing vision changes or even blindness (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

The Liver
The abuse of steroids is also linked to liver tumors and peliosis hepatis, a very rare condition involving formation of blood-filled cysts in livers. The cysts and the tumors sometimes rupture, leading to internal bleeding (NIDA, 2000). These cysts have also been linked to liver-failure, because if steroid use is discontinued, regression or even disappearance of the cysts has been reported. Nevertheless, the cysts can cause tumors. Till the occurrence of deadly abdominal hemorrhage, the tumors are less manifest in the course of steroid use (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

High Cholesterol Levels
High blood-pressure can also result from high levels of bad cholesterol and low levels of good cholesterol. A heart attack can result if blood fails to reach the heart or even stroke, if blood fails to reach the brain (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

HIV Infection
HIV Infection is among the deadliest side-effects of steroid use, caused by a combination of needle sharing and heightened libido function and sex-drive especially adolescents and young adults who are often weak decision-makers besides being highly susceptible to peer-pressure (SteroidAbuse, 2010).

Steroid Use by Adolescents and Teenagers
Over fifty percent high school students take part in athletics, and they are faced with pressure for success and high-level performance. Thus, winning is given more importance than development of well-adjusted athletes, often translating into steroid abuse. Some Utah High School students were arrested traveling in a steroid-loaded van Texas and Arizona high school teams have admitted to using steroids. These are indicators that imperative action is needed to curb steroid use by teenagers (Goldberg, 2005).

In 2005, NIDA reported that over a half-million 8th grade and 10th grade students were using steroids, with an even increasing high-school seniors numbers saying that they did not think steroids are risky (NIDA, 2005). The Monitoring the Future Survey, conducted annually throughout the United States, is used to assess the use of drugs among 8th to 12th grade students in the country. Steroid use was stable among all the grades from the year 2007 to the year 2008 a significant drop in steroid use since 2001 for about all periods of prevalence (life time, past year, past month use) among all the grades surveyed, with the exception of past-month use among the 12th grade students, which has been stable. Higher usage rates among males have been reported time and again as compared to the usage rates among females. In the year 2008, 2.5 of males in the 12th grade versus 0.6 of females in the same grade during the past-year use were reported (NIDA, 2009).

Despite the much focused scrutiny of steroid usage among certain professional athletes, and police officers, the greatest majority of the drug users are in high schools. In 2004, a report by Centers for Disease Control, reported that over 800 000 students in high schools had used steroids. Also, due to the lack of drug prevention focus on steroid use among the youth, the young student athletes are exposed to steroid use at a particularly vulnerable age. Steroid use among teenagers originates from effects of high-profile steroid-abusing role model athletes, media and gender pressures. For teenage females, the desire to become thin, compounded by their sports needs, lead to the use of steroids (Goldberg, 2005).

Testing for Steroids
In the U.S., there has been media hype regarding steroid testing, because the use of un-prescribed steroids is illegal and also because, most sports organizations consider their usage as cheating.  The Drug Free Sports Act calls for the drugs testing in all professional sports like the NBA, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the NHL, the NFL, the Arena Football League, etc. The act requires a five-times-a-year test for each athlete in all these minimum of five times per year on a random schedule (Steroid-Abuse, 2010). The tests are supposed to look for all substances determined as prohibited substances by the World Anti-doping Agency besides any other substances established as performance-enhancing. According to the act, positive-testing athletes are suspended from playing for a minimum of a half-season. Second and third positive-tests result in expulsion from the respective sports, besides the payment as penalties for time lost. Steroid testing is not just for adults either. High schools in the country are instituting random steroid tests so as to stipulate athletic codes for their athletes. Student athletes who qualify for state championship sporting events are subjected to random tests with those testing positive getting one-year suspensions. Although some individual schools do have standard policies on drug testing, many do not include steroid testing in the drug tests (Steroid-Abuse, 2010).

Discussion and Conclusion
Scare tactics, adult lectures and informational pamphlets are not suitable for deterring students from using steroid, because high-school students do not find lectures enjoyable, rarely read pamphlets besides often feeling invulnerable. An efficient prevention program would call for the separation of boys and girls, since their risks and protective factors are different. Also, the information as well as the discussions should be peer-led, because teens seem to listen to their peers, and they should take place where the students work collectively and have common goals. Another thing is that there has to be older and younger students the older students to serve as the role models for the younger students. The instructors should be individuals the students respect, both in the classroom and out (Goldberg, 2005).

NIDA-funded ATLAS, young mens program and ATHENA, young womens program were born. Both programs are team-centered, with student-athletes performing most of the teaching under the coachs facilitation. The programs offer strength-training and healthy nutrition as alternatives for the performance-enhancing drugs including steroids whereas cutting the risk factors promoting alcohol use and other prohibited substances that could harm performance sport. The activities and the messages are clear and adapted for each gender. These programs are not only successful, but also really enjoyable to the students.  Schools in 29 states and even Puerto Rico are using these programs, too (Goldberg, 2005).

The alternative programs approach is also another method of preventing youths from steroid and other performance-enhancing substances. This method of approach is founded on the basis that involvement of high-risk youth in alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse in their alternative pro-social activities would take up much of their leisure time, allowing them to befriend peers who are more social (Goldberg, 2005). There is a connection between difficult-temperament, sensation or thrill-seeking children and drug abuse in adolescence. Therefore, many popular alternative programs are challenge initiatives or experiential education programs involving mountain climbing, rappelling, wilderness experience, ropes courses, and rafting. These activities include elements like promoting knowledge and skills, as well as attitudes supporting youth to refrain from substance abuse, occupying youths free time, community service providing involvement in pro-social activities, opportunities to positively interact with peers, adult supervision and positive-relationship development with adults the programs do not include direct drug-related education (Goldberg, 2005).

Activities involving things like sports, entertainment, extracurricular, social, and vocational activities have been associated with increase in alcohol and drug abuse, while activities which are religious and academic as well as active hobbies have been associated with decrease in substance abuse. One major thing to consider when parents, guardians and all relevant people are selecting the alternative activity types to engage in is to consider the role models as the to counsel and encourage the youth (Kumpfer, 2008).

The government and its relevant authorities, sports organizations and sports authorities should also ensure there are stricter rules concerning steroid use in sporting events, by conducting mandatory tests and penalties to those involved in steroid abuse.

Although steroid use proponents laud the benefits of steroids on muscular development and improvement of athletic performance, it will be hard for well informed individuals to deny the potential risks of steroid use.

Life is a battlefield, as the saying goes, and we highly recognize individuals who have proven their skill and leadership in the face of great adversity. These people paced the war rooms of the world to strategize a means of attack to attain their goals. They raised their hands to call on their men and women, inspiring them through words of poetry or of ferocity, to come with them and fight, whether in the frontline, in the boardrooms, or in the sports arenas. This paper is an assessment of two famous leaders capacities, and how they rallied their people towards success, in the hopes that in the process we can further our understanding of what truly makes a leader.

One great leader, who has been the subject of many treatises on leadership and military strategies and whose name has been immortalized in history books, is General George S. Patton, Jr., arguably the most famous World War II American general of all time. Few could compare to his military genius and to his equally infamous, larger-than-life personality. Also known under the moniker Blood and Guts, Patton was a decorated Olympian and an exemplary swordsman, who in his earlier years became the youngest Master of Arms and led the development of improved military sword techniques. During World War II, he commanded troops to triumph in North Africa and Sicily, but his most glorious victories were in Germany where his army of 540,000, known for their skill and ferociousness, sliced through anxious German military defences and captured critical areas for the Allied Forces. Now, Pattons decisive strategies and military achievements are being taught and analyzed, not just in military academies, but also in business schools where it has become the foundation of modern leadership principles.

Another remarkable leader who has fought in the different battleground of sports is University of Tennessee womens basketball team coach Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in all of basketball history. Struggling at first with the small resources given to the womens team compared to the mens, Summitt pushed her team to 1000 victories, 8 national championships, and a 100 percent graduation rate of student athletes. In a sport dominated by men, she rose as one of the greatest coaches in the history of American basketball. Shes also come to write books about her achievements to teach people values she has gained during the length of her career.

It has been said that these two great leaders share similar traits. Patton was an in your face kind of leader, someone who doesnt tolerate incompetence. He led with an iron fist and expected his men to follow his orders no matter what the cost. This might seem difficult in the context of war, but Patton managed to instil in his men a sense of loyalty ingrained in their conditioned fear of him, a fear that was stronger than that of death. In the same vein, Donald Zauderer sees Summitt as a tough disciplinarian, to which players are challenged to endure her demanding protocol (2006, p. 21). In her self-help autobiography Raise the Roof, she mentions that she has always portrayed a take-charge attitude and views the issue of control seriously.
She says, Ive always seen the movements of players on a basketball court as an extension of myself, like puppets on a string. Their failures were my fault, their successes my responsibility. (Summitt 1998, p. 3). But despite this strict method, Patton and Summitts people know that such rigorous training and harsh procedures are vital keys to their immediate success. The two leaders made it known that these processes could make each individual a fundamental element for the success of their plans. Patton was known to make masterful speeches that would ignite the passions of his soldiers. He was quoted saying that, The soldier is the army. No army is better than its soldiers (Axelrod, 1999). Like Patton, Summitt deems to understand her players individually and make them understand that the whole will not be able to function without their complete commitment to the team. She hopes to instil the idea that the team is one big family, and that every persons effort is geared towards the success of the whole.

Though they might share the same principles, like tough leadership, the difference between these two leaders with seemingly similar styles lie ultimately in the way by which they conduct the management of their groups. Patton is what one would call an autocrat, a leader who makes the decisions alone and without any reference to anyone. He might at times seek the advice of his lieutenants, but the definitive decision rests solely on his shoulders. He was at times bordering on dictatorial and brutal, as publicized by one incident wherein he slapped a bedridden soldier for crying, calling him a coward and chiding him to return to the battlefield so he can show his worth. This incident almost ended Pattons career after Eisenhower discharged him from his infantry. Pioneering psychologist Kurt Lewin, who categorized the different leadership styles, said that this approach actually works better for situations wherein time prohibits the need for a group decision-making. As a field general, Patton sees war time action that requires quick decision making lest the army suffer a major military blow.

Summitt on the other hand sees action in the basketball court, wherein teams can have month-long preparations for big games. We can view her approach as more participative or democratic, seeking to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each of her players and learning how each can deliver in their games. In this sense, she asks the opinions of each of her players on how they can individually contribute to the play as a whole. Though she at times gets off on her players, she always jots down notes that all basically say, Dont let me break your spirit. Im only trying to help you. I care about you. I want your best. Please, dont take it personally. (Zauderer 2006, p. 24) These notes show the sincere human connection that Summitt wishes to have with her team and, at the same time, put her criticisms into perspective. She also mentions these methods in Raise the Roof, stating that writing down notes is an effective way to communicate our the thoughts that we wish to share, whether they thoughts of concern or encouragement (1998).

If one would look at their styles according to the much-acclaimed self-help bible The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, one would see that both employ a lot of the tenets found in the book. One that is common to both is their belief in being proactive. Patton believed in facing any problem head-on. He usually said, When in doubt, attack (Pryor 2005, p. 5). He understood that it is better to go forward than retreat because in this process your enemies wont find you stuck in a foxhole. Summitt, too, is no stranger to adversity. As previously mentioned, when she started as coach for the Lady Vols, the team had such few resources and were considered a second-class sports team. She pushed on, facing this problem head-on, and now, finds herself with an award-winning team and all the funds that she can have to give her team the best. They also saw the importance of the whole in order to attain success and that to get there the machine should be well-oiled. Summitt trains her team rigorously because she wants every player to be as competent as the next so that as a whole they will be unstoppable. In a different perspective, Patton created an image of his infantry that evoked fear from his enemies and, at the same time, trained them to be the fighting machine that they were. Patton also saw the importance of communication in being an effective leader. He valued the ability to communicate and explain orders. In his arena this is crucial because time is always a big enemy in the battle field. Putting priorities in order was also a big factor in Summitts leadership style. She always told her players that they should always put their education first because the basketball aspect of their life will not always be permanent. By pushing her players to study besides just train, she managed to have all her players, since the beginning of her career as coach, graduate from college.

Weve read about the exploits of these two great examples of leaders, and knowing of their triumphs we cannot help but try to adapt it into our own lives. In essence, their qualities do not just make of us better leaders, but also more effective people. Applying these into our own lives, we can triumph in our own battlefields.

In the past few decades, there has been a major shift in human resources management in line with new paradigms in labor force management. Human resources management studies have revealed that employees are the most important asset for any organization as they are more dynamic and influential in productivity compared to physical assets such as machinery. In a health care organization, human resources management strategies influences quality of services delivered to patients and can be linked to patient satisfaction. Strategic human resources strategies are important for healthcare organizations to deliver high quality services.  Studies have linked the quality of human resources management in hospitals with patient satisfaction (Kharti, Jack, McKune and Brewer, 2006). This implies that hospitals with prudent human resources management strategies are likely to fulfill the needs of patients compared to hospitals without such strategies.

Fault in human resources management in a healthcare organization results to problems patient satisfaction. This can be clearly illustrated from a survey that was carried out in Fayetteville VA hospital that was ranked as one of the worst  in job satisfaction in 2009 (Ramsey, 2009).  A survey that was carried out among patients and employees in the hospital rated it lower than other seven counterparts VA hospitals operating in North Carolina and Virginia. The validity of the surveys can be ascertained by the fact that results were reflected in two recent government surveys of the hospital.

Fayetteville VA Medical Center serves veterans in the region. Fayetteville VA Medical Center is a Clinical Core Level III facility with 90 beds and 69 beds for long-term care units. It serves a population of about 155,000 people in North Carolina with two community-based outpatient clines one in Jacksonville and the other in Wilmington. However, the hospital facility does not handle specialized medical conditions and therefore veterans seeking specialized medical care have to be referred to Durham VAMC or to other facilities.  This has been considered to be one of the factors that rate the hospital low among other healthcare facilities in the area. However, the effectiveness of the hospital in delivery of healthcare care has been constrained by human resources management issues that have created unmotivated workforce (Ramsey, 2009).

Fayetteville VA Medical Center has experienced high employee turnover in the recent past owing to a number of human resources issues.  In the survey, it was revealed that every year, most employees leave the hospital to other healthcare organizations because of a number of reasons (Ramsey, 2009). This has affected the quality of healthcare service delivered in the hospital and patients are not satisfied with the quality of care they receive.

In the survey, it was revealed that veteran adocates, employees, and patients in general are more frustrated with the results of the survey, which paints a grim picture of the hospitals ability to provide medical services to its clients. However, the problem and Fayetteville VA Medical Center should not be looked merely on basis of the results of the survey but rather the implications and reflections of the survey.  It is evident that the problem with Fayetteville VA Medical Center is a human resources problem that emanates from low morale in the workforce.

In the survey, the hospital ranked lower marks in 12 of the 13 categories that had been included (Ramsey, 2009).  Although low marks sometimes may not be translated to quality, there is a direct link between patient survey and the quality of services patients are receiving from the medical facility.  The management denied the results of the survey but obviously, it was reflection of the state of the hospital.

About 87 of the 850 employees working at Fayetteville VA Medical Center responded to the survey (Ramsey, 2009). Evidently, the most negative surveys in the questionnaire came from the employees ranging from doctors to janitors.  The lowest score from employees came in different areas like rating of promotion opportunities, relationship to the senior management and working conditions in the facility.

It is obvious that management has a hand on the issue.  The survey revealed that more employees were not satisfied with their jobs. Although management attribute this to 63  minority population who make up the staff, it is important to note that prudence in human resources management strategies are not gauged by  how  an organization takes care of the majority but how it treats the minority (Ramsey, 2009). However, senior management was also indicted in the survey.  It is therefore evident that senior management has failed in their duties to deliver employee concerns.  Management has failed in looking at the needs for employees to increase their satisfaction and lower employee turnover.  Employee satisfaction is central to effective running of any hospitals because service delivery in healthcare organization is all about human interactions.

Employees in the survey pointed out that there have been longstanding issues of favoritism and retaliation. VAs office of inspector general found that the previous director at Fayetteville VA Medical Center had preferential treatment issues that were reflected in 2004 and 2004 personnel moves (Ramsey, 2009). In the recent past, Dr. Barbara Wilson had been fired after she filed suit against the senior management with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her firing was considered a retaliatory act and other employees believe that she was given a raw deal.

The situation at Fayetteville VA Medical Center can be explained using Maslow theory of hierarchical needs. This theory outlines that employees are likely to be motivated when their low level of needs are met and hence motivated to work hard to achieve the next level (Tutor2u, 2010). In this case, employees believe that their efforts are not being appreciated and even after working hard, management is imposing preferential treatment on promotions.

Using Maslow theory, it is important for management to note that employees need to believe that their lower needs have been fulfilled to be motivated to deliver quality services (Tutor2u, 2010). From the survey, patients replied that doctors were treating them with contempt as if they were dirt.  This doctors attitude toward patients emanates from the fact that doctors do not feel the need to increase their efforts because there is no reward.  They think that their current level of needs in terms of appreciation of the competitiveness of their skills is not being appreciated and hence no need to put in more efforts to climb with ladder.

The current director of Fayetteville VA Medical Center, Triplett, argues that the hospital has taken steps to improve employee satisfaction to deal with the situation (Ramsey, 2009).  The most important step that has been taken by the facility has been setting up a new employee satisfaction committee mandated with coming up with different ways to motivate employees. To deal with the problem, the hospital needs to come up with strategies that will make employees feel more appreciated and a part of the hospital. The hospital must put in place a promotion program that will ensure that promotions are based on merits. In addition, the hospital should introduce other monetary and non-monetary programs as short and long term measures to motivate employees.

Sports is regarded as the best physical activity all over the world. It has been known as early as 4000 BC and has been developed widely. Today, there are a lot of sports activities arising that enhances ones competence, commitment, and physical capabilities. Coaches train the athletes to bring them into a standard aptitude and make them physically fit for their sport. Their training entails commitment, hardship, and discipline not only for the physiological and psychological aspects, but also for the nutritional aspect. Athletes work out and do exercises to physically train their bodies, engage in proper diet, and to maintain body nourishment such as taking in food supplements. Physical training helps athletes maintain the strength that they need to perform well at the sporting events they participate in. Having a balanced diet also helps in sustaining the athletes good body movement and to enhance their metabolism.

Athletes seem to feel intuitively that they need higher levels of protein than the average sedentary person. This intuitive feeling is backed up by their claims of the ergogenic effects of high protein diets. Perhaps, supplements that have no intrinsic effects may work for a while through the placebo effect, but eventually, they fall by the wayside and are abandoned by the majority. High protein diets are used because they work as well as a major energy source for the body. Whether athletes need to supplement their diet with extra protein depends on their goals (Wolinsky  Driskell, 2008).

Athletes use a wide range of nutritional supplements in their quest for improved performance. Even a cursory inspection of sports shops and magazines reveals the scale and diversity of supplement use. Sales figures for exotic supplements such as ginseng, inosine, colostrums, bee pollen, royal jelly, and pangamic acid, together with a wide range of vitamins and minerals (including boron, vanadium, zinc, magnesium and manganese), demonstrate that many athletes remain convinced of their effectiveness. However, the balance of the available information suggests that there is no benefit from these substances for healthy individuals consuming a normal diet. Some supplements are said to be potentially harmful in large doses, and their use should be actively discouraged (Maughan  Burke, 2002). Athletes often look for alternative nutritional supplements or substances to improve performance. Some of these substances are naturally occurring and completely legal while others are manufactured, illegal, or banned by many sporting organizations (Maughan  Burke, 2002).

The power of the placebo effect is well recognized, and athletes seem to be particularly susceptible to it. Athletes are forever searching for nutritional supplements that will give them a significant advantage over their competitors. All essential dietary components, including protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, might be considered to fall under the category of ergogenic acids since they indirectly assist performance by maintaining normal health and physiological function. However, supplementation above the level required for maintenance of health is not likely to improve exercise performance. While research supports direct benefits from compounds such as creatine, bicarbonate, and caffeine, the majority of the compounds and products targeted to athletes have not been shown to provide performance enhancements (Maughan  Burke, 2002).

Sports foods that address real nutritional needs of athletes can provide a valuable though often more expensive way for them to meet their sports nutrition goals. The most obvious examples of valuable sports foods are liquid meal supplements and sports drinks (Maughan  Burke, 2002). Aside from intense muscular activity that increases protein catabolism (breakdown) and protein use as an energy source, there should be less protein available. The less muscle athletes are going to build, a high protein diet is needed to protect the protein that will be turned into muscle by, among other things, providing another energy source for use during exercise (Wolinsky  Driskell, 2008).  The use of all sports foods and supplements needs to be balanced against expense, the risk of side effects from some ingredients, and the possibility of an inadvertent doping outcome (Maughan  Burke, 2002).

Hence, this study will determine if legal supplementation increases the overall performance of trained athletes. It will also present the usual results of professional studies regarding the beneficial effects of legal supplementation on the performance of well trained athletes so as to provide medically based information on the effects of supplements on the health status of athletes. Determining the probable cause and effect of supplementation on trained athletes may provide baseline information to young and professional athletes as well as to sport analysts and trainers about the importance of supplements. The study will be limited in some conditions due to professionalism and availability of resources. The materials and methods used in determining the effect of legal supplementation in athletes will be based on professional studies and the like.

If legal supplementation can increase athletes performance, then taking in supplements should be advised for all the athletes to help their body maintain fit.

Literature Review

Athletes often look for alternative nutrition to perform at their best (Quinn, 2008). Most athletes need the economy of maximizing lean body mass and minimizing body fat Athletes cannot afford to eat the amount of food necessary for them to have enough protein in their body since they are much focusing on the competition and recreational activities (Wolinsky  Driskell, 2008). Due to this, they have to take only moderate or low caloric diet (Wolinsky  Driskell, 2008). To be able them to increase the amount of protein, they have to plan their diets carefully and basically use protein supplements for them to afford the necessary protein for their body (Wolinsky  Driskell, 2008). On the average, for anyone involved in competitive or intense recreational sports who wants to maximize lean body mass but does not wish to gain weight or have excessive muscle hypertrophy, it is recommended that he or she should take a minimum of 1 gram of high-quality protein per pound of body weight (2.2 grams per kg) every day. This would apply to athletes who wish to stay within a certain competitive weight class or those involved in endurance events. However, athletes involved in strength events, such as Olympic field and sprint events, those in football or hockey, and those who are weightlifters, power lifters, and bodybuilders, may need even more than the recommendation to maximize body composition. For example, in sports with weight classes and in bodybuilding, it is possible that protein may well make up 50 of their daily caloric intake (Wolinsky  Driskell, 2008).

A supplement is something added to the diet, typically to make up for a nutritional deficiency. Ideally, it should be used as a substitute for eating well. Products classified as dietary supplements are not required to meet any Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards. There are no regulations that guarantee the safety or purity of something sold as a supplement (Quinn, 2008). Because supplements are something added to the diet to make up for a nutritional deficiency, before going out and buying the latest magic pill in a bottle, an athlete would be wise to evaluate his or her diet. Everything an athlete requires for energy and high performance can be acquired through a proper, balanced diet (Quinn, 2008). One of the substances that comprise a supplement is the erogenic aid, which is said to consist of substances, drugs, procedures, and even devices that are intended to improve athletic performance. Some of these substances are naturally occurring, easily available and completely legal while others are manufactured, illegal, or banned by many sporting organizations. Many athletes, coaches, politicians and fans feel the use of certain substances is unethical in sports (Quinn, 2008).

Determining which substances are regulated, however, is an area of constant debate. Many substances classified as supplements are widely marketed as health aids yet have limited research on their safety or effectiveness. Being classified as a supplement means the contents of the product and the claims on the label have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and may not have any scientific basis. In general, ergogenic acids are called performance enhancing substances (Quinn, 2008).

According to the study of Padilla in 1997, supplementation of creatine has become the common practice among competitive athletes who participate in different sports. It was stated that supplementary creatine mechanism could have potential ergogenic effects that could increase muscle creatine and phosphocreatine concentration, leading to a higher rate of ATP resynthesis, a delay in the onset of muscular fatigue, and a facilitated recovery during repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise. A critical literature review reveals that the enorgenic effects have been generally shown in subjects performing several exercise under regular conditions. The limited body of scientific data available concerning highly trained athletes performing single competition-like exercise tasks indicates that this type of population does not benefit from creatine supplementation (Padilla, 1997).

However, in the study of Colombani et al. (2004), they investigated the effects of acute L-carnitine supplementation on metabolism and performance of endurance-trained athletes during and after a marathon run. Seven male subjects were given supplements of 2 g L-carnitine 2 h before the start of a marathon run and again after 20 km of the run.  Concentration of plasma metabolites and hormones were then measured and analyzed before the run, immediately after the run, and one hour after the run. The results showed that the administration of L-carnitine was associated with a significant increase in the plasma concentration of all analyzed carnitine fraction. However, acute administration of L-carnitine did not affect the metabolism or improve the physical performance of the endurance-trained athletes during the run and did not alter their recovery.

On the other hand, Oral creatine supplementation is widely used in sportsmen and women. Side effects have been postulated, but no thorough investigations have been conducted to support these assertions. It is important to know whether long-term oral creatine supplementation has any detrimental effects on kidney function in healthy population. Creatinine, urea, and plasma albumin clearances have been determined in oral creatine consumers (10 months to 5 years) and in a control group. The research showed no statistical differences between the control group and the creatine consumer group for plasma contents and urine excretion rates for creatinine, urea, and albumin. The glomerular filtration rate, tubular reabsorption, and glomerular membrane permeability were normal in both groups (Poortman  Francaux, 1999).

In the study of Crowe, OConnor, and Lukins in 2003, they investigated the effects of six-week oral supplementation of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) and HMB combined with creatine monohydrate (HMBCr) on indices of health in highly trained athletes. Testing prior to, and immediately following, supplementation included a full blood count, plasma testosterone and cortisol, blood electrolytes, lipids, urea and glucose, sperm count and motility, and assessment of psychological state. The results revealed that there are no adverse effects on the parameters evaluated in this study taken orally by highly trained male athletes over a period of six weeks (Crowe et al., 2003).

The effect of dietary supplements on the promotion of muscle growth has also been reviewed. Nutritional strategies of overfeeding, ingesting carbohydrate or protein before and after exercise, and dietary supplementation of various nutrients have been purported to promote gains in fat-free mass during resistance training. Creatine and calcium -HMB supplementation during resistance training has been reported to increase fat-free mass in athletic and nonathletic populations. Prasterone supplementation has been reported to increase testosterone and fat-free mass in non-trained populations. However, the results are equivocal studies have yet to be conducted on athletes and prasterone is considered a banned substance by some athletic organizations. The report showed the rationale and effectiveness of nutritional strategies in promoting lean tissue accretion during resistance training (Kreider, 1999).

In the study of Clarkson (1991), she examined whether mineral supplements are necessary for athletes, and whether these supplements will enhance performance. Macronutrients and trace minerals as well as the importance of calcium supplements in bone health of the athletes were described. Also, other vitamins and minerals were tested for importance and on how athletes lack most of these needed minerals. According to Clarkson (1991), because of the low intake of chromium for the general population, there is a possibility that athletes may be deficient. Therefore, the study concluded that mineral supplementation may be important to ensure good health (Clarkson, 1991).

Another study showed a positive effect of supplementation for athletes. Vitamin status were measured in athletes including supplementation by assessing vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, A, and E status with a combined determination of dietary intake with biochemical indices in fifty five male young athletes. The study included twenty matched sedentary controls. The results showed that supplementation administered for one month improved the vitamin status of the controls as well as the athletes (Guilland et al., 1989).

The principal argument for vitamin supplementation is the assumed increased vitamin requirement of athletes. Theoretically, an increased requirement can be caused by decreased absorption by the gastrointestinal tract, increased excretion in sweat, urine, and feces, increased turnover, as well as biochemical adaptation to training. Of course, a marginal low vitamin status can simply be the consequence of a long-term inadequate intake. However, considering the RDAs, there are no indications that long-term vitamin intake among athletes is insufficient. Neither are there indications that vitamin excretion or turnover is increased in athletes. However, a marginal vitamin status, induced by inadequate vitamin intake in athletes with an adequate vitamin status, has no effect on physical working capacity. Possibly, exceptions have to be made for the use of vitamin E at high altitudes and for the use of vitamin C and multiple B-vitamin supplements (van de Beek, 1991).

Methods

A double-blinded experiment will be done with 24 trained male athletes as the subjects for the study. The subjects will then be divided into two groups Group A (12 male athletes) will receive daily supplementation of 18,000 mg of a popular nitrous oxide proprietary blend, 545 mcg of three kinds of B vitamins, 5,000 mg of L-arginine, 4,000 mg of L-Glutamine, and 20g Creatine for about 1 to 16 weeks. Group B (remaining 12 male athletes) will serve as controls. A record of maximum repetition of weight core lifts (e.g. squat, bench press, dead lift) will be observed and tracked as a test for plyometric abilities. The research will also include the observation of isometric exercises between the two groups to test whether there is an increase in muscle endurance. Sustained aerobic activities will also be observed to test the cardiovascular performance of the subjects. These factors will help to complete the overall assessment if there will be an increase on athletic performance or it will still remain the same even after having legal supplementation.

Summary and Conclusion

Supplements are said to contain ergogenic aids, defined as a performance enhancing substance. These substances are said to influence the performance capacity of athletes by directly enhancing the physiological capacity of the body. These nutritional aids help increase the recovery of speed in training as well as in the competition. These substances are necessary in re-establishing the normal function of the body system. The effects of legal supplementation in trained athletes have been measured to show if it aids in increasing their overall performance.

The subjects will be divided into two groups. The first group will be observed by having them supplemented with different amounts of minerals and vitamins. The other group will not be taking in any supplements and will serve as controls. Both groups will be assessed based on the trainings they will undergo, such as weight core lifts as well as aerobic and isometric exercises. Their activities will be tracked and recorded to assess if there will be an increase in the performance, or if it will remain the same after having the supplementation.
According to the results of most researches, supplements such as vitamins did not increase the physical working capacity of the athletes however, it is important for them to have this supplementation in order to maintain their physiological needs and capacity. Since most of the trained athletes are maintaining proper diet, it is possible that they may consume incomplete nutrition to have the energy they need so as to have a better performance. However, some studies suggest that supplementation may also influence the psychological aspect of the trained athletes and motivate them to exert more effort in their performance.

Based on the researches, it can be suggested for this research that legal supplementation may have the capacity to increase the overall capacity of the athletes, although evidences are not enough to make a solid conclusion. However, supplements help in maintaining if not increasing the energy source of trained athletes to have a better overall performance on their performance. This nutritional maintenance aids in sustaining the body systems needs to gain an extra support and energy source for the athletes.

According to the Giants Website (2009), History shows that the New York Giants moved into the Giants stadium in 1976 after using four other stadiums as their home ground 50 years prior. The stadium is located 6.9 miles from Times Square. Masteralexis, Barr and Hums (2008) acknowledge that it is owned by the Mara and Tisch Families. This paper aims to focus on the facility and all amenities associated with it including its foundation and comparison with other facilities and to determine what makes it a unique one.

The Funding Procedure
The Giants website gives the history of the funding procedure whereby the Giants are said to have signed a 30 year lease for a 75,000 seat stadium that would be constructed in the season of 1975. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority was established by an act of the state legislature on May 10, 1971 to provide funding, construct and manage the complex. It was also decided that the facility would include a stadium for football and a racetrack. It is further asserted that through legislature, this authority was granted the power to rent property, borrow money, issue bonds and conduct horse racing. The state was authorized to issue revenue received from the race-track in order to finance the complex. No expense was incurred by the tax payers. Rodriguez (2006) states that the number of taxpayers who have resisted to publicly fund sports facilities has increased. The case of the Giants Stadium construction contrasts this.

Approval
The Giants Website (2009) provides information that accounts on the process that occurred in order for the construction of the stadium to be finally approved. It is stated that the project encountered various obstacles such as legal disputes that occurred as a result of protests against the construction of the complex. There were also protests from environmentalists who expressed concerns about the wildlife and the occurrence of air pollution due to the rising number of cars.

Despite all this, the Authority managed to enable the project to succeed by hiring real estate consultants, accountants, bond attorneys and brokerage firms in order to ensure a smooth process.

Amenities provided
The Giants website (2009) states that during the 2000 season, the grass that was played on was natural whereby the grass was grown in a series of replaceable trays. In 2003, a new state of the art grass field was introduced by FieldTurf. It is said to look like real grass and it has special silica sand, cryogenic rubber and Nike Grind filling which includes sneakers. Drainage is also said to be immediate and the heat, which was a problem with other surfaces has been contained by being isolated by a rubber layer below the surface.  
There are two Sony Jombotron color video scoreboards that are located at the top of each end of the stadium that measure 32 x 24 feet. They are supported by two Daktronics Matrix black and white scoreboards in addition to four auxiliary ones.

The sound system is said to possess over 27,000 audio watts where there are 2,100 speakers in the entire system that is fed by more than 47 miles of cable.

The seating capacity is illustrated as being 80,242 whereby the Upper Tier holds a capacity of 32,832 while the Lower Tier is occupied by 34,824 people. In addition, it has a Mezzanine Tier which has a capacity of 8,961 as well as Suites that occupy 2,852 people.

Rich (2000) describes that in addition to the Stadium, there is a 75 million Brendan Byrne Arena that occupies 20,000 people. Also, after the completion of the Giants Stadium, there was an inclusion of office buildings, factories and hotels.
 
Comparison to other Stadiums
Lacayo (2009) investigates that the Dallas Cowboys Stadium has a huge number of private clubs and bars and a gigantic 600-ton JumboTron scoreboard that soars 90 feet above the field of the stadium, which he describes as a presiding deity. The stadium measures at 3 million square feet and is three times bigger that their previous one. It is reported to be the most costly stadium so far in the NFL (National Football League) at 1.2 billion but this record will be broken by Jet-Giant Stadium which is set to cost  1.6 billion.

The unique quality that the Giants stadium bears in comparison with other stadiums is the fact that it is a complex that has space for football as well as a race track. It also has the unique factor of being 6.9 miles from Times Square compared to the Yankee Stadium which is 6.6 miles away. Another amenity is the possession of state of the art grass that ensures immediate drainage and is also able to contain heat with the aid of a rubber layer located below the surface.
 
Trumpbour (2007) researches that Kansas City was ahead in devoting its time to providing luxurious stadium amenities thus attracting the media. The stadium owners used 17.5 million of their own money to in order to provide luxurious skyboxes, plus team offices and stadium clubs.

The Cost for the Giants Stadium
Petersen (1989) researches that the cost for constructing the Giants Stadium as  78 million and is located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, opening in 1976 after proposals to construct a sports complex in 1967.

Maske (2006) reports that the two teams that share the Giants Stadium, the Giants and the Jets, plan to jointly build a new stadium at the Meadowlands which will probably make them among the wealthiest franchises in the NFL. The two teams that have shared the stadium for 30 years are scheduled to open the privately funded stadium that costs 1.2 billion in the year 2010. Fisher (2002) researches on a statement that contradicts this by stating that almost all professional sports stadiums including those that are privately financed, involve some public money.

Sponsorship Agreements
Sports Business News (2007) gives information on the agreement between the New York Giants Chairman and the Wasserman Media Group for the new stadium in the Meadowlands. Casey Wasserman who is the chairman of WMG is reported as saying that combining the power of the NFL and its reach to the greatest sports teams forms an unparalleled platform for a marketer to form an ally with the most prominent media, entertainment and sports objective in the world. The Chairman of the Jets hopes that WMG will expand their vision and make the stadium the most memorable spectator environment in professional sports.

The Daily News (2008) reports that Anheuser-Busch has signed a contract to become the second major sponsor to support the new Meadowlands stadium. The announcement was made after a provisional agreement was reached between the New Meadowlands Stadium Co. and MetLife therefore becoming one of the four cornerstone partners in the stadium that is said to have 82,500 seats. Experts have stated that each of the partners will pay between 10 million and 15 million. The fifth sponsor will be expected to pay an amount of 20 million for the naming rights of the new stadium.

Jozsa (2004) researches that Manchester United had attracted audiences of about 271,000 spectators at American stadiums in 2003 who were watching exhibition games against European teams. As a result, Manchester United agreed to play another four matches in 2004 in various stadiums. One these stadiums was Giants Stadium.

Conclusion  
When the Giants stadium was constructed in 1976, it is said to have cost 78 million compared to the new stadium which is scheduled to open on 2010, that has been privately financed by the Jets and the Giants at a cost of 1.2 billion although this contradicts Lacayo (2009) who states that the stadium will cost 1.6 billion.
The Giants shares the same model of big screen scoreboards with the Dallas Cowboys. It has the unique facility of having state of the art grass that looks real. This new type of grass also has been able to contain heat through the rubber layer that is located beneath the surface.

Zimbalist (2001) investigates that the New York Giants and New York Jets have shared the Giants stadium since the autumn of 1984 after years of competing against each other.

Rouse (2001) researches that 115 of the major professional sports franchises are getting new or renovated facilities. Examples of franchises that have done the former are Dallas Cowboys and the Giants. An example of a frachise that has renovated its stadium is provided by Thornton (2010) who gives that of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim who spent 20 million to renovate their stadium.