Drugs in sport Essay Example for Free

Drugs in sport Essay Drugs in sport is a major problem at this moment in time as it is beginning to become easier to attain drugs in your locally area. There is four different aspects that will be looked at in this essay are the four different aspects of drugs in sport which are philosophy, sociology, psychology and physiology. Each of these different aspects is influential in drugs in sport. These issues are major in sport, as they not only affect the professional athletes that people think that they do. A survey taken of sefton Liverpool is only one example how it affects everyone not just professionals. This showed that anabolic steroids had been the third most commonly offered drug behind cannabis and amphetamines, revealing that 6à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4% of boys and 1à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3% of girls had been offered anabolic steroids (Clarke 1999). We can see the problems with drugs in sport in that if children find out there favourite players or athletes are taking these drugs then they must be tempted and the survey shows how easy it is for them to gain possession of the drug. Drugs are a major issue that has to be looked at. Un officially reports claim that there is as many as twenty to forty percent of gym users taking perfromencing-enhancing drugs. This shows the severity of drugs in sport. (Drug scope website) The first aspect to look at is the philosophy of drugs in sport. Philosophy is described as the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence or, a theory or attitude that guides ones behaviour. (Concise Oxford English Dictionary 2004) The philosophy behind dugs in sport is complex as there are many different philosophies that people will take. One reason is because of their desire to win. The win at all costs theory is rife throughout sport at all levels. The fact that drugs are used widely throughout sport is because of this theory. If a competitor thinks that he will be able to get the edge on any of his opponents he will take it. But the win at all cost attitudes towards sport is essential in athletes taking these performance-enhancing drugs. It was really rammed home what length professional athletes will go to become successful and win. The win at all cost mentality was evident at the biggest stage of sport the Olympics. At the last Olympics there were 24 doping violations throughout the whole of the games. This is double the amount found at the previously highest amount taken at the Olympics. (BBC website) It shows that competitors will do whatever it takes to win that gold medal. The philosophy for many people who decide to go ahead and take drugs is because they believe everyone else does. An interview with a professional weightlifter called Tammy Thompson. She showed the philosophy of since everyone else takes drugs then so should I. in the interview she t6alks about the reason why she started to take performance enhancing drugs. Instead of training harder or going to better techniques, I figured they were taking drugs and I would too. Id catch up. (Todd, 1987) This shows one reason behind this competitor took these drugs and why many other do. The theory that when they lose it is because everyone else is taking drugs not because they cant make the grade in there sport. The philosophy of doing what everyone else is doing is probably the main reason for the competitors taking drugs. When you are watching certain sports you automatically believe that they are taking drugs to enhance their performance. Sports like power lifting, or bodybuilding is rife in them and it is obvious that people would take the drugs to keep up with the other people in their sport if they want to be successful. If we look at taking drugs in a philosophic viewpoint, we always come to the fact that does it really affect the persons success. Are these performance-enhancing drugs actually the magic pill the media makes them out to be? (Simon 1984). They may improve the performance of the competitors taking them but they still have to have the desire to be successful and train to make these drugs work. The drug will not suddenly make an average performer become world class. The person still needs to have that core skill and determination to train and win. We see the taking of these drugs as cheating. Gunther Luschen describes cheating as cheating in sport is the act through which the manifestly or latently agreed upon conditions for winning such a contest are changed in favour of one side. As a result, the principle of equality of chance beyond differences of skill and strategy is violated (1976). Throughout your early experience of sport as a child you are told of the philosophy that cheaters never win. But as a child growing up we see people cheating by taking these drugs every day and the children will see these and it will become even more acceptable than it is at this moment in time. Children are seeing there favourite stars suspected of taking drugs such as Rio Ferdinand and they will start to believe that this is all that you can do to become successful in sport. This is just one case of high profile names being found or believed to be taking drugs while competing in sport. When you look on what the philosophy is behind the reason performers take drugs there is a wide selection. But one thing through all the theories that you may find for the use of performance enhancing drugs is that they are related to the person or persons winning. No matter what why they put there reason for taking these drugs it will always come back to the fact that they want to win and be successful. The next factor that I will be looking at the affect of taking the drugs has on a persons psychology. There is psychological affects that come upon a person are different for each stage of use of performance enhancing drugs. Some affects of taking these drugs are to have changes in moods, become more confident in your self and you become more motivated and enthusiastic. These may seem like good affects but these come early in the usage of drugs. Eventually the person will come prone to mood swings; they will create aggressive feeling, which grow into violence and hostile behaviour. (Corrigan 1996) we can see just from these affect the severity of taking these drugs. You think of the amount of people that are on these drugs and you can see the problem that arise with people taking performance enhancing drugs, these violent behaviour are also what led to such incidents as including reckless driving or crashing cars, assaults, marriage break-ups, domestic violence, child abuse, suicide and attempted murder or murder. (Schulte, Hail, Boyer, 1993) We can see the potential havoc that these drugs can cause to a person psychological health. When you look at the psychological effect that taking these drugs have upon the persons taking anabolic steroids one familiar factor continues to arise. This factor is that a person will develop mood disorders. Pope and Katz (1990) found that 22 per cent of bodybuilders and footballers were found to meet the American Psychiatric Associations criteria for a manic or depressive episode while on anabolic steroids, it was also discovered that once stopped taking the drug there symptoms subsided. This shows how taking these steroids can affect a persons psychological well being. The drug affects people in a variety of ways, be it like above in their moods and make them come a bit more depressed. Where as in the other reports found that taking these anabolic steroids affect a person aggression we can see this in a study taken by Choi and Pope (1994) they took study of 24 anabolic steroid user and 14 non users. The findings were that while a person who was taking a drug cycle they were more likely to report verbal and physical fights with their spouse compared with the non-user and people that were not currently on a drug cycle. We can see from these affects that a person has while he or she is on a drug cycle. This is a worrying thought as we have already seen the amount of drug user there is thought to be. Among the community of steroid users there is a term called roid rage, which described by Wright, Grogan and Hunter (2001) as an uncontrollable outbursts of aggression. In report taken by Beel (1994) people who are taking these drugs compare normally to the general public in education, income, height and alcohol consummation. Though are likely to report roid rage as a response to small amounts of provocation. This is a worrying finding if it does not take a lot to make a person go into an uncontrollable fit of rage. We see the stats of how many people can get hold of these drugs and how many people are currently using the drug. But you only realise the fact that it affects the people around them as well. If they take one of these roid rage it may be the people nearest to them they take it out on and in s ome cases that can be there wives or their children. Looking at the overall effect of drugs on the whole on the user psychological state of mind it is worrying thought that there are so many effects that can occur a person during cycles of drug use. These affects are not just affecting the person themselves but the people nearest to them they are also affected. We see all the problems that come with taking these drugs and yet they still take them knowing that they will affects them and this shows that they are willing to do whatever it takes to be successful in there goal. This links in with the philosophy of winning at all costs on previously in the paper. The next factor that I will be looking at is the sociology behind why people take these performance-enhancing drugs. A main factor in the use of these drugs is to enhance their body appearance. When giving reasons for using these performance-enhancing drugs improving body image was most frequently given answer amongst gym users. (Taylor and Black 1987) this answer shows that people are to this being socially acceptable and look the correct way to people. This stems from the public image and the role models that are made of sports stars. Examples are rife in all countries, are it here in Briton where a lot of our superstars are given the clean cut image and built up to a superstar status. You look at Dwain Chambers a major force in 100 meters sprinting who is portrayed to the public as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Chambers ultimately caught with taking banned substance THG while in his training camp in Germany. (Parry 2006) This has ruined his image of a role model. People looking up at chambers will think this must be acceptable and the only way to be successful. It promotes that image in society that to become as successful as him you will have to take performance-enhancing drugs. We see the affect that drugs have in sport through the number of people caught each year. But when you look and see that children are thinking of beginning to play sport and want to be successful you can see the problem. Linford Christie and Olympic medalist himself stated that athletics has become so corrupt with drugs that he would not want he children involved in it. (Savulescu, Foddy and Clayton 2004) when you see an Olympic champion saying such bad thing about a sport it helps you realize the severity of drug taking in sport. This affects him even though to the society who thinks it was best time of his life, but in reality he does not even want his children to experience this side of a professional sportsman society where drugs are common and not really thought about. When you look at society and who their role models are especially in England the people they look up to are the professional footballers. So the affect of any of these players taking drugs would affect the society as a whole and promote taking these performance-enhancing drugs. In survey conducted by Waddington, Malcolm, Roderick, et al (2004) of professional footballers in England, they found that there was at four premiership players using enhancing drugs. This has massive affect on society as if these people are thought to be gaining in success and in the money that they earn then it must have affect on society on how they react to this. Public see there top stars such as Gerrard, Rooney, or Henry taking drugs they will obviously think that this is how they can immolate there heroes. This shows how drugs in sport affect the society as a whole. The sociology side of drugs in sport is big in that it affects a lot of different society I not just one singular society. We look at athletes who get caught taking enhancing drugs and they are role models to all aspiring athletes or competitors and to no that they only achieved these heights through taking drugs only promotes the need for competitors to take drugs. A big example is in America baseball where Mark McGwire broke the record for most home run hits in baseball history for one season. Two weeks before McGwire broke this record he admitted to taking performance-enhancing drug but once he broke that record he was still treated like a hero and built up as a great of the game. But with this they also to a society of aspiring baseball players promoted taking this drug to become a player as good as McGwire was. The final aspect that you have to look at is what are the physiological affects when you are taking drugs. While a person is taking these performance-enhancing drugs there are physical affects that occur to the body. Strauss and Yesalis (1991) said that while a person is taking anabolic steroid that there is a growth in the size of a person while on these drugs. Though this is a plus of becoming bigger or being more successful at there sport there is also the downside of taking these drugs. Some of these problems are testicular atrophy, prostate enlargement, difficulty in urination secondary to changes in the prostate, (Daigle 1990) these are not shown to the buyer the problems that can occur from taking anabolic steroids, this is only one of many possible symptoms. When we look at all the different forms drugs caffeine also come up as a banned substance in terms off athletes. This drug has an affect on the muscles of the body and makes them go for longer it act upon the skeletal muscles. (Ganslen 1974) Drugs the different types of drugs which a person takes are vast they can range from drugs that are designed to produce muscle mass and make the performer bigger such as anabolic steroids, or drugs designed to make your red blood cell count become greater which are called EPO. EPO proper name Erythropoietin. EPO is a hormone produced by the kidneys that produces red blood cells within the body. By injecting themselves with extra EPO, athletes can not only improve oxygen absorption but also potentially increase the metabolism and healing process of muscles. (Bennett, 2003) This drug is helpful with professional coaching as it means that the person can train for longer. We can see simply from the two different drugs the radical changes that taking these performance-enhancing drugs can have on people. When you look at drugs in sport through each of these different aspects you can see a lot of how sever the problem is. Each aspect links in with each other to form different problems. Looking at the different whys that it harms a person it is not only a person body that it is affecting but also their mind. You also look at top professionals from all around the world; they are role models to children from their countries who wish to be like them. So when they decide to take these drugs it is there body they are damaging but also the body of there fans who think that it is acceptable to take drugs if there heroes are doing so as well. It is the responsibilities to get a message out that drugs a re bad and should never be used in enhance a competitors performance because there decision affects many more people.

Beneficial of team work

Beneficial of team work Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford I personally feel that team work is almost totally beneficial to an organisation and also to its members. Researchers suggest that individuals are better than teams at generating new ideas, but the teams are better than individuals at evaluating ideas. Before advancing into the argument, let us first try to understand what does the term Team actually mean and in turn to understand it we should figure out what does a Group mean. A group is a collection of two or more people who often have a face to face interaction among themselves and work in an interdependent manner in order to achieve their common goals. As mentioned by Katzenbach Smith, a team is an extraordinary form of a formalised group. He states that a team consists of a small number of people who all are committed to serve a common purpose and achieve their performance goals. It generally operates with a common approach and the people in it are always mutually accountable. Having got an idea of what a team really means, now let us try to get a pinch of some of the issues that are being faced by them. The following should be taken care for the proper functioning of a team, A pleasant atmosphere should be maintained within it and all its members should sustain a good relationship among themselves. All the members should be made to actively participate in the team. The members should all be made aware and also accept their team goals the up to date informations should be shared among them. If any misunderstanding arises in the team, they should be resolved as and when possible. Since decision making holds a higher degree of importance, all the team members must be made to participate in it. Performance evaluation should be carried out frequently. Labour should be equally divided among all the members and they should be given the freedom to express their concerns. In order for the team work to be beneficial to an organisation and its employees the practise of it should be made efficient enough. The effectiveness of such a team could be determined by factors like its design, overall composition and the processes it follows whereas Hackman suggests three different criterias for assessing a teams effectiveness. Firstly, it is the actual output of the team. Secondly, the entire team should work as a performing unit. Thirdly, each member of the team should be satisfied with the experience of working in it. As already stated now let us study in detail about the various factors that contributes to the effective working of a team. Effort There are some factors which intensifies the quantity of effort the members of the team disburse on carrying out the given task, Work Design The motivating factor of the team very much relies on its work design. Hackman states that a higher degree of effort is achieved from the team only if the task they perform is found to be challenging, has a major impact on the organisation or its clients, is totally owned by the team and if it gives out regular feedback on the team members performance. Reward System Efforts will be higher if there is a reward system in place. It provides the team with challenging objectives and emphasizes their accomplishment. Hence it directly paves way for the team members growth and indirectly aids the organisations augmentation. Knowledge and Skill The members of the team should be both technically as well functionally competent. The effective performance of a team mainly depends on the resources (Knowledge and Skill) it possesses in order to complete the given job. The factors that should be taken care are, Team Composition A teams composition is mainly determined by the level of expertise it has pertaining to the performing task. But normally the teams composition is determined either by seniority or by personal predilections instead of taking into account the ability or the technical expertise it possesses. Team Size Though many teams in an organisation tend to be large, it does not paves way for the effective functioning of the team. The major issue being that if the number of members in a teams increases then the degree of interaction within the team decreases to a greater extent. In addition some people will start finding it difficult to make their contributions. As stated by Handy, the first and foremost reason for the above is that a tendency would start arising for those who make huge contributions to employ most influence and vice versa. The second factor being that the people who are devoid of their contribution could deny the team of their relevant knowledge and skills. Performance Strategies Hackman states that a team would almost employ a task appropriate performance strategy based on the following three conditions, Firstly, the concern about the amount of information available for the team members to be made use while assessing their performance. Secondly, the concern is about the interaction that takes place within the team members which in turn encourages them to make use of the information available. The teams before getting into the actual must do some pre-work to figure out what the work is all about and the process which they should employ. Thirdly, the team interaction not only paves way for newer ideas but also helps the team to no get deviated from the strategic implementation of their ideas. In spite of taking good care during some instances there seems to be some deviation from the chosen approach, which in turn is mainly due to the lacking of quality in the decision making process. Decision Making One of the major factors pursued by a team in order to achieve good results both for the organisation and its members is the Decision Making. All the members of the team should be actively made to participate in the decision making process. Biasing is an important factor that arises during the decision making process. The one being the general biasing where even though there seems to be an abundance of information across all the team members, it is always some peoples voice which could be heard in the decision making process owing to their seniority. The second kind of biasing is called the Epistemic Freezing, which means the team tends to come up with an opinion and once it is shaped up it is left all alone i.e., it is literally let to freeze out. The teams normally make accurate decisions when compared to the individuals. There are two reasons to support it. Firstly, when all the members of the team are brought together they all in turn bring about a diversity of knowledge and information which could not be obtained from a single person. Secondly, there would be different approaches by different kinds of people in a team for the problem in progress. The teams should comprise of a good mix of people in order to make the decision making process effective. It should have a combination with different levels of experiences in the problem they are dealing with. The status of the team members should never be considered in the decision making process, this is because the members with a higher status always try to have some amount of influence on the teams solution to the given problem which in some scenarios could be wrong. There are number of techniques for performing the decision making process in a team. Some of them are as follows, Brainstorming A team of about five to ten people sit together and discuss for about an hour about the issues on which they need to generate newer ideas. It is normally the lead person who initiates the meeting. The entire conversation between the team members are recorded for later assessment. Delphi Technique The actual face to face interaction among the team members does not takes place. Initially each member of the group writes down his ideas and solutions to the reported problem, which are then updated in a common database. Each member of the team are then sent a copy of the other members contributions and are all expected give out their comments for the same. The above process is repeated until the team arrives at a common solution. Stages of Team Development There are five stages in the development process of a team. The teams though often keep changing the order of development owing to the constant change of members in it. Forming The actual formation of the team takes place in this stage. The team interacts and learns about the challenges and agrees on their goals. This is considered as the most important stage as the basic interaction between the team members takes place here. Storming The team argues about the different ideas that are to be considered. Since all the team members actively participate, this stage is considered necessary for the growth of the team. Norming The team members start to adjust each others behaviour and make work to seem more natural and free flowing. They agree on each others rules working methods and ideas. A sense of mutual trust begins to develop among them. Performing The teams begin to perform their tasks as unit without any supervision. The members of the team tend to be become interdependent, motivated and knowledgeable. In this stage the team members care of the decision making processes by themselves. A teams success not only depends on its members but mainly on the kind of leader it has. A leader is one who guides as well as acts with his team to achieve their objectives. A good team should have leader who could portray different working styles and also be able to recognise the strengths of his team members as well as tolerate their weakness. Also an excellent team should not be stuck with the one person as its leader all the time. Team Building Team are often found to be more cohesive. The factors that add on to it are, The Common Task Teams always perform as closely tied unit since they work for achieving a common goal. This unified approach leads to a greater degree of cooperation and job satisfaction among its members which in turn helps the organisation to give out its deliverables at a faster rate. Communication When there is a better level of communication among the team members, they begin to help each other and make themselves to get a grip on all the processes. Hence communication paves way for the team to start working as an organised unit. Size The team should only have a maximum of 10-12 members. Increases in the number of members tend to have an adverse on the performance of the team. Belbin has suggested eight roles that could be used while building a team. They are, Company Workers A person who is hard working and self disciplined. He has good organising ability and is also pretty dutiful. Chairperson A person who has good idea about his team objectives. He is almost confident, calm and treats everyone in the team fairly. He is not all biased. Shaper As the name indicates he is the person who challenges and corrects all kinds of deficiencies that is prevalent in the team. Plant A person with higher degree of individualism and with radiant imagination and intellectual capabilities. Resource Investigator Someone who comes up with newer ideas and solutions for the reports problems. He communicates well with all his team members. Monitor Evaluator Someone having good judgemental capabilities and a practical attitude towards work. Team Worker He is always calm in nature and interacts with others and induces team spirit among them. Completer-Finisher An anxious person who follows order in each and everything he does and has a obsession towards perfection. Though team work always ends up in success, there are some scenarios which could result for its failure, If there are not enough knowledgeable people Conflicts between the members of the team owing to the portrayal of different characters Incapability of some to perform their assigned tasks Constant changing of the roles of the members within the team Lack of basic ethos to aid the team growth by the organisation

Suprascapular Neuropathy in Overhead Athletes

Suprascapular Neuropathy in Overhead Athletes SUPRASCAPULAR NEUROPATHY IN OVERHEAD ATHLETES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW ON AETIOLOGY AND TREATMENT OPTIONS Surya.P, Pankhania. R, Funk.L ABSTRACT Suprascapular neuropathy is often overlooked as a cause for shoulder pain in overhead athletes. However, with recent advancements in the understanding of the condition as well as its treatment methods, suprascapular neuropathy is now diagnosed more frequently. Consistent overhead activities, rotator cuff tear and direct compression of the nerve, by space occupying lesion are important etiologies for suprascapular neuropathy. While MRI is widely used to identify space-occupying lesions and rotator cuff injury; Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV) remains gold standards for confirming injury to the nerve. Conservative physical therapy, nerve blocks and arthroscopic and open surgical interventions are the main treatment plans for suprascapular neuropathy. 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND The posterosuperior aspect of shoulder receives its sensory innervation from the suprascapular nerve. The suprascapular nerve also provides motor innervation to supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles. Compression or traction of nerve and rotator cuff diseases are found to be associated with suprascapular nerve damage and neuropathy. Clinical symptoms of the condition include pain in the posterior shoulder, feeble forward flexion, and weak external rotation. It is also noteworthy that the multiple presentations for suprascapular nerve neuropathy vary greatly in different patients and thus diagnosis of the condition is often challenging. This kind of nerve damage is a less common reason for shoulder pain and dysfunction in the general population, however is widely observed in athletes who play overhead sports such as volleyball, tennis, badminton, and baseball. Such sports expose the athletes hands to overhead, abducted and externally rotated positions for prolonged periods of time. ( Cummins Schneider, 2008). Observational studies have identified that players involved in overhead sports are at higher risk of injuries related to overuse of the shoulder such as rotator cuff tendinopathy and tearing of glenoid labrum (Pillai et al. 2011). On the other hand, shoulder pain due to suprascapular neuropathy is observed in only 1-2% of cases and therefore, the condition is often overlooked during diagnosis for shoulder pain (Boykin et al. 2010). Among the overhead sports athletes, incidences of suprascapular neuropathy are maximum in volleyball players. Around 33% of volleyball players suffer from this condition at some instance in their career (Boykin et al. 2010). Traditionally, suprascapular neuropathy has always been regarded as a diagnosis of exclusion. However, now with further understanding of the etiology and advanced diagnostic options, the condition is being recognised by physicians from an earlier onset. 2. AETIOLOGY FOR SUPRASCAPULAR NEUROPATHY Rotator cuff tear is considered as a prime cause for suprascapular neuropathy. Studies show that suprascapular neuropathy can also develop secondary to traction and microtrauma, especially in overhead athletes, particularly due to tightening of the spinoglenoid ligament during the overhead throwing position. The risk for the development of suprascapular neuropathy also increases in patients with ossification of the transverse scapular ligament or spinoglenoid ligament. Other causes such as; compression of the nerve at spinoglenoid notch due to the presence of a bone tumor, cyst due to labral, soft tissue or capsular injury tissue can also lead to the condition. Suprascapular neuropathy is also rarely seen following brachial neuritis, glenohumeral dislocation, fracture of the shoulder girdle, and penetrating or iatrogenic injury to the nerve (Lewis et al. 2012). All these etiological factors for suprascapular neuropathy are discussed in detail in the following section. 2.1 Rotator Cuff Injury: Anatomically, the suprascapular nerve branches from the upper trunk of the brachial plexus. From there, it travels posterior to the clavicle, passes below the transverse scapular ligament and then enters the suprascapular notch. The motor branches innervate the supraspinatus, and the nerve continues past the spinoglenoid notch and innervates the infraspinatus. Injury due to traction or compression of the nerve at any point in this path can lead to suprascapular neuropathy. Retracted superior or posterior rotator cuff tear is the most common cause for suprascapular nerve traction injury. Tension on the suprascapular nerve lying at a suprascapular notch or spinoglenoid notch increases with the retraction of supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons. Studies on cadavers by Gosk et al (2007) showed that as the retraction of supraspinatus tendon increases, it reduces the angle between the suprascapular nerve and its first motor branch, which leads to an increase in tension and thus causes t raction injury. Gosk et al. (2007) also found that massive rotator cuff tear was the main reason for suprascapular neuropathy in eight different overhead players. On the other hand, studies by Lajtai et al. (2009) found that rotator cuff tear and muscle atrophy were responsible for only 8% of suprascapular neuropathy cases. Expanding the knowledge on the topic, different studies also showed that the tension between rotator cuff, supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons has a profound impact on the condition of the suprascapular nerve. Observations of cadaver showed that the tension on the neurovascular pedicle increases significantly once the lateral advancement of a retracted rotator cuff tear exceeds 3 cm (Greiner et al. 2003). Other studies suggest that if the rotator cuff extension increases by 3 cm, it lay significant tension on the motor branches of the suprascapular nerve. Also, the tension on the medial portion of the suprascapular nerve starts to increase only by 1 cm extension of the rotator cuff. Increased tension is one of the important reasons for traction injury to the nerve (Larissa et al. 2014). It has also been reported that following surgical repair of rotator cuff tear, the tendons can be advanced up to 3.5 cm without any significant risk to the health of suprascapular nerve. Various reports suggest that surgical repair of rotator cuff tear can help in either partially or completely resolving suprascapular neuropathy. Nerve recovery by reinnervation has been found in patients of suprascapular neuropathy following partial or complete arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (Petra et al. 2013). 2.2 Nerve injury: Sports Specific Etiology: Sports physiotherapists have proposed various etiological mechanisms for suprascapular neuropathy which includes repeated traction, microtrauma, ischaemia of the nerve and compression of the nerve by soft tissue, tumor or cyst. However, the majority of the healthcare professionals consider that nerve injury due to repetitive trauma is the main reason for the development of suprascapular neuropathy. Two main sites for suprascapular nerve injury are: the suprascapular notch and the spinoglenoid notch. The symptoms alongside clinical presentation for suprascapular neuropathy thus depend on the location of nerve injury. Injury of suprascapular nerve at the spinoglenoid notch has been found to cause isolated atrophy and weakness of the infraspinatus muscle. This condition is also known as infraspinatus syndrome. A systematic literature review by Lee et al. (2007) found that suprascapular neuropathy due to infraspinatus syndrome is common in overhead game athletes, particularly volleyball players. (https://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/article/1250) One important reason for traction injury in volleyball players is the huge amount of motion occurring at the shoulder during throwing action. The role of the scapula in allowing throwing motion as well as other overhead sports activity is now well-researched. It has been observed that the movement of the scapula during the protraction and retraction of hands leads to significant trauma of suprascapular nerve at both the suprascapular and spinoglenoid notches. This phenomenon is known as the sling effect. The sling effect proposes that certain positioning of upper limb during overhead activity exposes the suprascapular nerve at the suprascapular notch to a significant amount of sheer stress and thus injury. Sling effect also suggests that the suprascapular nerve is exposed to high risk of traction injury when it bends around the spine of the scapula at the spinoglenoid notch (Arash et al. 2015). Chronic overuse of shoulder, as well as functional instability, may cause the suprascapular nerve to angle sharply at the spinoglenoid notch, as an adaptive response. This condition is known as SICK scapula which is an abbreviation to Scapular protraction, Inferior border prominence, Coracoid tightness, and Kinesis abnormalities of the scapula (Burkhart et al. 2003). While imaging for the shoulder injuries of volleyball players, Crema Murakami (2016) found that SICK scapula significantly contributes to increased tension on the suprascapular nerve and thus causes traumatic injury. https://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/article/930 http://www.scielo.br The spinoglenoid ligament lays into the posterior glenohumeral capsule. Observations suggest that the ligament gets stretched and rigid with the abduction and internal rotation of the ipsilateral upper limb across the body. Such action leads to the traction of suprascapular nerve at the spinoglenoid notch (Crema Murakani, 2016). Sandow Ilic (1998) provided another proposal for traumatic injury to the suprascapular nerve. According to them, when the upper limb is abducted and externally rotated, the medial border of the spinatus tendon present at the spinoglenoid notch compresses the suprascapular nerve. Repeated upper limb action thus causes trauma to the nerve and injures it. Plancher Petterson (2016), recently supported this mechanism of nerve injury in their research paper. The injury to the posterior part of the suprascapular nerve is thought to occur due to multiple, abrupt, peculiar stretching of infraspinatus tendon during the deceleration phase of the floater serve (the most common type of overhead volleyball serve). Ferretti observed such injury in volleyball players while Arash et al. (2016) observed this in various overhead sports players as well as labourers. 2.3 Other etiologies: Nerve compression: According to Raddic Wallace (2016) direct compression of suprascapular nerve passing through spinoglenoid notch can occur due to ganglionic cysts arising from the glenohumeral joint. Such cysts are formed by synovial fluid leakage due to injury to the posterior glenoid labrum. Incidences of suprascapular nerve compression due to a bone tumor or the surrounding soft tissues are very rare but not absent. Nerve ischaemia: In very rare conditions, microemboli formed after any trauma gets trapped in the suprascapular artery and then migrate to the vasa nervorum thus hindering the blood and fluid supply to the suprascapular nerve. This leads to nerve ischemia and then neuropathy (Shin et al. 2016). 3. PRESENTATION DIAGNOSIS OF SUPRASCAPULAR NEUROPATHY The peculiar clinical presentations of suprascapular neuropathy are as follows: Shoulder pain which worsens on cross body abduction or internal rotation of ipsilateral muscle. Atrophy of supraspinatus or/and infraspinatus muscle, observable on physical examination. The weakness of ipsilateral shoulder abduction observed during manual muscle testing. The weakness of external rotation of shoulder observed during manual muscle testing. Pain elicited by pressure application over the suprascapular and spinoglenoid notch. The tenderness between the clavicle and the spine of the scapula or deep and posterior to the acromioclavicular joint (Podgorski et al. 2014). Radiological examination using X-rays is the first step for diagnosis if suprascapular neuropathy is suspected. It is important to have a radiological view of a suprascapular notch and spinoglenoid notch along with a standard view of the shoulder area. However, no remarkable changes can be observed in the radiological images unless is a prominent trauma responsible for the condition. MRI of the shoulder helps in identifying muscle oedema, muscle atrophy, and ganglionic cyst, if present. These factors are responsible for suprascapular neuropathy due to direct compression. Three Tesla (3-T) MRI scan is another tool used in the diagnosis of suprascapular neuropathy as it helps to identify any nerve abnormality or any denervation changes in muscles. Ultrasound is also appliable for the diagnosis of cysts and other muscle abnormalities as it is an inexpensive and relatively accurate diagnostic tool (Ahlawat et al. 2015). Electrodiagnostic studies are gaining increasing popularity as an important diagnostic tool for suprascapular neuropathy. Positive sharp waves and fibrillation potentials indicated by electromyography can suggest denervation while polyphasic motor unit action potentials suggest motor innervation abnormalities. Larisa et al (2014) suggest that electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction velocity (NCV) tests are the gold standards for the detection of suprascapular nerve injury. EMG and NCV are suggested in the following conditions: Consistent pain on the back upper side of the shoulder and no confirm diagnosis is found. Atrophy as well as the weakness of supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons in the absence of rotator cuff injury. MRI observations show muscle edema. Massive rotator cuff tendons with retraction and traction on the nerve. There are published and examined normative values for electrodiagnostic studies. According to which, the normal distal motor latencies to the supraspinatus muscles during stimulation at the Erb point are 2.7 msec  ± 0.5 and to the infraspinatus muscles, 3.3 msec  ± 0.5. Side-to-side differences greater than 0.4 msec suggest focal entrapment of the SSN or another neural injury (Larisa et al. 2014). In some cases, where outcomes of these electrodiagnostic studies are negative or not specific; fluoroscopically guided local anesthetic injection is used. This injection is administered to the region of suprascapular nerve and related pain relief is evaluated. This method is very effective in confirming the involvement of suprascapular nerve injury in shoulder pain (Debbie et al. 2014). 4. TREATMENT MODALITIES FOR SUPRASCAPULAR NEUROPATHY Treatment for suprascapular neuropathy is selected on the basis of different factors like etiology of nerve damage, the severity of nerve damage, duration of pain and weakness in shoulder, degree of functional disability and patients choice. The three main types of treatment options are conservative physical therapy, nerve blocks and surgical repair. 4.1 Physical therapy: If the suprascapular neuropathy is caused due to rotator cuff tear or labral tear with paralabral cyst, the treatment selection is done with regards to the pathology. However, in the case of isolated nerve injury, the conservative treatment plan including activity modification, analgesic drugs, and conservative physical therapy is initiated. The patient is asked to avoid or stop overhead activity as soon as he/she is diagnosed with suprascapular neuropathy. Following which, a physical therapy program is initiated which focuses on the movement of shoulder and muscle strengthening. The therapy also includes scapular stabilisation (Trojian, 2015). Different studies on patients with isolated suprascapular neuropathy suggest that non operative treatment for 6 months to 1 year provides good to excellent outcomes in the majority of the patients while surgical intervention following physical therapy is required by only 20% patients (Lee et al. 2007). Boykin et al (2010) suggest that such non-operative treatments in the case of suprascapular neuropathy due to compression by mass or a cyst do not provide satisfactory results. It has been found that 53% of patients with suprascapular neuropathy due to spinoglenoid cyst get significant pain control and symptomatic relief with non-operative methods while 96% of such patients experienced positive outcomes with surgical treatment. 4.2 Surgical Treatment: In case the conservative physical therapy for isolated suprascapular neuropathy fails, the patient is switched to surgical intervention. Furthermore, surgical intervention is immediately offered if suprascapular neuropathy is concomitant to rotator cuff tear or labrum tears with paralabral cysts. However, literature review suggests that there are debates about the application of surgical intervention for correcting nerve decompression in case of concomitant pathology. Many researchers recommend only for the correction of the isolated rotator cuff or labral repair and avoid surgery for nerve decompression (Boykin et al. 2010). Nerve damage at the suprascapular notch is usually treated with the release of the transverse ligament by an open or arthroscopic technique. Fewer complications have been observed with the open technique. Patients are reported to have adequate pain management as well as improved muscle strength with the open technique. However, muscle atrophy cannot be reversed in all the cases using this technique. Improvement of supraspinatus muscle strength is observed among 90% of patients treated by open technique while no significant improvement of infraspinatus muscle is seen (Kim et al. 2005). While there are no specific indications for arthroscopic suprascapular nerve decompression, it has been found to be similarly effective in resolving pain. However, extensive data is not available to show the effectiveness of the technique in treating muscle atrophy and weakness (Boykin et al. 2010). Nerve damage at spinoglenoid notch is usually secondary to nerve compression by the space-occupying lesion. Surgical management of such lesions often requires open or arthroscopic approach and resection of the lesion. It is noteworthy that patients with suprascapular neuropathy at spinoglenoid notch show poor results with physical therapy alone and thus are suggested to have surgical intervention immediately. Cyst recurrence rates are very low with both the methods (Petra et al. 2013). Literature review suggests that ultrasound-guided paralabral cyst aspiration is a good alternative to surgical intervention for suprascapular neuropathy due to compression at spinoglenoid notch. While the majority of patients reported excellent pain relief with the technique, recurrence rates for cyst are found to be between 75 100% (Moen et al. 2012). 4.3 Nerve Block: Nerve blocks are non-surgical treatment options for suprascapular neuropathy. Nerve blocks are usually administered to manage shoulder pain in preoperative setups as well as in the case of painful shoulder conditions like adhesive capsulitis. Diagnostic usage and specificity of nerve blocks are widely debated, but the blocks are used to achieve rapid symptomatic relief so that the patient can properly participate in the rehabilitation physical therapy. Nerve blocks consist of an injection of an anaesthetic mixed with corticosteroid administered to the suprascapular notch (Blum et al. 2013). Newer techniques like radiofrequency ablation of suprascapular nerve or palliative treatment for pain due to suprascapular neuropathy are still under consistent research phase and are not yet widely applied. 5. CONCLUSION The incidences of suprascapular neuropathy can be more easily recognised now due to increased understanding of the condition and improved diagnostic methods. Overhead athletes presenting with vague posterosuperior shoulder pain, muscle atrophy, weakness of supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons must be investigated for suprascapular neuropathy. The condition must also be investigated in all the athletes with rotator cuff tear, due to the high incidence. MRI and EMG are the most reliable diagnostic techniques to identify suprascapular neuropathy and rotator cuff health. Recently, fluoroscopically guided injections to the suprascapular notch are also gaining popularity as a diagnostic method for the condition. While conservative physical methods can be applied to treat the isolated suprascapular neuropathy, open or arthroscopic surgical corrections are compulsory to treat suprascapular neuropathy due to rotator cuff tear and cystic compression. REFERENCES:Ahlawat S, Wadhwa V, Belzberg AJ, Batra K, Chhabra A. (2015) Spectrum of suprascapular nerve lesions: normal and abnormal neuromuscular imaging appearances on 3-T MR neurography. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 204 (3), 589-601. Arash A., Michael J., and Felix H. (2015) Suprascapular Nerve Release: General Principles. In: Elite Techniques in Shoulder Arthroscopy. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 271-281. Blum A, Lecocq S, Louis M, Wassel J, Moisei A, Teixeira P. (2013) The nerves around the shoulder. Eur J Radiol., 82(1),2-16. Boykin RE, Friedman DJ, Higgins LD, Warner JJ. (2010) Suprascapular neuropathy. J Bone Joint Surg Am., 92(13), 2348-64. Burkhart SS, Morgan CD, Kibler WB. (2003) The disabled throwing shoulder: spectrum of pathology Part III: The SICK scapula, scapular dyskinesis, the kinetic chain, and rehabilitation. Arthroscopy, 19(6), 641-61. Crema M., and Murakami A. (2016) Imaging of volleyball injuries. In: Imaging in Sports-Specific Musculoskeletal Injuries. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 663-695. Cummins CA, Schneider DS. (2008) Peripheral nerve injuries in baseball players. Neurol Clin., 26(1), 195-215. Debbie L., Angel M., William E., Susan V., and Ambrose J. (2014) Optimization and Standardization of Technique for Fluoroscopically Guided Suprascapular Nerve Blocks. American Journal of Roentgenology, 202(3), 576-584, 2014. Gosk J, Urban M, Rutowski R. (2007) Entrapment of the suprascapular nerve: anatomy, etiology, diagnosis, treatment. Ortop Traumatol Rehabil, 9(1), 68-74. Greiner K., Golser M, Wambacher F, Kralinger G, and Sperner T. (2003) The course of the suprascapular nerve in the supraspinatus fossa and its vulnerability in muscle advancement. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 12(3), 256-259. Kim D, Murovic JA, Tiel R, and Kline D. (2005) Management and outcomes of 42 surgical suprascapular nerve injuries and entrapments. Neurosurgery, 57(1), 120-127, 2005. Lajtai G, Pfirrmann CW, Aitzetmà ¼ller G, Pirkl C, Gerber C, and Jost B. (2009) The shoulders of professional beach volleyball players: high prevalence of infraspinatus muscle atrophy. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 37(7), 1375-1383. Larisa J., Elena J., Marisa J., and Jeffrey A. (2014) Evaluation, Treatment, and Outcomes of Suprascapular Neuropathy: A 5-Year Review. PM R, 6(9), 774-80. Lee BC, Yegappan M, Thiagarajan P. (2007) Suprascapular nerve neuropathy secondary to spinoglenoid notch ganglion cyst: case reports and review of literature. Ann Acad Med Singapore, 36(12),1032-5. Lewis L., Michael T., Paul Y., and Jon J. (2012) Suprascapular Nerve: Is It Important in Cuff Pathology? Advances in Orthopedics, Article ID 516985. Moen TC, Babatunde OM, Hsu SH, Ahmad CS, Levine WN. (2012) Suprascapular neuropathy: what does the literature show? J Shoulder Elbow Surg., 21(6), 835-46. Petra M, Gaspar S, Sven L, Peter H, and Mathias W. (2013) Results of Arthroscopic Partial Repair of Large Retracted Rotator Cuff Tears. Arthroscopy-The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery, 29(8), 1275-1282, 2013. Pillai G, Baynes JR, Gladstone J, Flatow EL. (2011) Greater strength increase with cyst decompression and SLAP repair than SLAP repair alone. Clin Orthop Relat Res., 469(4), 1056-60. Plancher K., and Petterson S. (2016) Distal Suprascapular Nerve Compression: Spinoglenoid Ligament Release. In: Elite Techniques in Shoulder Arthroscopy. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 283-302. Podgorski M, Miroslaw T, Marcin S, Piotr G, Ludomir S, and Michal P. (2014) New parameters describing morphological variations in the suprascapular notch region as potential predictors of suprascapular nerve entrapment. Bmc Musculoskeletal Disorders, 15. Raddic R Wallace A. (2016) Arthroscopic release and labral repair for bifocal compression of the suprascapular nerve. Shoulder Elbow, 8(1), 32-36. Trojian T. (2015, October 13) Suprascapular Neuropathy. Retrieved from: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/92672-overview

Essay examples --

Laura Greene SOC 421 Section 1002 Fall 2013 Dr. Mann Marxist Theories in Todays Society Karl Marx was a German philosopher whose work are thought to still have an influence even on todays society. Marx believed that material goods were the root of the social world and that social life is fundamentally about conflict over food, land, money, and other material goods. The ideal government for Marx would be a communist state where resources are equally shared. However, here in America it seems we will always have a democratic government where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. For my final paper I will use the marxist theoretical ideas to investigate how Wal-Mart uses their economic and financial power to exploit their workers and suppliers. I will use Marx’s theory to understand how Wal-Mart not only manipulates and exploits its employees and suppliers but, also how they are able to alienate their employees. Marx’s theories remain as powerful framework for explaining the actions of a billion dollar multinational company because of its focus Wage-La bor, Surplus Value and Alienation. By sharing with the reader the reasons why Wal-Mart should be considered a threat to our society by using Marx theories, I hope to bring attention the true cost of getting things for a bargain. For the purpose of this paper I will be focusing on his theories about Wage-Labor, Surplus Value and Alienation and using them to explain Wal-Marts actions. Throughout the course of his life, Marx came up with many theories. However, Marx was very interested in the topic of capitalism.nCapitalism can be defined as being an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by th... ...ncome. However, today’s materialistic society is so obsessed with the idea of commodity fetishism that we are blinded by the effects of it. We only think of where we can buy great products at low prices? Wal-Mart is always the answer, but if only we knew at what price of exploiting and alienating their employees, would we change out minds. Consumers never see the work that goes into making the product or how the labor has turned the worker into nothing but another commodity. All the consumer sees is the status or wealth depicted by the product. In all capitalism is what keeps our society in order. Even though Wal-Mart has become the bourgeoisie that Marx was against and feared, he would be happy to say that his prediction came true. In all, through these examples, I hope to open the publics eyes and show them at what cost their bargains are costing the workers.

scent of women :: essays research papers fc

The scent of women   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is safe to say that most women like to smell good. Perfume holds the power that woman are what they wear. Women’s magazines everywhere show ad after ad about perfume and what she will be able to do once they wear it. However, not all women have the same tastes and interests. In order for perfume ads to be successful, advertisers cannot just use one kind of formula to appeal to attract women. Sporty women compared to high class conservative women probably do not have the same taste in perfume, as would a teenager compared to a 50-year-old woman. Advertisers must use a variety of tactics to sell women’s perfume in order to appeal to the different types and personalities of today’s women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many perfume ad campaigns nowadays use simple women doing simple things but clearly enjoying it. The ad campaign for Clinique’s perfume lines is a very good example of this. In the May issue of Teen People, the ad for Clinique’s perfume, â€Å"Happy,† shows a woman wearing a sleeveless turtleneck sweater. Although not clearly shown, the girl seems to have a huge smile on her face but is hidden behind her turtleneck. The caption of the ad says â€Å"Clinique happy.† Although it is a simple ad, it deems as effective toward women. Featured in a magazine targeted to teens, the girl in the ad is young looking, which would relate to teens. As for older women, it would appeal to them as well so they too can feel young and fresh again. Another ad for a Clinique perfume is for â€Å"Simply,† found in Cosmopolitan magazine. The name of the perfume alone, says it all. The ad shows a bottle of the â€Å"Simply† perfume set on top of a table with a woman’s fingertips lingering on top of the bottle. This ad doesn’t even use a woman’s face, which is a different approach from many other perfume ads. The entire ad looks to be of one shade, like a golden skin tone color, which shows a very simple lifestyle. The woman’s fingers show no trace of a manicure or glamorous looking nail polish. It just shows a woman’s bare, yet beautiful hands. Also, the fact that the table used in the ad is made of wood, this shows of simple living. The ad uses wood that reminds readers of nature and not marble and glass.

Women and Social Change in Harper Lee

Heaper Lee's ‘To Kill A Mockingbird' was first published in the sass's which was an era famous for radical change in the United States both culturally and politically as bit by bit both women and African Americans were gaining power In a society predominantly governed by rich, white men. ‘To Kill A Mockingbird' can almost be regarded as a form of propaganda In favor of women's rights as well as those of the African American community. Although things were changing, Harper Lee still needed to be careful as to how she got her message across.Cleverly, she manages to get way with the things she says, using the medium of fictional characters, such as Miss Maude or California, and more Importantly Innocent children, for example Scout, In order to give the novel a sense of realism however, there are many characters who do not advocate this type of social change such as the Lowell family or, In some aspects, Aunt Alexandra. In a sense, Scout is essentially the personification of the social change to come and a model society.Her naivety due mostly to her youth enables her to interact with the community without prejudice. When Gem recounts to Scout what he thinks about the efferent social classes in Macomb, discriminating between ‘regular' people and the Negroes', Scout responds with, â€Å"Ana, Gem, I think there's Just one kind of folks. Folks. † Although neither she nor Gem realism it this is a deeply profound quote because in it's simplest form she is saying that everybody is equal.Although brushed off by most adults in ;To Kill A Mockingbird' as immaturity, Scout's thoughts could be viewed as a form of maturity because, unlike many key members of the community, she does not worry about inconsequential and superficial matters such as sex or race but connives their attitude and their character. Scout also has a very inquisitive mind and unlike most children her age, she does not simply blindly agree with tradition, she questions everything she is told and everything she does.It is likely that a lot of these qualities come from the role models in her life including Miss Maude and California. When it comes to being a role model for Scout and Gem, Miss Maude Is the perfect woman to look up to. More importantly for Scout because as she lost her mother, she needs a positive female in her life to aspire to. Miss Maude Is Gem and Scout's favorite adult among the community because she treats everyone she meets with respect unless they give her a reason not to.This respect extends even to children and members of the black community. She explains to Scout what Attic's meant when he said it was a sin to kill a mockingbird, â€Å"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy†¦ That's why It Is a sin to kill a mockingbird†. She Is very alike to Attic's and holds similar principles and views on how society should be. In developing the mockingbird metaphor, she helps Scout to learn about what Is eight and w hat Is wrong. With the loss of their mother at a young age, It Is up to discipline the children.She is especially important for Scout because, being a girl, she needs a female role model to look up to and emulate. With Attic's being particularly laid back it is California who reprimands the children when they do wrong. She provides discipline and support for Scout which are both important aspects of a child's life. In the book Scout describes California showing affection towards her; ‘California bent down and kissed me. I ran along, wondering what had come over her'. This exemplifies the love California offers the children as well as all the discipline even if Scout fails to recognize it.It is also important that the children experience the African American culture in order to fully understand who these people are and the injustice they have been through. With this in mind, California takes Scout and Gem to her church on what could be represented as an educational trip. Cal ta kes them there to show them first hand what the black community is really like in Macomb as oppose to the negative stories and rumors the children have probably heard from their friends. Another important influence in Scout's life and on the community is Aunt Alexandra.However, her effect on Scout's life can be regarded as slightly negative as her social standpoint and beliefs are almost completely opposite as to those of which Attic's shares with Miss Maude. Aunt Alexandra is a fiercely traditional and family orientated. She represents Macomb's conservative society which is based strongly around an unjust social hierarchy. Her traditional views often lead to arguments between her and Scout. For instance when Scout asks Aunt Alexandra why she wont allow her to go and play with Walter she replies eternal, â€Å"Because-?he-?is-?trash, that's why you can't play with him.I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what†. She is so caught up in the superficial image of her family that she won't even let children of two separate social classes play together. This causes Scout to dislike her Aunt as throughout her entire life she had been taught by Attic's and her other female role models to respect everyone and treat them as equals. Although often forgotten about in history, women play an increasingly important role in all our lives.Although any of Macomb community's women choose to abstain from making an impact on society a small few such as Miss Maude decide to make a difference. They do this by influencing the future generations and educating them so as to enable them to do more in life. There are many people in Macomb that influence society but in particular that influence Scout. Some positively and some negatively. Each person contributes to her wealth of knowledge, however, in the end, it is up to Scout and the rest of her generation to form their own opinion and change society and the way things are for women.

How Does Iago Inspire Fear and a Looming Sense of Tragedy?

Iago, in his soliloquies, informs the audience of his plans to deceive Othello and bring about his fall from grace. It is his use of language, rhythm, length and delivery that cause the greatest impact, instilling fear into the audience and creating a sense of tragic inevitability as Iago’s plans will come to fruition, with no one to stop them. The dangerous thing about Iago is that he not only brings down Othello, but he also wrecks anyone else that he can along the way.A soliloquy is when a character is alone on stage and projects their true inner thoughts or feelings to the audience. This is the case for Iago, as he shows his true state of mind in his soliloquies. It is what he says in them, which create such an overwhelming amount of fear for the reader, with his plans to corrupt and deceive various characters along the way in order to abolish Othello. Many critics also agree that Iago is a character full of pure evil. Shakespearean critic A. C.Bradley said that â€Å"evi l has nowhere else been portrayed with such mastery as in the evil character of Iago. † in â€Å"Shakespearean Tragedy† (p. 169). Iago’s soliloquies are where he reveals how dishonest he is, creating anxiety in the audience, as we are unable to interrupt what Iago plans to do. Moreover, Iago tells the audience of his scheme which involves arranging for Cassio to lose his position as lieutenant, and gradually insinuate to Othello that Desdemona is unfaithful with Cassio.The horrifying thing about Iago is that he is able to talk of carrying out such horrifying events such as sabotaging Othello and Desdemona’s marriage, and the fact that he relishes the moment when he formulates his plan, truly shows his malicious nature, making the audience fear him. We see the lengths Iago will go to destroy Othello. He knows that Othello is a man â€Å"That thinks men honest that but seem to be so†, so he is willing to abuse Othello’s trust and poison him unt il he loses his mind. There are many references in the play to sacred teachings; mainly on heaven and hell. In Act III, Iago is scheming about Othello’s downfall.When he says â€Å"How? How? let’s see:†, the atmosphere is extremely tense as the caesural pause shows that he is planning, and the audience is terrified as Iago is so into his plan that we know he will come up with something immensely evil. His capacity for cruelty seems limitless, and that is what makes him so frightening. Rebecca Warren has said from the York Advanced Notes of Othello that â€Å"his pride is laced with sly vindictiveness† (p. 60). His qualities seem to be like that of the devil. Very suddenly, he says â€Å"I have’t, it is engendered! Hell and night/Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light. The juxtaposition between â€Å"Hell and night† and world’s light† shows Iago as being linked with hell and Othello as being linked with heav en, whilst the rhyming couplet and the reference to the â€Å"monstrous birth† draws attention to the unnaturalness and evilness of his plans, which instils fear in the audience and a looming sense of tragedy, as now Iago will bring his plan into action. The broken up iambic pentameter shows how much he relishes his moment. In Act V, Iago tries to show the justification of his actions. He believes that because Othello slept with his wife, he is acceptable in cuckolding Othello.This is shown when he says â€Å"Till I am evened with him, wife for wife†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here, he is showing the audience that he is so immoral, that he is willing to go as far as corrupting biblical terms, with his play on the teaching â€Å"an eye for an eye†, which he exchanges with â€Å"wife for a wife†¦ †, the ellipsis showing the pace of his speech as he gets worked up into a frenzy. The ellipsis also shows that he is in the thinking process, which also inspires a sense of trag edy as he will come up with more evil plans. In Act VI, Iago has been given the handkerchief and talks of the â€Å"holy writ† and of wanting Othello to â€Å"Burn like the mines of sulphur†.This line is emphatically stressed to show how badly he wants to punish Othello and this will inevitably end in tragedy, and so makes the audience nervous. Another way that he creates fear in the audience is by mocking the audience. In Act V, Iago says of Cassio: â€Å"And what’s he then that says I play the villain? /When this advice is free I give and honest†. Iago enjoys ruining people's lives. He does it with a sense of craftsmanship, as he appreciates the cleverness of a particular step in his scheme as much as its final result: incredible suffering for the people he has chosen.Here he is mocking the audience, by saying that he told Cassio the truth. He is reveling in his Machiavellian role. In Act III, just after he persuades Roderigo to sleep with Desdemona in order to do himself â€Å"a pleasure, (Iago) a sport†, Iago immediately reveals that he is only hanging around â€Å"with such a snipe/But for (his) own sport and profit†, the sibilance here drawing attention to the evil, mocking tone that Iago uses. The prominent Shakespeare scholar Harold Goddard called Iago a man always at war, â€Å"a moral pyromaniac,† in his book ‘The Meaning of Shakespeare’, which shows that Iago almost has a disorder.Using the length of his soliloquies, Iago manages to keep the audience captivated as to his next vindictive plan. The length of his soliloquies could perhaps shows his growing sense of influence and authority within the play, which creates a sense of looming tragedy for the audience as only they know of Iago’s cruel plans. Language can change the mood instantly, and Iago has a very violent tone. This is shown in Act V1 when he uses ‘s’ sibilance throughout the soliloquy, and the repetition of â€Å"poison† shows that he enjoys corrupting Othello, which scares the audience as this is very immoral.In Act V, when he says â€Å"Divinity of hell†, the audience is terrified, as it is unclear whether he is calling the devil or possible saying that he is the devil, as he says that when devils are plotting, they cover up their evil side â€Å"with heavenly shows/As (he) do(es) now. † What is dangerous about Iago is that he doesn’t have a real motive. His motivations are never very clearly expressed and seem to be just an obsessive delight in manipulation and destruction. This view is shared by the critic E. H. Seymour in his remarks†¦ upon the Plays of Shakespeare, where he says â€Å"there are no sufficient motives apparent for this excess of malignity†.However, in Act II, Iago claims that his reason for this cruelness towards Othello is because Othello â€Å"Hath leapt into (Iago’s) seat. † and this very thought â€Å"Doth like a poisonous mineral gnaw (his) inwards† This is only a rumour, but Iago treats it as if it is completely true. His lack of motivation, or his inability or unwillingness to express his true motivation, makes his actions all the more terrifying. He is willing to take revenge on anyone—Othello, Desdemona, Cassio, Roderigo, even Emilia and what alarms the audience more is that he enjoys the pain and damage he causes. He also seems to have a very misogynistic view on women.Rebecca Warren says from the York Advanced Notes on Othello (p. 60) that â€Å"he never says explicitly that he hates women or foreigners,† but seems to have an â€Å"exceedingly low opinion of them, which comes across in many of his speeches†, showing that he is racist and also quite sexist. This is shown in Act III, when he says to Roderigo that Othello is an â€Å"erring Barbarian† and Desdemona, â€Å"a super-subtle Venetian. He is very stereotypical and believes Othello to be a savage because he is black and Desdemona promiscuous because Venice had a â€Å"reputation for sexual licentiousness†, in the Arden Shakespeare version of Othello (p. 1). This makes the audience fear Iago as he is willing to base his plans on these stereotypical views. To conclude, I believe that, in his soliloquies, Iago inspires fear in the audience by the use of violent, negative language such as â€Å"poison†, â€Å"blood†, and â€Å"jealousy†. As well as this, it is the fact that he seems to have no real motive for his actions that truly scares the audience, as he goes to such extreme lengths to ruin Othello, just because of a rumour that the audience has only heard of from Iago himself, or just because Othello appointed Cassio as his lieutenant, instead of him.What additionally adds fear in the audience is his use of vivid imagery of hell and the devil, and also evidence for him actually calling himself the devil. The content of Iago’s s oliloquies is what inspires a looming sense of tragedy as only the audience knows what he is plotting and so nothing can be done to stop Iago from implementing his cruel plan.