Professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who earns their living from a specified professional activity. The term describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skills necessary to perform their specific role within that profession. In addition, most professionals are subject to strict codes of conduct, enshrining rigorous ethical and moral obligations. Professional standards of practice and ethics for a particular field are agreed upon and maintained through recognized professional associations, such as the IEEE; some definitions of "professional" limit this term to those professions that serve some important aspect of public interest and the general good of society. In some cultures, the term is used as shorthand to describe a particular social stratum of well-educated workers who enjoy considerable work autonomy and who are engaged in creative and intellectually challenging work. In narrow usage, not all expertise is considered a profession.
Although sometimes incorrectly referred to as professions, occupations such as skilled construction and maintenance work are more thought of as trades or crafts. The completion of an apprenticeship is associated with skilled labour, or trades such as carpenter, mason, painter and other similar occupations. A related distinction would be that a professional does mental work, as opposed to engaging in physical work. Although professional training appears to be ideologically neutral, it may be biased towards those with higher class backgrounds and a formal education. In his 2000 book, Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System that Shapes Their Lives, Jeff Schmidt observes that qualified professionals are less creative and diverse in their opinions and habits than non-professionals, which he attributes to the subtle indoctrination and filtering which accompanies the process of professional training, his evidence is both qualitative and quantitative, including professional examinations, industry statistics and personal accounts of trainees and professionals.
A key theoretical dispute arises from the observation that established professions are subject to strict codes of conduct. Some have thus argued that these codes of conduct, agreed upon and maintained through recognized professional associations, are a key element of what constitutes any profession. Others have argued that strict codes of conduct and the professional associations that maintain them are a consequence of'successful' professionalization, rather than an intrinsic element of the definition of professional; the etymology and historical meaning of the term professional is from Middle English, from profes, having professed one's vows, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin professus, from Latin, past participle of profitēri to profess, from pro- before + fatēri to acknowledge. Thus, as people became more and more specialized in their trade, they began to'profess' their skill to others, and'vow' to perform their trade to the highest known standard. With a reputation to uphold, trusted workers of a society who have a specific trade are considered professionals.
The usage of the word'profess' declined from the late 1800s to the 1950s, just as the term'professional' was gaining popularity from 1900–2010. Notably, in American English the rise in popularity of the term'professional' started at the beginning of the 20th century whereas in British English it started in the 1930s and grew fastest in the 1960s and 70s. Centre for the Study of Professions Organizational culture Professional boundaries Professional sports Semi-professional Amateur
Iran
Iran called Persia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. With over 81 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 18th most populous country. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world. Iran is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, to the west by Turkey and Iraq; the country's central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance. Tehran is the country's capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BCE, it was first unified by the Iranian Medes in the seventh century BCE, reaching its greatest territorial size in the sixth century BCE, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire, which stretched from Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley, becoming one of the largest empires in history.
The Iranian realm fell to Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE and was divided into several Hellenistic states. An Iranian rebellion culminated in the establishment of the Parthian Empire, succeeded in the third century CE by the Sasanian Empire, a leading world power for the next four centuries. Arab Muslims conquered the empire in the seventh century CE; the Islamization of Iran led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, by the country's dominant religion, Iran's major contributions to art and science spread within the Muslim rule during the Islamic Golden Age. After two centuries, a period of various native Muslim dynasties began, which were conquered by the Seljuq Turks and the Ilkhanate Mongols; the rise of the Safavids in the 15th century led to the reestablishment of a unified Iranian state and national identity, with the country's conversion to Shia Islam marking a turning point in Iranian and Muslim history. Under Nader Shah, Iran was one of the most powerful states in the 18th century, though by the 19th century, a series of conflicts with the Russian Empire led to significant territorial losses.
The Iranian Constitutional Revolution in the early 20th century led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy and the country's first legislature. A 1953 coup instigated by the United Kingdom and the United States resulted in greater autocracy and growing Western political influence. Subsequent widespread dissatisfaction and unrest against the monarchy led to the 1979 Revolution and the establishment of an Islamic republic, a political system that includes elements of a parliamentary democracy vetted and supervised by a theocracy governed by an autocratic "Supreme Leader". During the 1980s, the country was engaged in a war with Iraq, which lasted for eight years and resulted in a high number of casualties and economic losses for both sides; the sovereign state of Iran is a founding member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC, OPEC. It is a major regional and middle power, its large reserves of fossil fuels – which include the world's largest natural gas supply and the fourth largest proven oil reserves – exert considerable influence in international energy security and the world economy.
The country's rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 22 UNESCO World Heritage sites, the third largest number in Asia and 11th largest in the world. Iran is a multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, the largest being Persians, Azeris and Lurs. Organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticized Iran's women's rights record; the term Iran derives directly from Middle Persian Ērān, first attested in a third-century inscription at Rustam Relief, with the accompanying Parthian inscription using the term Aryān, in reference to the Iranians. The Middle Iranian ērān and aryān are oblique plural forms of gentilic nouns ēr- and ary-, both deriving from Proto-Iranian *arya-, recognized as a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *ar-yo-, meaning "one who assembles". In the Iranian languages, the gentilic is attested as a self-identifier, included in ancient inscriptions and the literature of the Avesta, remains in other Iranian ethnic names Alan and Iron.
Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due to the writings of Greek historians who referred to all of Iran as Persís, meaning "land of the Persians", while Persis itself was one of the provinces of ancient Iran, today defined as Fars. As the most extensive interaction the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, the term persisted long after the Greco-Persian Wars. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, effective March 22 that year; as The New York Times explained at the time, "At the suggestion of the Persian Legation in Berlin, the Tehran government, on the Persian New Year, March 21, 1935, substituted Iran for Persia as the official name of the country." Opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably. Today, both Iran and Persia are used in cultural contexts, while Iran remains irreplaceab
Promotion and relegation
In sports leagues and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. The best-ranked team in the lower division are promoted to the higher division for the next season, the worst-ranked team in the higher division are relegated to the lower division for the next season. In some leagues, playoffs or qualifying rounds are used to determine rankings; this process can continue through several levels of divisions, with teams being exchanged between levels 1 and 2, levels 2 and 3, levels 3 and 4, so on. During the season, teams that are high enough in the league table that they would qualify for promotion are sometimes said to be in the promotion zone, those at the bottom are in the relegation zone. An alternate system of league organisation, used in the US and Canada is a closed model based on licensing or franchises; this maintains the same teams from year to year, with occasional admission of expansion teams and relocation of existing teams, with no team movement between the major league and minor leagues.
The number of teams exchanged between the divisions is always identical. Exceptions occur when the higher division wishes to change the size of its membership, or has lost one or more of its clubs and wishes to restore its previous membership size, in which case fewer teams are relegated from that division, or more teams are accepted for promotion from the division below; such variations cause a "knock-on" effect through the lower divisions. For example, in 1995 the Premier League voted to reduce its numbers by two and achieved the desired change by relegating four teams instead of the usual three, whilst allowing only two promotions from Football League Division One. In the absence of such extraordinary circumstances, the pyramid-like nature of most European sports league systems can still create knock-on effects at the regional level. For example, in a higher league with a large geographical footprint and multiple feeder leagues each representing smaller geographical regions, should most or all of the relegated teams in the higher division come from one particular region the number of teams to be promoted or relegated from each of the feeder leagues may have to be adjusted, or one or more teams playing near the boundary between the feeder leagues may have to transfer from one feeder league to another to maintain numerical balance.
The system is said to be the defining characteristic of the "European" form of professional sports league organization. Promotion and relegation have the effect of allowing the maintenance of a hierarchy of leagues and divisions, according to the relative strength of their teams, they maintain the importance of games played by many low-ranked teams near the end of the season, which may be at risk of relegation. In contrast, a low-ranked US or Canadian team's final games serve little purpose, in fact losing may be beneficial to such teams, yielding a better position in the next year's draft. Although not intrinsic to the system, problems can occur due to the differing monetary payouts and revenue-generating potential that different divisions provide to their clubs. For example, financial hardship has sometimes occurred in leagues where clubs do not reduce their wage bill once relegated; this occurs for one of two reasons: first, the club can't move underperforming players on, or second, the club is gambling on being promoted back straight away and is prepared to take a financial loss for one or two seasons to do so.
Some leagues offer "parachute payments" to its relegated teams for the following year. The payouts are higher than the prize money received by some non-relegated teams and are designed to soften the financial hit that clubs take whilst dropping out of the Premier League. However, in many cases these parachute payments just serve to inflate the costs of competing for promotion among the lower division clubs as newly relegated teams retain a financial advantage. In some countries and at certain levels, teams in line for promotion may have to satisfy certain non-playing conditions in order to be accepted by the higher league, such as financial solvency, stadium capacity, facilities. If these are not satisfied, a lower-ranked team may be promoted in their place, or a team in the league above may be saved from relegation. While the primary purpose of the promotion/relegation system is to maintain competitive balance, it may be used as a disciplinary tool in special cases. On several occasions, the Italian Football Federation has relegated clubs found to have been involved in match-fixing.
This occurred most in 2006, when the season's initial champions Juventus were relegated to Serie B, two other teams were relegated but restored to Serie A after appeal. In some Communist nations several in Europe after World War II, clubs were promoted and relegated for political reasons rather than performance; this was made evident in the late eighties by teams such as Romanian Steaua București and Yugoslav Red Star Belgrade, both winners of the European Champions League despite the rampant level of corruption in their Communist local leagues. Promotion and relegation may be used in international sports tournaments. In tennis, the Davis Cup and Fed Cup have promotion and relegation, with a'World Group' (split into two divisions in the Fe
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
The Islamic Republic of Iranian Broadcasting called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian media corporation which holds a monopoly of domestic radio and television services in Iran, is among the largest media organizations in the Asian and Pacific regions, a regular member of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. IRIB is independent of the Iranian government, but its head is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. With 13,000 employees and branches in 20 countries worldwide, including France, Malaysia, United Kingdom, the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting offers both domestic and foreign radio and television services, broadcasting 12 domestic television channels, 4 international news television channels, six satellite television channels for international audiences, 30 provincial television channel available countrywide, half of which make use of local accents or dialects; the IRIB provides twelve radio stations for domestic audiences and through the IRIB World Service thirty radio stations are available for foreign and international audiences.
It publishes the Persian-language newspaper Jam-e Jam. According to Article 175 of the Iranian constitution, The freedom of expression and dissemination of thoughts in the Radio and Television of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be guaranteed in keeping with the Islamic criteria and the best interests of the country; the appointment and dismissal of the head of the Radio and Television of the Islamic Republic of Iran rests with the Leader. A council consisting of two representatives each of the President, the head of the judiciary branch, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Iranian parliament shall supervise the functioning of this organization; the policies and the manner of managing the organization and its supervision will be determined by law. Prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, IRIB was known as Television; the constitution further specifies that the director of the organization is chosen directly by the Supreme Leader for five years, the head of the judiciary branch, the president, the Islamic Consultative Assembly oversee the organization.
The first director after the 1979 Revolution was Sadeq Qotbzadeh. The current director is Abdulali Ali-Asghari; the previous directors included Mohammad Sarafraz, Ezzatollah Zarghami, Ali Larijani and Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani. Sima Festival is the biggest and most important TV productions contest sponsored annually by IRIB organization. Winners are the best producers, directors and directors in various categories honored by organization's head and receive valuable prizes. IRIB has branches in 20 countries worldwide, including France, Belgium, Malaysia, UK, the United States, broadcasts in more than 30 languages. IRIB broadcasts 12 national television channels, 4 international news television channel, 6 satellite television channels for international viewers, 30 provincial television channel all around Iran. Fifty percent of those 30 provincial channels use the local dialect; the IRIB provides twelve major radio stations as well, an international service. IRIB has 27 world service channels. IRIB has Arabic, Hindi and Spanish channels, besides the native Persian.
IRIB produces 5000 hours of 300 movies and 20,000 minutes of animated movies, annually. Total number of employees: 13,000 to 50,000 45.5% of Iran's youth report trust news broadcast by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Total budget of IRIB is about $900 million–1 billion, maintained by advertisement and governmental budget. Soroush Press, a publisher of some magazines including Soroush Weekly, Soroush Koodakan, Soroush Nojavan, Soroush Javan, Soroush Banovan and publishes books, too, it was founded in 1975. Jam-e Jam is the official organ of the IRIB organization. IRIB News Department is a news agency affiliated to the IRIB Organization. IRIB has a movie production company, called Sima Film. IRIB outsources media production to numerous owned domestic media companies. Produces technical equipment such as transmition and switching systems for IRIB IT & ICT Company related to IRIB Which is provide IPTV services and it has 26 branch offices in Iran. Provides CD/DVD of IRIB programs and holds some special short term education in 31 offices all over provinces of Iran. is the holding company of 17 companies related to IRIB, such as Soroush Multimedia Co.
Soroush Rasaneh Co. and TAKTA CO. IRIB University provides some courses related to media is responsible for research in the social and religion fields related to media. Known before as Cima Media Int'l, is the sole representative of IRIB in distribution of its productions as well as program acquisition for local IRIB TV channels; the director general of IRIB is Dr. Abdol Ali Aliaskari, appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran in 2016. Pursuant to the United States Presidential Executive Order 13628, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is subjected to U. S. sanctions under Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act which gives the Treasury Department the authority to designate those in Iran who restrict or deny the free flow of information to or from the Iranian people. IRIB International Conference Center Media of Iran Censorship in Iran official website Official website for IRIB's domestic radio services Official web
Zob Ahan Isfahan BC
Zob Ahan Basketball Club is an Iranian professional basketball club based in Isfahan, Iran. They compete in the Iranian Basketball Super League. Zob Ahan has won a record nine Iranian Super League championships, it is sponsored by the Isfahan Steel Company, which goes by the name Zob Ahan. Zob Ahan basketball team is the basketball club of the multisport Zob Ahan Sport Club. 1991–92: Champions 1992–93: Champions 1993–94: Champions 1994–95: Champions 1995–96: 2nd place 1996–97: Champions 1997–98: 2nd place 1998–99: Champions 1999–00: Champions 2000–01: Champions 2001–02: Champions 2003–04: 3rd place 2004–05: 3rd place 2005–06: 6th place 2006–07: 4th place 2007–08: 4th place 2008–09: 2nd place 2009–10: 2nd place 2010–11: 2nd place 1998: 3rd place 2000: 2nd place 2002: 4th place 2003: 3rd place 2010: 3rd place 2011: 4th place 1990: 4th place 1995: 7th place 1997: 8th place 2000: 7th place 2001: 9th place Official website page on Asia-Basket
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one or more one-point free throws; the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play is mandated. Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a variety of shots -- a dunk, it is a violation to lift or drag one's pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands resume dribbling.
The five players on each side at a time fall into five playing positions: the tallest player is the center, the tallest and strongest is the power forward, a shorter but more agile big man is the small forward, the shortest players or the best ball handlers are the shooting guard and the point guard, who implements the coach's game plan by managing the execution of offensive and defensive plays. Informally, players may play three-on-three, two-on-two, one-on-one. Invented in 1891 by Canadian-American gym teacher James Naismith in Springfield, United States, basketball has evolved to become one of the world's most popular and viewed sports; the National Basketball Association is the most significant professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries and level of competition. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague and FIBA Americas League; the FIBA Basketball World Cup and Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament are the major international events of the sport and attract top national teams from around the world.
Each continent hosts regional competitions for national teams, like FIBA AmeriCup. The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament feature top national teams from continental championships; the main North American league is the WNBA, whereas strongest European clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women. In early December 1891, Canadian James Naismith, a physical education professor and instructor at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School in Springfield, was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day, he sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, balls had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored.
Basketball was played with a soccer ball. These round balls from "association football" were made, at the time, with a set of laces to close off the hole needed for inserting the inflatable bladder after the other sewn-together segments of the ball's cover had been flipped outside-in; these laces could dribbling to be unpredictable. A lace-free ball construction method was invented, this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith; the first balls made for basketball were brown, it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball, now in common use. Dribbling was not part of the original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement. Dribbling was introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls. Dribbling was common by 1896, with a rule against the double dribble by 1898; the peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were replaced by metal hoops with backboards.
A further change was soon made, so the ball passed through. Whenever a person got the ball in the basket, his team would gain a point. Whichever team got; the baskets were nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators in the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference. Naismith's handwritten diaries, discovered by his granddaughter in early 2006, indicate that he was nervous about the new game he had invented, which incorporated rules from a children's game called duck on a rock, as many had failed before it. Frank Mahan, one of the players from the original
Asia
Asia is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Asia is notable for not only its overall large size and population, but dense and large settlements, as well as vast populated regions, its 4.5 billion people constitute 60% of the world's population. In general terms, Asia is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Arctic Ocean; the border of Asia with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. It has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity.
The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. The most accepted boundaries place Asia to the east of the Suez Canal separating it from Africa. China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce and colonialism; the accidental discovery of a trans-Atlantic route from Europe to America by Columbus while in search for a route to India demonstrates this deep fascination. The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Sikhism, as well as many other religions.
Given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may have more to do with human geography than physical geography. Asia varies across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, environments, historical ties and government systems, it has a mix of many different climates ranging from the equatorial south via the hot desert in the Middle East, temperate areas in the east and the continental centre to vast subarctic and polar areas in Siberia. The boundary between Asia and Africa is the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Suez Canal; this makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai peninsula in Asia and the remainder of the country in Africa. The border between Asia and Europe was defined by European academics; the Don River became unsatisfactory to northern Europeans when Peter the Great, king of the Tsardom of Russia, defeating rival claims of Sweden and the Ottoman Empire to the eastern lands, armed resistance by the tribes of Siberia, synthesized a new Russian Empire extending to the Ural Mountains and beyond, founded in 1721.
The major geographical theorist of the empire was a former Swedish prisoner-of-war, taken at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and assigned to Tobolsk, where he associated with Peter's Siberian official, Vasily Tatishchev, was allowed freedom to conduct geographical and anthropological studies in preparation for a future book. In Sweden, five years after Peter's death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Urals as the border of Asia. Tatishchev announced; the latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century; the border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects. The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is placed along the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, although it is sometimes placed further north; the border between Asia and the region of Oceania is placed somewhere in the Malay Archipelago.
The Maluku Islands in Indonesia are considered to lie on the border of southeast Asia, with New Guinea, to the east of the islands, being wholly part of Oceania. The terms Southeast Asia and Oceania, devised in the 19th century, have had several vastly different geographic meanings since their inception; the chief factor in determining which islands of the Malay Archipelago are Asian has been the location of the colonial possessions of the various empires there. Lewis and Wigen assert, "The narrowing of'Southeast Asia' to its present boundaries was thus a gradual process." Geographical Asia is a cultural artifact of European conceptions of the world, beginning with the Ancient Greeks, being imposed onto other cultures, an imprecise concept causing endemic contention about what it means. Asia does not correspond to the cultural borders of its various types of constituents. From the time of Herodotus a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system on the grounds that there is no substantial physical separation between
2018–19 Iranian Basketball Super League
Iran
