inside excellent life
On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien.
I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years – working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home. Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome. It’s deeply troubling that I will have to tell my children…
Beginning in 1991, two generations of soccer officials, including the then-presidents of two regional soccer confederations under FIFA – the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, known as CONCACAF, which includes the United States, and the South American Football Confederation, or CONMEBOL, which represents organized soccer in South America – used their positions of trust within their respective organizations to solicit bribes from sports marketers in exchange for the commercial rights to their soccer tournaments. They did this over and over, year after year, tournament after tournament.
“For instance, in 2016, the United States is scheduled to host the centennial edition of the Copa America – the first time that tournament will be held in cities outside South America. Our investigation revealed that what should be an expression of international sportsmanship was used as a vehicle in a broader scheme to line executives’ pockets with bribes totaling $110 million – nearly a third of the legitimate costs of the rights to the tournaments involved.
The criminal activity we have identified did not solely involve sports marketing. Around 2004, bidding began for the opportunity to host the 2010 World Cup, which was ultimately awarded to South Africa – the first time the tournament would be held on the African continent. But even for this historic event, FIFA executives and others corrupted the process by using bribes to influence the hosting decision. The indictment also alleges that corruption and bribery extended to the 2011 FIFA presidential election, and to agreements regarding sponsorship of the Brazilian national soccer team by a major U.S. sportswear company.
In short, these individuals and organizations engaged in bribery to decide who would televise games; where the games would be held; and who would run the organization overseeing organized soccer worldwide. While at least one FIFA executive served as CONCACAF president without pay, there was little altruism involved, as he alone is alleged to have taken more than $10 million in bribes over a 19-year period and amassed a personal fortune from his ill-gotten gains. In many instances, defendants and their co-conspirators planned aspects of their scheme during meetings held here in the United States; they used the banking and wire facilities of the United States to distribute bribe payments; and they planned to profit from their scheme in large part through promotional efforts directed at the growing U.S. market for soccer.”
US Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
Quiet, determined, proud and responsible in my opinion are the four words that can define the message with which Hillary Clinton was a candidate for the US presidential. Her witnesses in the video are the people who meet every day. Clinton wants to be their champion and she said it with a message of just over two minutes centered on families, gay couples and work. The video is a further evolution of Obama “Yes we can”, when she says: “Every day the Americans need a champion. I want to be the champion.” It’s the communication is of a woman who, although very powerful, wants to convince with a message that is simple in words and tones. At the same time it expresses her belief without aggression, but she wants to be perceived empathetically involved with the ideas expressed by her witnesses. Hillary Clinton in her message exalts “the cult of the average people”, which is representative and wants to promote their wellbeing. This step is a key aspect of American culture in which there is the awareness that every person lives in a family or in a social network where should thrive. Everyone is therefore part of a group and the group does not abandon indeed is responsible for the individual. This concept is now being extended to the entire country and not only to individuals in the passage in which Clinton says: “because when families are strong, America is strong.” Clinton, however, will have to try to free themselves from being perceived as belonging to the club of the privileged and rich people. During the two minutes of the candidature presentation she started this shift into a dimension of herself as a sociable person, which in the US is a fundamental value to be recognized as part of the group. To be a winner she must show herself friendly and be considered as a community member, because this work of adaptation to the different social realities that she wants to represent will permit her to be perceived as sincere and trustworthy and above all not belonging to the establishment that excludes rather than include. In this regard, it’s still valid as written in 1968 by J. Ruesch, psychiatrist, and G. Bateson, anthropologist: “The basic need of the American move within a group and his concern to be sociable, have led to an organization very advanced and differentiation within the group … That confidence that an English based on the fact of knowing that the judicial system and the police defend the law and order, the American citizen derives from the belief that the group will support and, if necessary, will put pressure to defend him. Every American will do sacrifices or efforts to be part of a group and subject to the general aims and, in return, e hwill expect to be protected by the group to be joined in the game.” If Clinton succeeds accordingly to win the skepticism that surrounds her, she will win voter approval and she will really struggle to succeed.
According to a new national poll released by the espnW: Women + Sports Summit this weekend, two-thirds of parents think there is “too much emphasis on winning over having fun,” and 87% of parents said they were worried about the risk of injury in sports.
Parents are most concerned about concussions on the high school football field, which increasingly have been in the headlines lately (including on TIME’s cover). Just in the past week, three high school football players in Alabama, North Carolina and New York have died, possibly due to football injuries.
Parental concerns could explain the drop in participation in youth sports in the last several years. In 2008, 44.5% of children ages 6-12 participated in some type of sports organization. Only 40% of children did so in 2013, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. Football, basketball, baseball and soccer have all seen double-digit declines in participation (though lacrosse and hockey have not).”
(Source: Time)
The Wellness Revolution American starts from Spelman College in Atlanta, where the president Beverly Tatum has decided to drop the “business sports,” the great national championships in football, basketball, baseball, track and field to return to the true physical activity, investing activity that cost very little and make a lot for their impact on health and well-being. In one of the oldest US female university in Atlanta have made their appearance courses in pilates, zumba, yoga and martial arts. But the college led by Tatum is not the only one: to choose the less expensive and polluting sports there is also a group of other universities, the New York City College of Technology to the University of Maryland: an experiment that could soon turn into a real new revolution. In her college the 80 athletes cost $ 900,000 per year, which if they were distributed among all the students would allow all to have daily access to courses of physical activity. It’s the defeat of gigantism of the university sport and points out that the fight against doping, bullying of the coaches and the costs of this type of sport is unfortunately only effectively abandoning the exasperate competitive sport. And as noted by Federico Grappling on www.Repubblica.it “no known cases of yogis still ruined by steroids.”
President Beverly Tatum says the school decided it was time to change its focus.
We have to ask ourselves: What is the cost of the program and who is benefiting? How many people are benefiting? Is the benefit worth the cost?Tatum went on to say that the goal is to positively impact the health issues that African American women have faced:
We know that 4 out of 5 women of African descent [are] overweight or obese. We know that black women are twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. We know that black women over the age of 20—something like 40 percent or higher—already have hypertension, high blood pressure.
It’s a move that makes a lot of sense. Sure, intercollegiate sports can be an important part of the college experience, but in this day and age when 70% of adults in our country are overweight or obese and over 25 million people have diabetes, it’s time for some creative solutions.
To do that, Spelman now offers a campus-wide health and fitness program. Through this, all students can take part in weight loss programs, exercise at the college gym, Zumba, dance classes, and more. Already, more than 300 students are taking advantage of this every day.
In what they call a “wellness revolution,” Spelman’s site explains their goal (as taken from an article by Tatum):
The need is urgent, and it is our population — young black women — that is among the most at risk for negative health outcomes. Committed to educating the whole person, mind, body and spirit, we have an opportunity to change this epidemic. Ending intercollegiate participation may seem counterintuitive, given our focus on physical activity, but instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars transporting a small number of athletes to intercollegiate events, we will be investing those dollars in intramural programs and wellness activities that can be sustained for a lifetime.
Of course, not everyone thinks this is a good idea. Some of the athletes are upset, and even threatening to transfer to other schools. But, Spelman is the first school to drop NCAA sports in years, and it’s a move that is re-prioritizing the way we look at things.
Tell us what you think. Is this a good idea?
In the same survey conducted a few years ago by the U.S. Olympic Committee conducted interviews with the athletes of US Olympic team in the period 1984-1998, they were asked what were for them most important coach’s skills.
These athletes ranked at the the top, the ability to teach skills and the ability to motivate and encourage. Following the more typically skills related to the training knowledge and strategic knowledge of sport. Therefore, given that the coaches must be able to plan and conduct their work technically, however, are their interpersonal and psychological skills to make effective their work. These data should make used by those who organize training courses for coaches, in which most of the hours are devoted exclusively to the technical component of this work and little time is dedicated to the development of those skills that instead the top athletes perceive decisive for their success.
For many athletes the year after the Olympics is a period of transition. Often those who have achieved great successes in the four previous years use this year as a time of recovery, to be ready next year to start a new challenge. For younger athletes, however, can be an important year to prove their value in international competitions in a time when the best are not making pressure. And it is on these that I want to focus, with the question: when does a young athlete (girl or boy) begins to dream that she/he could be part of the Olympic team of her/his country? And then it makes sense to dream?
I found support for this idea in a study conducted some years ago by the U.S. Olympic Committee, it was asked this question to the athletes who have been members of the US Olympic team in the period 1984-1998. These are the results:
The differential of age are due to the fact that gymnastics and swimming are sports earlier specialization compared others such as shooting, rowing and track and field athletes where the athletes reach maturity at an older age.
These findings teach us that boys and girls need to nurture their dreams and that they pass from an initial desire to one in which you decide to commit to make it last that it is considered realistic implementation. Second, another strongest trend to emerge from these data was the short period of time between the decision to become Olympian and the belief that it was possible.
The request of psychologist will increase in US in next ten years, and from the United States Department of Labor we have the following information (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Life-Physical-and-Social-Science/Psychologists.htm#tab-6).
“Overall employment of psychologists is expected to grow 22 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Employment growth will vary by specialty.
Employment of clinical, counseling, and school psychologists is expected to grow 22 percent, faster than the average for all occupations. Greater demand for psychological services in schools, hospitals, mental health centers, and social services agencies should drive employment growth.
Demand for clinical and counseling psychologists will increase as people continue to turn to psychologists to help solve or manage their problems. More psychologists will be needed to help people deal with issues such as depression and other mental disorders, marriage and family problems, job stress, and addiction. Psychologists also will be needed to provide services to an aging population, helping people deal with the mental and physical changes that happen as they grow older. Through both research and practice, psychologists are also helping other special groups, such as veterans suffering from war trauma, other trauma survivors, and individuals with autism.
Demand for psychologists in the health care industry is also expected to increase, because their work on teams with doctors, social workers, and other healthcare professionals provides patients with comprehensive, interdisciplinary treatments. In addition to treating mental and behavioral health issues, psychologists work on teams to develop or administer prevention or wellness programs.
As the overall number of students grows, more school psychologists will be needed to work with students, particularly those with special needs, learning disabilities, and behavioral issues. Schools also rely on school psychologists to assess and counsel students. Additionally, school psychologists will be needed to study how both in-school and out-of-school factors affect learning, which teachers and administrators can use to improve education.
Employment of industrial-organizational psychologists is expected to grow 35 percent, much faster than the average for all occupations, as organizations use these psychologists to help select and keep employees, increase productivity, and identify potential workplace improvements. However, because it is a small occupation, the fast employment growth will result in only about 800 new jobs over the 10-year period”.
We also learn that the average salary will be from $45,000 to $80,000 (http://psychology.about.com/od/careersinpsychology/tp/psychology-career-trends.htm).
I share with you these video received by email.
These Olympic swimmers aren’t exhibiting any signs of anxiety… a wonderful example of how such an important event should also be fun! Might be a great video to share with athletes and teams.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPIA7mpm1wU&feature=player_embedded#
