Why do some people seek high risk activities an Example by

Why do some people seek high risk activities Extreme sports and extreme activities are high risk activities. These are activities that has a very real danger of fatality and accidents are numerous and often life threatening. These activities could range from white water rafting; sky diving, bungee jumping, even bicycle and car racing. The following are characterized by defying stunts, a high level of skill, state of the art equipments and safety precautions but people despite the imminent danger to their safety still seek out and participate in high risk activities. What does high risk activities offer to the individual that keeps them coming back to it and even become dedicated athletes to the sport? And are there specific types of persons who are more predisposed to engage in high risk activities? Need essay sample on "Why do some people seek high risk activities" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Undergraduates Often Tell Us: I'm not in the mood to write my paper. Because I want to spend time with my girlfriend Essay writers recommend: Proceed With Order Now Online Essays For Sale Buy College Papers Online Pay For College Essays Is It Illegal To Write Papers For Money There are theories that may explain the perception of risk and the physiological changes that are part of risk taking, to take risks and to shun away from risks. Psychoanalytic theories emphasize that safety needs are a basic and instinctual to the individual, thus the natural reaction to risks should be of aversion, thus those who seek out risks are seen to be illogical and pathological, however as we know all of us may engage in some form of risk taking behavior and that this claims have been found to be inconclusive (Franken,1998 p.43). A biological perspective says that all of us are programmed to take risks for us to survive, reminiscent of the principle of survival of the fittest, if we consider it; we are biologically wired to be risk takers. And the modern theories imply that individual differences can account for the fact that there are people who are risk takers and why some of us are not. It has been said that people who are risk takers are high on sensation seeking person ality traits (Block, 1995, p.191). This means that some people seek out high risk behaviors because they personally choose to. Risk refers to the possibility of failure in a certain activity, decision or endeavor. In the past risk have been thought in accordance with business risks and management strategies, but it has also been used to describe the dangerous activities and behavior that people engage in. High risk behaviors are those behaviors that endanger a persons life, like smoking, drug abuse, alcohol, and sexually active lifestyle. The said behavior increases the likelihood of death or sickness. On the other hand, high risk activities are legitimate activities that places an individual in the brink of danger, which in normal circumstances an individual may come out of it unscathed, but has a high possibility of being injured and accidents can happen all the time. There are three ways to approach risks as posited by Lykken (1982, p. 23), there are risk avoiders, those who avoid risk because of the high risk it involves, then there are the risk reducers, those who engage in the activity even if there are risks involved and the risk optimizers, who want to participate in the activity precisely because of the risks. This assumption presupposes that there are personality types that are more prone to seek out high risk activities and these are the risk optimizers, they are in it because it is risky and it gives them excitement. The foremost characteristic of high risk activities is the adrenaline rush that it gives to the individual, a feeling of intense excitement and arousal (Cogan rush is what motivates people to take the challenge of high risk activities. However, the rush is not the only reason; instead there are hosts of situational and personal factors that motivate individuals. One of this is the influence of the peer group and a risk taking personality as well as the feeling of achievement and accomplishment in mastering the sport or skill involved in the high risk activity. Generally, young adults and adolescents are more likely to engage in high risk activities (Cohn, et.al., 1995, p. 217). Adolescents are often said to be impulsive and does not seem to care whether the activity is risky or not. It is evident that teenagers who are bored, needs a lot of action and movement. They can benefit from high risk activities to expend their energies. When they are in sports like rock climbing and biking, they get to experience social interaction, be responsible for their actions and even learn sportsmanship. It could also be a means of testing their limits just like any other teenager, and is often a step in discovering who they are and what they can and cannot do. On the other hand, young adults engage in high risk activities because they are in it because of their self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1997, p. 34). They believe that they can accomplish the activity without any adverse consequences. In conclusion, people seek high risk activities because it offers them heightened emotions akin to the fight or flight adrenaline rush, it is a means of proving oneself to others and to be accepted by the peer group, and it can be simply because they want to and they are compelled to do so by their own beliefs of efficacy and mastery. High risk activities are not entirely bad or negative, it just has risks that may cost a persons life or health. References Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. Block, J. (1995). A contrarian view of the five factor approach to personality description. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 187-225. Cogan, N., & Brown, R.. (1999). Metamotivational dominance, states and injuries in risk and safe sports. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 503-518. Cohn, L., Macfarlane, S., Yanez, C., & Imai, W.K. (1995). Risk perception: Differences between adolescents and adults. Health Psychology, 14, 217-222. Franken, R.E. (1998). Human motivation (4th ed.). London: Brooks Cole Publishing Company. Kohler, M.P. (1996). Risk-taking behaviour: A cognitive approach. Psychological Reports, 78, 489-490. Lykken, D.T. (1982). Fearlessness: Its carefree charm and deadly risks. Psychology Today, September, 20-28.

The Plague in Florence , Italy essays

The Plague in Florence , Italy essays The Plague in Italy (Florence) 1348 In the year 1348 AD, an enemy quite unexpected and very uncontrollable came to the shores of Italy. It struck viscously and quickly, by the time this enemy had left more than half of the population of Italy was dead. This is enemy as we now know was The Plague. Although many are of unsure of the exact time that the plague arrived in Italy, the rough estimate is late in 1348. The plague started in 1334, in Asia and killed about 90% of the population in Hopei, a province of China. It was carried along trade routes and began to work its was West, striking India, Syria and Mesopotamia (Gottfried p.1-3). In 1346, the plague came to Kaffa, a Genoese cathedral city and a port central to the successful Genoese trade industry located on the Crimean Peninsula of the Black Sea. The Tartar forces of Kipchak Khan Janibeg, backed by the Venetian forces, competitors of the Genoese, had laid siege to Kaffa in hopes of removing the Genoese from one of the cornerstones of Europes defense against Eastern attack and Genoas dominance of East-West trade. Kaffa was helpless, barely able to sustain even the crudest living conditions. Finding its chief means of supply cut off; Kaffa spent the next year watching itself decline into a hopeless state. But the, in 1347, to the Italians surprise, their opponents began to die off at an alarming rate, Janibegs army was overcome by the Plague. Janibeg had no choice but to call of his siege but not before he performed one last act of warfare against Genoa. Using catapults designed to throw boulders and fireballs over the walls of fortified cities like Kaffa, Janibeg launched the Plague infested corpses of his dead men into the city. The Italians quickly dumped the bodies into the sea, but the damage was done. Due to the squalid conditions forced upon Kaffa by the siege, it was ripe for the quick desolation of the Plague. Hoping to escape the qu...

Satisfying all stakeholders when the business is competing in mature Essay - 1

Satisfying all stakeholders when the business is competing in mature product markets is difficult. Discuss - Essay Example Another handicap facing mature products is that the markets they operate in are likely to be mature as well, making growth prospects for the product as well as industry very tough. The rest of this essay will present various factors that have a bearing on stakeholders when a business is competing in mature product markets. Shareholders are one of the main (if not the most important) stakeholders to a company’s prospects. And equity markets are the arena where they can hope to claim their rewards. But increasing share price on a consistent and non-volatile manner is very difficult in mature product markets. For example, â€Å"Equity markets both reward companies that outpace growth in their sector and that show significantly higher price/earnings multiples than their competitors. But, since 80 per cent of equity markets grow only as fast as their country's gross domestic product - that is, at a rate that rarely pushes beyond the low single digits, an organization that seeks to outpace a mature equity market and achieve double-digit revenue growth faces a steep uphill climb. A company can attempt to take market share, but competitors in a mature market will work just as vigorously to defend their customer base. Higher revenue does not always signal success anyway, since revenue gains almost always hurt margins, and can precipitate a price war that devalues the entire market.† (Magrath, 2005) The telecommunications industry offers opportunities for studying marketability of mature products. This is so because, although digital and satellite communications technology were invented only a couple of decades ago, the rapid rate of growth ensured maturity of both the industry as well as its products. The recent developments in the telecommunications industry in the Middle East illustrates common challenges faced by mature products and mature markets. The quarterly performance of these telecom companies after the first quarter of 2009 shows how growth can be stagnant or in decline for mature product markets. During this period, Saudi Telecom reported a whopping 69 percent dip in its net profit figures. Etisalat, another major firm in the region, reported a 20 percent drop in profits in the same period. Smaller players too, including Maroc Telecom and Zain, performed likewise. (Hadfield, 2009) These examples illustrate how difficult it has become for managements to satisfy stakeholders in a mature product business. It is a sign of problems identified with mature markets that investors are looking at opportunities in emerging markets. An increasing share of the world’s capital is now being directed to equities and other derivative products in emerging economies. In the era of globalization, the flow of financial capital is a vital parameter. Financial products and derivative products transacted via stock exchanges trans-nationally have matured as a product over the years. This means that there is now vast empirical data to draw theories upon. This has also had the effect of increasing the degree of volatility in these markets. Investment firms and individual investors look toward emerging markets despite their high volatility due to the following reasons: higher average returns, lower correlations than developed markets, and more predictable returns. Each of these characteristics has made the volatility