Single Parent Childhood Essay Example Essay Example

Single Parent Childhood Essay Example Paper Single Parent Childhood Essay Introduction The proportion of children living in single-parent families has increased noticeably around the world since 1960, and this increase has been particularly noteworthy in the United States. The United States has a higher proportion of single-parent households than that of any other developed country. The proportion of children in the United States living with merely one parent amplified from nine percent in 1960 to thirty percent in 1997. Although there are differences in the occurrence of single-parent families across ethnic groups, with nearly forty-seven percent of African American children living in single-parent families, this increase had an effect on all groups of Americans (U. S. Bureau of the Census, 2000). Given present divorce and remarriage trends, demographers envisage that more than half of all America’s children will spend some part of their formative years in a single-parent family.A broad range of research from sociologists and psychologists has revealed that chi ldren of single-parent families are more probable to have difficulties with emotional as well as psychological adjustment and with school performance and educational attainment, and they are as well more probable to have behavioral adjustment problems, later marriage, and earlier childbearing compared with children of two-parent families. Since single-parent children come into view more vulnerable to a wide variety of societal problems, these children have been regularly referred to as at risk for developmental difficulties. Though, new studies that have appeared within the past decade are raising questions regarding these families and whether or not children growing up in single-parent families are necessarily at risk, mainly in the child’s early years.To say that a child is at risk is a statistical statement, representing that, probabilistically speaking, children in single-parent families are usually more probable to have developmental difficulties than other children are. One of the causes children from single-parent families may be at risk is that single-parent families are as well disproportionately poor compared with other families. According to the research, no other major demographic group is so poor and no other group stays poor for so long. International studies demonstrate that poverty rates are higher among children in single-parent families than those in all other family types in every country studied.Data from the 2000 census point out that thirty-four percent of single-parent homes headed by a woman and sixteen percent of single-parent families headed by a man live in poverty. As a result of poverty alone, many children of single parents grow up in deteriorated and dangerous neighborhoods, frequently with inferior housing and educational systems. How much of the single-parent risk status is related to poverty and how much of the single-parent risk status is because of other factors too associated with single-parent families are questions with significant psychological and social policy implications.More and more, signs have emerged that perceptions and acceptance of single-parent families are changing. Increasingly single-parent families are emerging very obviously on the national scene, and the public has turn out to be more accustomed to seeing them. When Ingrid Bergman conceived a child out of wedlock in 1950, writers of the movie star columns were aghast, and Ingrid Bergman was efficiently blackballed for almost a decade from the American screen. In the 1990s, derision and concern greeted the television character Murphy Brown’s birth of her out-of-wedlock child. Though, in the year 2000, Madonna, a real-life rock star, birthed a baby son Rocco, and the event was greeted with as much joy and interest as the birth of any baby to a prominent rock star. Soon after Rocco’s birth, Madonna married the child’s father; there may have been more interest in Madonna’s following marriage than in the birth of her child. Could this be pinpointing of a changing view of nonmarital births? Could public perceptions of social clocks and developmental sequences of â€Å"first marriage, then baby carriage† be changing at the start of the twenty-first century? Could changes in public views of births to single parents as well be related to changes in our understanding of the risks related to growing up in a single-parent home?To untie the multiple factors that may be related to our understanding of whether or not children of single-parent families are at risk, it is essential to recognize the many similar and different characteristics of single-parent families. One of the most significant characteristics of single-parent families and their children is their heterogeneity. Though about half of all children growing up in single-parent families live in poverty, several do not. In the same way, contrary to stereotypical views and journalistic ravings, not all single-mother families are on welfare. While many single mothers draw funds from public assistance, more than half do not.The phenomenological experience of growing up in a single-parent family varies depending on the nature of the family, the experiences of the parent, plus the family context. Single parents may be divorced, widowed, or unmarried; they may be teenaged or older; they may have been previously married or not. Even though most single parents are women, the number of male single parents is increasing. While legally single, some parents classified by Census statisticians and researchers as single may be living in a committed, partnered relationship not lawfully acknowledged. These statistically single parents are frequently rearing their children in the context of a committed, partnered relationship. For some single parents, becoming a single parent could have been a planned and conscious decision; for others it was not.Some single parents may have chosen to have and to rear their children wi th another adult parent; they became single parents when this partnership did not work out, ensuing in divorce, separation, or widowhood. Further single parents may have decided to become parents knowing that they would be without partners. The unity across these varied types of single parents is that the parent does not have a legally married partner in the home. How these individuals came to be parents, the choices they made, as well as the experiences that were thrust on them, all have differential implications for their family’s life circumstances.Differences in how the parents came to be single parents have an effect on individuals’ employment, their financial circumstances, their relationships with other adults, their involvement with their child, and their competence as parents. The etiology of the parent’s single parenthood as well may have implications for the child’s perceptions and experiences growing up. For instance, imagine that ten children from different types of single-parent families are brought together to talk about their experiences. They would explain many common experiences, such as not having enough money, missing their mothers or fathers, plus problems getting along with their single parent. These concerns, though, do not differ from those of children living in all families. Those issues that are sole to single-parent families are issues for which there are large individual differences across single-parent families. Depending on their age, children from lately divorced single-parent families might talk of anger at their parents’ separation, of fights between mom and dad over custody and child support, and regarding what happens on dad’s day for visitation.Some children of divorce may wonder why dad and mom are not living together anymore; others may be relieved to be free lastly from the marital discord. Children of widowed single parents may be mourning their parent’s loss, while childr en of adolescent single mothers may have difficulty with mom’s inexperienced as well as immature ways and wonder when mom will ever finish going to school. Children of never-married mothers might wonder about their father, who he is, and what he is like. Some children may be confused regarding who their fathers are, and why they are not around, while other children, although a minority, may be learning to live without a mother. Some children may feel isolated and alone, while others are living in cramped households, with not too much in the way of material goods however plenty of people to be with and love. Researchers need to unravel these various psychological experiences to recognize what it is about the single-parent family that might contribute to the at-risk status of these children.Children are often less cared for and more overburdened by accountabilities following divorce. Needy, distressed, lonely, or angry parents possibly will force children into the role of serva nt, caretaker, adviser, confidant, helper, defender, or arbitrator. Some accountability and nurturing of others may improve development and show the way to more responsible, competent, empathic behavior in adulthood, particularly in daughters. Excessively high demands may show the way to competence and responsibility accompanied by feelings of self-doubt, sadness, low self-esteem, a lurking sense of failure, and apprehension regarding performance and personal adequacy in young adult daughters. In analyses of adjustment, divorced girls were more probable than nondivorced girls to fall into a cluster labeled â€Å"Competent at a cost,† typified by low antisocial behavior, high social and cognitive agency, and high social accountability however as well by elevated depression and low self-worth. Girls with highly emotionally parentifying mothers were overrepresented in this cluster.Boys are less probable to be leaned on for emotional support by parents, and moderate levels of bot h instrumental and emotional parentification can augment accountability in adult sons. Though, boys are more sensitive than girls to emotional parentification by fathers and are more probable to resist, rebel, and withdraw from the family when extreme paternal emotional parentification or instrumental parentification occurs, while they also are often anxious and depressed. Although divorced parents may lean on children, children cannot resolve their parents’ problems or save a lonely, unhappy, angry, or distressed parent. The costs to children may be great in the loss of normal childhood experiences and pleasures and opportunities for individuation and liberty from an entangled relationship. (Gringlas, M., and Weinraub, M, 1995) Single Parent Childhood Essay Thank you for reading this Sample!

Why Rome Was Truly Great essays

Why Rome Was Truly Great essays Many have wondered, why was The Roman Empire so great. Rome was so great because it's the first village that grew into an empire, entertained every one with a vast variety of entertainment, a functional law system, and several advances in technology. Many do not know that Rome started as a small village and was taken over. The invaders added a government, and so Rome was transformed from a village to a republic. Since Rome had a government, they now needed a military to protect themselves. With this new military comes a need for a new kind of government. For years, the government had been a senate of three hundred and two consuls, one for financial and similar stuff, and the other for the military. A military consul named Julius Caesar saw this and took action. He knew that the republic didn't want another king, so he said that he was better than a king, he was an EMPEROR. Emperor was just a fancy term for the king. To get the support to become an emperor, Caesar gained popularity by providing entertainment. Rome held many entertaining events that were free to the public. These events were paid and sponsored by the emperors to gain popularity. Some of these were the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, public executions, and the public bathhouses. The Coliseum was large enough to hold more than 50,000 spectators to watch the bloodshed of the gladiators and slaves who fought to the death. Christians, before Rome adopted Christianity, were forced to fight wild animals that had been starved for weeks without weapons to defend themselves against the beasts. These were usually held in the morning, Many executions were held at noon. In the afternoons is what made the Coliseum is famous for, Gladiator. Gladiators were trained to fight to the death on gladiatorial schools. The gladiators were usually slaves, condemned criminals, prisoners of war, and even an occasional woman. Before a losing gladiator was slain, the winning one would look up to the...

The politics of Southeast Asia (Crisis, Conflict, and Reform) Essay

The politics of Southeast Asia (Crisis, Conflict, and Reform) - Essay Example Where have they been less contentious? How would you account for the success or failure of multicultural politics in Southeast Asia? The development of discrimination worldwide has been a phenomenon that cannot be easily controlled; in fact, this problem occurs not only to developing but also to developed countries; of course, in countries where the quality of life is lower compared to the Western developed countries, the effects of discrimination on people’s daily activities are more severe. Current paper focuses on the examination of the aspects of discrimination in Southeast Asia; the cases of Cambodia and Indonesia are used in order to highlight the main aspects of this social problem. The ethnic and identity politics used in the specific countries are presented and critically analyzed – at the level that they are found to be responsible for the expansion of discrimination across the specific countries. Both countries mentioned above have similar social and political structure and could be used as a basis in order to identify the current status of discrimination in the region and the expected pr ospects in the future – referring to the potential limitation of the phenomenon either in the short or the long term. At the next level, the potential success of multicultural politics in Southeast Asia is examined; it is proved that the development of these politics is possible and could lead to the limitation of discrimination in the greater region; however, it would be necessary that these politics are critically evaluated – in terms of their expected duration taking into consideration the strong political and economic turbulences that characterize the greater region. In order to identify the role of ethnic and identity politics in the development of discrimination in Southeast Asia, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the main aspects of these politics; the examination

Low Cost and Scheduled Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Low Cost and Scheduled Airlines - Case Study Example The core benefit of this service is that it's a cheaper way to travel and it began in the USA mainly to maintain a low cost structure compared to the competitors. Their main aim is to have the lowest cost structure and they charge for the food ordered during the flight. The actual product includes the packaging, branding, quality, features and design. The low cost airlines are a service so it does not have packaging but branding is essential for any company to instigate brand loyalty and to attract customers. Branding is essential to create high brand equity in the market since the more powerful and valuable a brand is the more will increase the market share. Quality can be an issue in this case because all they provide is a safe flight and food that might not be up to higher standards. When they do not provide passenger services then quality is of question here but people mainly come to them for cheap fares and they are not concerned with the other services. These airlines provide s ingle passenger class only. Finally, the augmented product includes delivery, warranty and after sales services. Low cost airlines deliver at cheap prices without much of services to attract the masses and they do not provide much of the after sales services but the delivery of the product is equal to the expectations of the consumers since they want cheap fares. On the other hand, scheduled airlines are e... e core benefit of this service is the choice of traveling in comfort with innumerable choices to be in luxury and bliss, plus it also allows people to travel on a cheaper price compared to business class and it provides lesser services or choices to travel in luxury. They charge enough on the ticket to provide food and other luxurious services. The actual product is about branding without which these airlines can not survive and make a name in the market. They need high brand equity to achieve a huge market share. They have to maintain good quality to maintain high brand equity. The augmented product is about delivery and after sales services. They deliver according to the customer's expectations and they do give after sales services like car service on landing in the destination. The Price The low cost airlines provide low fares. Their main pricing goal is current profit maximization. In this case they estimate what demand and costs will be at different prices and they choose the best option to attract more customers and earn high profits. But they also aim to achieve market share leadership through lowest costs, lowest prices and highest long-run profits. They have mainly stressed on competition based pricing that is setting prices based on what the competitors charge. The main aim is to have a lower cost structure compared to competitors in order to attract more customers. The scheduled airlines provide expensive fares that range between business class and economy class. These airlines have product quality leadership as their main pricing goal. They charge high prices to cover high performance quality and other costs. These airlines have value-based pricing approach that is setting prices based on the buyer's perceptions of value rather than on seller's cost.

A Comparison of how Fear and Tension Essay Example for Free

A Comparison of how Fear and Tension Essay Both authors use fear and tension in their stories. The Adventure of the Speckled Band was written in the nineteenth century and is set in Victorian England, whereas Talking in Whispers is set in Chile, and was written towards the end of the twentieth century, but both contain similar elements of fear and tension. The authors use different techniques in order to create tension and fear, and I will examine some of these in the course of my essay. I will begin by looking at Watsons novel. Fear and tension are created in three main ways in The Adventure of the Speckled Band; namely character, setting and plot.  First, I will look at character. The character that creates the most fear and tension in the story is Dr. Grimesby Roylett. He is a very angry, loud and impatient man. He is powerful and intelligent. He once beat his native butler to death. He is the terror of the village near his manor. He has no friends at all and says of himself, I am a dangerous man to fall foul of. He is described as a fierce old bird of prey, and he keeps wild animals. Doyle creates lots of fear and tension through the character of Roylett. He is described by his stepdaughter as a short tempered man with fits of rage approaching to mania, and then when Miss Stoner has left, Dr. Roylett comes in and proves all that has been said about him. Next, I will examine setting. The setting of the story plays an important part in creating fear and tension, mainly through Stoke Morran and its manor. The manor and its grounds are in the middle of the countryside, and therefore it is easy to imagine that it could become very dark and desolate there. Also, wild animals (a cheetah and a baboon) are kept on the grounds thus adding to the sense of fear. The manor itself is very large and old, just the place for a murder mystery and this really helps with the atmosphere. The manor for all its size is largely uninhabited, with only a few rooms being used. This gives it an eerie atmosphere, a place where anything could happen. Now, I will analyse the plot. Apart from a red herring near the start, the main part of the plot is how was the crime committed? and not who did it? as it is obvious almost from the beginning that Dr. Roylett is guilty. When Helen Stoner comes to Holmes, and talks about her sisters death, she mentions that her sisters last words were it was the speckled band and she says that the gypsies wore speckled handkerchiefs, and also that she thinks that the gypsies have been making the whistling noise. The reader jumps to the conclusion that the gypsies killed her sister. However, once you get to Stoke Moran, your ideas and thoughts soon change. Holmes tries to get into Helen Stoners room from the outside, but finds it impossible, so the reader thinks that the killer must have come from the inside, and that the killer is Doctor Roylett. When Holmes finds the dummy bellpull, the ventilator, the milk and the marked chair, it starts to look like Dr Roylett committed the murder in a very complicated way. When Holmes decides to spend the night in the room, the quiet and darkness, as well as Holmes saying that this was a very dangerous situation, makes this scene full of tension. When Holmes jumps up and strikes at the bellpull, the tension is both released and added to, because finally something has happened, but you are not totally sure what.  Doyle often uses rather long, unfolding sentences in this story. This has two effects; one, to make sure that the reader is well informed and can think about what is written, and two, it keeps the pace of action slow.

Life with Vision Loss Due to MS :: Vision Eyesight Multiple Sclerosis Essays

Life with Vision Loss Due to MS Joyce Bohen recently wrote a book about her experience with multiple sclerosis. She told about her battle with multiple sclerosis and one of her major symptoms, optic neuritis. In this book, she told each individual to imagine life from one day being able to see bright colors and distinct pictures to only realize that as each day goes by the world is beginning to look darker and darker until you can see nothing but black. Not only did she experience blindness but also came the intense pain. After seeing a neurologist many times and continuously being treated with steroids to help her vision return, she finally gave up her battle and began to accept the idea that she would never be able to see again. The goal of her book was to help those with low vision accept the idea that life will never be the same and that there are strategic ways to get around this disability. One of the coping mechanisms she suggested was to outline doorways, steps, and wall switches with high contrast or textu red tape. This story of one woman's dedication and perseverance to get through her disability should give researchers all the persuasion needed to continue on discovering permanent treatments or even preventive methods for optic neuritis (Cohen, Dinerstein, & Katz, 2001). Another woman's determination went beyond coping mechanisms. After being touched by her brother's battle with multiple sclerosis Silvia Lawry created the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her goal was to begin research that could help end the suffering of all those individuals who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her dream is to try to help discover a cure for symptoms such as optic neuritis (Scott, 2001). Multiple sclerosis can be defined as an inflammatory, autoimmune, and demyelinating complex disease of the central nervous system (Kidd, 2001). More common in women than men, the disease can strike at an early age, "especially when reproduction is a major consideration" (Sadovnick, Guimond, & Dwosh, 2001 p374). It is known to be the most common cause of "neurological disabilities in young adults" (Kidd, 2001 p540). The most common type of multiple sclerosis is the relapse remitting which later turns into secondarily progressing. This means that the patient will no longer go into relapse but rather begins progressing farther into the disease. There is a disability scale called Kurtzke's Extended Disability Status Scale that determines the status and progression of the disability. Life with Vision Loss Due to MS :: Vision Eyesight Multiple Sclerosis Essays Life with Vision Loss Due to MS Joyce Bohen recently wrote a book about her experience with multiple sclerosis. She told about her battle with multiple sclerosis and one of her major symptoms, optic neuritis. In this book, she told each individual to imagine life from one day being able to see bright colors and distinct pictures to only realize that as each day goes by the world is beginning to look darker and darker until you can see nothing but black. Not only did she experience blindness but also came the intense pain. After seeing a neurologist many times and continuously being treated with steroids to help her vision return, she finally gave up her battle and began to accept the idea that she would never be able to see again. The goal of her book was to help those with low vision accept the idea that life will never be the same and that there are strategic ways to get around this disability. One of the coping mechanisms she suggested was to outline doorways, steps, and wall switches with high contrast or textu red tape. This story of one woman's dedication and perseverance to get through her disability should give researchers all the persuasion needed to continue on discovering permanent treatments or even preventive methods for optic neuritis (Cohen, Dinerstein, & Katz, 2001). Another woman's determination went beyond coping mechanisms. After being touched by her brother's battle with multiple sclerosis Silvia Lawry created the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Her goal was to begin research that could help end the suffering of all those individuals who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her dream is to try to help discover a cure for symptoms such as optic neuritis (Scott, 2001). Multiple sclerosis can be defined as an inflammatory, autoimmune, and demyelinating complex disease of the central nervous system (Kidd, 2001). More common in women than men, the disease can strike at an early age, "especially when reproduction is a major consideration" (Sadovnick, Guimond, & Dwosh, 2001 p374). It is known to be the most common cause of "neurological disabilities in young adults" (Kidd, 2001 p540). The most common type of multiple sclerosis is the relapse remitting which later turns into secondarily progressing. This means that the patient will no longer go into relapse but rather begins progressing farther into the disease. There is a disability scale called Kurtzke's Extended Disability Status Scale that determines the status and progression of the disability.

Balance And Stability

A true athlete develops his entire body to compete with the very best in his sport. He trains both his mind and body to reach his goals. His mind should be able to handle the pressure and stress that are involved in his competitive sport. He must be emotionally fit to compete in his sport; otherwise, he’ll lose or fair far below his expectations. His body should also be able to act and react in the right manner. The mental, emotional and physical aspects of his game must all come together as one.Whether an athlete is a catcher in baseball, a center in basketball, or a quick-running lineman in American football, he must perfectly develop all his faculties to achieve an above average level of balance and stability in his sport. Athletes should pay more attention to balance and stability because these factors are extremely critical in the success of their goals. The terms balance and stability may seem to have the same meaning, but they don’t (Carr, 2007, p. 89). These ter ms however, are very much related to each other. Balance and stability don’t always go together.Depending on the sport, an athlete may have more balance and less stability or none at all and vice versa. Both of these factors are necessary in almost all physical sports though because athletes have to constantly move their bodies while staying on the ground. Balance is a person’s ability to get rid of forces that ruin the evenness or equilibrium of things. Almost all people have balance to some degree. Young and old people use balance to stay on their feet while they're walking, running or hopping. Balance is also used in other movements, such as when a person tiptoes or dances a complex routine.Maintaining one's balance gets harder as the person encounters obstacles in his path. For example, a running back maintains excellent balance while he pierces the defense of the opposing team. In basketball, a point guard also displays above average balancing skills as he dribble s the ball around players guarding the basket (Carr, 2007, p. 89). There are many levels of balance. Not all people have the same level of balance. Athletes typically have greater balance than normal people because they arduously train to improve it. The concept of balance has been used in various sports for a very long period of time.As Sprunt (2000) and others noted, the term off-balance is also widely used in different types of sports. Thus, a basketball player may be said to have been caught off-balance if he loses his footing as he scrambles for the ball. Generally, it is not good to lose your balance in any kind of sport (Sprunt, 2000, p. 63). Balance itself is related to another important factor in executing movement: stability. Stability is the ability to maintain a person’s balance while encountering things that ruin that balance. To put it another way, stability is how balanced a person is.Different athletes have different tactics that increase the level of their st ability as they encounter forces that may be going against them. According to Foran, athletes typically face gravity, air resistance and friction when performing in sports (Foran, 2001, p. 119). For this reason, some athletes train hard to raise their stability to the level of being as steady as a rock. Sports shows typically have play by play slow-motions that showcase moving stability by players of different sports. For instance, stability is clearly shown on highlights of football plays.A football player displays excellent balance when he reaches out for the ball whizzing through the air. He jumps high using a single leg and lands gracefully on the same leg. However, that excellent balance may be disrupted by a rampaging opponent that slams into him as he's floating above the ground or standing on one leg. After the dust clears, you'll usually see the other player down on the ground because he traded stability for balance. Compare the previous example of a 300 pound lineman with his body arched and his center of gravity positioned low.This athlete can receive the hammering force of a 400 pound lineman, pushing him to get out of the way. The athlete does not drop to his knees, spread-eagle on the ground because his stability is way off the charts. If the lineman is really stable, he may even have the ability to push back his opponent or ram his way through the defense, sending him crawling on the ground. In this case, his opponent is the one that lacks stability and so he pays dearly for it (Foran, 2001, p. 119). Also, stability may be harder to maintain if forces are coming from many different directions.A lineman may be able to defend against the opponent directly in front of him, but he may not fare as easily if the opponent comes from his left, right or back. It's still possible to hold a great level of stability however, if the athlete's position is correct and if he has the right body to counter massive objects that's coming at him from different direc tions. Almost all kinds of physical sports showcase balance and stability. Sports like baseball and basketball are no different because athletes continuously move their bodies in these sports.As Thompson and Baldwin (2007) observed, athletes in these sports and others must do various drills to improve their balance. They must train their core muscle groups to have the excellent level of balance and stability that their sports require (Thompson and Baldwin, 2007, p. 369). In baseball, balance and stability are shown in the role of the catcher who tries to catch baseballs sent flying by the pitcher. In basketball, balance and stability are exemplified by huge, tall centers or post players that play near the basket.It is important to note that these sports are played very differently but both of them require superb balance and stability nonetheless. First, the baseball catcher has to have great physical attributes such as fast feet and hands, mighty arms and excellent balance and stabi lity. He spends much of his time on the baseball field crouching and anticipating the ball that the pitcher will throw. His weight is distributed on his heels. He bends his knees so that his upper leg is parallel to the ground. You'll also notice that his backside is positioned close to his heels.His back must not curve and shoulder blades must be positioned a little bit backward to give him more stability. To further increase stability, he must hold his head up high and he must hold out his glove. This unique crouching position is supported by the baseball catcher's amazing balance and stability (Thompson and Baldwin, 2007, p. 369). The baseball player in the previous example shows linearity in his balance and stability. Remember that balance is a person's ability to get rid of forces that ruin the evenness or equilibrium of things.Compare this to stability which refers to the level at which a person can maintain his balance while encountering things that may ruin it. Simply put, l inear stability occurs when you are able to resist an object that tries to move you. In the previous example, the catcher's stability is put to the test when tries to stop a ball that's flying toward him at 80 or 90 mph (Thompson and Baldwin, 2007, p. 369). Stability that is based on linear movement is influenced by the mass of the moving object that carries force and the object that tries to stop that force.The moving object here is the ball that flies toward the pitcher and may end up in the catcher's resisting hands. For many catchers, reaching the optimal stability that is based on linear movement is very easy. Baseball is a tough sport because it requires players to have great balance and stability while maintaining focus on the ball that's flying toward them. The catcher in the previous example must train hard to be able to block bad pitches and throw out runners who attempt to steal bases. In some cases, the catcher may have to abandon his crouching position to block a bad pi tch.This move trades stability for balance to catch the ball. The crouching position shows the three most important principles of a stable body (Mull, 2005, p. 174). First, the catcher increases his stability by broadening his base. The resulting position is that the catcher's feet are wide apart and firmly on the ground. Second, the baseball catcher centralizes his line of gravity by straightening his back and holding his head up high. Third, he crouches with his knees bent to lower his center of gravity, further adding to the stability of his whole body.When all of these positions are combined, the catcher comes up with a stable crouching position that allows him to easily move his whole body when catching a flying ball even when it is outside the normal zone. Stability is also based on an athlete’s capability to move his line of gravity forward, anticipating a fast-approaching force. This type of movement may unbalance him for a short duration of time, but the force of the approaching object might restore him to his previous balance. This is not the case though for a baseball catcher who blocks bad pitches.Even though the ball flies fast toward the catcher, its mass is still little compared to other balls. The catcher then puts his line of gravity directly in front of the approaching ball but quickly restores his balance. He also usually drops to his knees to bring down his center of gravity and increase his stability. Balance and stability can also take each other’s place in baseball. For example, balance and stability are reversed when a runner steals a base and is challenged by a catcher. The catcher positions his line of gravity directly in front of the fast-approaching force to throw the runner out.Another skill of a baseball catcher is throwing the ball to the base, which consists of applying force rather than resisting it. The catcher tends to rise to keep his line of gravity in the center and avoid falling down before throwing the ball . His weight is transferred to the back of his foot as he moves his body backward to throw the ball. There are also cases where the player who throws the ball temporarily moves his center of gravity outside the area where support is strongest. As the ball is thrown, the center of gravity moves from the back of the support area to the center and then to the front.The dynamics of balance and stability can also be seen in the sport of basketball. There was a time when post players were players that are massive and tall. This allowed them to block offensive players that run to the basket. Today, however, post players are not that huge anymore and they have better footwork. They are faster and more agile, so they can keep up with quick short players that have many tricks to drive to the basket. While post players of the past and today are different, they both still use the principles of balance and stability when playing their game.A post player or a center receives huge forces when guar ding the basket. This is a prime example of static stability in the face of opposing forces (Moran and McGlynn, 1997, p. 56). Post players from the opposing team constantly push and pull him to get him out of the way. Mass is important in being a post player to have enough balance and stability to withstand those vicious offensive moves. The more massive a player is, the greater is his stability. For example, Shaquille O’Neal or Shaq was extremely successful because of his extraordinary mass. There was a time when basketball experts claimed he weighed around 380 lbs.90 percent of that weight consists of muscle tissue and other nonfat tissue. Because of O’Neal’s great mass, other players find it very difficult to break his defense. Offense under the basket is also easy because his defenders just seem to bounce off him. His level of stability is excellent, which makes him an almost perfect post player. The perfect post player though, is not the perfect basketball player. In fact, a player who has a great mass often finds it difficult to change his direction when moving. In this case, quickness and agility are sacrificed for stability and balance.This is similar to a rampaging sumo wrestler that gets easily thrown out of the ring when his quick opponent steps to one side. Post players though, typically play within a very short distance from the basket, so their weakness in terms of quickness and agility is hard to exploit. New centers or post players like Yao Ming have less mass but are quicker and more agile. They are less stable because of their small base, but they can change direction quickly, which is useful in guarding against fast players that drive to the basket. Tall players however, may have lesser balance than shorter players because their center of gravity is very high.You’ll notice that short players are very balanced even when they are dribbling around a number of defenders because their center of gravity is nearer to the ground. Having a wide base is extremely important in being a post player (Chandler and Brown, 2008, p. 87). For this reason, many post players spend long hours in the gym to build their body and widen their base. If a post player’s base is not wide enough, he’ll find it harder to stop offensive attacks coming directly at him from the opposing team. Blocking a player with a small base is easy if the post player’s base is large.Another important factor in being a good post player is the center of gravity. It’s always best to lower a player’s center of gravity to increase his balance and stability. The reason why post players play with knees bent is that they have to widen their base and lower their center of gravity. It’s not always best to widen the base and lower your center of gravity though, as the post player will be sacrificing his height. This makes him vulnerable to high-jumping players from the opposing team who can always drive to t he basket and jump high against the short post player.A post player may also move his base forward to face the opposing force. Moving the line of gravity forward stabilizes the post player, helping hem to successfully guard the basket. It’s not advisable to move the center of gravity too near the front of his base though, because this might result in the player losing his balance. In conclusion, applying balance and stability when playing different sports is important to athletes for them to achieve their goals. Both athletes and coaches should pay more attention to balance and stability to be more successful in their sports.Various sports skills should be honed and trained so the athlete becomes more effective. The physical, mental, and emotional aspects of his game must all come together and become one. While other attributes such as agility and speed are also important in executing different sports skills, balance and stability are very basic in almost all kinds of sports. Without balance and stability, an athlete has a higher chance of failing in his chosen sport. He must constantly weigh the pros and cons of developing balance and stability over other attributes.He may also review the tradeoffs between balance and stability because each one presents their own advantages in a sport. He’ll be more effective in his chosen sport once he perfects his balance and stability. References Carr, G. (2007). Mechanics of Sport: A Practitioner's Guide. Detroit, MI: Human Kinetics Foran, B. (2001). High-performance Sports Conditioning: Modern Training for Ultimate Athletic Development. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Sprunt, K. , Kerwin, D. , & Fowler, N. (2000). An Introduction to Sports Mechanics: A HomeStudy Pack Providing Sportspeople with an Introduction to the Basic Mechanics of Movement. Coachwise. Thompson, W. , & Baldwin, K. (2007). ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer: Techniques, Complications, and Management. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Moran, G. , & McGlynn, G. (1997). Cross-training for Sports: Programs for 26 Sports. 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