Use of Performance Enhancement Drugs

Introduction

Performance enhancing drugs are some of the most controversial aspects of the contemporary world and this is especially considering that it is in widely used to achieve a diverse number of goals. The users of this drug tend to have a positive aspect towards them because they are considered to be a means towards achieving their goals. This is especially the case where they are under considerable pressure to ensure that they perform to the best of their abilities. Some studies have shown that users of performance enhancing drugs are usually regular individuals who, because of the considerable pressure put on them, end up in a situation where they conclude that it would be best for them to use these drugs. In addition, while most of these drugs are readily available in pharmacies, they often require a prescription. A result is that even though they may be available, they are looked upon by most organizations, especially in sport, as promoting unfairness in diverse aspects of life, such as competitive sport. Because of this, there has been wide advocacy for their ban, especially among those individuals that participate in sport. However, there is also an opposing side that promotes the idea that in these drugs are made more widely available to ensure that there is the advancement of fairness in various activities. This paper seeks to demonstrate the circumstances leading to the use of performance enhancing drugs, the attitudes towards them in various countries, and the manner through which their effects have stirred considerable debate.

Attitudes to performance enhancing drugs

The greatest use of performance enhancing drugs takes place among university students. These individuals believe that it is a social norm to make use of drugs such as Ritalin to enhance their performance at the academic level. However, despite the use of these drugs by some students in universities, studies show that very few of them have actually made use of the drug named above (Pérez-Pazos, Collazos & Casas, 2015). The use of these drugs often takes place because of the considerable pressure that students have to undergo in order to ensure that they not only have good grades, but are also competitive in the job market once they complete their studies. A consequence of this situation is that a considerable number of students hold the belief that if they use performance enhancing drugs, they will be able to ensure that they are able to handle a diverse number of situations and challenges in their academics without having to endure the considerable pressure that comes with their studies. However, despite these efforts, the drugs that are used in an academic environment tend not to have the desired effect, especially in instances where students place too much faith in them rather and focusing on working hard towards the attainment of their academic goals. Therefore, while the use of performance enhancing drugs may be considered to be a social norm in institution of higher education, is does not serve to enhance academic performance because the individuals involved in it tend not to realize that these drugs are merely stimulants whose effects are not compatible with performance.

Performance enhancing drugs are not often used for medical reasons, and are instead gotten over the counter by those who desire to use them. A result is that in countries within the EU, there are a significant number of individuals, especially students, who opt to obtain these drugs without proper consultation with doctors. Individuals in this society have ended up in a situation where they take advantage of the ready availability of performance enhancing drugs to ensure that they acquire them for their personal use. The attitude towards these drugs show that the taboo concerning the unfairness of their use is increasingly being eroded and it is only a matter of time before it becomes a common practice. Individuals in the contemporary world seem to be taking a more relaxed attitude to performance enhancing drugs than their predecessors; a sign that attitudes are heading towards the legalization of these drugs in everyday use. Individuals in European countries such as the UK and Belgium have a positive attitude towards these drugs in comparison to Turkey, where the approval of such drugs is quite low. The cultural values of individuals in various countries seem to be extremely important in the development of attitudes towards performance enhancing drugs (Schermer, Bolt, de Jongh  & Olivier, 2009). Concepts concerning competitiveness seem to be the drivers behind the high approval ratings that are seen in the UK, while fairness is a determinant factor in the case of Turkey. The achievement of personal goals through the use of performance enhancing drugs is an essential factor in determining individuals’ attitude towards them, and this is irrespective of their country of origin.

The acceptability of using performance enhancing drugs is a feature of what can be termed as changing social norms. A majority of studies, which have been conducted in the United States, show that the number of individuals that approve of the use of performance enhancing drugs is steadily increasing, and this is especially considering that that a considerable number of people have admitted to using them once or several times in their lives (Ponnet, Wouters, Walrave, et al., 2015). Among the most significant considerations when it comes to the use of these drugs is that they not only serve to enhance the performance of the users, but they also play a role in increasing the confidence of users. In American institutions of higher learning, the use of these drugs was considered the norm, with many of those that promoted its use stating that it is an essential means of ensuring that their academic performance was advanced. Therefore, unlike in other countries that were studied, especially in the EU, the United States showed a higher number of people that approve of the use of performance enhancing drugs and consider it to be a social norm. The emergence of the use of these drugs from the periphery into the mainstream is a sign that the taboos that governed their use is gradually being eroded away, and society is gradually accepting these drugs as an essential aspect of their lives. Under such circumstance, it is likely to be difficult to ensure that the argument concerning the use of performance enhancing drugs leads to unfairness because it is the same environment that has fostered competitiveness that has also led to the advancement of means through which individuals are increasingly feeling under pressure to increase their performance.

A study on performance enhancement drugs shows that it is often determine by alcohol use. Alcohol use is an influential factor when it comes to the use of performance enhancement drugs, especially among young people. This is especially considering that these individuals are more impressionable at this stage in their lives and feel that they can be better able to overcome their deficiencies through the use of these drugs (Boardley, Grix & Dewar, 2014). In addition, alcohol use makes it easier for individuals to want to try out new substances, meaning that it is a critical factor when it comes to the advancement of performance enhancing drug use. In most cases studied, young people are more susceptible to the use of these drugs because of the new pressures that have developed in their lives. There is often a failure to consider that piling pressure on these individuals might have the negative effect of making them to seek alternatives to keep up with the prevailing circumstances. It therefore becomes essential for these individuals to seek out ways to ensure that they are able to cope with the various pressures in their lives through the use of performance enhancing drugs. The use of these drugs is not only prevalent in the academic arena, but also in the workplace, where individuals are often under constant pressure to perform to the satisfaction of their superiors. A consequence is that many of these individuals end up adopting the use of performance enhancing drugs in order to cope with the pressure and long hours that they have to undergo in their work environment. This situation is a cause for concern in most countries assessed because it shows that individuals are increasingly becoming reliant on performance enhancing drugs in order to undertake everyday activities as well as to cope with the pressures of the contemporary world.

Another aspect of performance enhancing drug use is that despite their being considered a social norm, not many people have actually made use of them. Therefore, the perceptions concerning their use is not consistent with reality because while a considerable number of people feel that it is justifiable to make use of these drugs, in reality, their use is       quite limited. Social media as well as other means of rapid circulation of information has made it possible for a positive attitude towards performance enhancing drug use to develop (Brennan, Kanayama & Pope, 2013). In addition, it has led to the creation of an environment where individuals have become more ready to make use of these drugs whenever they feel that they have to attain their goals as quickly as possible. These circumstances are a matter of serious concern because they show that individuals in the contemporary world, because of the prevailing misinformation concerning performance enhancing drugs, even though they may not be active users, have developed an attitude that fosters its use. Consequently, it is important that initiatives to bring about an end to such misinformation and to counter it is essential in making sure that society as a whole is protected against the use of drugs that might be harmful to the health of individuals without necessarily providing any tangible benefits. Creating awareness that the use of performance enhancing drugs should not be considered a social norm and should instead only be used on recommendation from competent medical practitioners is important in helping to promote the interests of all individuals in society. This is especially the case where most of these drugs are readily available over the counter; meaning that many individuals take them without necessarily having knowledge concerning their potential effect on them. By creating awareness concerning performance enhancing drugs, it becomes possible for individuals to question whether they should be making use of these drugs themselves.

Performance enhancing drugs in sports

In sport, the use of performance enhancing drugs is a serious problem, especially when it comes to competitive sports. This is because in the contemporary world, winning competitions comes with considerable benefits, including cash rewards and sponsorship deals. The result is that some sportsmen are often willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that they attain the edge that they need over their competition in order to win. The use of performance enhancing drugs, or doping, in sports has led to a situation where it has raised a lot of concern, especially within the public concerning whether it is ethical (Brand, Heck & Ziegler, 2014). Organizations have been set up to ensure that such practices are put to a stop, with many sportsmen and women that have been found to have made use of these drugs being handed severe punishments. Among the most severe punishments that have been meted out have been striping athletes of their medals and also banning them from competitions for certain periods of time. The stricter rules that have been put in place concerning the use of performance enhancing drugs has led to some individuals in sports going to extreme lengths to ensure that they hide the fact that they make use of these drugs (Hodge, Hargreaves, Gerrard & Lonsdale, 2013). However, despite the strict guidelines that have been set up concerning them, performance enhancing drugs seem to continue haunting sports. Scandals associated with the use of these drugs have become more common in recent years than was previously the case and this has been associated with more advanced methods of detecting the presence of these substances in the body. One of the most noteworthy scandals that have come about in recent years has been the Russian doping scandal, which has revealed that the Russian government has been behind the advancement of the performance of its athletes through the promotion of an extensive doping program (Duval, 2017). While the role of the Russian government has been revealed, it is likely that a number of other governments across the world run similar programs in order to enhance the performance of their athletes.

Despite the presence of better methods of detecting illegal substances in sports, there are instances where individuals might make use of these substances unknowingly. The ready availability of over the counter drugs that may contain banned substances in sport has the potential of leading to the unfair victimization of some athletes. The latter might innocently make use of drugs with performance enhancement qualities which, if detected, can lead to a situation where they are led into a situation where they are punished for offenses that they have not intentionally committed (Chan, Lentillon-Kaestner, Dimmock, et al., 2015). The development of awareness concerning the substances that are banned in sport is an important means of making sure that there is a reduction of incidents of the use of performance enhancing drugs. In addition, there are instances where it is essential for governments to place strict regulations on those substances that enhance the performance of individuals. The easy availability of these substances over the counter should be discontinued because it is a means through which to ensure that there is little chance of use of these drugs in sport without the approval of medical practitioners. The achievement of this goal would make sure that there is the advancement of means through which individuals in sport are not only protected against the use of these drugs, but also from unfair competition from those individuals that are likely to intentionally use performance enhancing drugs to gain an advantage. By restricting the availability of performance enhancing drugs, especially to individuals participating in physically demanding and competitive sports, it becomes possible to reduce instances of scandals in sports while at the same time increasing the profile of various sporting activities. The pressure that is encountered by athletes in competitive sports has the potential of leading them towards the seeking to make use of performance enhancing drugs. It is therefore essential to ensure that there is the promotion of awareness concerning the need for fairness in sports in order for the use of these drugs to be significantly reduced.

Prevalence of performance enhancing drug use

The prevalence of performance enhancing drug use is dependent on the prevailing factors in the environments within which individuals live. Studies on various countries, including universities in the UK, Belgium, and Turkey, show that a considerable number of individuals have not made use of these drugs, and those that have are more likely in high pressure environments. The latter is especially the case in universities where students in such faculties as medicine or related ones tend to report higher incidents of substance use in order to enhance their performance. Using these circumstances is believed by individuals to ensure that they are able to cope with courses that are particularly demanding (Helmer, Pischke, Van Hal, et al., 2016). Moreover, an increasing number of individuals in society feel the need to ensure that they succeed in their endeavors meaning that they are willing to do what they believe will help them achieve their goals. The use of performance enhancing drugs is believed to be a means of ensuring that they are able to cope with the stress that is prevalent when dealing with the stress of everyday life. There are also instances where individuals feel that those that are more successful, either in the workplace or in academics, make use of performance enhancing drugs. This belief is based on the highly competitive nature of life in the contemporary world and the different ways through which individuals have adopted to cope with the stress. A result is that individuals have come to suspect one another without any proof that their fellows actually use performance enhancing drugs.

Conclusion

 The findings of the studies reviewed above show that the use of performance enhancing drugs is an increasingly worrying issue. This is especially considering that there is a widespread belief that most individuals make use of these drugs on a daily basis. While this belief is not based on reality, it might have an influence on an increasing trend in the use of these substances in society. Pressures found in the lives of individuals in both academic and work environments, among others, has led to the belief that it is a social norm for performance enhancement drugs to be used in various circumstances. However, the use of these drugs is not as widespread as it seems, and in fact, very few individuals actually make use of them.

The Blue Ocean Strategy

The blue ocean strategy is one that seeks to promote a market for a product that has little or no competition. It seeks to encourage businesses to undertake those operations where there is little competition or create new markets that have yet to be explored by other businesses. Under such circumstances, it becomes possible for the business not to operate under immense pressure, especially pressure concerning pricing and cost of operations because in the end, they will make up for any deficiency. The blue ocean strategy is one that is quite critical in the modern world because it encourages to seek new niches in which they can be able to advance themselves in such a way that makes them dominant within the specific market. The discovery of new markets enables organizations to make sure that they adapt to the new environment and gain the customers that they need in order to attain as much profit as possible. Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure that there is the promotion of means through which to improve their product rather than focusing on rivals. Without rivals in the market, it is likely that the major focus of the organization would be to develop new products to fit into its niche instead of taking on competition that might eventually gain a lead and perhaps push the organization out of business.

The blue ocean strategy can be applied in a diversity of businesses and sectors. Because of the relative flexibility that it provides businesses, it is not limited to only one business and can instead be applied to a diversity of areas where it becomes possible to promote the interests of the organization involved. This strategy is essential because in the current highly competitive world, it is common for organization to exist in a state of constant competition. Therefore, the blue ocean strategy encourages organizations to seek out markets that do not have a lot of competition of rivals and cultivate these markets to provide a considerable advantage to the organization involved. Through the use of this strategy, it becomes possible to make sure that there is the creation of a system where there is the development of new products and services which can be sold to consumers. Furthermore, the organization has the advantage of being able to develop effective strategies aimed at bringing about the development of new products that can attract consumers. The latter process is essential in bringing about the achievement of market dominance because with few or no rivals, the organization involved can take on the lead in product development that will later only be imitated by rivals once they enter the market. A consequence is that the consumers are more likely to place their trust in the organization’s products because it was the first one to enter the market and it has had the time to research and develop new innovations that cannot be easily beaten by new entrants.

The current market environment is one that involves organizations operating under intense pressure to gain a market share while at the same time competing against their rivals. This environment often creates intense pressure for the organization, especially when it comes to pricing. When an organization comes under such pressure in pricing because of the intense competition with its rivals, it is most likely that its operations also come under threat. This is especially considering that the organization is operating within a highly saturated market where it is necessary to make sure that there is the promotion of the business interests within a difficult environment. This type of market, because of the high saturation that it has, is known as a red ocean, and it is the direct opposite of the blue ocean because while in the former, the organization is often at constant risk of having its operations interrupted, in the latter, the market is still quite new and there are numerous opportunities to be pursued. The blue ocean strategy seeks to encourage organizations to develop new markets and products which they can be better able to advance with as little competition as possible thus opening themselves up to innovation and research that can help establish and strengthen their position within the market. It also allows the organization involved to promote the achievement of a massive market share when compared to a red ocean.

The blue ocean strategy comes about because of the limited room to grow that organizations encounter within the red ocean. It encourages organizations to look for avenues through which they can achieve the goal of gaining an uncontested market share. This process is highly significant because it involves a situation where the organization has to develop a new market on its own in such a way that it not only has dominance over the product, but also the pricing. Under such circumstances, it becomes possible to make sure that there is the promotion of a scenario where because of its market dominance, the organization has the ability to conduct its operations with as little pressure as possible as long as its major focus is to achieve success while at the same time making a profit. The lack of intense competition within the blue ocean is highly critical to the growth of the organization to such an extent that it becomes possible to bring about high levels of performance. It also ensures that the organization focuses more on the advancement of the quality of its products without worrying about the pricing since because it is dominant in the market, it has the advantage of being able to set the trend that its rivals are most likely to follow once they gain entry. Therefore, by the time that other firms gain entry into the market, the organization involved will have achieved dominance and cannot be easily dislodged from its position.

The Onset of the Yugoslav War of 1991

The war in Yugoslavia took place starting in the early 1990s between the Yugoslav government in Belgrade and the various constituent states within this nation which wanted to gain their independence. The Yugoslav government was determined to ensure that these states did not break away from its authority and gain independence and if it came to these states becoming independent, then the government wanted to keep as many swaths of their territory under its control as possible. The constituent states of Yugoslavia on the other hand were determined to ensure that they pursued their own nationalist agenda through the acquisition of complete independence from Belgrade. Many of the individuals in these states felt that they were marginalized in the Serb dominated Yugoslavia and wanted to ensure that their own interests were protected and to achieve this, they all wished to have their own independence. The war which developed as a result, especially after the coming to power of Slobodan Milosevic as the Yugoslav president, was extremely complex with many of those involved included the members of various ethnic groups either making alliances or fighting against each other to ensure that they achieved their aims and objectives, however obscure they were. When these wars finally came to an end in the late 1990s, they left the successor states of Yugoslavia in dire economic hardships from which it took them years to recover. There is wide agreement, however, that the cause of the Yugoslav war was as a result of the development of Serbian nationalism in a state which was ethnically diverse hence the wars of self-determination that resulted.

One would suggest that it was the Serbian religious mythology, extreme nationalism, and racist theories which contributed to the occurrence of the war in Yugoslavia. The events which led to this genocide were put into motion with the death of the Yugoslav president Josip Tito in 1980 who had managed to hold the Yugoslav federation together with an iron grip which ensured that there were no ethnic conflicts. After his death, however, the Croatian and Bosnian nationalists started to agitate for their independence and as a response, the Yugoslav government in Belgrade, chose to take a hostile stance against these nationalists. The Serbians were the dominant people within the Yugoslav federation and if this state were to collapse, then they would be the biggest losers since their influence over the other ethnic groups in the federation. After Slobodan Milosevic became the Serb leader and by default the leader of the Yugoslav federation in 1987 after a difficult struggle against more powerful member of his party, he encouraged Serb nationalism not only in Serbia but also in the other states in which large Serb communities lived (Vladisavljevic 183). When Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 these three states came to be recognized at the international level and this did not sit well with the government in Belgrade. In the same year as these states declared their independence, there followed fierce fighting between the mainly Serb Yugoslavian army and Croatia in Belgrade’s attempt to hang on to some of the territories in Croatia and when this was not successful, it turned its attention to territory in Bosnia. A sign of the escalation of war took place in 1992 when the Serb army started shelling the National Library of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo and in the process, over a million books, more than a hundred thousand manuscripts and rare books, and centuries of historical records were destroyed. Many historians who have studied this period consider this move to have been a systematic campaign of cultural eradication. In one of the events that took place during the war, Serb troops and paramilitary units descended on the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and began shelling it besieging civilians within it.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the town which consisted of French and Dutch soldiers, could do little to help the civilian population and had to agree to a vague promise by the Serb commanders, that everyone would be allowed to cross out of Serb territory but only after the screening of the men so that ‘war criminals’ could be detected. This promise proved to be false as witnessed when the men were separated from the women and children and the latter were forced into trucks and buses and deported. The men on the other hand were all killed and this process of large scale murder and deportation continued for the next four days. Thousands of Muslim civilians were killed during the Bosnian genocide and thousands more died from starvation and a lack of medical care and in addition to this, tens of thousands of Muslim women were raped. It is a fact that rape happens wherever insecurity and fear are joined with power and immunity from prosecution in a sexist social system and it can further be said that such instances tend to take place when there is a system of dominance and subjugation that allows the occurrence of various violent crimes which are perpetrated as a way of maintaining the status quo. This is exactly what happened during the Yugoslav wars because the Serb political establishment which was dominant within the federation did all that it could to ensure that its dominance of this union was maintained and that the other ethnic groups remained marginalized (Gagnon 118).

Some scholars have argued that the Yugoslav war was inevitable and that at best, it has been stated that many Serbs, due to past victimization and trauma had a psychological predisposition to fear for their safety during the period of political and social uncertainty that emerged after the breakup of Yugoslavia. There are some, however, who disagree with this assessment because the oppressors of the Serbs in the past had been Croats and the fact that the Serb establishment not only fought against the latter but also against other ethnic groups within. Instead, it can be said that the Yugoslav war took place more or less a preemptive strike against the potential nationalist forces that the Serbs expected to emerge in the largely multi-ethnic states that had emerged from Yugoslavia. One would state that the Yugoslav war can be viewed as having been senseless because the Serb military aggression was performed in the name of extremist nationalist mythos but without the foundation of even a nation state (Gagnon 119). The belief by the Serbian nationalist leaders of there being a Greater Serbia was based on pure fantasy and this idea does not seem to have had any basis in reality. It is a possibility that the various Serb nationalist leaders, who were behind the start of the war, did not have any real intentions of ever unifying their respective territories after the war into a single.

In conclusion, The Yugoslav war had numerous consequences some of which were immediate and others which took longer to emerge. Some of the more immediate consequences were: the loss of family members who were killed by the armies on both sides of the war as well as the forced deportation that took place among the members of the various ethnic groups in the conflict, for example, Croatians from Serb areas and Serbs from Croatian areas. This conflict ended up being one of the worst wars in modern history because it led to the deaths of many individuals as well as the disruption of the lives of those who were left behind. However, while this conflict proved to be disastrous, it enabled many of the ethnic groups within Yugoslavia to realize their sense of self-determination and this culminated in the securing of their independence.