...Football Manager is an enormously complex simulation. On a global level, the game tracks thousands of careers, ambitions and relationships, and on any given match day, weather, morale, skills and individual personal issues can contribute to moments of brilliance or abject failure. Talking to Sports Interactive’s director Miles Jacobson, I found that the simulation model is even more elaborate in some areas than I’d expected. Read on to find out about the game’s expanding narrative engine, how climate change is forcing the team to update the code that generates weather patterns, why the ugliest aspects of football have no place in FM and how a non-contract player’s family situation might prevent him from playing for your club. RPS: You’ve mentioned in previous interviews that you have a database of thousands of features to implement eventually. But do you have an overall vision of where the game is going to be in two or three years? Is there a shape that it’s taking? Jacobson: I tend to work two versions ahead. It used to be three but it’s two now because we’re managing to fit in a lot more each year, so there’s always an overall vision for the game. Whether that’s a year of revolution or of evolution – I think, certainly, the revolution years are going to be less and less because there’s so much in the game already that we’d rather look at evolving certain large chunks of the game each year. When you’re working on an annually iterative sports title that’s based on real life...
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...apprentice in his father shipyard then in his 19, he became a labor union activist and an active member of the “Labor Party”. As far as Ferguson’s “the football player” career is concerned, actually, he did not achieve a successful career. In fact, as a player Ferguson started with a small local football team the “Queens Park and St Johnston” club. Afterward, he got the chance to join the “Glasgow Ranger” club, yet this union did not last since he resigned after being responsible for the defeat of his team against its fierce rival the “Glasgow Celtic” club. So determined, Alex Ferguson joined the “East Stirling” football club but this time as a manager rather than as a player. His first management period lasted for three seasons and then was recruited by the Scottish football team “Aberdeen”. With limited resources, Ferguson achieved the unthinkable, he won with his club the “European Winners’ Cup” during the 1982-3 season. This achievement with “Aberdeen” was a milestone in his career and made him “THE” coach that many big names in the European football scene like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Tottenham, wanted to engage him. Ultimately, Ferguson chose to join Manchester United (MU). During his reign, Manchester United advanced from an ordinary local team to a top-class national team. Together they won all the British football trophies: nine Premiership League titles, five FA cups, two League cups, and seven Community Shield cups (Antony Gumi). Furthermore, Alex was successful...
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...As Title IX approaches its 40th anniversary, its policies and impacts on both men’s and women’s sports is still greatly debated and argued. While it is proven fact that it was tremendously successful at providing women far greater opportunities both in sports and outside of sports, the topic of how it is negatively affecting men’s sport is often debated. The five articles that I gathered advocate for Title IX. They express its positive impacts through narrative accounts and personal experiences of well-known female athletes who prospered due to Title IX not just in sports, but in their educational and professional careers. They also disprove the myths commonly associated with Title IX that lack evidence about how it is responsible for negatively affecting men’s sport opportunities and potentially ruining the programs currently in existence. Title IX is generally associated with women’s opportunity in sports to the point where its other positive implications tend to be forgotten. Title IX isn’t just about providing an opportunity for women to participate in sports in high school and at the college level, it is about providing young women the skills needed to achieve greater successes later on in life. Pugmire’s (2013) article quotes Women’s basketball legend Anne Meyers Drysdale saying the following: “According to the Women's Sports Foundation, 80% of women in Fortune 500 companies played sports. It teaches you so much -- confidence, failure, success, courage, how to get along...
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...FSU Winner Florida State’s Caitlin Quinn has been named the NSCA’s Assistant Strength Coach of the Year. http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/112613aaa.html Critical Condition A California high school football player is in critical condition after suffering neck and spinal cord injuries during a game. http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/corona/corona-headlines-index/20131124-santiago-football-player-remains-in-critical-condition.ece State Total More than 4,400 middle and high school student-athletes in Massachusetts suffered head injuries last year, according to reports filed by the schools. http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/11/25/mass-schools-report-head-injuries-among-athletes-compliance-with-concussion-law-rises/njPFK6a92knIhcvY9UGxdN/story.html Refueling Product A new product can allegedly help athletes refuel during competition by providing precise carb and electrolyte recommendations based on a quick analysis of their sweat. http://www.prweb.com/releases/FuelstripMMA/UFCBellator/prweb11284260.htm Vegan Praise Several top athletes credit veganism with playing a key role in their success. http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/elite-athletes-reveal-the-vegan-diet-secret-behind-their-success/story-fneuzkvr-1226768537898 Baseline Challenges Three new studies of baseline testing highlight the difficult of accurately assessing an athlete’s true baseline ability. http://www.momsteam.com/studies-show-pitfalls-in-baseline-neurocognitive-testing ...
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...the cognitive tools required for academic and professional success. On January 19th, 2014, the day of the NFL NFC Championshp, the stakes could not have been greater; Richard Sherman was just thirty seconds away from his first Super Bowl. Sherman’s Seattle Seahawks led the San Francisco 49ers 23-17, leaving the 49ers with a final opportunity to win the game. The 49ers ran a play for Michael Crabtree, whom Sherman was guarding, who was making his way into the end zone. Sherman, the NFL’s best cornerback, leaped with Crabtree and tipped the pass towards a teammate in a historic play that ended the 49ers season and, in turn, catapulted both Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks into the history books. Sherman, who has had publicized personal problems with Crabtree in the past, made an emphatic choking motion before sprinting over to a deflated Crabtree and extending his hand in a sarcastic attempt to wish his opponent a good game, to which Crabtree responded to by shoving Sherman away. What happened next...
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...group achieve a common goal. But the real question emerges, how does one become a leader? Are leaders born, or do they rise to the occasion? How do leaders get their peers to rally around their actions? Former National Football League linebacker Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens epitomizes what a leader should be on the field. Lewis was a linebacker for 17 seasons (1996-2012) for the Baltimore Ravens, and the early 2000’s Ravens defense is considered one of the greatest units in sports history. However, while Ray Lewis was viewed as one of the best on the field leaders in NFL history, however his legacy, reputation, and image were tainted by actions away from the playing field.. How is it that a figure like Ray Lewis could be so revered on the field, but off the field he was heavily criticized for his actions and behavior? Throughout this essay I will analyze Ray Lewis’ upbringing and discuss how he developed his leadership qualities that caused former teammate Jamal Lewis to say, “In recent history, I can’t really think of a player who has been as valuable to a team as Ray Lewis has been. He’s a different player, as far as his physicality, his passion off the field, his work ethic, and at the same time he can lead vocally. You don’t have all of that in one player, and I think that’s what makes him a Hall of Famer and probably the best linebacker to ever play the game.” (Belmont 41). I will draw on...
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...Investigation ...............................................................................10 1. Review Prior Reports .............................................................................................10 2. Consult with District Attorney Woodall and the SBI .......................................10 3. Request Input from the Public..............................................................................11 4. Secure Access to FERPA Information ................................................................11 5. Distribute Broad Document Preservation Directive .........................................11 Collection and Review of Electronic Documents ...........................................................11 Personal Interviews ..............................................................................................................12 Review of Student Transcripts and Academic Records ..................................................13 Review of Student...
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...STUDENTS’ CONSTRUCTION OF THE BODY IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Kinesiology by Laura Azzarito B.S., Universita’ di Scienze Motorie di Torino, Italy, 1994 M.S., University of Maryland, College Park, 2000 December 2004 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I’m very grateful to all the students and teachers who are the subjects of this work. I greatly appreciate their willingness to participate in this research and the time they dedicated to all of the interviews and member checks. I also thank the principals who gave me permission to conduct this study. I especially acknowledge and thank physical education teachers Celeste Alfred, for welcoming me to her school, and Vickie Braud for her great help in making contacts necessary to complete my data collection. Both Vickie and Celeste were wonderful throughout my research process, helping me to observe classes and arrange student interviews at the schools. I greatly appreciate all the suggestions, insights and comments of my committee members. Thank you to all of them: Dr. Kuttruff, my external committee member, for her interest in following the steps of my dissertation; Dr. Magill, for bringing a very challenging and valuable perspective to my research; Dr. Lee, for her deep knowledge and expertise in the field of physical education;...
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...Whistleblowing: Necessary Evil or Good Thing Maureen Haley University of North Carolina – Asheville April 16, 2014 This paper was prepared for Management 484-001, taught by Professor Donald D. Lisnerski Whistleblowing: Necessary Evil or Good Thing Is whistleblowing a necessary evil or good thing? Can whistleblowing be avoided? Can the whistleblower be protected? “A whistleblower is an employee who discovers corporate misconduct and chooses to bring it to the attention of others.”(Ghillyer, 2014) Whistleblowers can be viewed as providing a praiseworthy act or be severely labeled as informers who have breached the loyalty of their co-workers and company. Whistleblowing can be a service to the community and public. Whistleblowing can be ethical or unethical, and the whistleblower discovering corporate misconduct has the options to be an internal or an external whistleblower. Whistleblowing can save people’s lives. Dr. Jeffrey Wigand made the decision to go public with information that his employer Brown & Williamson (B&W) was manipulating the nicotine content, suppressed efforts to develop safer cigarettes, and lied about the addictive properties of nicotine. According to Sissela Bok, in the book Taking Sides: Clashing views in Business Ethics and Society, “not only is loyalty violated in whistleblowing, hierarchy as well is often opposed, since the whistleblower is not only a colleague but a subordinate. Though aware of the risks inherent in such disobedience...
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...Downloaded by [University of Ottawa] at 14:44 24 March 2014 Football, Violence and Social Identity Downloaded by [University of Ottawa] at 14:44 24 March 2014 As the 1994 World Cup competition in the USA again demonstrates, football is one of the most popular participant and spectator sports around the world. The fortunes of teams can have great significance for the communities they represent at both local and national levels. Social and cultural analysts have only recently started to investigate the wide variety of customs, values and social patterns that surround the game in different societies. This volume contributes to the widening focus of research by presenting new data and explanations of football-related violence. Episodes of violence associated with football are relatively infrequent, but the occasional violent events which attract great media attention have their roots in the rituals of the matches, the loyalties and identities of players and crowds and the wider cultures and politics of the host societies. This book provides a unique cross-national examination of patterns of order and conflict surrounding football matches from this perspective with examples provided by expert contributors from Scotland, England, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, Argentina and the USA. This book will be of interest to an international readership of informed soccer and sport enthusiasts and students of sport, leisure, society, deviance and culture. Richard Giulianotti, Norman...
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...www.hbr.org We all have the capacity to inspire and empower others. But we must first be willing to devote ourselves to our personal growth and development as leaders. Discovering Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N. McLean, and Diana Mayer Reprint R0702H We all have the capacity to inspire and empower others. But we must first be willing to devote ourselves to our personal growth and development as leaders. Discovering Your Authentic Leadership COPYRIGHT © 2007 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. by Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N. McLean, and Diana Mayer During the past 50 years, leadership scholars have conducted more than 1,000 studies in an attempt to determine the definitive styles, characteristics, or personality traits of great leaders. None of these studies has produced a clear profile of the ideal leader. Thank goodness. If scholars had produced a cookie-cutter leadership style, individuals would be forever trying to imitate it. They would make themselves into personae, not people, and others would see through them immediately. No one can be authentic by trying to imitate someone else. You can learn from others’ experiences, but there is no way you can be successful when you are trying to be like them. People trust you when you are genuine and authentic, not a replica of someone else. Amgen CEO and president Kevin Sharer, who gained priceless experience working...
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...www.hbr.org We all have the capacity to inspire and empower others. But we must first be willing to devote ourselves to our personal growth and development as leaders. Discovering Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N. McLean, and Diana Mayer Reprint R0702H We all have the capacity to inspire and empower others. But we must first be willing to devote ourselves to our personal growth and development as leaders. Discovering Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N. McLean, and Diana Mayer COPYRIGHT © 2007 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. During the past 50 years, leadership scholars have conducted more than 1,000 studies in an attempt to determine the definitive styles, characteristics, or personality traits of great leaders. None of these studies has produced a clear profile of the ideal leader. Thank goodness. If scholars had produced a cookie-cutter leadership style, individuals would be forever trying to imitate it. They would make themselves into personae, not people, and others would see through them immediately. No one can be authentic by trying to imitate someone else. You can learn from others’ experiences, but there is no way you can be successful when you are trying to be like them. People trust you when you are genuine and authentic, not a replica of someone else. Amgen CEO and president Kevin Sharer, who gained priceless experience working as Jack Welch’s assistant...
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...THE PLAYER Good game design is player-centric. That means that above all else, the player and her desires are truly considered. Rather than demanding that she do something via the rules, the gameplay itself should inherently motivate the player in the direction the designer wants her to go. Telling players they must travel around the board or advance to the next level is one thing. If they don’t have a reason and a desire to do it, then it becomes torture. In creating a game, designers take a step back and think from the player’s viewpoint: What’s this game about? How do I play? How do I win? Why do I want to play? What things do I need to do? MEANINGFUL DECISIONS Distilled down to its essence, game design is about creating opportunities for players to make meaningful decisions that affect the outcome of the game. Consider a game like a boxing match. So many decisions lead up to the ultimate victory. How long will I train? Will I block or will I swing? What is my opponent going to do? Where is his weakness? Jab left or right? Even those few, brief questions don’t come close to the myriad decisions a fighter must make as he progresses through a match. Games invite players into similar mental spaces. Games like Tetris and Chess keep our minds busy by forcing us to consider which one of several possible moves we want to take next. In taking these paths, we know that we may be prolonging or completely screwing up our entire game. The Sims games and those in...
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...Cultural diversity in Britain A toolkit for cross-cultural co-operation Phil Wood, Charles Landry and Jude Bloomfield With the current debate about ‘multiculturalism’, this study sets out a new approach to cultural diversity. It explores ways of unlocking the potential in diversity and identifies strategies to aid greater exchange between different cultural groups. The authors examine the connections between cultural diversity, innovation and thriving, prosperous urban communities, in relation to the economic, social and cultural mix of Britain’s population. They developed tools to harness the potential of diverse communities, and their powers of innovation, for use by policymakers, planners and practitioners. These include a set of indicators of openness to check the readiness of a city to take advantage of diversity, and the intercultural lens through which professionals can examine the familiar in a new light. The study evaluated six aspects of local activity: public consultation and engagement urban planning and development business and entrepreneurship schools the arts and creative industries sport. The project went further by helping participating cities to develop specific economic, social, cultural and planning policies and so to become role models for others. The study draws on local case studies and in-depth interviews with 33 intercultural innovators in seven UK cities, with comparative analysis also conducted in Europe, North America and Australasia. It is aimed...
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...Race Discrimination Chapter Outline * Opening Scenarios * Statutory Basis * Surprised? * Background * General Considerations * Recognizing Race Discrimination * Racial Harassment * A Word about Color * The Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts * 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 * 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 * 42 U.S.C. Section 1985 * Management Tips * Summary * Chapter-End Questions Opening Scenarios SCENARIO 1 An employer has a “no-beard” policy, which applies across the board to all employees. A black employee tells the employer he cannot shave without getting severe facial bumps from ingrown hairs. The employer replies that the policy is without exception and the employee must comply. The employee refuses and is later terminated. The employee brings suit under Title VII on the basis of race discrimination. Does he win? Why? Why not? SCENARIO 2 Two truck driver employees are found to have stolen goods from the cargo they were carrying. The black employee is retained and reprimanded. The white employee is terminated. The white employee sues the employer for race discrimination under Title VII. Who wins and why? SCENARIO 3 A black female employee is terminated during a downsizing at her place of employment. The decision was made to terminate the two worst employees, and she was one of them. The employer had not told the employee of her poor performance nor given her any negative feedback during evaluations...
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