Paralympics: Where Heroes Come

Examining the Paralympic Games as an Institution in our Society

In our previous activities you examined the needs and wants of individuals who had suffered physical disabilities in the war, which resulted in the creation of the Stoke-Mandeville Games. When a culture finds a way to meet its needs and wants in this way, it creates an institution. Using the information you have accessed on the Internet, particularly the Paralympic Games charts, find specific examples of how each of the following features of an institution is illustrated by the Paralympic Games.

1. Institutions are made up of connected roles or jobs.

Question: Look at the chart on page 59 of the book Paralympics: Where Heroes Come, or look at the Games Logistics charts. What are some of the different roles and jobs of the people involved in the Paralympic Games?

2. Institutions change over time.

Question: How do the Paralympic Games charts and the Games Logistics charts you have looked at show how the Paralympic Games have changed over time?

3. Institutions help people to get what they want.

Question: How do the Paralympic Games help people get what they want? Your answer should refer to the wants of the Paralympic athletes and the wants of those who view the games. How have the wants of these athletes changed over time?

4. Through institutions we learn the roles we are expected to carry out in our culture.

Question: How do Paralympic athletes act as role models for people in our society? Give examples.

5. Institutions require direction, order, and security.

Question: Give examples of how the people who organize the Paralympic Games meet the needs for direction, order, and security.

Direction: Decide on the tasks to be done, assign the tasks to members as roles, and provide rules that instruct members on how to carry out tasks.

Order: Understanding and agreeing to carry out the tasks according to the rules established.

Security: Ensuring that there are ways to deal with members who do not follow the rules, and with people from outside the institution who try to disrupt the operation of the institution.

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