Category: It Pays To Read

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Buying Books or Sending books to our troops in Iraq

a group of avid book readers in Iraq

I have always found it interesting in seeing what people enjoy reading when under pressure… recently, one of my favorite on-line stores ABEBOOKS.COM wrote just about that… they even provided a list of the types of books that Westerners in Iraq — be they civilians or military — bought while they were there.
Most of the books aren’t too different from what the rest of us read, although I don’t know how many translation books anyone buys… say English -Ukrainian or English- Turkey… but Harry Potter is one of the big sellers…. as are practical books on military issues. Here’s a list of some of the books… but check the site for a more complete listing!
 
Books of Fiction
 
The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
·  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
·  Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
·  Mostly Harmless, Douglas Adams
·  The Collector, John Fowles
·  The Devil’s Guard, George Robert Elford
·  The Unwanted, John Saul
·  The Alchemist, Ken Goddard
·  Apollyon: The Destroyer is Unleashed, Tim LaHaye
·  Master of Dragons, Margaret Weis
·  The Illuminati, Larry Burkett
I have also send VHS and DVD movies to Iraq and Afghanistan…also a big hit.
Roger Freberg
 
 

 Books of Fiction , JD Salinger·  , JK Rowling·  , Larry McMurtry·  , Douglas Adams·  , John Fowles·  , George Robert Elford·  , John Saul·  , Ken Goddard·  , Tim LaHaye·  , Margaret Weis·  , Larry BurkettRoger Freberg 

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Women’s Work is Never Done?

a man may work from sun to sun...Didn’t your mother teach you…‘a man may work from sun to sun… but a woman’s work is never done!”

They were and are wrong…. and they’re not alone. Roughly 70% of Sociologists ‘felt’ that women were shouldering the greater ‘burden.’ Sometimes fact is what you want it to be.

In a recent study by Burda, Hamermesh & Weil, overall American men work harder than American women. Are you surprised? Now that the ‘burden’ is shifting more evenly… women in America are sharing in some of blessings of equal work… shorter life expectancy, heart attacks and all the goodies associated with the stress of working ‘outside the home.’

Now, this is not to say that women aren’t carrying more than their load in more ‘civilized’ countries like Switzerland or Iran… but in the United States, men are doing a lot… it’s part of our heritage where it has for many folks always taken two pulling together to survive.

So…. how did I come to this discuss this wonderful unemotional topic?… Laura lobbed it over to me… I think she likes to stir things up?

Roger Freberg ( not working as hard as the average American male… and feeling Okay about it)

 

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Accenting the ‘Positive’ in Psychology

Being Married to a Psychologist is interesting, entertaining and educational.

An area of Psychology that has an appeal to me is “Positive Psychology.” Too many times, folks dwell on the negatives, whereas, investing the same amount of time looking at situations from a ‘positive’ point of view is more fruitful.

a great textbook on Positive PsychologyI just picked up a book that covers the subject…. “Character Strength and Virtues” .

From Wikipedia… Positive Psychology is defined:

“The development of the Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) handbook represents the first attempt on the part of the research community to identify and classify the positive psychological traits of human beings. Much like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of general psychology, the CSV provides a theoretical framework to assist in developing practical applications for positive psychology. This manual identifies six classes of virtue (i.e. “core virtues”), made up of twenty-four measurable character strengths.

The organization of these virtues and strengths is as follows:

  1. Wisdom and Knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective
  2. Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality
  3. Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence
  4. Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership
  5. Temperance: forgiveness and mercy, humility and modesty, prudence, self-regulation
  6. Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality

Practical applications of positive psychology include helping individuals and organizations correctly identify their strengths and use them to increase and sustain their respective levels of well-being. Therapists, counselors, coaches, and various other psychological professionals can use the new methods and techniques to build and broaden the lives of individuals who are not necessarily suffering from mental illness or disorder.”

Roger Freberg

 

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Dating their female athletes… a male Coach’s Perk?

Ah, you look soooo lonely, babyWhen intercollegiate athletic competition was finally made available to women, it wasn’t surprising to learn that most of the coaches of women’s teams at the time were…well… women. That was back in the ’70’s… today, over 70% of the collegiate coaches of women’s teams are men.

And although some like to define the issue as being a problem with ‘lesbian’ women coaches and their athletes… it is really all about the guys having problems keeping ‘Mr. Winkie in the pants.’ It appears to be no small problem.

There was a ‘joke’ that circulated about a school here in California that seemed to turn a blind eye to coaches developing ‘inappropriate sexual relationships’ with one or multiple athletes under his ‘control.’ The ‘joke’ — after one coach was ‘fired’ — was that the job came with an additional perk… you could date your athletes. This wasn’t the only problem, the athletes in question were underage high school females.

 What can a collegiate athlete do when she finds herself confronted with one of these predators? Sometimes going to other coaches or the administration is unproductive… and could actually jeapardize one’s scholarship and effectively end a promicing athletic career. As one administrator said ,”we will not sacrifice a winning coach because a problem of one athlete.”

So, who thinks it is a problem? Obviously the harrassed athlete doesn’t like the idea, but neither do many coaches , nor do other athletes on the affected team. In a study conducted by Karen, 83% surveyed felt that a romantic relationship between a coach and a member of their team hurt the team. Here’s Karen’s Survey. 

Here’s how others view the issue:

Sexual harassment is a violation of law and impairs girls’ and women’s access to educational resources. Romantic and/or sexual relationships between coaches and athletes are regarded as an abuse of professional status and power.

Sexual harrassment of female athletes is still a problem. In time, institutions can be made to heal to the issue, but the responsibility today remains with the parents taking an active role in their daughter’s education and athletic experiences. Parent’s will be criticized for being involved… but it’s all about the girls… not about schools or coaches.

Roger Freberg