The Future of Leisure and Human Rights - Essay Example

Research Paper Outline Insert Name Institution Instructor Date The Melbourne cup is a celebration of wine, glamour, fashion, racing and food held at Flemington racecourse. I volunteered to take this group after the old care center asked for one. They cited to me, the importance of this trip to these people. Some of the reasons they gave were that it led to contentment/life satisfaction and psychological wellbeing, reduced hostility, shyness, anxiety, isolation and depression (Dube, & Choyal, 2012). This Melbourne cup is more than just a horse race; it is more of a socio-cultural tradition that almost brings the whole of Australia to a standstill. The Flemington Racecourse is the most significant and popular cultural and sporting venue in Australia. It attracts different kinds of visitors from all over the world ranging from racing enthusiasts to style gurus. Some aspects of leisure are common between the young and the old while some of them are general between these two groups. This is in the sense that there are some things the youth enjoy but they would not fascinate the aged at all. Therefore as I embark on this journey to take the old folks to the Melbourne Cup, I keep in mind that this day is for the aged and not my day therefore every fun activity I consider should be in line with or beyond their expectations and not my own. The kinds of tickets we have with us are virtual tickets in our smartphones which are a basic need, in this time and age. Smartphones are mandatory for shopping purposes, online transactions and any other transactions especially with the facing out of the solid currencies and with the recent adoption of a common global virtual unit of currency. This common global currency was adapted to a large part because of globalization. The kind of passes we have with us are therefore are comprehensive ones, which allow us to access all general public areas and the race course (Nikirk, 2009). Environmental sustainability at this age is around 80 percent. The elimination of most paperwork has reduced pollution to the bare minimum. Our identification cards and driver’s licenses are all contained in our smartphones therefore the elderly women only carry handbags for their make-up. Taking a look at our air tickets, there is a charge on the carbon emissions by the aircraft we will be boarding (Ekins, 2011). We board a bus to head to the airport and on our way; the buildings are mostly green buildings. There are very few petrol stations on the way a phenomenon which can be explained by the mass adoption of hybrid vehicles including the bus we had boarded. These vehicles are solar or electric powered, and the few remaining petrol stations are almost being phased out. The price of petrol has dropped to a record minimum retailing at 2 dollars per gallon due to the diminished demand (ADAMS, 2013). Electric poles and wires are not visible as it was some 17 years ago. The only sign of electricity that can be spotted on the roads is the electric hotspots which can be seen after every couple of kilometers. Electricity is now wirelessly transferred plus the numerous adoption of solar power has reduced the demand for electricity. Solar panels are a common characteristic in every building since it is a requirement by the local government. Solar power serves as either the main or back-up source of electric power especially with banning the use of generators in most countries of the world (Melville, 2010). The bus we board is driverless with sensors to the public transport applications on our smartphones. This model of driverless vehicle is a descendant of the Google driverless car which was first developed 17 years ago. It responds to our wireless request for transportation therefore stopping for us to board. There is no host or hostess in the buss and everything is self-service. Every individual places his/her phone against a spy glass on the door where a user interface appears and they enter their destination and the appropriate fare deducted. After this, the door opens and individuals get in one by one after the verification and payment process. As we get to the airport, a text message is sent to all our smart phones that we have reached our destination and so we alight and head to the boarding area (Lin, Chan, & Ien, 2013). Most of the processes at the airport are automated including restaurants and hotels. We get to the ticket verification area and there are no people but just spyglasses where we place our smart phones and data is synced. Our tickets are verified and we move to the waiting lounge to await boarding. We wait for a few minutes then get alerts on our smartphones to go and board. We board and some differences from 13 years ago are that we are allowed to use our phones during the flight and we can also access the internet over wireless. The flight takes about 3 hours after which we reach Australia international Airport in Sydney. When we get to our destination airport, we hop on an electric driverless train take us to the racecourse. It takes us around 20minutes to get to our destination. On arrival, the place is filled with glamour most people arrive via public transport such as trains, busses, taxis, while others made grand entrances in speed boats and helicopters. The car park is almost empty and this can be attributed to policies of the Australian government encouraging people to use public transport to enable them reduce environmental pollution, reduce traffic, and promote healthy living by reducing cases of obesity. When we get to the Racecourse, we are first taken through the walk of fame red-carpet at the heritage center which is filled with different types of fashion and glamour. We pose for photos with a few local celebrities and the historical brass plaques which depict the Melbourne Cup trophy as a tribute to every individual who has ever won it. We also manage to get a glimpse of the stunning rose gardens whose climate is controlled by conditioning machines therefore managing to keep the roses blossoming throughout the year. We are given a few tips on how the system operates and how the roses are pruned after which we move to the hat making workshop where we are taken through a few steps of making hats which we later take home as souvenirs. We then move on to tour the steward and jockey rooms, the mounting yard, and the state of the art horse stall complex. The horse stall complex is occupied by hybrid cloned horses which are not affected by diseases at all and therefore they have been adopted globally for sports purposes and security. They however do not reproduce naturally. As we get to the race track, we meet camera men setting their state of the art equipment, ready to capture every moment of the event around the race course, some set up on helicopters hovering on the sky, in the jockeys room, in the betting rings, in the steward’s rooms and in the barriers ready to capture every tiny detail. These cameras focus on the fun and flair, the fashion trends in the field, the modern vehicles at the car park and the “who is who” at the members’ pavilion. The media personalities operating these gadgets are restricted from entry into certain areas. The places they are granted access to, are; the banks enclosure, the hill square, the undercroft, the lawn stand, the members grand stand, the bird cage dress room, racing press room, Media Centre press room, general press room, mounting yard, fashions on the field enclosure and bird cage enclosure. I clearly understand that leisure is quite an important part in these old people’s lives. It is not only good for their entertainment, but also for their life satisfaction, psychological wellbeing and health. In their youth, they probably dint have much leisure due to lack of money due to depression hence they made their own fun by playing creative games such as hide and seek, tag, and listening to music. Those brought up in the rural areas had chores to do after school, hence very little time for leisure, while those brought up in large cities played with their neighbors. They also dint enjoy leisure during their childhoods since the great depression forced most of them to look for jobs at ages 13-15 in order to supplement their families. The few who had the privilege to enjoy leisure time, mostly engaged in sports for the competition and exercise. Some of the social activities these folks enjoyed during their youth included community activities, music, skating and dancing. The frequent wars during their youth also limited their leisure time On this day therefore, some of the activities these people enjoyed during this festival included playing darts especially for the men. The darts however was not what they played 17 years ago. These were 3D darts and they had to put on special 3D glasses and wear some gadget on their wrists, there was a screen where the onlookers followed the proceedings from. The old women preferred to go to the karaoke booths and try singing as we eagerly waited for the race to start. They further interacted with other people of their age through playing bingo, darts, cards and dancing to their preferred tunes (Hutchinson & Nimrod, 2012). These are no ordinary old folks like it was 17 years ago, they are well versed with modern technology and can pretty much operate most of the technical stuff on their own. This can pretty much be attributed to online socialization. Some of them are quick to volunteer to tell a few jokes when the master of ceremony calls on a few volunteers to challenge him at cracking the crowd up. Two gentlemen move to the stage and really work the crowd up. It comes out so naturally and therefore people start guessing whether they do stand-up comedy for fun during their free time. They are given gift hampers and this leaves the whole crowd of old folks I had accompanied all giggly. We then went ahead to shop particularly Melbourne Cup merchandise especially for the die-hard fans. The old men and women bought t-shirts, caps, replica trophies, key holders, and cups among many others. They then moved on to get autographs from their favorite riders but this time autographs were not signed on a piece of paper but on their smart phones which had in-built handwriting recognition (Lee, Lan, & Yen, 2011). Some of the old folks volunteer to help out at the first aid section while others offer to help with the catering services. From their actions, it is quite easy to deduce that they like giving back to society because of the activities that make them have fun. I also figure out that these individuals are still active members of society no wonder they look quite strong and healthy for their ages. Some volunteer to play instruments for particular bands while some move to the games arcade to play a couple of board games. There is a performance by a local celebrity on the stage but the most amusing factor is that the celebrity is not present physically, but virtually in the form of a hologram. Most of the people I’m guiding are well educated, economically stable and look quite healthy and strong. They seem to have an optimistic attitude towards life because their levels of education have empowered them economically hence giving them a command over their lives. At this age, racism is a thing of the past. There are no more anti-racism posters, the composition of old folks I have brought to the carnival is also mixed and there are no signs of segregation or anti-racism campaigns. Human rights groups have shifted their attention to consumer protection and clamoring for citizen rights. Gender equality has also been achieved and at the moment it is self-corrective in case of any imbalance. Needs of the disabled are catered for automatically such as disabled toilets, parking spaces and disabled ramps. The same is present for the elderly and children. Architects seem to automatically consider the people with special needs when they design the structure. The food was all served in biodegradable paper plates and plastics were not used at all because of the environmental policies. At the end of the day, cleaning is done by robots which are controlled from a contained room in the racecourse. All in all this was an enjoyable journey both for the old folks and me. It was pretty accommodating to all of us because of the technological advancements and policies the Australian government has adopted due to globalization. The virtual money was really a convenience since there were no issues of waiting for balance or overdrawing credit cards. Consideration for the disabled, the old and children really made me have an easy time managing my group and further more they were quite a strong and healthy lot. In a nutshell, this event upholds the national and international human rights as expected and it also integrates technology in almost every aspect of this event. References: Nikirk, M. (2009). Today's Millennial Generation: A Look Ahead to the Future They Create. Techniques: Connecting Education And Careers, 84(5), 20-23. Lin, H., Chan, T., & Ien, C. (2013). Mapping of future technology themes in sustainable energy. Foresight, 15(1), 54-73. doi:10.1108/14636681311310141 ADAMS, M. K. (2013). NEXT GENERATION SUSTAINABILITY. Independent School, 72(3), 54. Ekins, P. (2011). Environmental sustainability: From environmental valuation to the sustainability gap. Progress In Physical Geography, 35(5), 629-651. doi:10.1177/0309133311423186 Melville, N. P. (2010). INFORMATION SYSTEMS INNOVATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY. MIS Quarterly, 34(1), 1-21. Dube, S., & Choyal, T. (2012). Leisure: Effect on Healthy Ageing. Indian Journal Of Gerontology, 26(3), 414-423. Lee, P., Lan, W., & Yen, T. (2011). Aging Successfully: A Four-Factor Model. Educational Gerontology, 37(3), 210-227. doi:10.1080/03601277.2010.487759 Hutchinson, S. L., & Nimrod, G. (2012). Leisure as a Resource for Successful Aging by Older Adults with Chronic Health Conditions. International Journal Of Aging And Human Development, 74(1), 41-65. Read More

Electric poles and wires are not visible as it was some 17 years ago. The only sign of electricity that can be spotted on the roads is the electric hotspots which can be seen after every couple of kilometers. Electricity is now wirelessly transferred plus the numerous adoption of solar power has reduced the demand for electricity. Solar panels are a common characteristic in every building since it is a requirement by the local government. Solar power serves as either the main or back-up source of electric power especially with banning the use of generators in most countries of the world (Melville, 2010).

The bus we board is driverless with sensors to the public transport applications on our smartphones. This model of driverless vehicle is a descendant of the Google driverless car which was first developed 17 years ago. It responds to our wireless request for transportation therefore stopping for us to board. There is no host or hostess in the buss and everything is self-service. Every individual places his/her phone against a spy glass on the door where a user interface appears and they enter their destination and the appropriate fare deducted.

After this, the door opens and individuals get in one by one after the verification and payment process. As we get to the airport, a text message is sent to all our smart phones that we have reached our destination and so we alight and head to the boarding area (Lin, Chan, & Ien, 2013). Most of the processes at the airport are automated including restaurants and hotels. We get to the ticket verification area and there are no people but just spyglasses where we place our smart phones and data is synced.

Our tickets are verified and we move to the waiting lounge to await boarding. We wait for a few minutes then get alerts on our smartphones to go and board. We board and some differences from 13 years ago are that we are allowed to use our phones during the flight and we can also access the internet over wireless. The flight takes about 3 hours after which we reach Australia international Airport in Sydney. When we get to our destination airport, we hop on an electric driverless train take us to the racecourse.

It takes us around 20minutes to get to our destination. On arrival, the place is filled with glamour most people arrive via public transport such as trains, busses, taxis, while others made grand entrances in speed boats and helicopters. The car park is almost empty and this can be attributed to policies of the Australian government encouraging people to use public transport to enable them reduce environmental pollution, reduce traffic, and promote healthy living by reducing cases of obesity.

When we get to the Racecourse, we are first taken through the walk of fame red-carpet at the heritage center which is filled with different types of fashion and glamour. We pose for photos with a few local celebrities and the historical brass plaques which depict the Melbourne Cup trophy as a tribute to every individual who has ever won it. We also manage to get a glimpse of the stunning rose gardens whose climate is controlled by conditioning machines therefore managing to keep the roses blossoming throughout the year.

We are given a few tips on how the system operates and how the roses are pruned after which we move to the hat making workshop where we are taken through a few steps of making hats which we later take home as souvenirs. We then move on to tour the steward and jockey rooms, the mounting yard, and the state of the art horse stall complex. The horse stall complex is occupied by hybrid cloned horses which are not affected by diseases at all and therefore they have been adopted globally for sports purposes and security.

They however do not reproduce naturally. As we get to the race track, we meet camera men setting their state of the art equipment, ready to capture every moment of the event around the race course, some set up on helicopters hovering on the sky, in the jockeys room, in the betting rings, in the steward’s rooms and in the barriers ready to capture every tiny detail.

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