Research Paper: Physical Development In Elementary School Age Children

Physical Development In Elementary School Age Children

Strength and coordination are two areas of physical development that seem almost to take care of themselves, which may be why they are often overlooked when curriculum planning is under way in many early childhood settings. After all, children are going to get stronger as they grow older (true); they will also become more coordinated as they grow older (also true). Unfortunately, if left to chance, children may not reach their full potential in both of these critical areas of physical development. Short of weight lifting and coordination drills, what can we do to develop children's abilities? Plenty! Young children need overall strength so that they can participate in a wide variety of activities, derive pleasure from those activities, gain confidence in their abilities to do things, and have the strength to do things--particularly new things. Coordination is another ability that begins developing on its own, as infants begin to explore their bodies and their world. By coordination, we mean a series of movements, organized and timed to occur in a particular way, that bring about a particular result.

When we start thinking about and planning for strength and coordination in young children we have to realize that, like all developmental issues, there are going to be individual differences and, in general, development is going to happen at its own rate. You cannot make development happen; you can only support it by creating the right environment for each child as he reaches a particular point on the developmental continuum. Check out your preschool playground equipment and make sure that there are other sorts of climbing activities besides playing on steps and slides. You can add tires of different sizes, placed in various patterns on the ground for "follow-the-leader" fun. Hang climbing ropes from sturdy tree limbs or swing-set frames to encourage upper-body development through climbing. (Make sure you monitor this activity closely and take the ropes down when playtime is over.) You can also rape a sand pail to each end of a 36-inch wooden dowel and have children carry different amounts of sand, water, or rocks from one place to another.
Ladders and slides aren't challenging enough for children in this age group. To add strength and coordination development opportunities, tie a one-inch natural fiber rope horizontally between two trees, about 54 inches above the ground. Let children monkey-swing on it, or ask them to try to travel hand-over-hand as far as they can along the rope. (Again, monitor this activity closely and take the rope down when playtime is over.) The next time you purchase riding toys for your wheeled-vehicle path, look for those that are hand-powered, not foot-powered. Whatever you do, don't let the children be limited by equipment. Be creative as you look for ways for children to lift things or themselves--you may be surprised at what you'll find!

Reference:

Strickland, Eric. Early Childhood Today, Oct2004, Vol. 19 Issue 2, p6-6, 1p, 1c;

Worobey, John; Pisuk, Joan; Decker, Kathleen. Public Health Nursing, Mar/Apr2004, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p122-127, 6p

Rahman, A.; Hafeez, A.. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Nov2003, Vol. 108 Issue 5, p392, 2p

Scholastic Parent & Child, Jun-Aug2003, Vol. 10 Issue 6, p40, 1p, 1 chart, 1c;

Research Paper: Effects Of Sleep Deprivation

Literature Review - Effects Of Sleep Deprivation

Normal, healthy individuals need adequate sleep for optimal cognitive functioning (Himashree et al., 2002). Without adequate sleep, humans show reduced alertness (Penetar et al., 1993) and impairments in cognitive performance (Thomas et al., 2000, 2003). Prolonged sleep deprivation is associated with decrements in elementary cognitive abilities such as vigilance and sustained attention (Doran et al., 2001; Wesensten et al., 2004), as well as impairments in complex, higher-order cognitive processes such as verbal fluency, logical thought, decision making, and creativity (Harrison & Horne, 1997, 1999, 2000). In occupational settings such as aviation, air traffic control, and sustained military operations where constant vigilance is a necessity, extended periods of sleep loss have been associated with catastrophic accidents (Mitler et al., 1988) and may have been a factor in some friendly fire incidents (Belenky et al., 1994). Studies of sleep-deprived individuals show that errors attention begin to emerge by 19 h of continuous wakefulness (Russo et al., 2004) and cognitive performance declines at a rate of approximately 25% for each 24-h period of wakefulness (Belenky et al., 1994).

Sleep deprivation produces global decreases in cerebral metabolism and blood flow, with the greatest declines evident in those regions critical for higher order cognitive processes (Thomas et al., 2000). These regions, the heteromodal association cortices, are associated with attention, vigilance, and complex cognitive processing, and reductions in activity within these regions are associated with decrements in these higher-order cognitive process (Mesulam, 1999). As a global blood flow and metabolic activity decline during prolonged periods without sleep, the brain appears to compensate by recruiting cognitive resources from nearby brain regions within the prefrontal and parietal cortices in order to maintain cognitive performance at acceptable levels (Drummond et al., 2001). Some evidence suggests that these compensatory activities may be particularly prominent within the right cerebral hemisphere (Drummond et al., 2001). Consistent with these reports, other studies suggest that cognitive  processes mediated by the right hemisphere are more adversely affected by sleep deprivation than those mediated by the left (Johnsen et al., 2004; Pallesen et al., 2004).
Neuropsychological evidence suggests that the right cerebral hemisphere is dominant for attentional processes (Heilman&Van DenAbell, 1980; Mapstone et al., 2003). Much of the evidence supporting the dominance of the right hemisphere in attention comes from studies of patients with unilateral brain damage (Heilman & Van Den Abell, 1980; Weintraub & Mesulam, 1987). Lesions to the right cerebral hemisphere are more likely to produce contralateral hemispatial neglect than similar lesions to the left hemisphere (Behrmann et al., 2004; Mapstone et al., 2003, Mesulam, 1999). Further evidence supporting the prominent role of the right hemisphere in attentional processing comes from several functional neuroimaging studies that reveal greater right hemisphere activity in response to tasks requiring allocation of spatial attention (Fink et al., 2001; Macaluso et al., 2001). The accumulating evidence suggests that the left cerebral hemisphere allocates its attentional processing predominantly toward the contralateral (i.e., right) hemispace, whereas the right hemisphere appears to distribute attentional processing more equally between both hemispaces, and is therefore considered dominant for attention (Mesulam, 1999). Consequently, the phenomenon of contralesional neglect occurs nearly exclusively following lesions to the right hemisphere.
Given the apparently greater role of the right hemisphere in attentional processing and the preliminary evidence that the cognitive processes mediated by the right hemispheremay be more sensitive to the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation, it was hypothesized that prolonged sleep loss results in greater impairment of right hemisphere visual attention mechanisms oriented toward the contralateral (i.e., left) perceptual hemispace. Participants were assessed several times each day while remaining awake for 40 h. During each 15-min testing session, participants monitored a 150◦ arc of lateral visual space for periodic occurrences of brief flashes of light while simultaneously performing a continuous serial addition task.
Adequate sleep is important for both good mental and physical health. Poor sleep quality is a significant predictor of depressed mood (Mendlowicz, Jean-Louis, von Gizycki, Zizi & Nunes, 1999). Sleep deprivation has been shown to worsen depressive symptoms in some individuals (Benedetti, Zanardi, Colombo & Smeraldi, 1999; Beutler, Cano, Miro & Buela-Casal, 2003) and increase disturbed mood (Crabbe, 2002; Dinges et al., 1997). Sleep deprivation can also result in increased anxiety (Miro, Cano-Lozano, Espinosa & Buela-Casal, 2002), fatigue, confusion, and tension (Dinges et al., 1997). Furthermore, sleep deprivation affects mood to a greater degree than either cognitive or motor performance (Pilcher & Huffcutt, 1996). Regarding physical health, poor sleep quality and sleep loss are associated with decreased immune function (Cruess et al., 2003; Irwin, 2002), the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Roost & Nilsson, 2002), and also the development of overweight/obesity (Agras, Hammer, McNicholas & Kraemer, 2004).

Sleep deprivation also influences food consumption in studies of animals, although these studies have shown some conflicting results. For example, studies with rats have shown that sleep deprivation may lead to over eating (Brock et al., 1994; Tsai, Bergmann & Rechtschaffen, 1992). On the other hand, Johansson and Elomaa (1986) found a reduction in the amount of food consumed by rats when deprived of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. In addition, some studies also demonstrated that sleep deprivation disturbs the light/dark eating pattern in rats rather than simply increasing or decreasing food intake (Elomaa, 1981; Martinez, Bautista, Phillips & Hicks, 1991). Overall, sleep deprivation seems to alter eating patterns among animals. There are relatively few studies on the effects of sleep on food consumption or food choice in humans, but several pieces of indirect evidence exist to suggest a link between sleep and food consumption. Hicks, McTighe and Juarez (1986) found that short-sleeping college students (e.g., 6 h per night) were more likely to eat more small meals or snacks than long-sleepers who averaged 8 h or more of sleep per night. There is also evidence showing that individuals with eating disorders display abnormal sleep patterns. For example, Latzer, Tzischinsky, Epstein, Klein and Peretz (1999) found that women with bulimia nervosa reported more difficulty falling asleep, more early waking, more headaches on awakening, and more daytime sleepiness than women without bulimia.

Additional evidence for an association between sleep and eating comes from studies of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis stress hormone cortisol and other studies of psychosocial stress. There is a negative association between amount of REM sleep and cortisol levels (Lauer et al., 1989) and a positive association between cortisol levels and calories consumed (Epel, Lapidus, McEwen & Brownell, 2001). In addition, sleep loss may be thought of as a source of stress for some individuals, which may subsequently influence food choice and food consumption as well. Increases in stress lead to more snacking and a decrease in the consumption of typical meal-type foods (Oliver & Wardle, 1999). In sum, there is some evidence that loss of sleep, as a stressor, may influence eating patterns, but, to date, no study has examined the effects of sleep restriction on food choice and consumption. A study examined the association between self-imposed sleep deprivation and eating among a sample of college students. We hypothesized that individuals would change their pattern of calorie consumption on the day following partial sleep deprivation. Due to the lack of conclusive evidence, as discussed above, we did not make an a priori hypothesis regarding the direction of change in calorie intake. We also predicted that individuals would choose foods differently following partial sleep deprivation; specifically, in concordance with the Oliver and Wardle (1999) study mentioned above, we predicted that they would choose foods based less on health and weight control and based more on mood and convenience.

In that study, the effects of self-induced partial sleep deprivation among an undergraduate sample were examined. The results showed significant differences in food consumption and food choice following partial sleep deprivation as compared to nights of normal sleep. As expected, there was a change in food consumption, as measured by calories consumed, following a night of partial sleep deprivation. We found that consumption of calories decreased after sleep loss as shown in Johansson and Elomaa’s (1986) study with rats. It is noteworthy to point out that the decrease in calories did not become statistically significant until two days after sleep deprivation rather than the day after. It could be argued that this indicates that sleep deprivation was not the cause of this decline in calories, but that some other factor played a role. One possible explanation is that people consume more calories following the weekend and eat less as the weekend approaches. However, it is important to note that the decrease in calories did not begin until after sleep loss. Also, some participants began the diaries on Monday while others began on Tuesday, making it less likely that the finding was due only to the time frame of the study. Other explanations for the observed decrease in calorie consumption could include diary fatigue and increased awareness of intake. Diary fatigue could have resulted in the participants eating the same amount but recording less in the diary or they could have actually consumed less because of an aversion to writing in the diary. Similarly, a heightened awareness of calorie intake could have led to a decrease in food consumption due to health or weight concern reasons. Due to the fact that there was no control group that kept diaries but did not experience sleep loss, the decrease in calories cannot be attributed solely or exclusively to sleep deprivation.

Reference:

Agras, W., Hammer, L., McNicholas, F., & Kraemer, H. (2004). Risk factors for child overweight: A prospective study from birth to 9.5 years. Journal of Pediatrics, 145, 20–25.

Attie, I., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1989). Development of eating problems in adolescent girls: A longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 25, 70–79.

Backhaus, J., Junghanns, K., & Hohagen, F. (2004). Sleep disturbances are correlated with decreased morning awakening salivary cortisol. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 29, 1184–1191.

Benedetti, F., Zanardi, R., Colombo, C., & Smeraldi, E. (1999). Worsening of delusional depression after sleep deprivation: Case reports. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 33, 69–72.

Beutler, L. E., Cano, M. C., Miro, E., & Buela-Casal, G. (2003). The role of activation in the effect of total sleep deprivation on depressed mood. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59, 369–384.

Brock, J. W., Farooqui, S. M., Ross, K. D., Payne, S., & Prasad, C. (1994). Stress-related behavior and central norepinephrine concentrations in the REM sleep deprived rat. Physiology and Behavior, 55, 997–1003.

Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F., Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R., & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28, 193–213.

Crabbe, J. B. (2002). Effects of cycling exercise on mood and brain electrocortical activity after sleep deprivation. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences & Engineering, 62, 3967.

Cruess, D. G., Antoni, M. H., Gonzalez, J., Fletcher, M. A., Klimas, N., Duran, R., et al. (2003). Sleep disturbance mediates the association between psychological distress and immune status among HIV-positive men and women on combination antiretroviral therapy. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 54, 185–189.

Dinges, D. F., Pack, F., Williams, K., Gillen, K. A., Powell, J. W., Ott, G. E., et al. (1997). Cumulative sleepiness, mood disturbance and psychomotor vigilance performance decrements during a week of sleep restricted to 4–5 hours per night. Sleep: Journal of Sleep Research & Sleep Medicine, 20, 267–277.

Elomaa, E. (1981). The light/dark difference in meal size in the laboratory rat on a standard diet is abolished during REM sleep deprivation. Physiology and Behavior, 26, 487–493.

Epel, E., Lapidus, R., McEwen, B., & Brownell, K. (2001). Stress may add bite to appetite in women: A laboratory study of stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 26, 37–49.

Research Paper: Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Team

History
Husker football began play in 1890, with a 10-0 victory over the Omaha YMCA on Thanksgiving Day, November 27. During the early years of the program, the team had a number of nicknames: "Bugeaters", "Tree Planters", "Nebraskans", "The Rattlesnake Boys", "Antelopes" and "Old Gold Knights"; "Cornhuskers" became the sole nickname used around 1900. Nebraska has claimed 46 conference championships and part or all of five national championships: 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997. This marked the first time since Notre Dame in 1946-49 when a team won three national championships in four seasons. Nebraska posted a 60-3-0 record between the 1993-97 seasons. No team has come close to breaking this record.[citation needed] Famous former Huskers include Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, and Eric Crouch. Rodgers was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and for the new millennium he was voted the team's "Player of the Century"; his Cornhusker jersey (No. 20) was retired. Rozier was likewise inducted into the hall in 2006. Other Husker players and coaches who are members of the College Football Hall of Fame include: Forrest Behm, Bob Brown, Guy Chamberlin, Sam Francis, Rich Glover, Ken Hunter, Wayne Meylan, Bobby Reynolds, Dave Rimington, George Sauer, Clarence Swanson, Ed Weir, Dave Noble, and coaches Dana X. Bible, Bob Devaney, Biff Jones, Tom Osborne, Eddie "Robbie" Robinson, and Fielding Yost.The most notable rivals of the Cornhuskers are the Oklahoma Sooners and the Colorado Buffaloes. Nebraska and Oklahoma regularly battled for the Big Eight Conference title until 1995 when the conference became the Big 12. Out of the Big Eight's 89 year history, Nebraska or Oklahoma won or shared the conference championship 71 times. The Cornhuskers and Sooners also played several games during the 1970s and 1980s that decided the national championship.
The Husker defense is known by the nickname of the "Blackshirts." Depictions of the Blackshirts often include a skull and crossbones. This nickname originated in the early 1960s and continued as a reference to the black practice jerseys worn by first-string defensive players during practice. This tradition developed when Bob Devaney had Mike Corgan, one of his assistant coaches, find contrastive jerseys to offset the red jerseys worn by the offense in practice. Further credit is given to George Kelly, Devaney's defensive line coach until 1968, who frequently referred to the top defensive unit by the name; eventually the rest of the coaching staff caught on, while the first mention of the Blackshirts in print was not until 1969. Since the 1994 season, Nebraska's home games have always opened with the Tunnel Walk. Before the team enters, the HuskerVision screens light up with a burst of computer animation, and "Sirius" (an instrumental by The Alan Parsons Project) blares from the speakers. Accompanied by cheers from the crowd, the Huskers take the field. When the Cornhuskers play at home in Memorial Stadium, the stadium holds more people than the third-largest city in Nebraska. They currently hold the record for the most consecutive sold out home games, which celebrated its 285th occasion when they competed against the Ball State Cardinals on September 22, 2007. The sellout streak dates back to November 3, 1962 during Bob Devaney's first season at Nebraska. The Huskers lost the first game in the current streak, a Homecoming game, to Missouri 16-7; 36,501 fans were in attendance.
Coaching
The coach who brought about the most wins in Cornhusker history is Tom Osborne, who led the team for 25 seasons, from 1973 to 1997; his final record at Nebraska was 255 wins, 49 losses and 3 ties. During his tenure, the team won three national titles, including one in his final season. Osborne-led teams won at least 9 games every season and 5 times managed to win 12 or more. By the time he was finished the Nebraska coach had compiled a winning percentage of 83.6%, a higher rate than those held by Bobby Bowden, Paul "Bear" Bryant, and Joe Paterno. After retiring from the Cornhuskers, Osborne was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's Third Congressional District in 2000. Osborne's handpicked successor was Frank Solich, a Nebraska assistant coach and former player. Solich had coached freshmen from 1979-1983 and running backs from 1983-1997. This was following in a tradition because Osborne had been a long-time Cornhusker assistant before Devaney chose him as his successor. Like Osborne, Solich also had big shoes to fill. In his first season, the team got off to a 5-0 start before falling to Texas A&M 21-28. The team went on to a 9-4 record ending up with the most losses since the 1968 season. Over the next three seasons Solich produced better results: 12-1 in 1999 and 10-2 in 2000. The 2001 season looked to be a special one with Heisman candidate Eric Crouch at quarterback.
Winning Tradition
For more than a century, the legacy of Nebraska Football has been growing. From its humble beginning in 1890 – when two games made an entire schedule – to 2007, where an established, nationally prominent program enjoys a rich history of success, Nebraska’s student-athletes have entertained and excelled on all levels. Five national championships and more than 40 conference titles highlight the accomplishments of one of college football’s most storied programs. There have been Heisman winners and Outland Trophy recipients, a nation-leading number of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, a Big 12-leading graduation rate and many professional football stars. But underlying all of the countless accolades is an organization that does not rely on wins and losses as the final indicator of excellence. Nebraska Football is much more than talented athletes and coaches taking the field to play a game – it is a family. The fans, support staff and student-athletes are all Dedicated to Excellence through Tradition, Teamwork and integrity. It is this commitment on and off the field that makes Nebraska unique and assures that the rich tradition of the Huskers will keep growing for years to come.
Cornhusker Nickname
Before 1900, Nebraska football teams were known by such names as the Old Gold Knights, Antelopes, Rattlesnake Boys and the Bugeaters. In its first two seasons (1890-91), Nebraska competed as the Old Gold Knights, but beginning in 1892, Nebraska adopted Scarlet and Cream as its colors and accepted the Bugeaters as its most popular nickname until the turn of the century. Named after the insect-devouring bull bats that hovered over the plains, the Bugeaters also found their prey in the Midwest, enjoying winning campaigns in every year of the 1890s until a disappointing season in 1899. After its first losing season in a decade, it must have seemed only fitting that Nebraska move in a new direction, and Lincoln sportswriter Charles S. (Cy) Sherman, who was to gain national renown as the sports editor of the Lincoln Star and help originate The Associated Press Poll, provided the nickname that has gained fame for a century. Sherman tired of referring to the Nebraska teams with such an unglamorous term as Bugeaters. Iowa had, from time to time, been called the Cornhuskers, and the name appealed to Sherman.
History of Memorial Stadium
Nebraska’s continuing NCAA record of consecutive home sellouts reached 282 with seven home sellouts in 2006. The Huskers unveiled the newest additions to Memorial Stadium before the 2006 season. More than 6,500 seats were added to the stadium's North end, along with a massive HuskerVision screen and Skyline Suites. The additions sit atop Nebraska's new Osborne Athletic Complex, which houses the Huskers' technologically advanced athletic medicine facility, massive weight room, and sparkling new football locker room, football offices and administrative offices. The first phase of the project also provided the Huskers with a second indoor workout facility, the Hawks Championship Center. The additions pushed Nebraska's capacity above 80,000 for the first time, and in the 2006 season finale, a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 85,800 witnessed the Huskers' triumph over Colorado. Nebraska's average home attendance for 2006 was a school-record 85,044, as nearly 600,000 fans watched the Huskers in Memorial Stadium last year. Overall, nearly 1.1 million fans saw the Huskers in person last year.
Tunnel Walk Tradition
The Tunnel Walk, which began in 1994, has become an integral part of Memorial Stadium's game-day experience. It was created as a way for fans to share in the excitement of the team emerging from the locker room, something only a few could do before HuskerVision's cameras and big screens came to Memorial Stadium. The sounds of the Alan Parsons Project's "Sirius" and the roar of the 85,000 frenzied fans rock the stadium as the Huskers burst through the locker room doors and into the tunnel on their way to the Memorial Stadium FieldTurf. The players emerge through the Tunnel Walk Gates located in the northwest corner of the stadium. The gates are guarded by members of the Nebraska National Guard service units and opened by specially selected service men and women each game. From 1994 through the 2005 season, the Tunnel Walk began in the former varsity locker room in the South Stadium, and the Huskers burst onto the field from the southwest corner. With the completion of the Tom and Nancy Osborne Athletic Complex in the summer of 2006, Nebraska's locker room returned to its original home in the North Stadium, causing the shift in the Huskers' entrance from the southwest corner to the northwest corner of the field. Wall walking down an interior hall in the Osborne Complex toward the field, the Huskers are led by Head Coach Bill Callahan, and all raise their hands to touch the lucky horseshoe that hangs above the door as the Huskers leave the North Stadium. The same horseshoe hung in the South Stadium tunnel, and before that the horseshoe hung above Nebraska's locker room entrance in the original North Stadium.
Greatest Fans in College Football
The Sea Of Red
The very entrance at Memorial Stadium welcomes Husker fans with the following phrase: "Through these gates pass the Greatest Fans in College Football." Nebraska football fans are perhaps the most loyal in college football. Entering the 2006 season, Nebraska owned an NCAA record streak of 275 consecutive sellouts at Memorial Stadium. Although the Huskers added more than 6,000 seats to the stadium before the start of the 2006 season, Nebraska received approximately 15,000 requests for the new seats, ensuring that the sellout streak would continue in the years to come with capacity crowds reaching more than 80,0000 at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska's football fans have been given the distinguished title - "The Sea of Red" - as waves of red-clad Husker fans follow Nebraska at home and on the road. In fact, the entire state follows the Huskers, along with an ever-growing national fan base, packing Memorial Stadium for every game since 1962. Husker fans bring their show on the road as well. More than 60,000 red-clad Huskers trekked to Pasadena for the 2002 Rose Bowl, and in 2001, more than 30,000 Huskers swarmed South Bend for a matchup with Notre Dame.
Spring Game Crowds
Perhaps the most impressive measurement of the support Husker fans give to the Nebraska football team comes from its Spring Game attendance. Over the past three seasons, more than 182,000 fans have flocked to Memorial Stadium to watch NU’s final practice of the spring, including a record 63,416 fans in 2005. The Huskers have averaged nearly 61,000 fans per Spring Game over the past three years to conclude spring practice. By comparison, seven of the Big 12 schools drew fewer than 15,000 fans for their 2006 spring games.
Fan Day
Another Husker tradition is Fan Day which attracts nearly 10,000 fans annually to Memorial Stadium during fall camp. Every Husker player and coach signs autographs and takes pictures with fans in a tradition that dates back more than 30 years.
New Traditions
One of Nebraska’s newest traditions began in 2005, when the Huskers joined the student section in singing "There is No Place Like Nebraska" after each victory.
Economic Impact
Direct Impact
Most athletic department expenditures were associated with economic activity in Lincoln during the 2004-2005 fiscal year. A portion, however, was not. For instance, $6.6 million of expenditures were debt service payments. Debt service expenditures go to finance past projects rather than current economic activity. We also exclude recruiting costs, which are approximately $1.0 million, because a significant portion of this spending will occur in other states. Excluding recruiting costs is a conservative assumption, because a portion of this spending does occur in Lincoln. We do include payments for team travel. While much of the travel expenses by the University of Nebraska teams would go out of state, these would largely be compensated as opposing teams playing in Lincoln spend part of their travel budgets in Lincoln. Excluding debt services and recruiting leaves $49.2 million in current expenditures for the 2004-2005 fiscal year. A portion of this $49.2 million in current expenditure is excluded from the direct impact of athletic department operations. This is done because some department revenue originates from within the Lincoln metropolitan area, including the ticket purchases, donations tied to ticket purchases, and concession spending of Lincoln area fans. This conservative approach is tantamount to assuming that all Lincoln area fans would spend their income elsewhere in Lincoln if not at University of Nebraska home games, presumably on other types of local recreation or entertainment. In reality, of course, Lincoln area fans might have spent some of that money attending sporting events in Kansas City or Omaha or taking vacations.
The Bureau of Business Research estimated
They estimated that 43% of fans attending football games and 59% of fans attending men’s basketball, baseball, and volleyball games live in the Lincoln metropolitan area. Combining these figures, spending by Lincoln metropolitan area fans on tickets and concessions and donations tied to ticket purchases accounted for 28.3% of all athletic department revenue. 71.8% of revenue came from sources outside of Lincoln. The direct impact of the athletic department on the Lincoln metropolitan area economy is 71.8% of $49.2 million or $35.3 million. The direct economic impact of worker earnings is adjusted by the same proportion, as is direct employment. The same approach also can be used to estimate the direct sales tax impact. The University of Nebraska athletic department paid just over $1.7 million in state and local sales taxes in 2004-2005 due to ticket, concession, and other taxable sales. One-fifth of these taxes are paid to local government. The local share of this amount is $343,000. The direct local sales tax impact is 71.8% of $343,000, or $246,000. As indicated earlier, 73% of athletic department expenditures were due to the football team. The direct impact for football is 73% of the direct impact for the athletic department or $25.8 million. The football team accounted for just less than $1.5 million in state and local sales tax payments, yielding local sales tax revenue of 298,000. The direct local sales tax impact is 71.8% of this total or $214,000.
Economic Impact of Additional Home Football Games
Note that these annual impact estimates were based on the 2004-2005 fiscal year, a season when Nebraska hosted only six home football games (plus the Spring Game). In future years, Nebraska will always host seven home games and will possibly host eight home games. As a result, the athletic department’s economic impact will be even higher in these future years. We estimated that additional economic impact based on the expected increase on fan spending from an additional 78,000 fans at each additional home game. We also consider the impact from earnings of event and concession workers at each additional game, but we conservatively assumed no other increases in athletic department expenditures despite increased revenue.
• The economic impact would have been $5.5 million more, or $119.8 million a year, if Nebraska hosted seven home football games.
• The economic impact would have been $11.1 million more, or $125.4 million a year, if Nebraska hosted eight home football games.
Economic Impact on State of Nebraska
The UNL athletic department has a statewide impact on the Nebraska economy. While we are not able to break out the impact for specific communities such as Omaha, this section of the report presents a range of estimates of the statewide economic impact based on alternative assumptions about whether ticket purchases, game day spending, and donations by fans who live in Nebraska create an economic impact on the state. The  finding is that the annual statewide economic impact on Nebraska was between $48.0 million and $155.1 million during the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Note that this estimate only included the spending of fans that attend UNL games and did not include the spending of fans who gather to watch the game in homes or in restaurants throughout Nebraska. We estimate economic impact first under the conservative assumption that ticket spending and donations tied to ticket purchases and off-site spending from fans who live in Nebraska does not contribute an economic impact to the state. This was the same conservative assumption made for fans from the Lincoln area when calculating the economic impact of UNL athletics on the Lincoln metropolitan area.
This approach assumes that all fan spending (ticket purchases, donations tied to ticket purchases, concessions, and off-site spending) for attending UNL home games would have been spent in Nebraska in any case, presumably on other recreation and entertainment. We also provide a second impact estimate under an optimistic assumption. In that scenario, we assume that all spending and donations from fans living in Nebraska contributes to an economic impact for the state. In other words, fans attending UNL home games would have spent all of their money out of state if not spending it at UNL home games. For example, fans that live in Nebraska would have instead spent money attending sporting events in Kansas City or during out-of-state vacations. Reality lies somewhere between the conservative and optimistic assumptions. If attending UNL home games were not an option, fans likely would have directed a portion of their ticket purchases, game-day spending, and donations toward other recreation and entertainment within Nebraska and a portion out of state. The precise portions are uncertain, however. Results therefore will be presented in a range. At the low end of the range is the impact under the conservative scenario, while at the high end of the range is the optimistic scenario.
Marketing Overview
A revenue stream that continues to flow for the Nebraska Athletic Department is from the revenues generated by the Huskers' Athletic Marketing Office. Those funds, coupled with an increase in private donations and licensing royalties, have helped the self-supporting Athletic Department excel. The overall marketing and promotions philosophy of the Athletic Marketing office is to increase attendance and support for all athletic events by providing an entertaining collegiate atmosphere, while generating revenue opportunities and ticket sales. The focus is also geared toward activities and events, which create a traditional collegiate atmosphere and communicate the overall quality of the highly successful NU athletic program.
Corporate Sponsorships
The Athletic Marketing Office has created many long lasting, well-respected relationships through corporate sponsors. In 1992, the Athletic Department launched a sponsorship program which enabled corporations and businesses to support the Huskers while receiving valuable advertising exposure at NU athletic events. This popular program, which involves all sports, has become a revenue fountain for the department. Alltel, First National Bank, Pepsi and adidas are some of the largest contributors to the Nebraska Athletic program. Sponsorship packages can include a combination of premium tickets, use of logos, parking, event signage, company logos on program covers and/or public address announcements during athletic events. Businesses utilize these packages to entertain clients, reward their employees and take advantage of the exposure.
HuskerVision and Marketing
In order for HuskerVision to become a Memorial Stadium reality and to maintain it today, the Athletic Marketing Office was given the charge of selling sponsorships to pay for the replay boards. The first collegiate football team to have instant replay boards at an exclusive college venue, Husker fans have thoroughly enjoyed the two 17 by 24 foot screens placed in the southeast and northwest corners of Memorial Stadium. The cost of the system was paid for entirely by commercial sponsorships sold by the Athletic Marketing Office.
Football Sponsorships
A successful football team provides ample opportunity to generate revenue within its playing venue. In 1995, the Athletic Department brought the sale of scoreboard signage and game day packages in-house, which made the Athletic Marketing Office responsible for the sale of those packages. That move allowed the department to work directly with the sponsors and maintain a clean, uncluttered look in Memorial Stadium, thereby maximizing revenue for the scholarship fund and increasing the revenue for the sponsor.
Husker Nation Pavilion
The 2003 football season marked the beginning of the Husker Nation Pavilion, which has become a new tradition on Husker Football game days. The Pavilion, which takes place on the Ed Weir Track, just northeast of Memorial Stadium, is the largest pre-game tailgate in college football. Husker fans can enjoy many activities before each football game including the live pre-game radio broadcast, a live band, the Kids Zone, Husker Power testing, many food vendors and other new exhibits and events every game day. The Athletic Marketing office is the main operator behind the Husker Nation Pavilion, setting up the Pavilion each week and coordinating the entertainment and events taking place each game. The Pavilion is also the place for corporate sponsors to host their own tailgate party before each game in a reserved tent. Through the Athletic Marketing office and the Athletic Ticket Office, corporate tent packages are sold and allow many groups and organizations to become official sponsors of the Husker Nation Pavilion. Tent packages include a reserved tent spot at the Pavilion, a complete catered meal, tickets to the game and game day programs.
Olympic Sports
While a great deal of time and effort continues to be spent developing comprehensive corporate sponsorship programs for football and men's basketball, the Athletic Marketing Office also strives to develop promotional and marketing plans for all Husker Olympic sport teams. These plans are similar in nature to the football and men's basketball plans and includes program ad sales, event tickets, promotions, etc. The cooperation between the coaches, student-athletes, ticket office, sports information office, business office and development offices make it possible to produce promotions which increases attendance at these sporting events.
Red Zone
One of the most visible and highly successful additions created and implemented in 2000-2001 by the athletic marketing office was the Red Zone. The Red Zone consists of men’s basketball student season ticket holders with seats behind the baskets on the A-level. When students pick up their season tickets they received a Red Zone t-shirt and are required to wear it to every game in order to sit in the A-section. The Red Zone has been a huge success by increasing student season ticket sales significantly and creating a great basketball atmosphere. The upcoming year will bring new additions to the Red Zone launching it into one of the best Men’s Basketball student sections in the country.
Interns
Several part-time undergraduate students serve as interns in the marketing office. Each is assigned a specific sport to create and implement promotional plans for that particular sport. These students are a very important part of the marketing office's workforce and make a great impact during their four to six semester terms. The experience they gain has proven valuable as many have gone on to work in the professional ranks including positions with the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Colorado Rockies, Sioux City Explorers and Sioux Falls Canaries.
Event Marketing
The marketing office is not only responsible for planning events and finding corporate sponsors, but is also actively involved as the actual events take place. Marketing staff is present at almost every sports event held at home. At home events, corporate sponsors are hosted in the Hospitality rooms, which are available for sponsors before and during every Men’s and Women’s basketball games. Sponsors are treated to a catered meal, game day programs and refreshments to make their game day experience one of a kind.
Cheerleaders and Yell Squad
Starting in 1997-98, the Athletic marketing office took over all responsibilities for the Spirit Squad in order to coordinate game day atmosphere in a more efficient way. The Spirit Squad can be broken down into these Varsity cheer squads: has two Varsity cheer squads, the All-Girl and Coed Yell Squad and Varsity dance team (the Scarlets), and two mascots (Herbie and Lil’ Red). The Spirit Squad promotes the athletic, fun atmosphere and provides support for athletic events. During an academic year, the spirit squad members make more than 200 appearances at athletic, philanthropic, community and state events. Members of the Spirit Squad condition and practice 10 to 20 hours per week. A major focus of the Spirit Squad is education. Collectively the current members hold a 3.2 grade point average. The yell and dance squads both earned top 10 honors at their collegiate national competition in 2000. The yell squad finished eighth, while the Scarlets Dance Team finished second in Division I-A. Nebraska's Lil' Red mascot finished fourth at the 2000 NCAA national championship.



















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Research Paper: Britain Employment Law

Is discrimination based on religion or on race and ethnicity?
Religions with large numbers of visible minorities, such as Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, reported the most discrimination overall and research participants who belonged to these minority groups often identified a degree of overlap between religious and racial discrimination. Implicit or explicit references to racism were also common during the local interviews. Amongst Christians, black-led organisations were consistently more likely to say that their members experienced unfair treatment than Christian organisations generally. Many interviewees pointed to the artificiality of trying to separate religious and cultural identities. However, there were also claims of unfair treatment from white people of British descent with no outward, visible signs of their religion. This suggests that such treatment can be a response to the nature of someone’s beliefs and practices (for example, the hostility that is sometimes expressed towards groups that are often referred to as ‘cults’). In other cases it may be the strength of belief and its effect on behaviour (“the more active you are, the more vulnerable you become”) or the degree to which people seek to convert others. A number of interviewees pointed out that whilst there are those who see religion as an intrinsic or important part of their identity, the rest of society tends to think of religion as optional and may therefore assume that religious requirements can be negotiated.
Interviewees provided instances in which the rigid dividing line between religion and culture that is sometimes imposed by outsiders can prove awkward and divisive. For example, religious groups may have to present themselves as cultural groups in order to obtain local authority funding for the community services they provide. They feel uncomfortable about doing this, and people from religious organisations that are not associated with cultural minorities may feel discriminated against because they are unable to present themselves in this way.
What are the policy options?
Participants in the research favoured a comprehensive approach in which education, training, and a bigger effort to teach more about comparative religion in schools would all play an important part. This was in line with their repeatedly expressed views about the role of ignorance in fostering religious discrimination by individuals and by organisations in both the public and private sectors, and also with the view expressed in interviews that the media reinforce such ignorance and prejudicial attitudes. There was scepticism about voluntary codes of practice because these often prove ineffective. Research participants recognised that the law has both strengths and limitations and did not think it would suffice on its own. However, some changes in the law might be needed in order to “send the right messages about discrimination”. These could help if used judiciously and in conjunction with other approaches. The idea of legislation of some kind received most support from Muslim organisations and interviewees from ethnic minority groups.
In the local interviews, it was pointed out that the changes needed from employers and service providers were not necessarily expensive: quite small adaptations could be very helpful and sometimes it was as simple as trying to ensure that people were not made to feel awkward. There was a role for better guidelines and ‘worked examples’. It was felt that employers and educationalists, in particular, could do more to accommodate religious diversity, and in a less grudging way. In areas such as planning and funding, more ‘mainstreaming’ was required and greater acknowledgement of the services that religious organisations provide to their own – and sometimes to the wider – community. Those from the less well known and the less ‘mainstream’ religions stressed the need for more inclusiveness – for example when holding events or carrying out consultation exercises.
Background
In recent years, individuals and organisations from a variety of religious traditions have begun to argue that discrimination exists on grounds of religion and that it deserves to be taken as seriously as discrimination on other grounds. Until now, however, there has been little research into the nature and extent of religious discrimination in this country. Some claims of unfair treatment have been made by groups who are also likely to suffer discrimination on grounds of race or ethnicity, making it difficult (perhaps unrealistic) to disentangle one form of discrimination from another. On the other hand, some of those claiming religious discrimination do not belong to an ethnic or racial minority, or they quote examples (eg Islamophobia1 in the media) which do appear to be targeted more at religious belief and practice than at membership of an ethnic group or cultural tradition. The relative absence of law and policy that specifically recognises the possibility of religious discrimination has meant that people wanting to make formal claims of discrimination have had to rely where they can on other grounds (usually race or gender) even though they may feel that religion is the real basis of their claim. This report describes the results of the primary research undertaken by this project. It provides a resource for government, for communities, and for organisations of various kinds in assessing the evidence about religious discrimination.
Objectives
In commissioning the research in April 1999, the Home Office set the following objectives:
1. To assess the evidence of religious discrimination in England and Wales, both
2. To describe the patterns shown by this evidence, including:
• its overall scale
• the main victims
• the main perpetrators
• the main ways in which the discrimination manifests
3. To indicate the extent to which religious discrimination overlaps with racial discrimination.
4. To identify the broad range of policy options available for dealing with religious discrimination.
The final objective could include legislative options as well as other measures such as policy reviews, voluntary codes of practice, or training and education programmes. However, the legal context has been much changed since the inception of the research project by the incorporation into British law of the Human Rights Act and the Treaty of Amsterdam, and is likely to change further as case law develops. The Home Office has therefore commissioned a separate report which looks at the legal options in more detail2. The present report simply indicates the extent to which research participants thought some form of legislative change might be useful. Although the research concentrated on the views and experiences of people who identify themselves with a religion, this is not to ignore the possibility that secularists, humanists and agnostics may also experience discrimination on the basis of religion. Such experience also needs to be taken into account in framing policy in this area.
The Case Study
The media spotlight has recently focused on the issue of religious discrimination in the workplace. The education environment has been particularly under its glare following the suspension of the school teacher Aishah Azmi, and her subsequent tribunal claim. Ms Azmi, a teaching assistant in a West Yorkshire school, was asked to remove her niqab, a face veil worn by some Muslim women that leaves only the eyes visible, because pupils found it hard to understand her during English language lessons. The tribunal found that suspension of Ms Azmi did not amount to discrimination on religious grounds, although she was awarded £1,000 for victimisation because the school had not followed grievance procedures correctly.
OTHER HIGH-PROFILE CASES
There have been other, similar high-profile cases in the news recently. These include that of Shabnam Mughal, a legal executive who was asked to remove her niqab by a judge at an immigration tribunal in Stoke on Trent, because he could not hear what she was saying properly. Ms Mughal refused and her firm handed conduct of the case over to another advocate. Nadia Eweida, a British Airways ground crew member, sued her employer for religious discrimination after being told that she could not wear a crucifix unless she concealed it beneath her uniform. She lost her appeal. Whilst the law on religious discrimination is not new, having been introduced in 2003, the glut of recent cases has put the issue at the front of employers’ minds. For background and more detail on the law, see Education Law Update issues 36 and 62 (for back issues call 0845 450 6404).
DEALING WITH RELIGIOUS REQUESTS
Navigating the minefield that is workplace discrimination is difficult at the best of times, particularly where contentious and sensitive issues like religion are involved. So what should employers do when faced with requests for allowances to be made at work on religious grounds? This article will outline the legal background to religious discrimination law, and look at how to balance pupil and staff needs.
THE LAW
The law on religious discrimination is contained in the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. These regulations prohibit discrimination on the grounds of a person’s religion or belief in the following forms: Direct discrimination: where an employer treats a candidate or employee less favourably than it would treat others, on the grounds of religion or belief. Indirect discrimination: where an employer applies a provision, criterion or practice equally to all staff, but this puts, or would put, a particular religious group at a specific disadvantage when compared to others. Such rules do not constitute indirect discrimination if the employer can show that they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Victimisation: where a current, prospective or former employee is treated less favourably than others in the workplace on the grounds that s/he has carried out a ‘protected act’.
Protected acts include:
o Bringing proceedings against the employer under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
o Giving evidence in connection with such proceedings
o Alleging that the employer, either directly or vicariously through one of its employees, has committed an act that would amount to a contravention of these regulations

For victimisation to be established, it is not necessary for the complainant to have carried out a protected act. It is sufficient to establish that the employer suspected s/he did, or intended to do, any such act. Harassment: where an employer, either on its own behalf or through the actions of an employee, engages in unwanted conduct that violates an individual’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person.
IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYER
So what does this all mean for the employer? Do employees have the right to express their religion and belief in any way they wish within the working environment? Thankfully for employers, no. A candidate or employee does have the clear right not to be discriminated against in the workplace. It does not take a legal expert to realise that an employee teased about wearing a turban at work is the subject of harassment, or that denying promotion opportunities because a staff member is of a different religion would be direct discrimination. But often, the potential for discrimination is much more subtle, and it is indirect discrimination that causes most of the problems within the workplace. Recently publicised cases involving the rejection of specific dress requirements are all about indirect discrimination. In each case, the employee’s argument has been that the employer has applied a provision, criterion or practice, i.e. a prohibition of certain items of clothing or jewellery that puts employees of a particular religion at a disadvantage when compared with others.
THE CASE OF THE VEIL
In the case of the Muslim classroom assistant, the practice applied was that employees responsible for teaching classes could not wear items of clothing that covered the employee’s face. This puts Muslim employees at a disadvantage when compared with other workforce groups, as it prevents them from wearing the niqab, which some Muslims believe is a religious requirement. At first sight, this appears to be discriminatory. But the law allows employers to defend an indirect discrimination claim by proving that the provision, criterion or practice in question amounts to a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
What is ‘a legitimate aim’
This is the crux of the issue. The school’s aim must be to give the children the best possible education, and any barriers to that aim should be removed. Ms Azmi’s school clearly believed that the niqab was a bar to that aim. The question is, then, whether the insistence on its removal was a proportionate means of achieving that aim. The tribunal in this case held that it was.
Proportionality
Of course, it is not only the wearing of religious dress or jewellery that can cause problems for employers. The regulations affect many other everyday workplace issues, such as requests for time off for religious holidays, and dietary requirements dictated by a person’s religion. The key in all of these situations is for an employer who receives such a request to consider carefully what aim it is trying to achieve, and whether the rejection of a request is a proportionate means of achieving that aim. Where the employer has given genuine consideration to a request, balanced the employee’s needs against organisational requirements, and considered any possible compromises, the company should be in a position to defend any claim in the event it has to reject the request.
RECRUITMENT POLICY
The other issue for the education sector is whether employers can enforce a policy of recruiting teachers only from a particular faith and rejecting candidates from other religious backgrounds. Provision is specifically made for this in the recently amended Education and Inspections Bill, as already mentioned. On the face of it, this appears to allow discrimination on religious grounds but this is not necessarily so.
‘Genuine occupational requirement’
The regulations do provide a specific defence to claims of direct discrimination in circumstances where being of a particular religion or belief is a ‘genuine and determining’ occupational requirement for the job. To rely on this defence, an employer must be able to establish that the alleged occupational requirement is proportionate in the particular case. Example: A recognised Church of England school may be able to insist that all of its teachers are practising Christians, thereby rejecting applications from candidates of any other religion. If challenged, the school would have to establish that one of the aims of the school was to actively promote the Christian religion amongst its pupils — and that this aim could only be achieved by employing practising Christians to teach in the school.
‘Genuine’ and ‘determining’
The occupational requirement must be genuine and determining, and be proportionate in the case in question. It will be necessary to consider the requirements of the job very closely. Religious discrimination is only likely to be lawful in cases of those involved in religious services, whose job involves teaching or promoting religion. Jobs that are ancillary to the religion are unlikely to be covered. The defence would not succeed, for example, in a claim by a Christian rejected for a secretarial post in a Muslim school. There is probably no occupational requirement for secretarial staff, cleaners or other support staff not responsible for the teaching or welfare of pupils to be of a particular religion.
The ‘specific’ or ‘religious organisations’ defence
There is a further defence against discrimination claims based on the occupational requirement for the job. This is known as the ‘specific’ or ‘religious organisations’ genuine occupation requirement defence. It applies where: an employer has an ethos based on religion or belief, and having regard to that ethos and the nature of the employment or the context in which it is carried out, being of a particular religion or belief is a genuine occupational requirement for the job. This would apply to spiritual posts in churches, mosques, synagogues and temples but it is unclear whether it would extend as far as a Roman Catholic nursing home, Halal butchers or Christian youth groups. As with the general defence, in order to rely on it, an employer would have to establish that it was proportionate to apply the occupational requirement in a particular case. This is likely to involve dealing with the potential adverse impacts of employing a person of a different religion and the damage this could have to the religious ethos or the organisation. The religious organisations genuine occupational requirement is broader, in that being of a particular religion or belief only has to be a requirement, not a determining requirement (i.e. decisive) as with the general GOR. This will make it easier for religious organisations to discriminate on the grounds of religion.
Legislation
A wide variety of views were expressed about the potential benefits or otherwise of law in tackling unfair treatment on the basis of religion in employment specifically. A white male, advice manager recalled that:…with age discrimination, we had a voluntary code. All studies show it’s not working. You’ll always have good employers who have the foresight of the advantages of overcoming stereotypes, who have imagination. A white, female, policy manager felt that “the lack of mainstream religious equality is a national problem” and that equal opportunities policies at the local level can offer a more comprehensive approach than the currently quite narrow framework offered by the Race
Relations Act:
It is probably time for the Race Relations Act be revised. It should include religion because it’s so intertwined. A professional stated that the successful implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act had been hindered by the absence of enforcement measures. This same interviewee expressed the view that unfair treatment on the basis of religion could be addressed through legislation, but also that employers were in particular need of being able to see, and to draw upon, examples of good practice from elsewhere:…you need to have champions who say “we’re doing it!” along with good practice guidelines and demands from the top. You need reporting, bench-marking data, peer group pressure – it shouldn’t require a lot of investment; often people are apt to say that they’d need too much money to do it... One male, Asian, advice professional commented on the way in which legislation can serve to empower people to stand up for their own rights. For example, although the Sex
Discrimination Act was thought to need further refinement:
Now you expect women to stand up. You don’t need a policy to say what the policy should say. They are aware of their rights. An employer might not have a policy statement on maternity leave, but if an employee is pregnant, you go find out what their needs are, and what needs to happen....Having a bank of documents is not enough or
necessary. A white, female, business development specialist observed that: You need worked examples for employers to draw on, especially if regulation is involved. Good practice examples are important, especially because they’re more comprehensible – and are especially germane as they tell start up companies to emulate and evaluate the good practices of their competitors, which is a good way to pass it along as part of good business.

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