The important role of Social Media in the destruction of Cultural, Social & Societal System
Syed Aan Bokhari
Knowledge is power. We all recognize this saying but few understand the empowering role social media has played. Through social media, anyone online is empowered by an unrestricted flow of information to add to their knowledge bank. In today’s world, it is ance. Social media has removed com
undeniable that social media plays an interest based groups such as students important role in impacting our culture, to work in a collaborative group pro- our economy and our overall view of jects outside of their class. It fosters the world. Social media is a new forum creativity and collaboration with a wide that brings people to exchange idea, range of commentators on a number of connect with, relate to, and mobilize for issues such as education, the economy, a cause, seek advice, and offer guid- politics, race, health, relationships…etc.
Although it has brought about many munication barriers and created benefits, allowing us to easily connect decentralized communication channel with friends and family around the and open the door for all to have a voice globe, allowing us to break down and participate in a democratic fashion international borders and cultural including people in repressive counbarriers, social media has come at a tries. This media outlet accommodates a price. Social media has a negative wide variety spontaneous, formal, impact on our lives because the combi informal, scholarly and unscholarly nation of isolation and global reach has writings to flourish. It enables common eroded our culture. Social media is robbing us of trust and comfort we once placed in one another, replacing the human fellowship, physical and emotional support we once drew from each other with virtual connection. It robs us from self-control and from the ability to think independently and instead makes us gullible to join any group that posts perverse messages that tickle our ear and amuse our senses without evaluating the consequences.
Ironically, social media is in effect turning us into one of the most antisocial generations, yet. We prefer texting to phone conversations, online chat to a face-to-face meeting, and many have replaced human interaction with convenient platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Social Media and Psychological Issues
I will cover several supporting ideas showing how social media, specifically, Facebook can lead to psychological problems. It’s clear that social media has negative personal impacts, enabling young people to over analyze and criticize themselves as well as their problems.
Facebook Depression
Several researchers have proposed a new phenomenon called” “Facebook depression’, which is defined as depression that develops when individuals spend a excessive amounts of time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression. Seeking acceptance and staying connected with peers is an important element of social life. However, the intensity of the online
Social Media affects your life more than you realize!
world, which requires constant engagement, creates a factor of self-awareness that may trigger depression in some people.
As with offline depression, people who suffer from Facebook depression are at risk for social isolation and sometimes turn to risky Internet sites and blogs for ‘help’ that may promote substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, aggressive and self-destructive behaviors.” Depression is one of the inadvertent consequences of excessive social media usage. For clarity, Facebook depression is not just limited to Facebook, but also refers to the impact of other social networking sites causing psychological problems. Because Facebook is currently the largest and most widely used social medium, the phenomenon of social media caused depression has taken its name.
A new study has found that Individuals who engage in social media, gaming, texting, cell phones, etc., are more likely to have depression and anxiety. The study conducted by psychologist Dr. Mark Becker, of Michigan State University, found a 70% increase in self-reported depressive symptoms among the group using social media and a 42% increase in social anxiety. Clearly excessive social media usage leaves one prone to be at a higher risk of depression, anxiety, and ultimately stress.
Social Media and Criminal Activities
With the increased use of social media, malicious and irresponsible people benefit themselves of the freedom of social media platforms to lie, scam, attack, and hurt others in a number of ways.
Many criminals have taken advantage of social media to hide their identity and commit several crimes such as cyber bullying, cyber terrorism, human trafficking, drug dealing, etc….
50% Women using Social Media are sexually victimized – Survey!
I will only cover cyber bullying, criminal and terrorist activities, the most common illicit activities.
Social Media and Bullying
Cyber bullying has become a major issue among youths in the last couple of decades, as it allows its victim’s to post things in front of their peers and humiliate them. Bullying is defined as an aggressive act that is carried out by a group or an individual repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself.
With the use of Internet and mobile phones, a new form of bullying has emerged, often called ‘cyber bullying’. In cyber-bullying, aggression occurs via electronic method, via the Internet and especially through social media. Those who cyber bully have the ability to hide their identity posing as someone else, through false identities to terrorize their victims, similar to the previous catfish examples.
Recent studies indicate that approximately 2035% of adolescents report involvement in bullying either as a bully, a victim or both. The National Children’s Home study in Britain found that one in four children reported being bullied on the Internet. These issues left teenagers with deep mental scars, and have even lead to teen suicides. There are many stories about students at all
Looking at screens all day is awful for health
grade levels engaging in severe harassing behavior that prompts suicides or inflicts lasting physical or emotional scars.
Social Media and Terrorism
Another dangerous aspect of social media is the rapid adoption of this medium by terrorists groups. In the last couple of decades, incidents of Islamic terrorism have occurred on a global scale, not only in Muslim-majority countries, but also in Europe, Russia, and the United States. Terrorism has been using social media for their benefit for gathering information, for recruiting members, for fund raising, and for propaganda schemes.
Terrorist groups are using social media sites to spread their propaganda and raise funds, as well as to recruit and train new members. Social media allows terrorists to interact with each other and because it allows them to get new recruits. Terrorists also know exactly who the types of people are accessing social media are. They are generally impressionable young people; the perfect target groups for terrorists, especially when the recruits are emotionally weak and hear about radicalization and recruitment. Recruiting new members has become easier with the growing use of social media, Especially the new movement called “lone-wolf terrorism”. Social media is helping “lone-wolf” terrorism, through the virtual packs behind them, in which there is somebody who trains, guides,
As we share photos of ourselves online, how are beauty filters on apps like Instagram affecting our body image
Social Media threatening teens’ mental health and well-being
and launches them. For instance, about a year ago, in Boston, the two Tsarnaey brothers, were recruited through social media. Authorities were able to trace globally. their online footprints on twitter, Facebook and You Tube. From what they downloaded, and viewed it was easy to find that those lone wolves were never truly alone.
Social Media can also be used as a
cyber terrorism tool where the perpetrators disseminate false or compromising information using the Internet. For instance on April 2013, the Syrian Electronic Army attacked the Associated Press’s Twitter account and sent a message to millions of readers of the AP’s Twitter that said “Breaking News: two explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured.” The news was of course false. But the stock market plunged within minutes; the New York Stock Exchange dropped $136 billion dollars. This type of cyber terrorism can destabilize a nation’s economy and security creating turmoil
To summarize, despite the positive benefit of rapid information sharing, social media enables people to create false identities and superficial connections, causes depression and is a primary recruiting tool of criminals and terrorists. Finally, since social media is a relatively new phenomenon and the impact studies done are also reasonably new.
Now we have explored the harms posed by this uncensored and unmonitored new medium of communication which exposes us all to a gradual breakdown of social cohesion and the destruction of our traditional value systems, unless we take responsibility to ensure that our understanding of social media and its impacts are constantly evaluated with what’s happening in the world.
Social Media affects your life more than you realize! Hateful comments on Social Media point to an alarming trend.
How Can We Be Happy in Life?
What is happiness?
Mesh ShaMoon DMG
1. Walking:
It is extremely important for a person to have a walking habit. Actually, it is ideal to have a walk as a family activity. This will be an easy way to make your child develop this healthy habit at an early stage of life. Walking not just has health benefits but it also has positive effects on personality development. It has been noted children who were walking as a family activity had more awareness of surroundings, they were more close to nature and have a sense of gratitude and thankfulness.
It is good to do a brisk walk to cut down your calories but at the same time thinker’s walk has its advantages too. A good way to start is by warming up. This way you will meditate too. Quite walking provides us with the opportunity to ponder and meditate. Our brains love pondering, so when we pounder it rewards us with some brilliant ideas.
At least once a week go for a nature walk. Let your self and your children discover the world. Soon after a few days of a nature walk, you will realize this walk will become magical. Things that you never noticed before, you will start noticing them. Some amazing twisted trunk of a tree. Children’s refreshing giggle while
bike riding. A flock of birds surprisingly maintaining the accurate distance between them as if they are doing some display. Young lovebirds, energetic sportsman, or an old man trying hard to maintain his pace. If you have an analytical mind You will see your whole life in front of you. Your past in children, present in adult and future in an old man. Wise is who, who observe and learn.
2. Writing:
I often refer to writing as therapy. Penning down all your feelings whether it be sad or happy, is always an excellent idea. Sad memories when written down take out all your grief, sorrows, guilt, and anger. Thus making your heart somewhat lighter. The fun part is when happy memories are gathered in form of writing they are always a source of sweet memories, motivation, and fun. So the miracle of writing is, whatever you pour in, good or bad. The pour out will only be good. Amazing isn’t it?..
As soon as a child is able to express encourage him/her to draw any event. It can be some match, picnic, journey, or simply a busy day at home. This will help the child to be
expressive. And when the child is ready to write encourage him to be a creative writer.
Never be shy about your writing. Writing is one thing that can be improved very easily. And it can never be too bad. An interesting article is one that describes the nouns and defines the verbs. So adjectives and adverbs are the keywords for interesting writing. Adding on some spice of jokes or emotions can make it even better. Life without writing is like plain cloth. The more prints and. colors it has the more exciting, expressive, socially approved, and in demand, it will be. If you are not a great fan of writing then maybe just write your diary, letter to your friend simply try writing a poem. You will be the author and that feeling is great. It gives you a sense of achievement and that is what makes our life happy.
I love a good leather journal makes me feel Glorious. Click the image below to view this journal.
3. Maintaining your time table:
It is an excellent idea to have your time table. At least your weekdays actives sequence should be the same for all five working days. Weekends actives are little different as it includes fun and preparation for the coming week, for example, laundry,
4. Designate A Place
For Every item:
It is an excellent habit to put things back to their place. This way you never lose items, your home is much organized and clean, Time is not wasted in looking for things and most importantly you are happy and very comfortable. I really get annoyed when I have to look for my car key, nail cutter, reading glasses, etc for no reason, other than not putting the thing at its place. You can encourage this good habit in children by providing them organizers and labeling names on drawers, boxes, and containers for their contents. You will see your child will himself herself develop this awesome habit of putting things in its place.
Everyone wants to be loved, cared, and pampered. It really makes us happy and relaxed. What could be better than respecting and caring for one own self? Yes, I am serious and not joking.
Those people who have respect and care for themselves are much happier than those who neglect their own selves. For example, if you are fifty years of age and you tire your self as a twenty-year-old person, that means you are hurting yourself. Similarly, if a child is five years old and his activity is of thirty-year-old person. This means less physical sports and more computer games that also means not taking proper care. Respecting your age means work according to the requirement of your age. Caring and pampering mean giving yourself some rewards or treat. For example a good vacation, manicure, and pedicure, or some lavish meals.
5. Respecting your age & pampering your self:
grocery cleaning, etc. I have gotten so much use to my daily routine that if due to vacation I end up not following it, I get disturbed soon, and start missing my home.
You will notice all successful people have their time fixed for various actives. Like walking, cooking, golfing or even TV watching, all the times are pre-decided. Remember for children too, always ensure their sequence of activés, a routine ist decided. For example, if your child has this habit of fixing bed before breakfast ensure it should not change and the child should not do it after breakfast. This y you can guard your child’s discipline.
How to be Happy?
6. Having Few good friends:
Friends are big blessings and true fun for all age groups. When we are adults, our childhood friend’s company brings back to us all those early years sweet memories. We exchange our experiences and share our problems. As friends are usually of the same age group they have common interests and hobbies. Friends company not just makes us happy but also provides an opportunity to have some quality time. Parents should be very careful while their kids are choosing friends. “A person is judged by the company
he keeps”. So, remember your child’s personality will be greatly affected by his or her friends. To ensure good social development of your child provide your child with opportunities to have some friends. mingling time too.
7. Counting your blessings:
We must have the habit of thanking God for all the blessings He has provided us. At least name the top ten, fifteen blessings, and thank God individually for each of them. This makes you feel better, lucky, and blessed person.
Now don’t tell me that you don’t notice that many blessings for yourself. God created this world and made human beings the most. blessed and fortunate creatures. He made this beautiful world with trees and plants for shades, fruits, and vegetables. Sun to give us heat and light and the moon to brighten our nights. God made nights so that we can rest and sleep and day to work and enjoy. He made us humans with eyes to see the beauty, nose to smell, ears to see, and so on and on. God gave us friends and family to love and care and enjoy. He gave us health wealth success and happiness. So, dear just bow in front of God and thank Him. And soon you will notice He will bless you even more as thanking always increase the blessings. Always call your children when you pray and teach them to be thankful so that they also realize that there is someone up there for you who is giving you all the blessings and we must thank Him and obey Him.
It’s no magic bullet, but the benefits of water are many
Syed Naeem Zaidi
Pakistanis seem to carry bottled water everywhere they go these days. In fact, it has become the second most popular drink (behind soft drinks). But water lovers got a jolt recently when we heard that a new report had found that the benefits of drinking water may have been oversold. Apparently, the old suggestion to drink eight glasses a day was nothing more than a guideline, not based on scientific evidence.
But don’t put your water bottle or glass down just yet. While we may not need eight glasses, there are plenty of reasons to drink water. In fact, drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health.
“Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water. and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day,” says Joan Koelemay, RD, dietitian for the Beverage Institute, an industry group.
Kaiser Permanente nephrologist Steven Guest, MD, agrees: “Fluid losses occur continuously, from skin evaporation, breathing, urine, and stool and these losses must be replaced daily for good health,” he says. Stanford University.
When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp.
Here are six reasons to make sure you’re drinking enough water or other fluids every day:
1. Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids.
Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.
brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves,” says dietitian expert, who is also an adjunct professor of medicine at When you’re low on fluids, the brain triggers the body’s thirst mechanism. And unless you are taking medications that make you thirsty, Guest says, you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee–anything but alcohol.
“Alcohol interferes with the brain and kidney communication and causes excess excretion of fluids which can then lead to dehydration,
2. Water Can Help Control Calories.
For years, dieters have been drinking lots of
“Through the posterior pituitary gland, your water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn’t have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie bever ages can certainly help.
“What works with weight loss is if you choose water or a non-caloric beverage over a caloric beverage and/or eat a diet higher in water-rich foods that are healthier, more filling, and help you trim calorie intake,” says Aan Ali Bukhari dietitian. Food with high water content tends to look larger, its higher volume requires more chewing, and it is absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans.
3. Water Helps Energize Muscles.
Cells that don’t maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. “When muscle cells don’t have adequate fluids, they don’t work as well and performance can suffer,” says Guest.
Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising. Follow the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for fluid intake before and during physical activity. These guidelines recommend that people drink about 17 ounces of fluid about two hours before exercise. During exercise, they recommend that people start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.
4. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good.
Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don’t expect over hydration to erase wrinkles or fine lines, says Atlanta dermatologist Kenneth Ellner,
“Dehydration makes your skin look drier and wrinkled, which can be improved with proper hydration,” he says. “But once you are adequately hydrated, the kidney stake over and excrete excess fluids.”
You can also help “lock” moisture into your skin by using moisturizer, which creates a physical barrier to keep moisture in.
4. Water Helps Your Kidneys.
Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine, explains Guest. “Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate,” he says.
LVM
When you’re getting enough fluids, urine flows freely, is light in color and free of odor. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, color, and odor increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions.
If you chronically drink too little, you may be at higher risk for kidney stones, especially in warm climates, Guest warns.
5. Water Helps Maintain Normal Bowel Function.
Adequate hydration keeps things flowing along your gastrointestinal tract and prevents constipation. When you don’t get enough fluid, the colon pulls water from stools to maintain hydration-and the result is constipation.
“Adequate fluid and fiber is the perfect combination, because the fluid pumps up the fiber and acts like a broom to keep your bowel functioning properly,” says Koelemay.
5 Tips to Help You Drink More
If you think you need to be drinking more, here are some tips to increase your fluid intake and reap the benefits of water:
1. Have a beverage with every snack and meal.
2. Choose beverages you enjoy; you’re likely to drink more liquids if you like the way they taste.
3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Their high-water content will add to your hydration. About 20% of our fluid intake comes from foods.
4. Keep a bottle of water with you in your car, at your desk, or in your bag.
5. Choose beverages that meet your individual needs. If you’re watching calories, go for non-caloric beverages or water.
Farooq A. Bhutta-Sports Analyst
The commercialization of sport is not a cultural universal, but a product of unique technical, social, and economic circum- stances. Sports in the colonial United States were usually unstructured, spontaneous activities that the participants initiated, coordinated, and managed. Only in the latter part of the 19th century did organized sport cross the ocean from Great Britain and arrive in America. At that time, urbanization forced a large number of people to live in new settings and to abandon traditional leisure activities, which included drinking, carousing, and gambling. The dominant class sought to replace them with activities such as baseball, horse racing, and boxing.
Setting the stage for future commercializa- tion, industry moved to meet the burgeoning desire for organized sports. The most promi- nent producer of sports equipment was Albert Spaulding. In 1876, he opened the A. G. Spaulding and Brothers Company. Spaulding’s ability to influence the organizers of the various professional sports leagues allowed him to sell his goods and to capture a virtual monopoly on sporting goods by the latter part of the 19th century. But others quickly followed, and by the beginning of the 20th century, began producing their own lines of sports equipment. During the first two decades of the 20th century, the growth in sales of sporting goods and services glittered brighter than ever. Commercial spectator sports attracted the interest of much of the population. Commercialized sports was one of several male bastions.
However, the by the 1920s, women began to take an interest in both watching sports and participating in sports. Although the commer cialization of sports slowed during the Great Depression and World War II, by the early 1950s it had solidly established itself as feature of modern Western culture.
Sponsorship has seen a rapid growth in recent years in both the dollars devoted to it and its prominence as a legitimate element of a company’s promotional mix. As traditional media have become more expensive and cluttered, sponsorship is viewed as a cost- effective alternative. As an element of the promotional mix, sponsorship has been a stepchild when it comes to a careful under- standing of how it works and its effect on consumers. While the promotional element of advertising has been carefully researched, sponsorship has rarely undergone systematic study. It is usually mentioned as “war stories” of specific examples which worked well for a company. Discusses the definitional dilemma of sponsorship, and proposes a revised definition. As a step towards better understand ing the effects of sponsorship on consumers, develops and empirically tests scales for three attitudinal constructs: attitude towards the event; attitude towards commercialization; and attitude towards behavioral intent. Results show that the three constructs consistently appear across three global sports events.
The Commercialization of Sport
The commercialization of sports is that aspect of the sports enterprise that involves the sale, display, or use of sport or some aspect of sport so as to produce income. Some experts
prefer the term “commodification of sport” as a label for the same process. Interest in the commercialization of sport has existed for several decades, but only in recent years has the phenomenon has been taken seriously on a larger scale. The first attention came from a small group of critical, mostly leftist writers, who have now been joined by people from all political and social perspectives.
Professional Sports
Professional sports, a big business that has grown rapidly over the last three decades, may be the epitome of commercialization, its influence pervasive throughout. Athletes, support personnel (managers, coaches, officials, media persons, lawyers, and agents), and sports team owners benefit handsomely from the willingness of sports fans to pay to watch their favorite sports and to purchase the commodities endorsed by sports personalities. Hundreds of professional athletes earn well over $1 million a year. Before 1977, $1 million contracts did not exist. By 1994 there were well over 200 professional athletes who earned salaries in excess of $1 million.
Forbes’s 1994 list of the top-earning athletes included basketball stars Michael Jordan at $30 million and Shaquille O’Neal at $17 million, golfers Jack Nicklaus at $15 million and Arnold Palmer at $14 million, and boxers Michael Moore and Evander Holyfield at $12 million each. In most cases, athletes’ endorsements make up over 90 percent of their earnings. Owners of professional sports franchises are some of the wealthiest people in the world. They continue to make large profits from their sports teams.
In the United States there are about 110. professional sports franchises, including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. The combined revenues of these four sports leagues equaled $5.1 billion in 1993. In addition to the money from gate receipts and television revenues, owners realize profits through the buying and selling of franchises, Sports franchises are very profitable short and long-term investments. For example, the Dallas Cowboys football team was purchased for $600,000 in 1960. In 1989 the team sold for $140 million. The profits for the players, owners, and other associates of professional sports come from various sources
Olympic Games
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The ideal of the modern Olympic Games stands in stark opposition to the commercial- ism of sports. However, many commentators have argued that this idealism has been Games compromised to the point that the Olympics is. currently the epitome of commercialism. In the early part of the 20th century 98 percent of the Games’ amateur competitors made no money from their participation. In contrast, today’s Olympic athletes are far from amateurs. The International Olympic Committee recognized the inevitable creep of commercialism and professionalism, and instead of requiring participants to be amateurs they merely ask that participants have an “amateur spirit.”
The Games have also come under criticism because of the movement toward corporate sponsorship. While
most Olympic administrators recognize the need for support from the private sector, there is concern about how much help and control should be exchanged, Private enterprises that range from soft drink producers to automobile companies compete to be an official sponsor of the games. For example, Coca-Cola paid $22 million for the guarantee that no competitive soft drinks be allowed to display the Olympic symbol for the Seoul
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Mass Media
The mass media have been linked to the commercialization of sports. They exist in a symbiotic relationship with sports, each benefitting greatly from the other. Sports employs all forms of the mass media. Books and magazines that specialize in particular sports are published regularly. Newspapers often devote up to one third of their no advertising space to sports coverage. Radio stations all over the country have changed their menu to include 24-hour coverage of sports. However, television has affected sports most profoundly Television and sports are involved in a relationship in which the economic stakes are very high. The return on the investment by the major television networks is just as impressive.
Television has altered individual sports in the effort to accommodate larger viewing audience. In some sports, additional time-outs have been implemented to allow for more! commercials. In tennis, the rules regarding. play-offs have been changed to allow matches to fit into prescribed schedules. The scheduling of events in the Olympic Games has been modified not to provide athletes with theoptimum conditions for peak athletic performances, but to allow large audiences in the United States to view events at more convenient times
Gambling
A rise in gambling on sporting events has been an indirect consequence of these phenomena. Great Britain and Las Vegas permit some legal gambling. However, it is likely that more money is bet on sports illegally. According to McPherson, Americans lose an estimated $200 million on sports bets annually. The link between sports and gambling is complex.
How advertising impacts the purity of sports The commercialization of sport has evolved over decades, from the 1950’s advertisements of athletes pitching shaving cream to the multi million dollar shoe endorsement deals of today. Much like other aspects of capitalism, when a profit is to be gained by promoting a consumer product, sport is not exempt from commercial ization. However, even when adjustments for inflation are figured, the astonishingly lucrative field of sport commercialization has become a staple of product promotion and corporate gains.
Beginning as early in life as Little League. Youngsters are conditioned by advertising to employ the popular brand, those promoted by their favorite athlete or the ones that have
national name recognition. These products are imprinted onto the fabric of society as accept- abie, via mass commercialization in the structure and implementation of ad campaigns pinpointed at target audiences. Nothing is left to chance in promotion of sport products, consumer research is exactly that, and is approached as a scientific study with definitive direction aimed toward advantageous financial result
On the level of professional sports, commercialization of sport is undoubtedly the most profitable, for both the advertiser and the fan Without advertising support, professional sports would not have progressed to the number of franchises present today, and their financial stability would be questionable on an individual basis. NASCAR has taken the
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commercialization of sport to new levels of unabashed sport profiteering, with race cars that have become 200 mile per hour rolling billboards.
The prevalence of the number and quality of sports on television is directly attributable to the commercialization of sport. Without commercial sponsorship, fans would not be able to follow favored sports as closely as they desire, and at least in this aspect, the commercialization of sport has benefited society in providing entertainment. The question for sports purists may be, at what cost?
Commercialization and Media in Sports
Sports have exploded across the globe in every aspect to the game. The author says that commercial sports have become global in scope for two reasons. First, those who control, sponsor, and promote them seek new ways to expand markets and maximize profits. Second, transnational corporations with production and distribution operations in multiple countries can use sports as vehicles for introducing their products and services around the world. Many professional organizations now have games played in other countries and their merchandise is sold all over the globe. Commercialization has also given many different people the chance to fulfill their dreams, without the sponsors covering many costs some people will not be able to participate in the big events to be noticed. Players’ salaries have been one of the biggest positive impacts, for players at least, since commercialization has become big.
While there are probably more positive than negative impacts of commercialization in sports, there are still some negatives worth mentioning Personally, the biggest negative aspect of commercialization is the craziness of advertising in sports. Racing is the biggest; you can barely tell the color of some of the cars because of all the decals on the cars. I believe that advertising and sponsors are necessary, but it gets carried away in some instances.
End of days: Is global civilization on the brink of collapse?
Great civilizations are not murdered. Instead, they take their own lives.
So concluded the historian leadership. But it was also brought to its knees when Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410 and the Vandals in
Alfaz All Nazish
Arnold 455. Toynbee in his an exploration
of the rise and fall of 28 different civilizations
He was right in some respects civilizations are often responsible for their own decline. However, their self-media. In fact, many people seem their own decline. However, their self destruction is usually assisted.
The Roman Empire, for example, was the victim of many ills including overexpansion, climatic change, environmental degradation and poor
For the most part, though, people are carrying on as usual, shopping for their next holiday or posing on social blissfully unaware that collapse might be imminent. Are Westerners doing the modern equivalent of sitting around eating grapes while the barbarians hammer on the doors? And more importantly, does science have
any ideas about what is really going on, what might happen next and how people could turn things around?
The first way to look at past civilizations is to compare their longevity. This can be difficult, because there is no strict definition of civilization, nor an overarching database of their births
12-volume magnum opus A Study of Collapse is often quick and great- ness provides no immunity. The Roman Empire covered 4.4 million sq km (1.9 million sq. miles) in 390. Five History. It was years later, it had plummeted to 2 and deaths. million sq. km (770,000 sq. miles). By 476, the empire’s reach was zero,
In the graphic below, I have compared the lifespan of various civilizations, which I define as a society with agriculture, multiple cities, military dominance in its geographical region and a continuous political structure. Given this definition, all empires are civilizations, but not all civilizations are empires. The data is drawn from two studies on the growth and decline of empires (for 3000-600BC and 600BC-600), and an informal, crowd sourced survey of ancient civilizations (which I have amended) Collapse can be defined as a rapid and enduring loss of population, identity and socioeconomic complexity. Public services crumble and disorder ensues as government loses control of its monopoly on violence.
Virtually all past civilizations have faced this fate. Some recovered or transformed, such as the Chinese and The Egyptian. Other collapses were permanent, as was the case of Easter Island. Sometimes the cities at the i epicenter of collapse are revived, as was the case with Rome. In other cases, such as the Mayan ruins, they are left abandoned as a mausoleum for future tourists
What can this tell us about the future of global modern civilization? Are the lessons of agrarian empires applicable to our post-18th Century period of industrial capitalism?
I would argue that they are. Societies of the past and present are just complex systems composed of people and technology. The theory of normal accidents suggests that complex technological systems regularly give way to failure. So collapse may be a normal phenome non for civilizations, regardless of their size and stage.
We may be more technologically advanced now. But this gives little ground to believe that we are immune to the threats that undid our ancestors. Our newfound technological abilities even bring new, unprecedented challenges to the mix
believe that greater size is armor against societal dissolution. Our tightly-coupled, globalized economic system is if anything, more likely to make crisis spread. And while our scale may now be
global, collapse appears to happen to both sprawling empires and fledgling kingdoms alike. There is no reason to
If the fate of previous civilizations can be a roadmap to our future, what does it say? One method is to examine the trends that preceded historic collapses and see how they are unfolding today
While there is no single accepted theory for why collapses happen, historians, anthropologists and others have proposed various explanations,
including CLIMATIC CHANGE
When climatic stability changes, the results can be disastrous, resulting in crop failure, starvation and decertification. The collapse of the Anasazi, the Tiwanaku civilization, the Akkadians the Mayan, the Roman Empire, and many others have all coincided with abrupt climatic changes, usually droughts
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Collapse can occur when societies overshoot the carrying capacity of their environment. This ecological collapse theory, which has been the subject of bestselling books, points to excessive deforestation, water pollution, sail degradation and the loss of biodiversity as precipitating causes.
INEQUALITY AND OLIGARCHY: Wealth and political inequality can
be central drivers of social disintegration, as can oligarchy and centralization of power among leaders. This not only causes social distress, but handi caps a society’s ability to respond to ecological, social and economic problems
COMPLEXITY:
Collapse expert and historian Joseph Tainter has proposed that societies eventually collapse under the weight of their own accumulated complexity and bureaucracy Societies are problem-solving collectives that grow in complexity in order to over- come new issues. However, the returns from complexity eventually reach a point of diminishing returns. After this point, collapse will eventually ensue
EXTERNAL SHOCKS:
In other words, the four horse- men: war, natural disasters, famine and plagues The Aztec Empire, for example, was brought to an end by Spanish invaders Most early agrarian states were fleeting due to deadly
epidemics. The concentration of humans and cattle in walled settlements with poor hygiene made disease outbreaks unavoidable and catastrophic
Temperature is a dear metric for climate change, CDP is a proxy for complexity and the ecological foot print is an indicator for environmental degradation. Each of these has been trending steeply upwards.
Today, societal collapse is a more treacherous prospect. The weapons available to a state, and sometimes even groups, during a breakdown new range from biological agents to nuclear weapons. New instruments of violence, such as lethal autonomous weapons, may be available in the near future. People are increasingly specialized and disconnected from the i production of food and basic goods
Can a Collapse of Global Civilization be Avoided
And a changing climate may irreparably damage our ability to return to simple farming practices.
Think of civilization as a poorly built ladder. As you climb, each step that you used falls away. A fall from a height of just a few rungs is fine. Yet the higher you climb, the larger the fall. Eventually, once you reach a sufficient height, any drop from the ladder is fatal.
With the proliferation of nuclear weapons, we may have already reached this point of civilizational “terminal velocity”. Any collapse any fall from the ladder risks being permanent. Nuclear war in itself could result in an existential risk: either the extinction of our species, or a permanent catapult back to the Stone Age.
We know what needs to be done: emissions can be reduced, inequalities levelled, environmental degradation reversed, innovation unleashed and economies diversified. The policy. proposals are there. Only the political will is lacking. We can also invest in recovery. There are already well developed ideas for improving the ability of food and knowledge systems to be recuperated after catastrophe. Avoiding the creation of dangerous and widely-accessible technologies is also critical. Such steps will lessen the chance of a future collapse becoming irreversible.
We will only march into collapse if we advance blindly. We are only loomed if we are unwilling to listen to the past.
Time to Purify Hazrat Umar, May Allah be pleased with him, said:
“CALL YOURSELF TO ACCOUNT, BEFORE YOU ARE CALLED TO ACCOUNT WEIGH YOUR DEEDS BEFORE IT GETS WEIGHED FOR YOU; AND PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE GREAT EXHIBITION.”
Isnvest in your health before you become ill, Invest in your free time before you become busy, Invest in your wealth before you become poor. Invest in your life before you die, live in this life as if a stranger who is passing by a town, when you wake up in the morning do not expect to live until the evening, if you live until the evening do not expect to wake up in the morning. This great month of Ramadan; bringing all kinds of good and glad tidings; during it mercy descends and sins are forgiven and pardon is granted; the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of the Hell fire are sealed and the devils are chained, so will you utilize this opportunity and take advantage of this great chance?
Take advantage of this month to hold yourself to account and practice self reproach, it is the right time for one to rectify the ruined relation with his Lord and open a new page in his life, it is a good chance to return to Allah and rush towards Him. You must sit with yourself in seclusion every once in a while and reproach yourself and hold yourself to account, Start with the obligatory matters and make up the shortage in them Refrain from any sin you are committing, like severing ties with kinfolk, lying, backbiting, gazing at thing that are forbidden, and so forth, Sincerely repent from all the sins you have committed, and express your regret to your Lord and supplicate for His forgiveness and weep, Rush to performing good deeds to make up for what you have missed out on.
Before doing anything hold yourself to account as to why do you want to do it and what do you intend? For whose sake will you do it? How will you do it and will it be in accordance to the way of Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) or not? What will you benefit from doing it? When one a himself these questions, he will always be alert and controlling himself, this is the only way towa winning the eternal happiness and success, as Allah Says (what means): “And whoever obeys At and His Messenger and fears Allah and is conscious of Him, it is those who are the Successful.” [Quran 24:52]
IMPORT & EXPORT REVIEW OF VEGETABLE & FRUITS OF PAKISTAN
TANVIR ZAHID
Agriculture is a key sector in the economy of Pakistan that contributes nearly 19 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs about 42 per cent of its workforce. It has strong backward and forward linkages with manufacturing industries and significantly contributes to value-added economic activity Around two-third population of the country living in the rural areas is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Given its importance in the national economy, the federal government accords a high priority to increasing agricultural productivity with a view to raise competitiveness and income levels of farmers of the country.
Horticulture is an important sub-sector of agriculture that plays a vital role in the strengthening of the rural economy. In horticultural crops, fruits and vegetables are rich sources of important vitamins and minerals that improve the nutrition and health of the people.
Pakistan is blessed with four seasons an favorable ecological environment for the production of numerous fruits and vegetables. Citrus, mangoes, and dates are the main fruit crops while onions and potatoes are the main vegetables which contribute substantially to the national income. Pakistan stands among top ten producers and exporters of mangoes, citrus fruits and dates. Onions and potatoes are exported as well as imported.
Except a few years, Pakistan has somehow faced trade deficit since its inception. Pakistan’s major exports comprise of few commodities which include cotton manufactures, rice, leather, fish, fish preparations, and sporting goods. These exports are limited prices. to few countries as 50 per cent exports are destined to the United States of America (USA), United Arab Emirates, China, United Kingdom (UK), Afghanistan, Iran and Germany. Similarly, Pakistan’s imports are also concentrated in few markets. Owing to continuous trade deficit, the recent trade
policies are mainly focused on export expansion, competitiveness and transformation from factor to efficiency and innovation-based economy. Pakistan is actively pursuing bilateral and multi-lateral trade agreements including South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and Pak-China Free Trade agreements. Pakistan is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and enjoys GSP and GSP Plus status from the USA and the European Union, respectively, However, Pakistan could not reap benefits from all these arrangements which highlight he need for enhancing the competitiveness and supply of exports at international market
As stated above, major fruits comprise mangoes, citrus and dates while major vegetables include potatoes and onions. These fruits and vegetables capture a major share in production and export of horticultural crops. Comparatively, potato production reflected a clear increasing trend. Relatively, a stable trend can also be viewed in the production of dates as well. According to the facts and figures available from quarters concerned, average production of citrus over the years has remained at 2077 thousand tones. Dates production varied from 4264 to 6303 thousand tones. Average production of level of mango remained at 1611.5 thousand tones. Average production levels of onions and potatoes have remained at 1747.5 and 2968.7 thousand tones respectively.
Trends in exports of three fruits citrus, dates and mangoes exhibit an increasing trend. Exports of citrus are in leading position followed by dates and mangoes.
CITRUS: Pakistan is ranked among top ten producers and exporters of citrus in the world. However, its exports exhibit a high variation. Among citrus, kinnow is the main exportable item which accounts for about 95 per cent of Pakistan’s mandarin export. Over the past 10 years while production and exports have increased, market share in high price markets such as the European Union have declined significantly. Exports have increased in lower value markets of developing countries including Afghanistan, Iran Indonesia and Malaysia and the Russian Federation. In spite of some characteristics such as sweetness, juice content, easy to peel, the major citrus variety, kinnow mandarin, is somehow regarded as a low value fruit due to seed presence and issues relating to fruit quality, appearance and chemical residues.
MANGOES: Pakistan stands among the leading mango producing and exporting countries of the world. Pakistani mangoes are famous for their delicious taste. A number of mango varieties are produced in Pakistan which differ in physiological characteristics, particularly shape, order, size, colour, sugar content level and acidity etc. While production is dominated by two major varieties Chaunsa and Sindhri, other vareties such as Langra, Anwar Ratole, Dusehri and Neelum are cultivate to a lesser extent. Only Chaunsa and Sindhri varieties have a significant contribution in making commercial value of mango fruits.
DATES: Pakistan is included among top five producers and exporters of dates in the world. Sindh is the main dates producing
province and about 300 varieties of dates are being produced there. Dates are among the highly consumable fruits in Pakistan particularly its consumption is increased manifolds in the holy month of Ramzan ul Mubarik.
ONION: Onion is a highly consumable vegetable in Pakistan and is used as an essential ingredient in cooking various foods. Although Pakistan is one of the major producers of onions in the world, it is not the leading exporter of onions. Onions are an integral component of the Pakistani diet, consumed almost every day. The consumption onionsrises during specific events such as holy month of fasting Ramzan and Eid-ul-Azha, and at the times when marriage ceremonies are mostly arranged. Punjab and Sindh are the leading producing provinces of onions. Majority of onion producers in Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa are small holders with less than 5 hectares.
Although Pakistan once had very wide range of germplasm, currently two varieties Nassarpuri and Phulkara dominate domestic production. These varies also have issues associated with storage life. Little seed is imported and certified seed is not produced domestically. Yields in Sindh, the largest producer, and Punjab, the largest consumer, provinces are below regional and world averages, suggesting that improvements in farm productivity are possible. There is a lack of suitable facilities for onion drying and storage. Poor storability limits exports to those markets that are nearby such as UAE, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
able vegetable in Pakistan both in fresh and processed forms such as chips and fries. Pakistan ranks at about 20th level in the world production of potatoes. Punjab province is the major producer and contributes 90 per cent to total potato production in the country. About 65 to 70 per cent of farmers in Punjab are small and medium with landholdings below 25 acres.
Since 2000, the potato area has increased by about 60 per cent and production volume has also more than doubled. All the increase has come from Punjab province which has more than 90 per cent contribution in potato production. The yield in Punjab at around 20tha are line with the China average of 20tha but well below those obtained in the developing countries.
POTATO: Potato is also a highly consume According to the information available from the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association, despite the outbreak of pan demic of Corona Virus, Pakistan’s exports of fruits and vegetables wave witnessed a modest jump of 12.5 % during fiscal year 2019-20 which fetched $ 730 million in precious foreign exchange for the country.
The value of import of fruits and vegetables totaled $ 218 million. Sales of commodity items to Pakistan decreased by 3.91 per cent in value terms compared to 2019.sss
Besides fruits and vegetables mentioned above, Pakistan also exports and imports fruits and vegetables including edible oil, fruits and nuts, apples, bananas, grapes fresh and died, quinces fresh, apricots, water melons, papayas, guavas, peaches, sloes among others.
Pakistan’s partners in exports of fruits, vegetables etc. include Afghanistan, UAE, Russia, UK, Saudi Arabia, Philippines,
Indonesia, Oman, Qatar and Uzbekistan
Pakistan’s partners in imports of fruits, vegetables etc. include Afghanistan, Iran.
USA, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam. Malaysia, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
There is dire need to increase exports of fruits and vegetables from Pakistan. This will help in reducing trade deficit and raising foreign exchange reserves to partially finance heave import bill and payment of external debt as well as generating employment opportunities. Competitiveness of fruits and vegetables can be enhanced through investing in research, development and improvements in infrastructure.
Improvements in yields can also be attained through improved seed quality, better pest and disease management and lowering post-harvest losses. There is also need to build good roads from farm to market and making arrangements good quality transport vessels on priority basis in order to boost fruits and vegetables exports.
HYBRID SEED TECHNOLOGY KEY TO ECONOMIC GROWTH & HAPPINESS INDEX
AGRICULTURE CONTRIBUTES 18.5% TO PAKISTAN’S GDP AND PROVIDES 38.5% EMPLOYMETNT TO NATIONAL LABOR FORCE BUT STILL IT REMAINS BACKWARD SECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY WHILE HIGH PERFORMING AGRICULTURE IS A KEY TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION
0ver the last decade, the performance of agriculture sector has fallen short of desirable level mainly because of stagnant productivity of all important crops. Cropped area of the five traditional crops has also largely remained unchanged. Climate change also poses a
serious challenge to Pakistan’s agriculture and threatens country’s water availability and food scarcity. The government is trying its best to help the farmers by providing agricultural inputs at affordable prices and ensuring better price of their produce. To guarantee food security, it is necessary to enhance domestic agricultural production through Increased productivity (increasing per acre yield). Although Pakistan has rich production potential in agriculture, livestock and fisheries, yet for sustainable economic growth and prosperity, the development of these sectors on long-term basis is of fundamental importance for country’s growth and prosperity. Quite obviously, this calls for efficient utilization of production resources by adopting modern technologies and establishment of realistic marketing system.
administration is working on various aspects for strengthening of field offices, international collaboration, new initiatives for further development. Its prime goal is protecting the farmers’ interest. Quality seed is a prerequisite to realizing the full benefit of good crop husbandry practices. Any weakness in terms of genetic purity or physical health may damage all Investments and efforts made during the course of crops.
Enactment of laws regarding seeds has been considered fundamental steps to resolve this major issue. Certified nurseries of planting material in production areas with mother plant banks are needed to meet the fruits orchards needs along with back up support.
High technology seeds such as Hybrid should be given high priority and must be developed Indigenously by technology acquisition, strengthen of the public sector research and development (R&D) and enhancing role
The seed sector is grossly under- developed due to extended delay
AREA, SEED REQUIREMENTS AND SEED AVAILABILITY | |||
SOWING AREA (000 HA) | TOTAL REQUIREMENTS (METRIC TONNES) | SEED AVAILABILITY (MT) TOTAL | |
8945 | 1073352 | 429341 | |
3200 | 63232 | 56980 | |
2805 | 41385 | 59669 | |
1170 | 28892 | 14235 | |
1185 | 42674 | 1401 | |
830 | 10790 | 72 | |
280 | 8400 | 2123 | |
2038 | 61140 | 11659 | |
166 | 415000 | 2397 | |
20619 | 1744865 | 577877 | |
Note: Seed Availability figures include Public, Private and Imported Seed |
of the private sector for seed development commercialization.
Seed is the basic input for agriculture sector and has an important role in enhancing agriculture productivity. Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department is an attached department of Ministry of National Food Security and Research which provides seed certification services as and when sought by public and private seed agencies.
in legislations though number of private domestic seed companies is around 700 which are already in all fields and horticultural crops. Several initiatives such as establishment of facilitation visits and testing laboratories were taken.
Along with inconsistent legislation issue, widespread spurious seed. non availability of certified seed and planting material, no system of seed commercialization in the National Agricultural Research System and lagging seed registration process have been identified as potential obstacles to the seed sector.
According to the information available for official quarters concerned, in order to ensure improved seed certification services, Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department A comprehensive but convenient registration for new entrants is also deemed necessary.
Hybrid seed, controlled hybrid, provide very uniform characteristics because they are produced by crossing two inbred strains, Elite inbred strains are used that express well-documented and consistent Phenotypes such as high crop yield that are relatively good for inbred plants. In Agriculture and Gardening, Hybrid Seed is produced by cross pollinated plants. Hybrid Seed production is predominated in modern agriculture and home gardening. It is one of the main contributions to the dramatic rise in agricultural output during last half of the 20th century. The alternations to hybridization are open pollination and colonel propagation.
All of the Hybrid Seed planted by the farmer will produce similar plants while the seeds of the next generation from these hybrids will not consistently have the desired characteristics. Controlled hybrids provide very uniform characteristics because they are produced by crossing two inbred strains. Elite inbred strains are used that exports well-documents. Phenotypes (such as high crop yields) that is relatively good for inbred plants
Hybrids are chosen to improve the characteristics of the resulting plants such as better yelled, greater uniformity, improved colors, disease resistance, An important tactor is the Heterosis or combining ability of the parents plants Crossing and particular pair of inbred strains may or may not result in superior off spring.
The US experimental agriculture stations in the 1920s investigated the hybrid crops and by the 1930s farmers had widely adopted the first hybrid maize Hybrid seed technology is also being adopted by the farming community in Pakistan though the pace for adaptation to modern technologies seems to be pretty slow for varying reasons mainly being illiterate farmers.
Hybrid technology has augmented maize production by more than 3 times in Pakistan since its launch for lanes.
the crop sowing way back in 1990s. The mairo crop in Pakistan points out a phenomenal success story spanning over the past 20 years. The introduction of high yield malze hybrid by international companies laid the foundation for the growth. In Punjab alone, averago matze yield has tripled going up from 14 maunds per acre to 60 maunds per acre whereas ares under cultivation has also almost been doubled. Growth in crop production during last two decades was as high as 320 per cent. Downstream impact like on the poultry industry was also quite notable.
The federal and provincial governments seemingly determined and committed to ensure welfare and well-being of the farming community as well as boosting agricultural production to minimize reliance on imports at the earliest should maximize their efforts to introduce modern technologies like hybrid seed technology to the farmers rather speedily to ensure good results in shortest possible time, please.
TECHNOLOGY VERSUS HUMANITY
The unavoidable innovation of modern communication technology is a highly widespread issue of the day Many people are on the opinion that it has a diverse effect on human society am in full agreement with this nation, and there are few major points to consider with this argument
The uninterrupted advancement in gadgets and interactive software programs makes people patronize the latest communication regime Thus more populace is now being obsessed of using these types of communication A vast majority of individuals are frequently online to check notifications from various applications that they use for communication, and they spent longer time on their gadgets than socializing in person with their peers, workmates, and families Subsequently, their relationship with the society is being trashed because of their isolation
The various products of hi-tech communication have a momentous blow on peoples career and workmanship because of tragile interpersonal communication skills and meagre samwork in todays modern time the actual interaction with officemates is decreasing because people are busy on their gadgets using various social media to communicate Above them all in some developed countries a tremendous number of companies have drastically forbidden the usage of social media during working hours because they want their employees to be collaborative with their colleagues subsequently promote teamwork Overall the modern technology is convenient I strongly believe that people should control their use of technology and never forget the essential of personal interaction Hence technology is detrimental to their relationship with the society if they get addicted to it.