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Higher education Essay This is to certify that Mr ANILKUMAR MORA, student of CNGO Management of Dr. BRAOU with Admission No (0231239044) has worked in our organisation for a period of November 1st to December 31st and submitted a Project Report on VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING. Date: Name Signature Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal Sharada Nagar, Sagroli Nanded 431 731, Maharashtra, India. CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the Project Report on VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING submitted by ANILKUMAR MORA (0231239044) is his own work and has been done under my supervision. Rohit Deshmukh M. B. A Signature of the Guide Project Director, Date: SANSKRITI SAMVARDHAN MANDAL, Sagroli, Dist. Nanded, M. S India – 431731 M +91 91589 87787 P +91 2465 227848 DECLARATION I ANILKUMAR MORA, a student of Certificate Programme in NGO Management of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University, with Admission No. (0231239044) hereby declare that the Project Report submitted by me on VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING is an original work and the same has not been submitted to any other University / Institute for the award of any other degree / Certificate. Date of Submission: Signature of the candidate ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It is a great pleasure to express my deepest sense of gratitude and indebted to my guide Mr Rohit Deshmukh project director, Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal, Sagroli, Nanded, Maharashtra, for having been a source of constant inspiration, precious guidance and generous assistance during the project work. I deem it as a privilege to have worked under his able guidance without his close monitoring and valuable suggestions this work wouldn’t have taken this shape. I feel that this help is un substitutable and unforgettable. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Pramod Deshmukh, chairman of Sankriti Samvardhan mandal, Sagroli, Nanded, Maharashtra, for giving opportunity to do my project work and providing an eminent guide for the completion of the project. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Srihari Kulkarni co-ordinator of UTKARSH- Vocational Education Training of one of the SSM’s activity for providing all the information and facilities for the completion of the project work. I would like to thank rural unemployed youth, trainees and Alumni of UTKARSH- Vocational Education Training for their kind cooperation and valuable help for completing the project work. Finally I would like to thank my parents who are supporting from my childhood, friends and well-wishers for their support and co-operate for what I am in my life. ANILKUMAR MORA (0231239044) ABSTRACT Table of Contents List of Figuresi List of Tablesii Glossaryiii CHAPTER – I 1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1INTRODUCTION 1. 2 DEFINITION OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION 1. 3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:- 1. 4 NEED OF THE STUDY:- 1. 5LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:- 1. 6RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:- 1. 6. 1 PERIOD OF STUDY:- 1. 6. 2 RESEARCH DESIGN:- 1. 6. 3 SOURCES OF DATA:- 1. 6. 4 QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINSTRATIONS:- 1. 6. 5 SAMPLE DESIGN:- 1. 6. 6 STATISTICAL TOOLS USED:- CHAPTER – II 1. 1PROFILE OF NGO 1. 2HISTORY 1. 2. 1THE FOUNDER 1. 2. 2GOVERNING BODY 1. 2. 3ADVISORY BOARD 1. 2. 4COLLABORATORS 1. 2. 5MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA 1. 2. 6COOPERATIVE ENSURES 1. 2. 7OUR STRUCTURE 1. 2. 8AWARDS 1. 3SERIVICES AND ACTIVITIES 1. 3. 1EDUCATION-FORMAL 1. 3. 1. 1PROJECT SPEAK WELL 1. 3. 1. 2ZEST (ZEAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN STUDENT TEACHER) 1. 3. 1. 3PROJECT EQUIP (EDUCATIONAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME) 1. 3. 1. 4SCIENCE WORKSHOPS 1. 3. 1. 5THE SCIENCE PARK 1. 3. 1. 6FINE ARTS 1. 3. 1. 7EDUCATION TOURS 1. 3. 1. 8THE NATIONAL CADET CORE 1. 3. 1. 9CULTURAL AND LITERACY ACTIVITIES 1. 3. 2EDUCATION VOCATIONAL 1. 3. 2. 1SHRI CHATRAPATI SHAHU SAINIKI VIDYALAYA 1. 3. 2. 2UTKARSH VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE 1. 3. 3SAGROLI SUNRISE 1. 3. 4ANAND BALAGRAM 1. 3. 5WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 1. 3. 6AFFORESTATION THROUGH SCHOOL 1. 3. 7KRISHI VIGNAN KENDRA 1. 3. 8THE WADI PROGRAM. 1. 3. 8. 1WADI A)AGRI-HORTI-FORESTRY B)WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT C)SOIL CONSERVATION 1. 3. 8. 2LANDLESS FAMILY DEVELOPMENT 1. 3. 8. 3WOMEN EMPOWERMENT 1. 3. 8. 4COMMUNITY HEALTH 1. 3. 8. 5TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING 1. 3. 8. 6WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND ORGANISATION 1. 3. 9SANJEEVANI AROGYA MANDIR 1. 3. 10DHARMA DONKEY SANCTUARY 1. 3. 11EQUINE WELFARE PROJECT 1. 3. 11. 1ACTIVITIES AWARENESS AND COMMUNITY MOTIVATION 1. 3. 11. 2ENHANCING LOCAL HEALTH SERVICES 1. 3. 11. 3ASHWAMITRA 1. 3. 11. 4FREE EMERGENCY TREATMENT 1. 3. 11. 5FIRST AID BOX 1. 3. 11. 6EQUINE WELFARE GROUPS 1. 3. 12SOCIAL HOUSING AND SANITATION 1. 3. 13MAHARSHI KANAD VILLAGE KNOWLEDGE CENTRE 1. 4PROPERTIES 1. 5MEDIA TALKS 1. 6FANANCIERIES CHAPTER – III 2. BACKGROUND OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING 2. 1VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN INDIA 2. 2INTRODUCTION 2. 3TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING ACCORDING TO NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY ORGANIZATION 2. 4TRAINING STATISTICS OF ITI/ITCs 2. 5TOTAL NUMBER AND CAPACITY OF it is AND ITCs PER MILLION PERSONS IN INDIA 2. 6STATUS IN SCHOOL 2. 7OTHR GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE BODIES PROVIDING VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN INDIA 2. 7. 1KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES COMMISSION 2. 7. 2LIST OF TRAINING INSTITUTES PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR THE SCHEMES 2. 8POINTS TO FOCUS ON 2. 9VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRIANING IN SSM. CHAPTER – IV 3. PRESENTATION OF DATA ANALYSIS 3. 1CASESTUDY-1 3. 2CASESTUDY-2 3. 3CASESTUDY-3 3. 4QUESTIONNAIRE CHAPTER – V 4. FINDINGS, CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATIONS 4. 1FINDINGS 4. 2CONCLUSION 4. 3RECOMMENDATIONS BIBLOGRAPHY GLOSSARY Sino. Short FormFull Form 1 SSMSanskriti Samvardhan Mandal 2KVKKrishi Vigyn Kendra 3MKVKCMaharshi Kanad Village Knowledge Centre 4NCVTNational centre for vocational education 5VETvocational education and training 6NSSONational Sample Survey Organization 7KVICKhadi and Village Industries Commission 8SAMSanjeevani Arogya Mandir 9EQUIPEducational Quality Improvement Program 10ZESTZeal For Excellence in Student and Teacher FIGURES Fig. 1: Main parts of the tudy. 11 Tables Table 1: ECVET reflector guide 13 CHAPTER – I 1. INTRODUCTION 1. 1INTRODUCTION Vocational education (education based on occupation or employment) (also known as vocational education and training or VET) is education that prepares people for specific trades, crafts and careers at various levels from a trade, a craft, technician, or a professional position in engineering, accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, pharmacy, law etc. Craft vocations are usually based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation. It is sometimes referred to as technical education as the trainee directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques. In the UK some higher technician engineering positions that require 4-5 year apprenticeship require academic study to HNC / HND or higher City Guilds level. Vocational education may be classified as teaching procedural knowledge. This can be contrasted with declarative knowledge, as used in education in a usually broader scientific field, which might concentrate on theory and abstract conceptual knowledge, characteristic of tertiary education. Vocational education can be at the secondary, post-secondary level, further education level and can interact with the apprenticeship system. Increasingly, vocational education can be recognised in terms of recognition of prior learning and partial academic credit towards tertiary education (e. g. , at a university) as credit; however, it is rarely considered in its own form to fall under the traditional definition of higher education. Vocational education is related to the age-old apprenticeship system of learning. Apprenticeships are designed for many levels of work from manual trades to high knowledge work. However, as the labor market becomes more specialized and economies demand higher levels of skill, governments and businesses are increasingly investing in the future of vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives for businesses. At the post-secondary level vocational education is typically provided by an institute of technology, university, or by a local community college. Vocational education has diversified over the 20th century and now exists in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries. 1. 2 Definition of Vocational Education and Training:- Web definitions Vocational education is education that prepares people for specific trades, crafts and careers at various levels from a trade, a craft, technician, or a professional position in engineering, accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, pharmacy, law etc. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Vocational_Education_and_Training 1. 4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:- 1. The study is intended to assist rural unemployed youth to increase their wareness of vocational education training. 2. The study provides understanding of unemployed human response to vocational education training. 3. The Focus is on presenting a broad back ground of vocational education training research and on providing awareness. 4. The Main objective of vocational education training. †¢Meet education demands of the population, support professional, career development and social protection of individuals; †¢Feed economy with qualified staff competitive both on local and international labour market, ensure a match between the fast changing labor market and VET system; †¢Foster appropriation of the peoples educational capacities with the new social-economic conditions to support self-employment and entrepreneurship; †¢Support student mobility; †¢Ensure professional development of minority groups and create employment opportunities for them; †¢Develop Lifelong Learning; 1. 5 NEED OF THE STUDY:- The need for VET qualifications are provided by government institutions, called Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions, as well as private institutions. Industry and employer groups contribute to training policies and priorities, and in developing qualifications that deliver skills to the workforce. Today Many of VET courses incorporate a period of on-site learning, which means you don’t just learn in a classroom, but get priceless industry experience in a genuine work environment. It’s real-world industry experience that ensures your qualifications fully prepare you for employment in your chosen industry. An important part of VET teaching staff are not just industry-aware, but have actual experience in their fields of expertise – maintaining the currency of their knowledge, and modifying their courses to reflect changing industry focus and needs. And that means you learn not only the theory, but also the reality of the subjects you’re studying. 1. 6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:- 1The study is dependent mostly on the data collected from the Internet and SSM related web pages. 2The findings and suggestions are drawn based on the responses of the questionnaire made and the data provided by the organization. 3Only 5% of the organization is taken into consideration while the survey is conducted. 4The project report is done in a period of 8 weeks 4days time forms an important limitation for carrying out the project. 5Accuracy of the study is purely based on the information as given by the respondent. 1. 7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:- 1. 7. 1 PERIOD OF STUDY:- The Present study had been undertaken for period of 8 weeks 4 days in which it had divided three stages as such. Stage one is of research problem and collection the literature of the topic chosen stage II is of deciding the research methodology and collecting the data required. Stage-III is of analysis and interpretations by using different statically tools findings and recommendations. Discusses the research design, importance of the study, scope and significance of the study. Sources of data, questionnaire, and sample design statically techniques used and objectives of the study and limitations of the study. 1. 7. 2 RESEARCH DESIGN:- A research design is an arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure. It is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted and it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. It includes an outline of what the researcher will do from writing the hypothesis and its operational implications to the final analysis of data. The research design used for the study is descriptive design. Descriptive research design includes observational methods, case-study methods and survey methods. The primary purpose of descriptive research is to provide an accurate description or picture of the status or characteristics of a situation or phenomenon 1. 7. 3 SOURCES OF DATA:- The relevant data has been collected from the primary sources and secondary sources. The primary data is collected by a questionnaire from the rural unemployed and employed human. For this purpose of data collection, the questionnaire was circulated among the employees to collect information. The secondary data is collected by internet organization journals, magazines, Websites etc. 1. 7. 4 QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINSTRATIONS:- The Questionnaire was prepared after consulting with the project coordinator of Utkarsh one of the activity of SSM. The researcher prepared to set of questionnaire. A three point scale â€Å"very good, good bad† Yes and No was used for this purpose. 1. 7. 5 SAMPLE DESIGN:- A sample of 20 respondents was taken using random sampling. The researcher contacted the youth personally and brief summary of the nature of the study and detail in the questionnaire were narrated to them. 1. 7. 6 STATISTICAL TOOLS USED:- For the purpose of present study percentage analysis was used. ? CHAPTER – II 2 PROFILE OF NGO Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal (SSM) is a voluntary organisation working for sustainable rural development since 1959. Credibility, based on transparency, is the main strength of SSM which has always been striving to practice the best norms in human relations and financial management. SSM is progressing confidently to meet the emerging challenges in every field. Started in village Sagroli, now SSM has scaled its work of rural development in adjoining districts with new interventions. SSM is registered under Societies Registration Act bearing No. B-118 /59 (Vidharbha) Dated 14-12-1959 and Public Trust act – F- 41 (Nanded) Dated 9/08/1963 Functionaries of the organization are: Address of the Head Office: Mr. Pramod Deshmukh – Chairman Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal Mr. P. Y. Shinde – Secretary Shardanagar, Sagroli Dist. Nanded 431731 Telefax 02465 227848, 227834 : www. ssmandal. net Vision – Educated, cultured, Vigilant and prosperous rural communities. Mission Attain Sustainable Rural development with need based, transparent and innovative approach through Value added education, health, environment, energy, animal welfare, agriculture, women child welfare, capacity building and livelihood. Core values:- Education has been the core activity of Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal (SSM) since its inception in 1959. Through formal and non-formal education we have made a sustainable difference to the lives of thousands who were completely unaware of what they truly deserve. SSM operates preschool to pre university level formal institutions providing education to 4000 children at a place History:- The Founder KARMAYOGI BABASAHEB DESHMUKH â€Å"Sa Vidya ya Vimuktayeâ€Å"(Education Leads to emancipation) Believed and manifested, the scripture from the eternal values of Indian heritage, till he breathes his last in August, 2004. A simple, dhoti clad, six feet tall, yet stooped out of humility is â€Å"The Karma Yogi†, Babasaheb Keshav Narayanrao Deshmukh. Born on the 27th of March, 1926, with a silver spoon in the mouth, Babasaheb was the most cherished child in the Regal Deshmukh’ family of Sagroli in the Marathawada region of Maharashtra. The village† Sagroli† in Tehsil Biloli, in Dist Nanded was an integral part of the Nizam’s state of Hyderabad. As a child and youth, Babasaheb had been well exposed to the plight of the village folk, the down trodden and the under privileged. He was sent to Hyderabad for his education, but something that was due to happen through him at Sagroli, didn’t allow him stay there for long time. On the other hand, his daughter who passed her 4th Std. was deprived of further education since there were no schools in the vicinity of 100 K. M. from Sagroli. All the girls of her age had to stay home. This disturbed Babasaheb. It proved good for the village. The thoughts of social reformation already took shape in his mind, came into being with the establishment of Sanskrit Samvardhan Mandal in 1959, an organization to promote education at grass root level. As a land lord, he had a big heart too to spare a hundred and thirty acres of his agricultural estate for the mission he started. As a person of deed and might, Babasaheb never turned back come what may! The Sanskrit Samvardhan Mandal was carefully nurtured in the hands of devoted and faithful volunteers of Babasaheb’ s team and this day stands among one of the most renowned development organizations in the region. Babasaheb Deshmukh’ vision was not limited to education sphere alone. He took every opportunity to serve the deprived communities. Gradually SSM propagated its service activities into the fields of health, Women and child welfare, Agriculture, environment, watershed development, conservation of National resources and what not. His vision was far ahead of the time. There was a great receptive potentiality in his ways. He tried every thing that he believed, would help the development of rural communities. Though he always acknowledged that he was inspired by the Trio, Mahatma Phule, Maharshi Karve and Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil, the pioneers of education (Particularly for the deprived) in Maharashtra, It is the fact that the quartette gets completed only when his name is added to the list. He’s a kind hearted human being who added height to the eternal values in the society. S. O. S. children’s village, the â€Å"Anand Balgram† the home for the orphan children provides shelter and education to more than 500 god’s children through its associated units. Just not the orphan children, but hundreds of orphan animals, also were blessed enough to seek protection under his care. A typical day in his life would never probably give a hint to any enthusiast that such a simple ONE man had created this vast world of social service in the rural sector. Babasaheb’ s services were duly recognized by the nation and he was bestowed with many honors and rewards at national level platforms. He had six presidential awards conferred upon him, though he humbly avows the felicitation to the credit of all his volunteers. Through the six decades of his tireless journey, Babasaheb left behind him a great inspiration to carry forward and ever widen the scope for human service. GOVERNING BODY : SANSKRITI SAMVARDHAN MANDAL, Sharadanagar,SAGROLI, Dist. Nanded Members of the Governing Body for the period 2012-13 TO 2017-18 SrNo. Name of the MemberDOBQualificationDesignationOccupation 1Pramod Keshavrao Deshmukh7-8-1956B. Sc. Agri. ChairmanAgriculture 2Pandharinath Yadavrao Shinde8-4-1944S. S. C. SecretaryAgriculture 3Khanderao Nathraje Deshmukh10-06-1954B. Sc. TreasurerAgriculture 4Bhalchandra Dhundamaharaj Deglurkar10-4-1946B. Tech( Chem. )Trustee/MemberAgriculture 5Shyamrao Bapurao Sagrolikar25-4-1935S. S. C. Trustee/ MemberAgriculture 6Anandidas Renukadas Mahajan10-2-1953S. S. C. Trustee/MemberAgriculture 7Dattaram Nagappa Sompure20-8-1947S. S. C. MemberAgriculture 8Arvind Diggamber Deshmukh20-6-1952B. Sc. B. Ed. MemberRetired Principal 9Khanderao Ramrao Shinde9-9-1953B. A. B. Ed. MemberRetired Principal 10Vitthal Gangaram Jathore12-6-1962B. A. B,Ed. MemberTeacher 11Dr. Jayant Narayanrao Jakate5-7-1962B. A. M. S. MemberMedical Officer 12Vyankat Purshottamrao Kulkarni4-6-1961M. Com. B. Ed. MemberPrincipal 13Sakharam Govind Jagtap9-1-1952B. A. M. S. W. MemberAnand BalgramVillage Director 14Gangadhar Vaijanathappa Mathadevaru18-4-1966B. A. D,Ed. MemberPrincipal 15Aruna Sunilrao Deshmukh16/8/1965S. S. C. MemberHouse wife Advisory Board: 1Dr. Ashok KukdeLatur 2Mr. Pratapraoji PawarPune 3Mr. Suhas ApteUSA 4Mr. V. N. Allies Bhau AbhyankarPune 5Mr. Upendra DegloorkarPune 6Mr. Keshavrao ShindeSolapur Collaborators AFARM is an association of more than 250 voluntary organisations working in the field of rural development in Maharashtra state. The head quarter is based at Pune. SSM is associated with AFARM since 1972. The Brooke is an international animal welfare organisation dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules in some of the world’s poorest communities. They provide treatment, training and programmes around animal health and wellbeing. SSM has been partnering with The Brooke India since 2010 for â€Å"Equine Welfare Project† in Nanded district. Starting with one person supporting one institution in 1981, caring friends is now a group of more than 300 friends from India and abroad, supporting nearly 40 institutions in 9 different States of India. SSM is a member of Caring Friends since 2010. Credibility Alliance is a consortium of Voluntary Organizations (VOs) committed towards enhancing Accountability and Transparency in the Voluntary Sector through good Governance. SSM is a member of credibility alliance since 2004. Equitable Water was set up as an entirely voluntary charity in 2004 to focus on small projects delivering water (for irrigation and drinking) and conserving water in impoverished parts of rural India. Equitable water supported Nagdarwadi village through SSM in 2004. GiveIndia is a donation platform that allows you to support a cause of your choice from about 200 NGOs that have been scrutinised for transparency credibility. SSM is a member of Give India since 2004. SSM has been partnering with state and central Government especially for Education, Agriculture, Human Resource and Natural Resource Management. NASSCOM Foundation is a non-profit organization that is building an ecosystem to bring to fruition – Technology for Good. The Foundation is leveraging the capabilities of IT-BPM member companies of NASSCOM along with emerging social enterprises to meet the technology needs of non-profits and underserved communities across India with continuous support from the Government. SSM has been partnering with NASSCOM foundation since 2006 through MaharshiKanad Village Knowledge Center. SSM has been partnering with state and central Government especially for Education, Agriculture, Human Resource and Natural Resource Management. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. SSM has been partnering with Habitat for Humanity since 2010. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research. SSM has been partnering with ICAR through the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) since 2012. Kimberley – Clark Corporation is a US based company, sells its products in more than 150 countries. Kimberley – Clark supported SSM for a project of Water Conservation and Literacy in 2011. Karl Kubel Stiftung fur Kind und Familie is a secular, charitable trust with its headquarters in Bensheim/Germany. It was founded by Karl Kubel, a former industrial entrepreneur. SSM partnered with KKS for â€Å"Integrated Village Development Programme† in 2000. Life Insurance Corporation of India is a Leading life insurance company in India. SSM, as an agent, helping people secure their life. NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure prosperity of rural areas. SSM has been partnering with NABARD since 1993 through Watershed Development Programmes and since 2010 through Wadi programme. WOTR is a not-for-profit NGO founded in 1993 operating currently in five 6 Indian states – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Orissa. WOTR is recognised widely as a premier institution in the field of participatory Watershed Development andClimate Change Adaptation. SSM has been associated with WOTR since 1993 through Indo German Watershed Development Programme. MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA: All the members of the organization †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦? COOPERATIVE ENSURES:- That membership is voluntary and open to those who need the man services 1. That management is 2. That share capital receives 3. That surplus is distributed 4. That the organisation participates in social welfare activities. OUR STRUCTURE:- Ours is an NGO . We believe in the will of our members, Experience has shown, too, that in last (57) years, the decisions of the members have been, of the whole, wise and responsible. Our Board of directors meets at least once a month and our general body meets last once a year. These meetings are strictly business meetings and take as long as members think necessary. Our staff, and we have over 110 employees, are all drawn from the 14 villages. We believe that much of our success is due to our employees identifying with the cooperative’s mission our staff is lead by a general manager who, like all the other employees is fully accountable to the cooperative. AWARDS: Manav Sava Award 2002 Award Vasundhara Sanman Award 2011 National Teacher Award 2002; Child Welfare Award 1995; Vriksha Mitra Award -1992 Real Heroes of the Nation; Indian Merchant Chamber 1988 Best Teacher Award 2000 Dadhichi Puraskar Dalit Mitra Puraskar Bhumijal samvardhan Award Real Heroes of the Nation award Services and activities: Our Programs Education – Formal Education has been the nucleus of all of SSM’s activities since its inception in 1959. SSM has therefore put in efforts to impart quality education to the deprived rural children, especially the girls. We facilitate pre-school to pre-university education on the campus for 4000 students through different schools with hostel facilities. Presently 2000 of them are housed in the hostels on the campus. This makes us one of the largest rural residential schools. The schools and hostels are located on the same campus. As such the progress of the students is closed monitored. The teachers and rectors coordinate and monitor the activities undertaken for the students’ all round development. Thus, besides formal education, value education is also imparted to the students. Good habits such as early rising, doing regular exercises, evening prayer, etc are inculcated in the children. Various cultural activities are also organized to provide an outlet to their aesthetic potential. Education and Training in drawing Painting and Music is also facilitated. There are well equipped library and laboratory facilities in place to develop reading culture and to facilitate scientific experiments respectively. There are large play grounds on the campus where students are trained in various games and sports by trained sports teachers and trainers. We also have a unit, set up in 1983, to provide education to physically challenged students, especially for the deaf and mute. Project Speak Well- Speak Well Initiative is really a very prudent and innovative move by SSM in the last two academic years. The prime objective behind this move was to equip every student with the tool of English language skills that he/she can utilize for the application of any sort of acquired knowledge in his/her practical life to achieve success. With the students and teaching non-teaching staff as the target group, project Speak-Well was formally launched in October 2011. With a Vision of â€Å"Manufacturing Effective English Communicators† and â€Å"Empowering Community with English Language Skills† is the Mission of the project. The main objective of the project is to help the students acquire skills enabling him/her to keep pace with time. The project has a major focus on motivating and encouraging students to interact in English through various activities like loud reading of English newspaper, speech and conversation in school assembly, group discussion, etc. Through training programmes inputs are given to the teachers to help them enhance their English language competencies, acquire novel methodologies and techniques of teaching. Earlier, the students were so hesitant to form even eye-contact and to come forward to utter a few words that they had to be literally pushed to the front to speak. However, after the project was launched, every student started enjoying his stage appearance to articulate in English confidently without any hesitation. They have started reading not only English academic books, but English newspapers also. This was the foundation. We’re now moving to the next step towards making them proficient in English. ZEST (Zeal for Excellence in Student Teacher) is one of the innovative projects initiated by SSM in 2011-12. The vision is to enhance the quality of higher secondary education. Objectives of the project are to –Improve the quality of teaching and learning. 1. Change the existing teaching – learning process. 2. Adopt innovative approach towards education. 3. Create learning-conducive atmosphere. We combined the forces of two units of junior college to create a synergy of the resources, especially the teachers. The project involves teacher’s orientation and training programmes, aimed at improving their subject knowledge and teaching skills. Special coaching is facilitated for various entrance exams. A separate cell has been set up to counsel the students on various career options after HSC. As an impact of the project, the teaching and learning process has become more interactive and interesting. As such, students’ attendance and active participation in the class have increased. Project EQUIP- With an objective of improving quality of and in education, SSM has launched the Project EQUIP (Educational Quality Improvement Programme). The project consists of teachers’ training program, counseling and career guidance for children, motivation of stakeholders like parents, etc. The project aims to motivate the children towards LEARNING. Science workshops- Apart from well-equipped labs, we do have a science workshop to bring out the hidden talents of the young minds. Every year they try out their ideas and at least one science project of our children finds a place at the national level science fair organized by NCERT. The workshop named Khatpat-ghar, provides every opportunity to creative and innovative students to bring out incredibly sophisticated devices related to house hold activities, science, agriculture, every economy and what not. The activity is based on utilization of low cost and waste material. The exhibits are demonstrated at the khatpatghar. The science park named after Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, inaugurated on 25th March 2012, provides an outlet to children’s curiosity and creativity through the working models demonstrating different scientific principles and theories. The models provide the children an opportunity of learning by doing and playing. The park is now also proving to be an open learning centre for children from other schools in the area. Fine arts- Painting Drawing and Classical Music are the optional subjects open for all the students of the school. The students appear for graded examinations at the end of each spell of the training. Educational Tours- Twice a year, educational tours are conducted to give the children an exposure to our rich heritage, in addition to the educational objectives. The National Cadet Core (NCC)- The school is proud of its dynamic/adventurous youth participating social services through N. C. C. 52 Maharashtra Battalion.

An Assessment of the Poetry of Robert Frost Essay -- Poetry Robert Lee

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nature is beautiful in every aspect, but as nature changes with every season, beauty and innocence in human life is much the same as the years progress. Robert Lee Frost uses nature in such a profound approach; every aspect of nature can someway correlate with any characteristic of life. Whether it is the beauty in nature signifying the joy and happiness that every person experiences, or it be the traumatic losses and disappointments that may lead to ultimate failure or destruction, Robert Frost illustrates life, love and loss in the most natural and beautiful way feasible. His style is uniquely his own, and his themes are ones that many people can relate to on countless levels, which is what made Frost so popular during his lifetime, and has continued four decades after his death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Robert Frost was born March 26 1874 in San Francisco where he spent the first eleven years of his life until his father died. It was then that he moved with his family to Lawrence, Massachusetts. While in high school in Lawrence, Frost fell in love with Elinor White, they became engaged and married in 1896 (the same year that their son Elliott was born). After withdrawing from Harvard in 1897, the Frost’s moved to a farm in Methuen, Massachusetts, and began raising poultry. Three years later Elliott died, along with Frost’s mother. Frost and his family then bought a farm in Derry, where they settled down, and Frost began writing. Robert and Elinor Frost had three more children before losing another infant in 1907. In 1912, Frost became irritated with his failure at success, and moved his family to England. This move proved to be successful when Frost’s first book A Boy’s Will was published in 1913, followed by North of Boston in 1914; b oth books appeared in the United States as well by the time that the Frost family returned in 1915. In 1938 Frost lost his wife to illness. New Hampshire garnered Frost the first of his unmatched four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry, followed by Frost's Collected Poems in 1930, A Further Range in 1936, and A Witness Tree in 1942. Frost’s crowning public moment was his recitation of "The Gift Outright" at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in January of 1960. He died on January 29, 1963. Robert Frost lived a very long and often tragic life. He suffered unreasonable guilt, and blamed himself for everything that went wrong. Robert Frost loved his f... ... to gain wisdom. This wisdom should not be what the speaker feels in the last line, that innocence is great and loss of it is to be mourned. This wisdom is in the title of the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Here is Frost telling the speaker to understand that this is the natural way, and so there is no point in fighting it or being sad about it. In fact, within every leaf is just a leaf...meaning without the gold there is no green, without dawn there is no day, without death there is no birth. It is just the way it is and so we better love it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Robert Frost’s poems are beautifully written, and offer such a deep insight into life, and nature. His work connects to readers on virtually every level of consciousness, and generates readers to understand that their feelings are not rare. Everyone experiences the same emotions, and must overcome many of the same situations in life; but his poems almost bring the sense of possibility. Frost may have become popular at the dawn of the nineteenth century, his life may have ended almost half a century ago, but his poems are still as distinguished as they were before his death, and they will continue to be popular for many years to come.

Beethoven Symphony No. 5

The C minor Symphony is not only the best known, and therefore the most generally enjoyed, of Beethoven's nine Symphonies, but it is a more universal favourite than any other work of the same class. It is the only one of the nine which is sufficiently well known to have broken the barriers of a repulsive nomenclature, and to have become familiar, outside a certain more or less initiated circle, by its technical name.The C minor Symphony is often spoken of as if it were a miracle of irregularity, and almost as if in composing it Beethoven had abandoned the ordinary rules which regulate the construction of a piece of music, put down whatever came uppermost in his mind, and by the innate force of genius produced a masterpiece which seized the world with admiration, and has kept it in astonishment ever since. The C minor Symphony is the fifth of the series.It was intended to follow the Eroica, and was begun in the year 1805. The first performance took place at Vienna, December 22, 1808; the first performance in England was by the Philharmonic Society, April 15, 1816.The modern Romantic movement, whether called so or not, seems to have taken place earlier in music than it did in literature; and, whoever else may aspire to the honour of leading it, Beethoven was really its prophet, and the C minor Symphony its first great and assured triumph.The end of the Symphony in D, the Eroica, the Overture to ‘Leonora' are all essays in the Romantic direction, animated by the new fire; but the C minor is the first unmistakable appearance of the goddess herself in her shining, heavenly panoply (Hoffmann 1971).The C minor Symphony at once set the example, and made possible the existence of the most picturesque and poetical music of Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Tschaikoffsky. The first movement of Beethoven's C minor Symphony is framed as exactly as is the first movement of his C major Symphony – as the Trios and Sonatas with which he started on his career befor e the public.To give an outline of the construction of the Symphony. Its structure – in musical language, its ‘form' – is as follows. The opening subject is in the key of C minor, and is quickly answered by a second, in the key of E flat, the ‘relative major,' in which key the first section of the movement ends.That section having been repeated, we go on to the workingout, by no means long, and confined for its construction almost entirely to materials already furnished. Then comes the reprise of the opening, with the usual changes of key, a short Coda, and the movement is at an end!These sections are all, with a rare uniformity, almost exactly of the same length: to the double bar, 124 bars; the working-out, 123; the reprise, 126; and the Coda, 129. In fact, the movement is much stricter in its form than that of the Eroica, which has two important episodes, entirely extraneous, in the working-out, while its reprise is by no means an exact repetition of wha t has gone before. If all art is a representation – and surely it must be a representation of the idea in the mind of the artist – here we have the most concise representation that has ever been accomplished in music (Hoffmann 1971).No, it is no disobedience to laws that makes the C minor Symphony so great and unusual – no irregularity or improvisation; it is obedience to law, it is the striking and original nature of the thoughts, the direct manner in which they are expressed, and the extraordinary energy with which they are enforced and reinforced, and driven into the hearer, hot from the mind of the author, with an incandescence which is still as bright and as scorching as the day they were forged on his anvil – it is these things that make the C minor Symphony what it is and always will be.It is impossible to believe that it will ever grow old.BibliographyHoffmann E. T. A. Review of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, New York, 1971.

Injury Risk - Health Dissertations - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 28 Words: 8326 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Health Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Injury risk in elite basketball players The elite basketball player is considered in this piece not only in terms of his potential for injury but also in terms of the potential of the physiotherapist and other sports professionals, to give advice, support and guidance so that he may practice his chosen sport as safely as is reasonably possible. We have looked at the nature, incidence and sites of injuries sustained. We have looked at the two most commonly injured sites (the knee and ankle) in specific detail. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Injury Risk Health Dissertations" essay for you Create order We have also discussed the relevant modalities of treatment that a physiotherapist can provide for their clients. There appears to be considerable controversy in the current literature, particularly in the field of pre-exercise stretching. As this is commonly accepted practice by participants, coaches, trainers and sports medicine professionals alike, we have reviewed the arguments both for and against in some detail. We have paid particular attention to its value in the prophylaxis of injury and the evidence to support it. The role of the physiotherapist in education and training of the elite athlete is also discussed. There are a number of sources quoted who regard it as a prime responsibility of the physiotherapist to give the athlete the information to allow them to train and participate as safely and effectively as possible. We have also considered the role of the physiotherapist in the prophylaxis of injury by looking at the various modalities of treatment and interven tion that can be employed to make the field of play a safer place. In addition to the main-stream elite basketball player we have also looked at the role of the physiotherapist in the role of helping the disabled basketball player, some of whom have achieved elite status in their own right. They have their own specific problems and these are reviewed and discussed. Lastly we look at the specific gender differences in the sport. With many women finding that the sport is attractive, they participate at a top level of achievement. We look at the reasons why they have a different injury profile to men, both in terms of numbers of injuries but also in terms of the frequency of specific types of injury. The mechanisms of this difference is discussed together with the means whereby it can be addressed. Introduction Basketball is a world-wide sport practised by children in their backyard, adolescents in their playground, amateurs in their league games and elite athletes in their world-stage arenas. It is – by any standards – a fast game with inevitable physical contact, both intentional and accidental. Both these factors lead to the potential for injury. The explosive effort for the fast moves leads to particular pattern of muscle, ligament and tendon injury (see on) and the physical contact can lead to bruises, dislocations, fractures another injuries. It is a sport that is enjoyed by both sexes. Although it was originally conceived primarily as a male sport (for the YMCA)in an era when female participation in sport was a rarity, women now participate in it to elite levels and suffer injury to a similar extent to their male counterparts. The game itself has evolved dramatically since its humble beginnings when Dr James Naismith nailed two peach baskets at the ends of his g ymnasium in 1891 (hence the name basketball) It was developed as a tool for fitness training by the YMCA. By 1927 The Harlem Globetrotters had been formed and by 1936 it was included as an Olympic sport. According to FIBA (Basketball governing body) over 400 million people play basketball on a world-wide basis Training for the fitness needed to play the sport can also lead touts own problems. One huge study by Ruhr M Kuala et al. (1994) (1) found that of all the injuries associated with basketball, 50% occurred during the matches and 50% occurred during training for the matches. This should be contrasted with the finding in study by Meeuwisse et al.(2) where injuries during the game were 3.7 times as likely to occur as in training. One could reasonably conclude that a large proportion of the injuries sustained in the â€Å"cut and thrust† of a full scale match are part of the risk package accepted in playing the game. The huge proportion of injuries sustained whilst tra ining, however, should be largely preventable, as training should be ideally undertaken in carefully controlled circumstances. The physiotherapist, personal trainer and sports medicine specialist are ideally placed to advise and oversee poor practice in the training arena and to give advice and guidance to maximise training efficiency and to reduce the toll of injury. Any experienced sports care professional will tell you that the single most important factor in determining the likelihood of sustaining an injury is the occurrence of a previous injury (2). It therefore follows that prevention of any injury will help, not only in improving the immediate efficiency of the player, but will also confer protection against the possibility of recurring injury in any given site. Before we consider the mechanisms and prophylaxis of injuries in basketball, it would be prudent to consider the observed injuries from the sport, both in absolute number and site. The study by Meeuwisse(2003) (2) followed a cohort of 142 basketball players over a two year period and discovered that 44.7% of the players were injured in that time frame. As they recorded over 200 injuries in that time, it is clear that many players were injured more than once. The study by Ruhr M Kuala et al. (1994) (1) will be extensively quoted in this piece as it provides an enormous amount of meticulously collected data which has a high degree of confidence in its validity. It was based in Finland where the population has a particularly regimented system of bureaucratic personal information storage, especially with regard to injury and healthcare details. The entire population has to be registered with a nationally based health insurance, which records every accident and injury. This is of enormous value to studies such as this, as accurate statistics about entities such as specific sporting injuries can be derived comparatively easily. The study is also important in this specific regard as it enc ompasses an enormous cohort of basketball players analysing 39,541person years of basketball experience and 3,472 specific injuries. It’s worth considering the patterns of injury found in some detail as it has an impact on the deliberations in this piece. In terms of age distribution, it was found that injuries in thunder 15 yr. age group were comparatively rare and that the injury rate peaked in the 20 – 24 yr. age groups. Percentage of injuries by sites in basketball players (These results are slightly modified with some trivia removed) Injury Site % of total Lower limb Total 56.0 Thigh 2.5 Knee 15.8 Leg 2.0 Ankle 31.4 Foot 4.0 Other 0.4 Upper Limb total 19.3 Upper arm + Shoulder 2.6 Forearm and elbow 1.3 Palm + wrist Fingers 11.1 Other 0.4 Other Sites Total 24.7 Teeth 5.2 Eyes 3.0 Head + neck 7.4 Thorax + Abdomen 1.5 Back 5.4 Pelvis 0.9 Multiple sites 1.4 There are clearly a number of striking trends in these figures. The lower limbs sustaining the most injuries with 56% of the total. The ankle and knee taking the lion’s share of these. These results are clearly fairly predictable with the nature of the sport being one of sudden changes of acceleration and direction, many changes of direction(pivoting) involving turning forces impinging maximally on the knee and ankle. Both joints are intrinsically unstable for these modalities of movements. They are designed to be most effective in walking and running in a straight line. Although they can accommodate twisting movements, they are much less mechanically sound in these directions. The possibility of unanticipated, and therefore unraced, impacts is endemic in the sport and will increase the possibility of injury to these joins in particular. The upper limb has a substantial tally of injuries with the bulk being to the palm, wrist and fingers. Although it is not specified in this particular study, any experienced clinician would expect to see sub stantial proportion of hyperextensions and dislocations to the fingers and sprains and strains to the wrist (this is partially amplified in the next section). For a sport that involves considerable manipulative and throwing skills, it is, perhaps, surprising that the shoulder and upper arm account for only 2.6% of all the injuries. In contrast to the comments made about the knee and ankle, one can postulate that the shoulder, by virtue of its design to accommodate a much greater range and compass of movement, is less likely to be injured in the way that the knee and ankle are. Also, in the course of the normal game, it is subject to rather less overall mechanical force as both the knee and ankle have to assimilate peak loads of several times the body weight whereas the shoulder, unless involved in a fall, does not. Of the â€Å"Other Sites†, the neck and back are the commonest sites for injury. To a large extent, this again is a reflection of the explosive nature of the game with frequent changes of direction and velocity with high levels of acceleration. Having recognised the major sites of injury it is now prudent to discuss the main types of injury. Percentage injury by type in basketball players (These results are slightly modified with some trivia removed) Injury type + site % of total Sprains +strains 61.3 Knee 12.4 Ankle 29.5 Bruises + Wounds 22.2 Fractures 12.6 Fracture (other than dental) 7.6 Foot + ankle 18.5 Lower limb (other) 3.8 Fingers Palm + wrist 57.0 Upper limb (other) 4.2 Other (nondental) 16.6 Dental 4.9 Dislocations 1.7 Knee 0.5 Shoulder + elbow 0.3 Fingers 0.3 Others 2.2 Sprains and strains are the commonest type of injury in this sport with the ankle being the most frequently injured site in this respect. Considerable amounts of work and research have been done(2,3,4,5,6,7,8) to try to find mechanisms whereby ankle injuries can beat least reduced in both frequency and severity. This wi ll be discussed in detail later. Knee strains and sprains are the next most frequent at12.4%. Similar amounts of work have been done to find ways of minimising knee injuries (9,10,11). The knee injury is notorious for producing long-term debilitating problems as not only is the acute injury painful and potentially debilitating in itself, but there is also the potential for Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) damage and meniscal damage and wear as well. This may not be immediately apparent but may contribute to morbidity at a later date. This study (1) found that knee injuries were the most common cause of permanent disability In the longer term. During the time frame of this study, four basketball players sustained permanent injuries. In specific relation to knee and ankle injury, the Meiuwess study(2) found that the situation can be further amplified by the finding that the greatest number of injuries which resulted in seven or more sessions being lost in a season arose from the knee. Equally striking was the fact that the most common injury that involved less than seven sessions being lost, were injuries to the ankle. This underlines the comment made earlier that knee injuries tend to be potentially more serious than ankle injuries Bruises and wounds account for over 1/5th of the total types of injury and fractures account for just over 1/10th. In line with the comments made earlier about the frequency of hand, finger and wrist injury, it will come as no surprise therefore to see that the hand and wrist accounts for over half of the total of fractures. The foot and ankle account for 18.5% of total fractures. This is a reversal of the figures relating to site of injury. It would therefore appear that the hand gets injured less frequently that the foot, but when it does, it’s more likely to sustain the more serious (fracture) type of injury. Although the foot is more likely to be injured, it is more likely to suffer a strain or sprain rather th an a fracture. In the study by Home et al.,(2004) (12) There was an unexpected, and slightly worrying, conclusion. They found that, in a study of fractures in sport, that (for men at least) basketball was the sport that put the participants at greatest risk of sustaining a fracture. The Knee and Basketball As we have already discussed, a knee injury is potentially more serious than just the implication of the immediate acute injury. For that reason, and for the fact that it is one of the two most commonly injured areas, we will look at the knee as a specific entity. We know that the single most important predictor for further injury is the past history of a preceding original injury. The knee is also significant insofar as the normal maxim of rest a joint until the inflammation has settled is rarely practical, as the knee is essential for locomotion and, as any experienced clinician knows, the vast majority of patients with resolving knee injuries will wait until the pain subsides to a tolerable level, and then start to walk on it. This effectively means that the joint is being stressed while resolving inflammation is present. Initially this may manifest itself as no more than a mildly aching knee, but it is likely that menisci, cruciate ligaments and articular surfaces are all being stressed in a â€Å"less than optimal† state. It is likely, on a first principles basis, that this type of mechanism may be, in part at least, responsible for the increased levels of arthritis and arthritis that is observed in lifelong athletes. (13,14) The paper by Meeuwisse (2) has been quoted several times in this piece. It is worth remembering that his team found that the knee waste joint which, if injured, gave rise to the longest periods of incapacity. It is therefore prudent to consider the mechanisms of injury, the treatment of those injuries and, possibly more importantly in the context of this piece, what can be done to minimise the incidence and impact of those injuries. We would commend an excellent paper by Bahr (2001) (3) on the subject. He discusses (amongst other things) the current thinking on knee injuries. He makes comment on the increasing incidence of cruciate ligament injuries. These injuries are seen with greatest frequency in athletes w ho participate in sports that involve â€Å"pivoting† – a movement which involves a fixed foot on the floor being used as a fulcrum topspin the body around – a movement which can put huge rotational stresses on the knee joint. As has been observed earlier in this piece, the knee is designed primarily to be efficient in dealing with movement in a sagittal plane. It is very poorly adapted to deal with rotational stresses. Bahr observes that the maximal incidence of cruciate ligament injury is in the 15-25 yr. old age group and in women three to five times more frequently than in men (see on) (14). He also refers to the post-injury, long-term complications of abnormal joint mechanics and the early onset of degenerative joint disease (15). Significantly he points to the fact that, although there has been an increasing trend recently (mainly because of improved operating techniques) to attempt to repair menisci and cruciate ligaments, this has not been accompan ied by an apparent reduction in the rate of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Similarly, arthroscopic repair of isolated meniscal damage has not been shown to reduce the incidence of arthritis. These factors all mitigate the argument that, although treatment is important, the identification of risk factors that predispose to injury is even more important. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is commonly injured in circumstances that many athletes would consider as normal or routine for their particular sport. Frequently the damage occurs without direct physical contact to the knee (9). This is strong evidence to support the â€Å"design fault† explanation of the aetiology. There is recent anecdotal data to suggest that improving the control of the knee may have an impact in reducing the incidence of these injuries. This views supported in a paper by Carafe (10) who looked at improving the proprioceptive and balance mechanisms in footballers over a three season period. They reported an 87% decrease in the incidence of injuries to the ACL. It may be significant that they studied semi-professional and amateur footballers who, presumably, did not train as efficiently of as skilfully as their professional footballer counterparts and therefore there was probably considerable room for improvement. Similarly constructed studies have shown similar pattern of improvement in young female football (11) and handball (16) players using a similar programme of training over a season. As has been pointed out earlier, such changes are more likely to be noticeable in females because of the higher incidence of ACL injury in the first place. Bahr points out that these studies were too small to allow a proper statistical evaluation of the reduction of injury to the ACL specifically, but there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the risk of serious knee injury can be significantly reduced by the introduction of structured training exercises that focus on improvin g the neuron-muscular control of the knee. Bahr makes the very salient point that balance (proprioceptive)training is not yet universally recognised by coaches and trainers as useful tool. As a result, he argues that it is the responsibility of doctors and physiotherapists to disseminate the knowledge that such training does reduce the incidence of serious short-term (and therefore long-term) knee injury. Anterior knee pain is a common, sometimes chronic presenting symptom in any sports related health professional’s clinic. There are many theories as to its aetiology and it is notoriously resistant to treatment. An unattributed paper (quoted by Minerva in the BMJ) (17)refers to Jumper’s knee where the pain is maximal near the attachment of the patella ligament. Ultrasound of the region can show an area of increased echogenicity in the inferior pole of the patella. Minerva quotes the study as observing that of 100 athletes seen in one clinic,18 had to give up thei r sport for over a year and about 1/3rd needed surgery in order to try to get resolution of the problem. In conclusion to this section we would refer the reader to the excellent paper by Adams WB (2004) (18) who reviews the current thinking on treatment options on both overuse syndromes and trauma tithe knee. The Ankle and Basketball As we have seen earlier, the ankle is the single most commonly injured site in the body during basketball comprising 31.4% of all the injuries observed (1) and ankle strains and sprains were the single commonest mechanism of injury observed with 1/3rd of all such injuries and 1/5th of all fractures. We will therefore also consider the ankles a special case. Bahr (3) quotes that in round figures 20% of sports related injuries involve the ankle. The vast majority of ankle injuries are simple sprains of the lateral and medial ankle ligaments. Proper functional care will allow the patient to return to work within a few days, or at worst a few weeks, with minimal squeal. Some sprains are found to cause prolonged disability in the form of chronic instability or persistent pain. Prophylaxis of injury is discussed elsewhere in this piece but it should be noted that taping and bracing are commonly employed techniques for protection, but their efficacy has only been demonstrated in spo rtsmen with a history of previous injury (5,6).There is little doubt that taping and bracing will reduce the incidence of sprains and result in less severe strains. â€Å"High-top† basketball boots have been introduced recently on the assumption that similar boots (18a) (viz. ski boots) reduce the incidence of ankle injury, but it has not yet produced any specific evidence that sprains and strains are reduced. Braces seen to be more effective than tape in preventing sprains of the ankle (7,8) Bracing has the advantage that it is more acceptable in terms of comfort for long-term use (6). Taping is commonly used but appears to be less effective than braces because it relies on adhesion to the skin to exert its protective influence. It can cause skin irritation and has to be reapplied on virtually every occasion where potential stress can occur. One of the major problems of doing research into ankle injuries is that qualitative and subjective measurements such as pain and immobility can be easily assessed, but the ankle joint is a very functionally complex structure and quantitative measurements of anything other than flexion/extension or rotation an very difficult. Its therefore heartening to read of a Dutch group who are developing a specially designed goniometer to use in researching the pathology of the ankle joint (19). This is only mentioned for the sake of completeness and we do not propose to go into any detail about the instrument. There is an excellent article by McKay on ankle injuries in basketball (20) but this is discussed at some length in the section on prophylaxis of injuries. Treatment of injuries The treatment of sports related injuries is a vast topic and specialism in itself. The sports medicine medical specialist and the physiotherapist sports specialist are technically knowledgeable people who have had to assimilate a vast quantity of information relative to their specialisation. It is therefore not proposed to present the topic in any great detail but to cover the elements of treatment of acute injuries and their subsequent treatment that are specifically important to the field of basketball. We will also present a brief literature review of some of the most recent papers in the field. In general terms, the old adage of ICE (immobilisation, compression and elevation) (20b) is a useful first-aid mnemonic which will help to minimise injury prior to assessment by a more specialist professional. In this article it is proposed to look primarily at the aspects of treatment which impinge on the areas covered in this piece and broad overviews. We shall restrict oursel ves here to a brief literature review of some of the most important recent papers The area of dental trauma is highlighted in the analysis by Kujalaet al. (1994) (1) with 5.0% of all basketball injuries being dental. Airport by Randall (2005) (21) discusses the impact of dental injuries and suggests that sports field medical personnel should have at least basic training in the first-aid of dental injuries so that they can, at least, provide appropriate care until a dental specialist can be properly involved. A particularly controversial issue is raised by Dietzel and Hedlund(2005) (22) They review the current controversy about the use of analgesic and anti-inflammatory injections both in the acute phase of injury (to allow continued participation in a sporting event) or in the chronic recovery phase. This is a particularly well balanced article which evaluates both sides of the arguments for and against the use of injectable medications. Sanchez et al.(2005) (23) review th e desperately important area of management of the potentially spine-injured athlete. This is an area which has had substantial changes in management techniques in the recent past. This paper is a particularly useful review of techniques of diagnosis and stabilisation of the injured athlete. Very significantly it highlights the role of pre-injury planning – so often overlooked – on the sports field. There are two recent papers which examine the thorny problem of concussion on the sports field (24,25). This has long posed a problem for the supervising healthcare specialist, both in terms of immediate diagnosis and subsequent action and treatment. The working â€Å"rule of thumb† has been that any player with definite signs of concussion(impaired consciousness or increased level of confusion) should be taken off the field and not returned to play for 48 hrs. In practice, this advice may be ignored by coaches who are anxious to keep their best players on the fiel d and who may be ignorant of the potential side effects. McKean (24) and Johnston et al. (25) review the arguments in coherent manner and present the current thinking in a modern context. Injury types in relation to position played There are few studies that actually compare the rates and types of injury with actual position played on the court. Given the fact that Kuala, (1) reports that 50% of injuries are sustained in training rather than on the court, this may prove to be rather academic. The study by Meeuwisse (2003) (2), was one of the few that looked at this issue and regarded it as purely peripheral to the main mechanism of injury. However , they summed up the findings of the study in the phrase â€Å"Centres had the highest rate of injury, followed by guards, and then forwards. The relative risk of re-injury was significantly increased by previous injuries to the elbow, shoulder, knee, hand, lower spine or pelvis, and by concussions.† As part of their con clusions the research team commented that the predictive risk factors for injury were, in order of importance: previous injury, number of games played, the number of player contacts during a game, player position, and court location (this is a reference to the proximity to a hospital). In real terms, the players position is of much less importance in predicting injury than many other factors Clinical considerations The clinical implications of basketball injury must be viewed in the context of the benefits derived from playing any competitive sport– or indeed pursuing any degree of fitness. Virtually any sporting endeavour has a downside and indeed risks associated with it, but equally there are very considerable benefits to be gained as well. By concentrating (by necessity) on the risks of injury in basketball in this article we do not wish to ignore the balancing perspective of the health gains to also be derived. Clearly, one of the major benefits to be gained is the concurrent increase in cardiovascular fitness (13) This is in addition to the less easily quantifiable benefits of general fitness, social interaction, increase in self-confidence and satisfaction in participation which are common to most sporting endeavours. The study by Kuala et al. (1993) (13) looked at the incidence of degenerative joint conditions in elite athletes. It found that participation in sports gener ally could lead to premature osteoarthritis. Specifically it found that, in the elite international athletes studied there was a greater than predicted admission rate to hospital for treatments for osteoarthritis of the hip, knee and ankle. Very significantly, in the context of this article on physiotherapy, it concluded that proper treatment of injuries to these joints could significantly reduce the incidence of premature osteoarthritis in this group. It should be noted that this was a large control moderated study of over 2000 international athletes so the findings are clearly significant Disability and basketball It is important not to ignore the fact that basketball is played, not only by able-bodied sportsmen but also by those who have a concurrent disability as well. This group also presents a professional problem for the physiotherapist as. Not only are there the â€Å"normal â€Å"considerations for the able-bodied player that we have discussed in this piece, but also there may well be disability-specific considerations in the disabled player which will tax the physiotherapist every bit as much as those in their able-bodied counterparts. In consideration of this we would commend the reader to an excellent article by Chula (1994) (26) which discusses inconsiderable depth, the whole issue of sports specific medical considerations for people with a disability. The use of sports for the disabled as a therapeutic measure was championed by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, who was a specialist in spinal injuries. He pointed out not only the obvious physical benefits to be gained in improving functio ns of the body which the paraplegic ortetraplegic had not fully exploited in their pre-injury state togetherwith the obvious cardiovascular benefits that could be obtained, but healso pointed to the psychological benefits to be gained by socialisingand competing against others. The Disabled Person’s Employment Act (1944) was the first majorlegislative landmark in the effective rehabilitation of the disabledperson back into society and other legislation relating todiscrimination generally has helped the disabled person to achievelevels of attainment in sport that would have been unthinkable half acentury ago. The comments that have been made in this piece in relation toable-bodied people obviously apply, in general terms, to the disabledperson as well. Clearly it depends on the nature of the disability asto what specific measures need to be employed specifically, but thebasic principles are the same. Muscle groups need to be developed inorder to protect the joints that t hey work over. This is particularlyrelevant to the knee. Appropriate proprioceptive skills need to beenhanced if the risk of injury is to be kept to an acceptable minimum.More specific considerations that may involve the occupationaltherapist as well as the physiotherapist may include the prevention ofpressure problems from a wheelchair or calliper or the use ofrestraints in a patient who has sudden muscular spasms, so that theyare not thrown out of the wheelchair. The experienced physiotherapist will be well aware of the benefitsof sport in the disabled in improving strength, co-ordination andendurance. Basketball, in particular, is commonly employed in thewheelchair-bound patient, who has to learn transferable skills in orderto propel the wheel chair accurately as well as catch, intercept andpass the ball. Prophylaxis and pre-injury actions Earlier in this piece we briefly discussed a paper by Sanchez (23).and commended it for its tackling of the problem of anticipating an injury. This involved a significant amount of pre-planning andorganisation on the court and field of play. Such issues are of vitalimportance to the athletes although they may not either realise orappreciate it at the time. This type of forward thinking can lead to dramatic reductions in morbidity (or even in mortality) and should be the concern of each and every healthcare professional who is working in the field of acute sports injury. Prophylaxis can be considered not only as actual pre-planning thecourse of action needed if an injury is sustained (viz. are theresplints, bandages, sterile water and gloves etc. available?) but equally it can be considered as the correct training and preparation ofboth the players and the game officials, so that the game itself can beplayed in conditions of optimum safety. Although the first of these two cons iderations is clearly important, in the context of this piece, weshall consider the second element in detail. Prophylaxis of injury is a major concern. We have discussed thepredictive value of a pre-existing injury. It follows that, if thatinjury can be prevented, then the subject is statistically less likelyto suffer a further injury. Common sense is behind the definitive recommendation in the paperby Kuala et al., (1) where he states that, in an attempt to reduce the incidence of injuries in basketball, specific preventative measuresshould be employed to reduce the number of violent contacts betweenplayers. He cites improving the drafting of game rules so that violentinfringements of the rules can be more severely dealt with and that these rules should be supported with more diligent refereeing. In view of the number of dental injuries recorded in the game ofbasketball, Kuala et al. also recommend the mandatory wearing ofdental shields or mouthguards It should be noted that taping and bracing are commonly employed techniques for protection in many sports, but their efficacy has onlybeen demonstrated in sportsmen with a history of previous injury (5,6).These techniques are most frequently applied to the ankle and kneejoints as these joints are both the most commonly affected and alsothey move in a primarily sagittal plane, therefore they are technicallythe easiest to mechanically brace. Other joints can be braced. The elbow can be successfully supported. It’s a common sight in players of racket sports to see a brace in place. Clearly this is of use if there is joint instability, but it is often mistakenly used in cased of â€Å"tennis elbow† where its value is often little more than a placebo. There is little doubt that taping and bracing will reduce the incidence of sprains and result in less severe strains. The introduction of â€Å"high-top† basketball boots has not produced any definitive evidence that sprains and st rains are reduced. Braces seen to be more effective than tape in preventing sprains of the ankle (7,8) Bracing seems to be more acceptable in terms of comfort for long-term use. Taping is clearly cheaper but will probably have tube re-applied at every sporting occasion. We do not propose to discuss taping in detail as there are a great many different techniques invented by a great many different clinicians, all of whom will, no doubt, claim that there particular method is the best. We do not presume to make a judgement on this issue and when referring to â€Å"taping† this should be taken as a generic process rather than a specific one. In most cases the object of the exercise is to reduce the range of abnormal movement at a joint and also (on occasions) to reduce the possible movement in a normal direction, in an attempt to help to reduce the inflammatory processes that may be present. In most cases, the taping can be applied by the patient themselves after basic in struction by the doctor or physiotherapist. There is the commonly held belief that strapping or braces should not be worn because they impair performance. In a study by Thacker teal., (1999) (27) a careful study of the literature was made and they were able to conclude that â€Å"appropriately applied braces, tape, or orthoses do not adversely affect performance.† They were also able to recommend that, after an ankle injury, athletes should complete supervised rehabilitation before returning to practice or competition and those athletes who suffered moderate or severe sprain should wear an appropriate orthotic for at least six months. In a theme that we shall return to in this piece, Thacker concludes by observing that it is not only doctors and physiotherapists that must assume the burden of responsibility for prevention of injuries in sports, but it is also the coaches, trainers and, indeed, the athletes themselves, who must also share in that responsibility. Pr e-match training is a major area where athletes and their professional advisors can influence both the incidence and severity of injuries. Appropriate strength, agility and flexibility training will all help to reduce the likelihood of problems arising during and after play. Stretching is an area of considerable controversy at present. Most authorities would agree that a pre-match warm-up and stretch is a good sensible prophylactic measure. Hard evidence for this (in terms of randomised, placebo controlled trials) is hard to find. The second edition of Mate and Char land’s book (28) Facilitated stretching, is useful compendium of opinion on the subject. It has been well reviewed by a physiotherapist, Ian Horsley, (29) who makes some very pertinent observations on the text. Controversially, the book expounds the virtues of post-match stretching rather than pre-match stretching. Its particularly useful for an erudite explanation of the current thinking on the anatomy and physiology of the stretch reflex and the impact of this on the various modalities of stretching techniques. In terms of research specifically into the role of stretching in the prophylaxis of injury, an interesting review of the available literature is provided by Young (30) who examined the available literature and came to the conclusion that â€Å"Stretching is perhaps the most common routine advocated by sports coaches and sports medicine professionals. In this study, no evidence for its effectiveness in the prevention of sport related injury was found. â€Å" It is fair to observe, however, that the implication that stretching does not reduce subsequent injury is not justified. Young qualifies his statement by asserting that the reason that â€Å"no evidence could be found† was due tithe fact that the trials studied were not sufficiently scientifically rigorous to provide unequivocal evidence of the benefits of stretching. He cites studies (31,32,33) as examples o f this. Ian Shirer (2000) produces a very thought provoking article (34) in which he specifically looks for the evidence to support the perceived role of stretching in reducing injuries. He points to the fact that many of the trials that came out in support of stretching used stretching as a co-intervention and therefore the effects of stretching could not be isolated. In one, often quoted study, Strand et al.(1983) (35) reported a 75% reduction in injury rates after using stretching as a warm-up routine. Careful reading shows that while thesis true, Strand’s study also used leg guards, special shoes, taping ankles, controlled rehabilitation, education, and close supervision during play, so it was hardly surprising that there was a significant reduction in injury rates. In his pursuit of an answer, Shirer produces some carefully constructed arguments regarding stretching. Most injuries occur during eccentric muscle contractions (36) which has the ability to cause dam age inside of the normal envelope of motion because of the differing length of the muscle sarcomeres (37). Why then, if injuries occur within the normal range of movement, would an increased range of movement prevent injuries? It is a physiological fact that even mild stretching can cause a degree of damage at the cellular level (38). It also appears that stretching has an ability to produce a tolerance to pain or an analgesic effect (39,40,41). Why, he argues, should it be considered prudent to increase the tolerance to pain, produce some damage at the cellular level and then exercise this damaged, partially anaesthetised muscle? Against this he cites the counter argument that there is scientific data to support the warm up as a prophylactic for injuries during a match (42) Other risk factors can be identified that can predispose to injury. Overzealous or misguided training schedules can also lead to overuse syndromes in their own right. In addition to strength training, elit e basketball players will often run considerable distances on a weekly basis in order to improve or maintain their levels of cardiovascular fitness. This can have associated problems and the supervising physiotherapist should be aware of the potential hazards. liotibial band syndrome, tibia stress syndrome, patella-femoral pain syndrome, Achilles tendinitis, and plantar fasciitis have all been associated with overtraining (30). Prophylaxis can be achieved by modifying the training schedule, adequate warm-up and stretching and possibly modifying the footwear. There is evidence to suggest that athletes who train one to three days per week are less likely to be injured than those who train five days per week (30). Similarly, with intense training, athletes who train for15-30 mines. per day have significantly lower injury incidence than those who train for 45 mines a day ( The reference here is to running training not any other form). Interestingly, the results of this study show ed that there was no significance in the prevention of injuries (from the running section of training) when a graduated programme was used. A specific and large study on the subject of ankle injuries in basketball (20) also makes interesting reading. Significant findings included the fact that the ankle injury rate was 3.85 per 1000participations in a match, with almost half missing at least one week of competition as a result of the injury. In terms of prophylaxis, the study finds that factors that increased the risk were: a) A history of previous ankle injury made it five times more likely to sustain a further injury. b) b) Air cells in the heels of shoes made it 4.3 times more likely and c) c) players who did not stretch before the game were 2.6 times more likely to injure an ankle than those who did. The authors noted that taping a previously injured ankle reduced the likelihood of further injury, although they could not quantify the rate of reduction due to other con current factors Male vs. Female considerations Basketball is a sport that is enjoyed by both male and female participants. It does not follow, however, that the injury patterns are the same for both sexes. One can argue that men may tend to be physically heavier, more aggressive and move faster, all of which are indisputable anatomical and physiological facts. These reasons can be cited as reasons why male and female injury patterns are different. Unfortunately that is nowhere near sufficient to explain some of the observed facts. Some of the most studied differences come in relation to injuries to the knee. Women damage their ACL over three times more frequently than men. (20a)If the explanations of body weight, speed or aggression were employed, then one would confidently predict that men were more likely to suffer than women. Arendt (14) studied the problem and postulated that there were possibly a great many factors that could influence the aetiology of the injury. His team thought that it was likely that non-conta ct mechanisms were the main factor in the genesis of these injuries. They cited several different mechanisms of injury including such extrinsic factors such as relative muscular strength, shoe-surface interface and specific body geometry (women have a wider stance than men due to the anatomical shape of the pelvis. They also cited certain intrinsic factors such as cyclical joint laxity (under the influence of the menstrual hormones), the actual dimensions of theatre-condylar notch in the knee (where the ACL runs) and also the actual size of the ACL itself. As a matter of completeness we would also cite the paper by Gael teal. (2005) (43) which also looks specifically at the issue of ACL injury, in the broader context over a prolonged period (1990-2002).This paper provides a very detailed analysis of the injuries sustained while playing basketball. It enhances the arguments for an extrinsic causation of the excess of female injuries by quoting the fact that there was found to b e no significant difference between the injury rates of men and women after direct contact incidents. Women, however, sustained a higher rate of non-contact injuries than men did. Further evidence for non-contact, intrinsic causes for the ACL sex difference is found by comparing the rates of ACL injury in basketball with those rates in football. A similar preponderance in female injury is found (43) implying that the difference is not likely to be sport specific. One completely unexplained finding was the fact that, over the 13 years that the study ran, the ACL injury rate for men progressively fell whereas the rate for women remained constant. The authors did not offer any explanation for this fact other than they postulated that the message to increase proprioception enhancing training may be being absorbed by the male population more effectively that the female population. Gael concludes the article with a comment that bears repeating. Despite focusing in this section on the injury of the ACL, it should be remembered that such injuries are still comparatively rare events when taken in the context of the totality of the sport. The possibility oracle injury should not be allowed to put off participation in the sport. Discussion The whole issue of injury in the area of basketball is the consideration of those issues that are relevant to sport in general and those that are specific to basketball. In this piece we have considered both areas. The incidence and types of injury have been discussed in detail together with the appropriate measures that a physiotherapist can take to minimise the incidence and severity of a specific injury occurring. The knee and ankle are areas at particular risk of injury and we have discussed these as separate cases both in terms of the mechanism of injury and the prophylaxis of the injury. It is clear from reviewing the literature on the subject, that the whole area of stretching before and after exercise is confused, with reputable authorities presenting arguments both for and against the issue. It would appear that, on balance, there is a general ground-swell of feeling that pre-exercise stretching is useful and evaluable prophylactic against injury however, there appea rs to belittle peer-reviewed literature which can be cited as unequivocal support for this view. 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