Tenacity game. Tenacity: Mindfulness Video Game Boosts Brain’s Attention Networks in Adolescents

How does the Tenacity video game impact brain areas associated with attention in middle schoolers. Can mindfulness-based games improve cognitive processes in adolescents. What are the potential benefits of using video games for attention training in teenagers.

The Innovative Approach of Tenacity: Merging Mindfulness with Gaming

In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of California, Irvine have developed a unique video game called “Tenacity” that aims to enhance mindfulness and attention in middle school students. This innovative approach taps into the widespread popularity of gaming among adolescents, with an estimated 97% of teenagers engaging in video games during their leisure time.

Unlike traditional educational games that focus on conveying factual information, Tenacity takes a different route. Elena Patsenko, the lead author of the study and a research scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds, explains, “Our aim is different. We want to actually change the cognitive or emotional processes — how people think or process information they’re trying to learn.”

How Tenacity Works

Tenacity is designed to train mindfulness through a simple yet effective mechanism:

• Players navigate through calming environments like ancient Greek ruins and outer space
• The game requires players to count their breaths by tapping a touch screen
• Users tap once per breath for the first four breaths, then twice on the fifth breath
• Points are earned and progress is made by accurately counting sequences of five breaths
• This process encourages focus on breathing, promoting a state of present-moment awareness

The Science Behind Tenacity: A Rigorous Study Design

To evaluate the effectiveness of Tenacity, researchers conducted a comprehensive study involving 95 middle school-aged participants. The study design included:

1. Random assignment of participants to two groups:
   • Tenacity gameplay group
   • Control group playing “Fruit Ninja” (an attention-demanding game without mindfulness elements)
2. Instructions for both groups to play their assigned game for 30 minutes daily over two weeks
3. Brain scans conducted before and after the two-week period
4. Assessment of attention-related tasks in a laboratory setting

Neuroplastic Changes: Tenacity’s Impact on the Brain

The results of the study revealed significant changes in the brains of adolescents who played Tenacity. These changes were not observed in the control group playing Fruit Ninja.

Key Findings

The Tenacity group exhibited:

• Alterations in connectivity between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left inferior parietal cortex
• These brain areas are crucial for attention processes
• Improved performance on unrelated attention tasks in the laboratory
• Association between brain changes and enhanced attention task performance

How does Tenacity differ from traditional attention training methods? Patsenko addresses this question: “Training attention has been criticized in the scientific community because we often use a particular task to train attention and see improvement in that task alone, which doesn’t translate into other tasks or day-to-day activities. Here, we trained young people with Tenacity (a breath-counting game) and tested them with another unrelated attention task in the lab. We found that brain changes following two weeks of gameplay were associated with improvement in the performance on that unrelated attentional task.”

The Potential of Video Games as Tools for Cognitive Enhancement

The Tenacity study highlights the untapped potential of video games as powerful tools for cognitive enhancement, particularly in younger populations. While numerous smartphone apps targeting mindfulness and meditation exist for adults, video games offer a unique opportunity to engage teenagers in mindfulness training.

Richard Davidson, co-author of the study and William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, emphasizes the significance of these findings: “This study illustrates that changes in objective measures of brain function and behavior are achievable with relatively short amounts of practice on a novel video game. Video games may be a powerful medium for training attention and other positive qualities in teenagers, and even small amounts of practice induce neuroplastic changes.”

Implications for Emotional Health and Learning

Why is the ability to control attention voluntarily important? Research has shown that this skill is closely linked to:

• Emotional well-being
• Foundational aspects of learning
• Reduced susceptibility to distractions

By improving attention through engaging video games like Tenacity, there is potential to positively impact various aspects of adolescent development and academic performance.

Addressing the Attention Crisis in the Digital Age

In an era where digital distractions are omnipresent, the need for effective attention-training tools has never been greater. Tenacity represents a promising approach to combating what many consider an attention crisis among young people.

The Attention Economy and Its Impact

How does the modern digital landscape affect attention spans? The constant barrage of notifications, social media updates, and online content has led to:

• Decreased ability to focus on single tasks for extended periods
• Increased multitasking behavior, often at the expense of deep concentration
• Challenges in academic and professional settings that require sustained attention

By leveraging the appeal of video games, Tenacity and similar approaches could provide a counterbalance to these attention-depleting forces.

The Future of Mindfulness-Based Video Games

The success of Tenacity opens up exciting possibilities for the future development of mindfulness-based video games. What potential applications and improvements might we see in this field?

Expanding the Scope

Future iterations of mindfulness games could explore:

• Targeting specific cognitive functions beyond attention, such as working memory or emotional regulation
• Incorporating more complex gameplay mechanics while maintaining the core mindfulness principles
• Adapting the games for different age groups, from young children to adults
• Integrating virtual or augmented reality technologies for more immersive experiences

Personalization and Adaptive Learning

How can mindfulness games be tailored to individual needs? Advanced versions could include:

• AI-driven adaptation of difficulty levels based on player performance
• Customizable environments and themes to suit personal preferences
• Integration with wearable devices to incorporate real-time biofeedback
• Personalized mindfulness exercises based on identified areas of improvement

Ethical Considerations and Potential Challenges

As with any technology that aims to influence cognitive processes, the development and implementation of mindfulness-based video games like Tenacity raise important ethical questions and potential challenges.

Balancing Screen Time

How can we ensure that the use of these games doesn’t contribute to excessive screen time? Considerations include:

• Setting appropriate time limits for gameplay
• Encouraging a balance between digital and offline mindfulness practices
• Educating parents and educators about the proper use of these tools

Data Privacy and Security

What measures need to be in place to protect user data, especially when dealing with minors? Key aspects to address:

• Robust data encryption and secure storage protocols
• Clear and transparent privacy policies
• Parental controls and consent mechanisms
• Compliance with regulations such as COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act)

Potential for Misuse or Overreliance

How can we prevent these games from being seen as a panacea for attention-related issues? Important points to consider:

• Emphasizing that these games are tools, not substitutes for professional help when needed
• Educating users about the importance of a holistic approach to cognitive health
• Conducting long-term studies to assess the sustained benefits and potential drawbacks

Integration of Mindfulness Games in Educational Settings

The promising results of the Tenacity study raise intriguing possibilities for integrating mindfulness-based video games into educational curricula. How might these tools be effectively incorporated into school settings?

Potential Implementation Strategies

• Short mindfulness gaming sessions at the beginning of the school day or before challenging subjects
• Integration into physical education or health classes as part of overall wellness education
• After-school programs focused on mindfulness and attention training
• Use as a reward system for completing academic tasks, promoting both learning and cognitive enhancement

Teacher Training and Support

For successful integration, educators would need:

• Professional development on the principles of mindfulness and the game’s mechanics
• Resources for tracking student progress and adjusting implementation strategies
• Guidelines for identifying students who may benefit most from these interventions

Measuring Academic Impact

To justify the inclusion of mindfulness games in educational settings, research should focus on:

• Long-term effects on academic performance across various subjects
• Impact on standardized test scores and cognitive assessments
• Improvements in classroom behavior and social interactions
• Potential reduction in symptoms of attention-related disorders

The Intersection of Neuroscience, Gaming, and Mental Health

The development of Tenacity represents a fascinating convergence of neuroscience, video game design, and mental health interventions. This interdisciplinary approach opens up new avenues for research and application.

Advancing Neuroscientific Understanding

How can games like Tenacity contribute to our knowledge of the brain? Potential areas of exploration include:

• More detailed mapping of attention networks and their plasticity
• Investigation of the neural correlates of mindfulness in developing brains
• Comparison of game-induced changes with those resulting from traditional meditation practices

Gamification of Mental Health Interventions

The success of Tenacity may pave the way for more gamified approaches to mental health, such as:

• Games designed to alleviate symptoms of anxiety or depression
• Interactive tools for cognitive behavioral therapy
• Virtual reality experiences for exposure therapy

Collaborative Research Opportunities

The multidisciplinary nature of this field encourages collaboration between:

• Neuroscientists and cognitive psychologists
• Game designers and user experience experts
• Education specialists and child development researchers
• Mental health professionals and public health policymakers

Such collaborations could lead to more sophisticated and effective interventions that blend scientific rigor with engaging user experiences.

Scaling Up: From Research to Widespread Implementation

While the initial results of the Tenacity study are promising, the challenge lies in scaling up from a controlled research environment to widespread implementation. What steps are necessary to bring mindfulness-based video games to a broader audience?

Refining the Game Design

To appeal to a wider user base, developers might consider:

• Creating multiple game themes or storylines to cater to diverse interests
• Implementing social features that allow for collaborative mindfulness practice
• Developing a mobile version for increased accessibility
• Ensuring compatibility across various devices and platforms

Large-Scale Clinical Trials

Before widespread adoption, larger studies are needed to:

• Confirm the initial findings across diverse populations
• Assess long-term benefits and potential side effects
• Compare efficacy with other attention-training methods
• Evaluate cost-effectiveness in various settings (schools, clinics, homes)

Partnerships and Distribution

To reach a broader audience, consider:

• Collaborations with educational technology companies
• Partnerships with mental health organizations and school districts
• Integration with existing health and wellness platforms
• Development of a freemium model to ensure accessibility while supporting ongoing research

Public Awareness and Education

Successful implementation will require:

• Public education campaigns about the benefits of mindfulness training
• Clear communication of the scientific basis for these interventions
• Guidelines for parents and educators on appropriate use and expectations
• Addressing concerns and misconceptions about screen time and gaming

As research in this field progresses, the potential for mindfulness-based video games to positively impact attention, cognitive function, and overall well-being in adolescents becomes increasingly apparent. The Tenacity study marks an important step forward in harnessing the power of gaming for cognitive enhancement, opening up exciting possibilities for future developments in neuroscience, education, and mental health interventions.

Mindfulness video game changes areas of the brain associated with attention

With an estimated 97 percent of adolescents playing video games in their free time, there is growing potential to design games as tools for attention-building instead of attention-busting.

A research team at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of California, Irvine, designed a video game to improve mindfulness in middle schoolers and found that when young people played the game, they showed changes in areas of their brains that underlie attention.

A research team designed a video game to improve mindfulness in middle schoolers. Adolescents who played the game showed changes in areas of their brains that underlie attention and performed better on attention-oriented tasks. Photo: Marianne Spoon / Center for Healthy Minds

“Most educational video games are focused on presenting declarative information: various facts about a particular subject, like biology or chemistry,” says Elena Patsenko, a research scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds and lead author on the recently published paper. “Our aim is different. We want to actually change the cognitive or emotional processes — how people think or process information they’re trying to learn.”

The game, called “Tenacity,” was designed for middle schoolers and requires players to count their breaths by tapping a touch screen to advance. It leads players through relaxing landscapes such as ancient Greek ruins and outer space.

Players tap once per breath while counting breaths for the first four breaths and then tap twice every fifth breath. Players earn more points and advance in the game by counting sequences of five breaths accurately.

This trains mindfulness, which is a state of awareness of the present moment, by encouraging players to focus on their breaths.

“Tenacity” is a video game developed for research purposes by the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine. VIDEO: UW–MADISON

In the study, 95 middle school-aged youth were randomly assigned to one of two groups, either the Tenacity gameplay group or a control group that played the game “Fruit Ninja,” another attention-demanding game that does not teach breath counting or aspects of mindfulness. Kids in each group were instructed to play their assigned game for 30 minutes per day for two weeks while researchers conducted brain scans with participants before and after the two-week period.

Researchers found that adolescents in the Tenacity group had changes in the connectivity between their left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left inferior parietal cortex in the brain, which are two areas critical for attention.

The game leads players through relaxing landscapes such as ancient Greek ruins and outer space. Photo: Marianne Spoon / Center for Healthy Minds

These changes in the brain were associated with improvements on an attention task in the lab and were found only in the group playing Tenacity. Kids who played Fruit Ninja showed none of these changes.

“Training attention has been criticized in the scientific community because we often use a particular task to train attention and see improvement in that task alone, which doesn’t translate into other tasks or day-to-day activities,” says Patsenko. “Here, we trained young people with Tenacity (a breath-counting game) and tested them with another unrelated attention task in the lab. We found that brain changes following two weeks of gameplay were associated with improvement in the performance on that unrelated attentional task.”

The public is increasingly interested in meditation and mindfulness training. There are several smart phone apps on the market that are predominantly geared toward adult populations, including programs developed by the Center for Healthy Minds. However, video games can be a tool to engage younger people in mindfulness training.

“Video games may be a powerful medium for training attention and other positive qualities in teenagers, and even small amounts of practice induce neuroplastic changes. ”

Richard Davidson

The capacity to voluntarily control attention and minimize distraction has been linked to people’s emotional health and is foundational to learning.

“This study illustrates that changes in objective measures of brain function and behavior are achievable with relatively short amounts of practice on a novel video game,” says Richard Davidson, co-author on the paper and the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry. “Video games may be a powerful medium for training attention and other positive qualities in teenagers, and even small amounts of practice induce neuroplastic changes.”

The project reflects a larger trend toward developing games for the greater good, says Constance Steinkuehler, a professor of informatics at UCI, who led creation of the game while at UW–Madison.

“Games for impact have entered the mainstream, affecting both consumers and the industry,” she says. “Good designs and solid research move not only players but also future designers as well. This work lays a great foundation for wellness interventions for kids.”

The game, originally developed for research, is not supported for public use at this time.

This research was funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Unity and tenacity brings balance to 2019 WolfPack men’s soccer

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“We have a lot of tenacity in this group…I think our tenacity will be something that we lean on during the most crucial points of the season.” Those words from Madison College men’s soccer coach Cory Sims about his 2019 team has many in and around the program feeling optimistic about what the upcoming season may hold.

This year’s roster also features a balance and familiarity that is unique. The balance starts with a returning group of five players looking to improve upon last year’s 10-5-1 campaign that ended shy of a Region IV Championship Game for the first time in three years.

“This returning group has done a great job of taking the positives from their first season and building from that foundation,” states Sims, who is entering his seventh season leading the program. “Each one of them has gone through significant growth in every aspect of their athletic and academic careers, and I expect that they will play a huge role in our successes this season.”

The returning group is headed by a pair of goalkeepers battling on a daily basis for the number one job between the pipes. Saxon LaFlash and Msughter Abel Dzoho are joined by forwards Jonas Luskey-Sanders and Sulayman Njie, and defender Evan Bartz. LaFlash and Dzoho combined for a 1.85 goals against average and a 0.722 save percentage in 2018, while the other three produced four goals and three assists a season ago.

“Saxon and Dzoho have helped raise the level of the other’s game by working together and competing in training. Evan has matured as a player and emerged as a central figure for our squad. Similary, Jonas and Sulayman look a lot more sure of themselves and their respective roles. They are much more aggressive in the opponent’s box and look to create as much danger as possible.”

Mostly due to the make-up of the incoming class, this WolfPack team features an unmatched bond with numerous connections. Currently there are five players from Sun Prairie High School, including three that played together on the Cardinals state tournament team in 2018. There are also five players from Madison East High School and another four from Madison West. In all, 16 of the team’s 24 players are products of a Big Eight Conference school, and likely played alongside or against one of their new teammates. And to top it all off, two of the newcomers are brothers, The Gambia natives Muhammed and Ebrima Sallah.

The crop of newcomers includes goalkeeper Sebastian Varela; defenders Ebrima and Muhammed Sallah, Kebba Saidy, and Lucas Martin-Heid; midfielders Amadou Cham, Bubacarr Bah, and Sam Bradfield; and forwards Jheison Garcia and Ben Saric.

“We have a lot of incoming student-athletes reinforcing some key positions on the field,” reiterates Sims. “Sebastian joined us in the spring and has improved significantly since arriving. Our defensive line should be balanced with player who combine all of the elements of the game well. Muhammed and Lucas are players who can operate centrally in defense, but  also contribute to the attack with their individual skill and comfort on the ball. Ebrima and Kebba will help us in 1v1 defending moments, as well as contributing further forward. Our midfield features a number of players who bring a mix of passing skill, stregnth, adn tackling ability. Ian and Bubaccar have played together for a number of years and that chemistry will be important. Amadou and Sam are experienced player who will bring a confidence to our play. And Jheison and Ben are two wing players that bring a unique dynamic that was missing last season. They are confident in 1v1 attacking situations and will look to find dangerous passes and create goal scoring opportunities. “

Lost to graduation were four all-conference and all-region players, and more than 75% of the offensive production. Sims believes it will be a total team effort to replace what was lost, while also push forward to the next level.

“We have built the foundations of good chemistry off the field and are using this preseason period to solidify the connections on the field. There is a lot of learning and growing to do by both the players and the coaching staff. Our challenge is to highlight the strong qualities in each individual and mesh those with the philosophy of the team as a whole. There are always bumps in the road, but we are moving in the right direction….There is skill, size, speed, and strength, but above all each player has a tenacity that is crucial for competing in the [North Central Community College Conference] and Region IV.”

Madison College opens the 2019 schedule on with a trip to Coon Rapids, Minnesota, on Sunday, August 25 to play Anoka-Ramsey Community College. The Golden Rams are the defending Region XIII champions and lost to the eventual national champion in the District C semifinals. The home opener also doubles as the N4C opener when Joliet Junior College comes to Irwin A. & Robert D. Goodman Pitch-East on August 31 for a noon start that’s part of a men’s-women’s doubleheader. What follows is a daunting back-to-back set of road games against Triton College and Harper College, both listed among the top 15 in the NJCAA Division III Preseason Poll.The #8 Trojans are the two-time defending N4C champs and the Hawks won the 2018 Region IV Tournament for the third time in four years. The WolfPack will host those same two teams in successive games on the home pitch on September 28 and October 2, matches that could ultimately decided a league title and have a say in seeding for the Region IV Tournament.

“Our goal is the win the Region IV Tournament, at minimum. We were disappointed not to reach the final last season…The coaching staff and returning players have reflected on some of the things that contributed to our falling short and believe we have addressed glaring issues. We know we have to work every day to put ourselves in the best position to win and that anyone can beat anyone in our conference and region, so we must respect every opponent.”

And those opponents will likely need to respect the balance, unity, and tenacity of the WolfPack.

Once again in 2019, every home WolfPack match will be broadcast live on MadisonCollege.tv, with select road games to be featured, as well.

Follow WolfPack men’s soccer: Facebook | Twitter

 

Teamwork led Grandview to esports championship

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In an interview with members of the Grandview High School’s Esports team, it was great to hear how solid coaching, overcoming a traditional league rival, and school pride all played a role in their run to the championship.

Here are some excerpts from my interview:

 
Talk to me about your championship team.

• There are five roles needed to play League of Legends. A top laner, a jungler, a mid-laner, an ADC and a support. Our top laner was Brian Lu, who is now in his junior year here at Grandview. Brian quickly established himself as a dominant force in the top lane and was routinely “target banned” by the other teams. Brian’s extensive game and champion knowledge made him one of the most formidable top lakers in the League. Brian will be instrumental in leading the team to another potential championship.
• Our Jungler was played by Anh Dao, who has since graduated. Anh was a great team player who never complained or was ever easily flustered. He knew what he had to do to help the team be successful and he executed masterful “Ganks” to assist other lanes. His overall game knowledge was invaluable, as he was able to secure vital objectives, while expertly moving around the map to assist his teammates.
• Grandview’s Mid Laner role was played by Dillon Pham, who is now a senior. Dillon was an excellent shot caller and would often make critical calls for the team to either collapse on an objective, or to coordinate strategic withdrawals for the team to regroup and go on the offensive. Dillon’s tenacity and leadership will be critical to the future success of the team moving forward.
• The ADC (Attack Damage Carry) and support roles were played by Joshua Bayarsaikhan and Calvin Kim, who have both since graduated. Both players were in sync from the beginning of the season to the Championship. Their trust in each other’s abilities was the definition of camaraderie and coordination. This dynamic duo was able to effectively win their lanes, while supporting others and was another big reason why this team went undefeated.

Tell me about your coach. Is he a gamer?  What is his background in education? What are 2-3 things that you learned from him that truly made a difference in your season?

Mr. Nevares came to Grandview midway through the school year. As a brand-new teacher, he was made aware that the school wanted to start an Esports team and he volunteered immediately for the position. Mr. Nevares also plays League of Legends but admits that his players could totally dominate him if they were to ever play each other. Mr. Nevares is a first-year social studies teacher at Grandview. Prior to teaching at Grandview, Mr. Nevares served in the United States Marine Corps and was a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) operator. His prior experience in the military made him an excellent candidate to lead a group of students who have never played together, in a league that was just created, to ultimately winning the State Championship. Mr. Nevares made instant connections with the students by connecting with them through their mutual interest in the same game and through his enthusiasm to want to make the team the best version of themselves as possible. We are extremely proud of what Mr. Nevares and the players have accomplished in such a short amount of time and we can’t wait to see how much the program grows.

On your road to the championship, who were some teams that really challenged you? How did you persevere?

The first and last games of the season were the most challenging for the team because we had no idea how they would turn out. The first game was the first time the players had to apply their skills against another team, so it could have gone either way. After the first game, it became very apparent that Grandview had something very special, and the anxiety went away almost immediately. We definitely have an in-district rival that we could not wait to face. That team was Cherry Creek High School’s Esports team. The reason why this game meant so much was due to a couple of factors: The first was that Cherry Creek was the reigning fall esports state champions (before we had a team) and they are within our district and are traditional rivals in other sports. Additionally, the coach for Cherry Creek is an alumnus of Grandview, so as much as we wanted to play them, they wanted to play against us. We were ultimately victorious in our games against Cherry Creek, but we foresee this becoming a continuous rivalry for years to come. Through a combination of skill, determination, trust in each other, and the willingness to compete, our Esports team was able to achieve victory and status as State Champions.

How does it feel to know that you are the 2021 CHSAA Esports spring champion?

It’s absolutely incredible to think that in just our first season we became state champions. Not many programs can say they have established a winning tradition in their very first season, so the fact that our students have done this shows how talented and driven the students of Grandview are.

You lost a couple of players to graduation. How did you go about filling those seats for the upcoming season? 

We will be holding tryouts at the end of August to refill the ranks. 

With the 2021 fall season just two weeks away, are you ready to chase another title?

Word of mouth has reached many of our student population and we expect to have a massive turnout of students who want to join the winning team. With an even larger pool of students who may be interested in joining the team, I am confident we can assemble a team to continue a winning tradition for Grandview.

How does it feel to have won a championship for your school?

We couldn’t be more proud of the hard work and dedication our students have put in to become state champions for Grandview. Being able to say that you are the best team in an entire state is incredibly inspiring to other students who may want to join in the future.

What’s your message to schools who are looking to add esports?

We definitely recommend adding an Esports team to your school if you don’t already have one. This unique sport is an outlet for students who want to showcase their skills for their school in their own way. Kids are already playing a lot of video games, so we say, “Why not harness that interest into something that can potentially help them grow as a person?” All after school activities should have the goal of wanting to mold each student who joins into better versions of themselves, and Esports is definitely a way to do that.  

Neal, Parsons provide hope for a stronger Dallas defense

Cory Hogue
 |  Special for the Wichita Falls Times Record News

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ARLINGTON – Dallas Cowboys fans are probably still having nightmares about last year’s defense, and rightly so after watching the Cowboys finish 28th in total defense in 2020.

Saturday night, the Cowboys’ defense faced most of the Houston Texans’ starters, marking the first time they have played against most of the opponent’s projected starters this season.

Granted, the Texans are trying to address a bevy of issues on offense during training camp, including a new projected starting quarterback in Tyrod Taylor with DeShaun Watson facing legal problems.

Still, the Cowboys projected starting defense looked solid against Houston considering they were without their defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, and starting defensive tackle, Carlos Watkins. Both were sent home from the stadium before the game due to an “abundance of caution and in accordance with the NFL CoVID-19 protocols.”

Dallas held the Texans without a third-down conversion for the entire game (0 for 10) while allowing 77 total yards in the opening half. Houston’s only first half touchdown following a Cowboys turnover left the Texans needing to traverse a mere 23 yards.

“The defense had a nice evening,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “I thought we played well specifically on third down. We were able to get off the field and give the offense a number of chances.”

If the Cowboys’ defense provides happy thoughts and creates turnovers this year, the linebacker corps will receive a great deal of credit thanks to two players who were not playing linebacker in the NFL last season.

Dallas spent its 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Micah Parsons, and he has added a mix of speed and explosiveness rarely seen at this level.

The surprise addition is Keanu Neal, who spent his first five years playing safety for the Atlanta Falcons and Dan Quinn before signing with Dallas as a free agent during the offseason. He has been impressive during training camp and the early preseason games with the position change.

Neal is in a battle with Jaylon Smith for the starting outside linebacker position, with Parsons slotted to start on the other side and veteran Leighton Vander Esch playing at middle linebacker when the Cowboys employ their base defense.

Saturday night provided a glimpse of who has the edge in the competition, with Neal earning a start over Smith against the Texans.

If Neal, Vander Esch, and Parsons can remain healthy this year along with Smith and Jabril Cox providing depth, Dallas will have a shot at making the playoffs and possibly winning the NFL East.

“I’ve never had comfort at linebacker as I do right now,” McCarthy said. “I’ve never been part of a team that has the depth and veteran experience we have right now. Then you add the rookie class; it’s an outstanding group of linebackers.”

However, remaining healthy is the biggest challenge the Cowboys linebackers have sought to conquer over the last ten years and a topic Dallas fans would prefer I not broach in this space.

I will not remind you of the extensive injury history of Sean Lee and Leighton Vander Esch, but Neal brings a history of injuries during his career.

Neal missed four games during his collegiate career to injuries and missed the majority of two seasons in Atlanta with a torn ACL (2018) and an Achilles injury (2019). He played 15 games in 2020 and registered 98 tackles, three quarterback pressures, and one sack for the Falcons.

McCarthy is not surprised at Neal’s ability to transition to linebacker.

“He’s an impact player,” McCarthy said. “He’s about as fine a player I’ve seen when it comes to putting hits on the ball. He’s so explosive, and I love his tenacity. He’s a very serious, focused individual, and he’s been a great addition to our football team.”,

The snark inside me says the Cowboys’ defense can only improve because it would take real effort to be worse than last year. However, I will allow the optimist inside to win this argument; the preseason is a time of hope, after all.  

Dallas will be better on defense this year, thanks to Micah Parsons and Keanu Neal.

NCAA Hockey Tournament: UMass’ Bobby Trivigno’s controlled tenacity has made him indispensable to Minutemen’s success

UMass coach Greg Carvel wasn’t happy with the penalty and didn’t waste any time dealing with it.

With 19 seconds left in the tied second period, Bobby Trivigno was whistled for slashing. In addition to forcing the Minutemen to kill a penalty in the midst of a 1-1 game against a No. 18-ranked Providence team, it was a backslide for the junior forward.

Early in his career, Trivigno was prone to periodic bad penalties, avoidable errors that put his team in a bad spot. Carvel wasn’t willing to risk one slash being the start of a run of similar infractions. Trivigno watched the third period, overtime and the Minutemen’s shootout victory from the bench.

“I deserved to sit on the bench,” Trivigno said. “I was the best teammate I could be on the bench rooting my teammates on. It just goes to show how Carvy is. He’s going to treat everyone the same way. It doesn’t matter if you’re an assistant captain. You don’t get to take stupid penalties and continue to play.”

Trivigno returned to the lineup motivated. Six days later against Lowell, he had two goals and an assist, sparking one of the best stretches in his career that included winning the Hockey East Tournament’s Most Valuable Player honor. He and the Minutemen begin NCAA Tournament play Friday against Lake Superior State in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

“Bobby was a huge difference-maker in many, many games,” Carvel said. “After we sat him out in Providence, every game since then he’s been a huge difference-maker.”

Trivigno, who said he didn’t have other Division I offers, has been an impact player since he arrived at UMass. His story runs parallel to the Minutemen’s. The once-overlooked kid and the once-overlooked program are now thriving together.

“I love it here,” he said. “I love the coaches. I love the players on the team. It’s awesome to be here.”

With 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists), Trivigno leads UMass in scoring, but at the core of his game, he’s still a classic agitator. Despite being 5-foot-8, 162-pounds he’s feisty and physical. He gives his teammates energy and his opponents fits.

As a freshman, the challenge for the UMass coaches was how to get him to utilize his considerable tenacity without it getting the best of him. They wanted him to play all the way up to the line without crossing it. Much of the time he was successful, but he had 10 penalties for 38 minutes including a major and a misconduct.

He was suspended for the NCAA Championship game when officials reviewed a third-period play after the game and ruled he’d delivered an elbow to a Denver player’s head.

“He took a lot of penalties his freshman year,” Carvel said. “I told him this year: ‘I’m not dealing with that. You stay out of the box. You need to grow in that area.’ He had very few penalties this year. Being about to emotionally control yourself is a big growth area for me.”

This year Trivigno has had just four penalties, all minors. He credited Mark Randall, UMass’ performance consultant, who works with players on mental skills.

“He was able to help me greatly keep in control of my emotions. Now I feel I’m totally in control of what I’m doing on the ice and not acting on my emotions,” he said. “I’m proud of the player I am. I feel like every team needs a player like me, on the edge, agitating the other team.”

Now that Trivigno has figured out the balance, Carvel wants him to stay on that edge even if it leads to an occasional awkward moment on live TV.

After Saturday’s championship win, the first conference title in program history, Trivigno did an interview from ice with NESN and he accidentally let the grand-daddy of all curse words slip out:

“We’re going to go down in (expletive) history.”

He apologized on the air and later to his coach.

“I get asked that a lot. ‘Were you offended?’ No way. That’s what he is. Bobby is raw,” Carvel said smiling. “I wouldn’t want him any other way. He came to me quickly after and felt badly. I said, ‘I don’t f’ing care, Bobby.’ Let’s just pick up this trophy and hold it a little longer.

“I love raw emotion,” Carvel continued. “It was nice to hear something other than the typical ‘words can’t describe what I’m feeling.’ That quote’s going down in history. I enjoy everything Bobby brings to our program. He’s awesome. He elevated us to a championship this year.”

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UMass’ Hockey East championship fills Greg Carvel’s missing void after years of near misses | Matt Vautour

UMass’ celebration too much for Hockey East Tournament trophy | Matt Vautour

King’s offense, Mitchell’s defense leads Sacramento to title

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Louis King slammed home a two-handed dunk with a little more than two minutes left in the third quarter of the NBA Summer League championship game, let out a monstrous roar and promptly flexed with authority.

Fittingly, it was King who dominated for Sacramento and finished with 21 points to help the Kings cruise to a 100-67 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in front of a sparse, masked crowd that barely filled the bottom bowl, an uncommon scene for a title game that has packed the venue in recent years prior to the pandemic.

It was Sacramento’s first Summer League title since 2014.

“Our transition, that’s what started it, our defense and transition points, that’s what it came down to,” said King, who started his career in Detroit after going undrafted from Oregon in 2019. “I feel like everything we’re doing now, that we’re doing all summer, and what we’ve been doing is just going to translate into our regular-season team.

“We’ve got new guys, new faces and we just got to trust each other.”

One of those new faces is defensive stopper Davion Mitchell, who was taken ninth overall in last month’s draft and was out to prove the franchise didn’t make a mistake in adding him to an already guard-heavy lineup that includes Tyrese Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox.

It’s not as if the Kings needed a boost to an offense that ranked 11th in the league with 113.7 points per game last season. Instead, it was the guard’s defensive tenacity the Kings are hoping will help a lethargic defense that allowed 117.4 points per game, third-worst in the league.

“We loved what we saw and that’s why we drafted him,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “We continue to try to bring a certain player in and the front office has done a nice job, and you watch Davion play and you see him win a national championship, you get his background and how he competes and how he leads and how he works, and that’s why we spent a top-10 pick on him.”

While the Kings got additional contributions from Jahmi’us Ramsey (16), Matt Coleman III (14), and Ade Murkey (10), Mitchell chipped in with nine points but more importantly shut down Boston sharpshooter Payton Pritchard.

Carsen Edwards had 15 points and Aaron Nesmith 12 for Boston. Pritchard finished with just six points after being limited to 3-of-9 shooting from the floor.

“All my life I’ve played with a chip on my shoulder. I’ve kind of always been like the underdog, especially coming to Sacramento hearing that they’re not a really good defensive team,” Mitchell said. “That kind of just turned me on, like I really want to change the narrative, I want to be a defensive team because defense wins championships. So yeah, coming into Summer League I tried to show that and I think I did a really good job of that.”

After the Celtics took a 14-4 lead behind the strong play of Nesmith, who opened the game with eight points, the Kings stormed back quickly with a 20-6 run to take a four-point lead after one behind 10 points from King.

The Kings, who had the edge in fast-break points (24-4), pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring Boston 26-13 to take a 70-49 lead into the final 10 minutes.

“I didn’t know what to expect out of this game,” coach Bobby Jackson said. ”I knew it was going to be a really good game because looking at them on film they play fast, they shot a lot of 3s. In my meetings, I always told the guys they haven’t run across a defense like us, and if we buy into defending and have each other’s backs, the ball is going to fall. It was just an effort on the defensive side of the ball.”

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BASKETBALL; Brown Has the Pistons Reflecting His Tenacity

”He has not won a championship, and there aren’t many coaches that have gone into the Hall of Fame without winning a championship,” said Jackson, whose Lakers beat Brown’s Philadelphia 76ers in the 2001 finals.

Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter, who won a title with the Lakers in 2002, compared Brown with Jackson.

”I think their approach is different,” Hunter said. ”Coach Brown is more, ‘Do everything the right way.’ He won’t let any slippage, and he’ll confront anyone who tries to get away with doing things that we know are not the right way.

”Phil is different because he’ll let things go and let players figure it out, whereas Coach Brown’s going to tell you what to do and expect you to do it. Phil will let you figure it out and struggle. Coach Brown is perfection from Day 1, perfection from the beginning, perfection until the end.”

Such a perfectionist would seem to have a hole in his stomach after coaching so long without a championship. But Brown said that was not the case.

”I think it means more to other people that are close to me than me,” Brown said. ”Of course, at the beginning of the season our goal is to win an N.B.A. championship, and that will always be the case. My biggest challenge is to get our players to play up to their potential every single day. I’d love to be part of that, not only for me but also for all the guys who have made sacrifices for me — my players and coaches. My biggest challenge is every day getting us to play up to our potential, and if winning a championship is a result of that, I would be a pretty darn happy person.”

Brown’s older brother, Herb, his assistant coach at Indiana, Philadelphia and Detroit, was a bit more forthcoming.

”When we were in Philly and we went to the finals against the Lakers, we won the first game and we easily could’ve won the second, but we didn’t,” Herb Brown said. ”We were banged up and we lost, 4-1. This is redemption. He’s got an N.C.A.A. championship, an Olympic gold medal. He’s a Hall of Fame coach. He never says anything about it, but he’d be thrilled to win an N.B.A. championship. But he’s not obsessed with it. It is not an obsession. It’s part of his mission in life as a coach to be the best coach he can possibly be, to have his team be the best team it can possibly be.”

90,000 Cuphead Review – A Game Of Perseverance And Straightening Arms | igrasan

• Full name: Cuphead
• Release date: 2017
• Localization: no
• Genre: platformer, bullet hell, run and gun
• What you can play on: PC, XO.
• Multiplayer: no
• Cooperative: yes (on release only local)

It is no longer even accepted to joke about ubiquitous casualness.The indiscriminate “press x to win”, going through every second project, literally wiped out a whole layer of games in which the player was thrown at least some kind of challenge …

Cuphead of the last. In the sense that this game is able to shake your whole soul out of you. Behind a rather cute and harmless stylization of Disney animation from the early 30s, there is a real monster. This, I’m not afraid of this word, a monster, is capable of knocking down arrogance from any gamer that considers himself as such after passing some “assassin”.Someone, perhaps, will bring to a nervous breakdown, and someone will only notice the joystick against the wall. However, let’s not run ahead of the locomotive. This wonderful game deserves a pedantic analysis ?

Don’t make deals with the Devil

In the Cuphead storyline, the * clubheads * lost a lot in the casino. And instead of going to eternal torment in the hellish casemates, Satan concludes an agreement with the brothers. Like, they should bring contracts for souls from the characters listed to them in this cartoon universe.Sobsvtenno, that’s all. Well, except that there are several endings in the game. The rest – no problems.

Tags: Cuphead review, reviews, opinion, difficulty, platformer, 2017

Now a few words about styling. To begin with, I would like to note that this is the only game of this type. The piece workmanship makes its visual qualities even brighter. Alive, as if just descended from the artist’s table, the picture literally pulsates with all the colors. Animation and the same retro sound, with a slight battered record on a gramophone, give Cuphead a finished look.Remarkably, each level and boss is unique. No repetition and replacement of textures or models – just a unique style and the same unique game behavior.

In general, if you see it for the first time in your life, you can hardly say with 100% certainty that this is a game, not a cartoon. Yes, yes, the authors managed to recreate the animation style of early Disney in such a detailed and authentic way.

Alas, this bright and colorful style of pulsing animation is not so good from all sides.For example, for most levels, the frenzy on the screen is just a distraction. It is simply difficult for the player to discern the danger and the path of advancement.

The road will be mastered by the walking

Well, of course, the visual advantages of the project are just a nice little thing, without which many fans of platformers, “bulethel” and “run-and-gun” get along well. But what these games don’t exist without is a solid core gameplay core.

Reference:

• Bullet hell is a subgenre of arcade games, where the player receives such intense fire that there is almost no room for maneuver.Bulethel games are often 2D shooters about an airplane flying up (or to the right).

• Run and gun (“run-and-gun”) – * run and shoot * a subgenre of arcade games with the mechanics of moving from left to right, followed by shooting the oncoming enemies. Collection of bonuses and more. Sometimes for a while.

Luckily for most fans of hardcore arcade games, Cuphead is the genre’s benchmark. Armed with a cross between three featured arcade subgenres – platformer, bulethel and run-and-gun – Cuphead challenges perseverance, reaction, alertness and persistence.Well, that’s all 4 strikes out of 4.

Passage is divided into 3 types of stages: race, flight, battle with the boss + bonus game. The player chooses them himself in any order, moving on the global map. Belonging to one of the subgenres (+1 mixed, since there are no pure platformers), they represent: four levels of different mechanics.

As a platformer, Cuphead features arcade bouncing over enemies in bonus levels + standard scrolling from left to right.”Ran-and-gan” – levitating plates, coins in the air, spawning enemies in unpleasant places – everything we love. From “bulethel” got the classic mechanics of reducing the playing space due to the terrible spam of shells. This is more often used on bosses that are brought into separate levels.

What is Cuphead like? On 16-bit Contra: Hard Corps (the link has a couple of paragraphs on the game). In many ways, the authors drew ideas from there. And the gameplay of both games is pretty damn similar. Dynamics, the number of enemies, weapons, emphasis on boss fights, even the tactics of fighting … It’s easier to say than they are not alike ?

At the same time, progress is made not only in the number of collected contracts (passed levels).The player also collects coins, for which he purchases improvements in the store. All those bonuses (homing projectiles, extra lives, “loose”, etc.) that were previously collected at levels and held until the first hit on the player, are now bought. Some of them can be changed right in battle, and some only on the global menu map.

The story of how you can’t beat this game

You probably think I’m kidding. No, dear friends – 90% of those who entered Cuphead will never finish this game.Even if they will replay everything 100 times, make it easy and call your wife for help. Of course, most gamers just don’t expect to be so agile with such cute cartoon graphics. We got used to what they say – game designers “wipe their noses and drive them by the handle” … And here it’s the opposite – he (the game designer) must still be beaten so that he does not turn such a thing there.

In terms of complexity, Cuphead overtakes, if not all, then at least most of its modern counterparts in the genre.No, nothing fundamentally new was soldered into the concept: death is still the main teacher and mentor. It is necessary to die in order to identify for oneself the weak and strong sides of the enemy, so that only then to choose the optimal tactics and weapons. BUT! Even the same Contra: Hard Corps tried not to interfere with the player to comprehend himself – you just had to be patient. And Cuphead, unfortunately, is not so honest.

The fact is that a lot of things are generated randomly during the battle. Flying enemies, spam projectiles, positions and travel locations (plates and platforms).At some point, you simply may not find a shelter, a movement plate or a window in an avalanche of shells. In most cases, this is not so critical, because the character’s abilities are completely opposed to the dangers. Only, sometimes, the game intentionally generates disastrous situations with 100% damage to you. Death can be avoided, but damn hard.

Add to that the wildest pace of the game, the limited number of lives per level, and the fact that bosses and enemies can swap the order of their attacks, knocking down any learned sequence.What will happen in the end? That’s right – the hardest-core platformer of recent years.

Personal Feel: Even Super Meat Boy is not as difficult as Cuphead. It is close to the number of lost nerve cells in the process of passing, except perhaps from the early Ghosts’n Goblins.

According to Steam statistics, only 5.7% of players completed Cuphead at least well. Frankly, I’m surprised. For some reason it seemed to me that no more than 2-3% of all those who took up the passage would finish what they started.

Whole Tea Set

Cuphead Co-op is like another difficulty level. Two players not only glue bosses faster and better fight off enemies swarming in level, but can also resurrect each other. There is nothing of this in the single player.

We failed to try coop, because it was only local (split-skirted on PC and XO). The network will be added later.

Total …

Obviously, the interference of the “great random” in the usual things for the genre does not do Cuphead honor.In many ways, only because of this, ordinary gamers will curse and leave the game unfinished, without even seeing the most delicious (I’m talking about a casino ?). And it’s very bad. After all, veterans understand what they have to fight with and what to do after an unfortunate death, and newcomers will only freak out from scratch.

Still, it seems to me, the authors unnecessarily cluttered the gaming arena with all sorts of moving objects that do not carry any gameplay message. As a result, you dodge what does not hit, and what does hit you lose sight of.In the meantime, you will understand that “it’s better not to stand here, but you can’t be afraid of that” – you will have to restart the game more than a dozen times.

Somehow I even ran into hidden attacks because of the textures piled up in the foreground. Actually, there are problems with the balance of the speed of movement of enemies (mixed timings), damage of weapons and accuracy of hitboxes: some levels, in the end, are passed without straining (especially if it is done in co-op), and others – at best, attempts with 20- th, but not without a strong word to boot.

But be that as it may, Cuphead is the best in the genre that has come out in recent years. It does not pretend to be ideal, but it will more than give an avalanche of emotions from stubborn victories over the most difficult bosses, literally ripped out with meat.

By no means would I recommend it to everyone. Who needs to be tougher and more challenging – you are welcome. Everyone else – to complete the game on YouTube, or just forget it, like a bad dream. Unfortunately, the barrier to entry is too high.

Cuphead Trailer:

90,000 Persistence and Perseverance Brought Us to Peace: On the UN’s Contribution to the Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict in Colombia

In January 2016, when the United Nations Security Council decided to establish a special political mission in Colombia — the first such mission in South America in twenty years — surprise was expressed in one of the most respected local weeklies: “¡LLEGA LA ONU!” (“The UN is coming!”).The catchy headline reflected a deep division in society over the possibility of reaching a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — Army of the People (FARC-AN), highlighting the conflicting hopes and concerns associated with it. While supporters of the UN “presence” viewed this development as the first targeted steps towards a peaceful settlement of more than half a century of conflict, its opponents saw the UN involvement as a threat to the country’s sovereignty and a concession to FARC-AN, which many considered a criminal terrorist organization, opposing it. participation in the peace process.

However, despite the weekly reputation, the title was inaccurate. UN activities in Colombia continued for over forty years. Support for the peace process began long before the start of talks in Havana between the Colombian government and FARC-AN in 2012. For more than a decade, UN specialized agencies, funds and programs have worked closely with Colombian non-governmental organizations, local communities and authorities in poverty-stricken regions most affected by violent conflict, and in areas abandoned by the state itself.The commitment of the United Nations country team in Colombia to building peace with local and civil society involvement became particularly evident when those who advocated continued cooperation were in the minority, subject to undeserved criticism, stigma and even harassment.

Since the early 1990s ¹ The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other UN specialized agencies, in collaboration with partner non-governmental organizations, have provided assistance thousands of displaced families in areas that are difficult or inaccessible to government agencies.Officials from UN agencies have witnessed what is happening, providing protection and support to vulnerable civilians on the ground. It was to them that people spoke, whose voice otherwise would hardly have been heard. Officials from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have documented human rights violations, condemning them unequivocally, and providing victims with an opportunity to share their experiences. Occasionally, these types of measures have prevented human rights violations.Through capacity building that promotes the peaceful resolution of conflicts on the ground, supporting local communities, youth and women’s organizations, and providing socio-economic opportunities — often in areas where coca leaf has been the only source of income — the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other UN agencies have succeeded in stopping cycles of violence and significantly improving the quality of life of the local population. Communities affected by the protracted war turned to us for help, and we provided them with it.Our presence served as a kind of protection for them. The dedication, courage and solidarity of generations of both local staff and international civil servants dedicated to maintaining peace and justice in the poorest areas of Colombia affected by the armed conflict remained at the highest level, even more so when we take into account that their work often led to friction with the government.

After the peace process between the government and FARC-AN, also known as El Qaguan (1999-2002), failed, any possibility of a political solution to the conflict was ruled out and the parties did not return to it during decades.Peace negotiations were no longer believed, and there was little hope for help in achieving peace from the international community, including the United Nations. It was a time when work, which was somehow associated with attempts to establish peace, was extremely unpopular, and in some circles even considered subversive. The conflict flared up with renewed vigor, the country decided to fight to the last and solve problems by military means. The entire burden of this decision fell on the most vulnerable segments of the population.More than 4 million people fell victim to the conflict over the next decade, according to official figures. ²

The “Respira Paz” (Breathe Peacefully) campaign in Colombia under the auspices of the United Nations has fostered and fostered a culture of peace throughout the country. Choco Department, Colombia, 2015. UN Photo / Karina Teran

As the government refused to acknowledge that there was ongoing armed conflict in the country and instead insisted that its actions were aimed at countering the terrorist threat, the UN Country Team in Colombia found itself in a difficult position in choosing a course and strategy.It has happened that the issue of how to continue to provide assistance to conflict-affected communities, support local peace initiatives, and at the same time maintain a constructive approach to the national government has generated heated debate within the group itself. But even in the midst of the conflict, the UN country team in Colombia acted exclusively in the interests of the victims, even if this meant that it was sometimes accused of rapprochement with the left forces, which in turn were accused of sympathizing with the FARC-AN “terrorist organization”.While political dialogue and a peaceful settlement were not possible, the UN Country Team continued uninterrupted peacekeeping activities.

Thanks to the efforts of civil society, local civic organizations and the Catholic Church, who have kept the peace on the flickering fire for more than a decade, hope has rekindled in the country by the time negotiations began in Havana. The specialized agencies of the United Nations, as well as its funds and programs, have helped to strengthen it.Throughout the peace process, the UN Country Team continued peacebuilding efforts in conflict-affected areas, while adapting its activities to better support the government’s political solutions to the conflict. ³

Providing assistance and support to civil society, especially the victims themselves, in their quest to participate in a peaceful settlement has been one of the most important contributions of the United Nations to this process.In 2012 and 2013, at the request of the Peace Commissions of the country’s Congress, the United Nations organized a number of regional round tables at which Colombians could express their views and make proposals on issues discussed in Havana. This initiative prompted the government and FARC-NA to submit a joint request to hold, in partnership with the National University of Colombia, national forums to collect and analyze the views of civil society representatives on a variety of issues on the agenda during the peace process, and submit the results for consideration. to the negotiators in Havana.

The results of such a national forum, organized in 2014 around the issues concerning the victims of the armed conflict, especially influenced the parties’ decision to take into account the human factor and invite several delegations to Havana so that the victims could speak in the first person and share their experiences with the negotiators. We strongly supported this step, which ultimately changed the rules of the game in the peace process. It was no longer about a faceless tragedy, but about specific people, about crippled destinies and broken lives.The participation of the victims themselves in the peace process underscored with renewed vigor the need for an early end to the armed confrontation.

UN Resident Coordinator Fabricio Ochschild at one of the national forums convened by the United Nations and the National University of Colombia to collect views and suggestions from civil society representatives on peace issues. February 2016. UNDP Photo / Federico Rios

In 2013, at the request of women’s NGOs, UN Women, with the support of the UN Resident Coordinator and UN Specialized Agencies, organized the National Women for Peace Summit, highlighting the need to involve women in the process. a peaceful settlement in order to bring gender issues to the negotiating agenda.In addition to UN-accompanied visits to Havana by representatives of women’s non-governmental organizations and experts on women’s issues, LGBTI rights activists and advocates for victims of sexual violence also participated in the negotiations. As a result, both the government and FARC-NA decided to include more women in their delegations and agreed to completely renegotiate the peace accords with a gender perspective. ⁴

Throughout the negotiations, they remained a controversial topic that continued to cause controversy in the country.Many Colombians continued to be skeptical about the peace process, as an agreement was reached between the parties to sit down at the negotiating table without declaring a ceasefire. Based on this situation, we conducted a study in which we opposed the cost of continuing hostilities to the economic benefits of peace. Thus, we tried to depoliticize the very concept of peace, demonstrating that ending the war would benefit all Colombians, regardless of what views they held or where they occupied in the political spectrum.We also undertook to provide evidence of the improvement in the humanitarian situation as a result of the negotiations, even in the context of the ongoing conflict. Thanks to the peace process, it was possible to start advocating for confidence-building measures, both at the government level and on the part of individuals. The most important of these was the bilateral ceasefire. In addition, the question arose of stopping the recruitment of FARC-AN child soldiers and their use of landmines, as well as the possibility of starting demining operations.Likewise, at the request of the government, we launched a nationwide awareness campaign called “Respira Paz” (Breathe Peacefully) to promote a culture of peace. Unfortunately, all of the above efforts were not enough to rally Colombians around a common goal of achieving peace, which remained very elusive for many.

The UN Country Team in Colombia has worked in a wide variety of regions for several decades, and it was clear to them that peace meant much more to the population than an end to the armed confrontation.To maintain a sustainable peace, it was necessary to listen to the aspirations of the people and understand what worries them. Therefore, while negotiations were underway, we focused on the need to develop a post-conflict stabilization strategy that would help war-ravaged regions feel positive changes immediately after the end of the conflict. We prepared an action plan that guided many post-conflict initiatives and offered local assistance. The UN Country Team supported short-term projects with immediate positive results, confirming the immediate improvement in the situation of the people even at the beginning of the peace process.In addition, in February 2016, we launched a multi-donor trust fund for post-conflict reconstruction in Colombia in partnership with the government and the partner community. Its funds were allocated for the implementation of confidence-building measures, projects aimed at post-conflict stabilization, as well as the implementation of peace agreements.

In addition to the Joint Communiqué issued by the government and FARC-AN on January 19, 2016, in which they requested the United Nations Security Council to establish a special political mission in Colombia, the final peace treaty urged a range of specialized agencies The UN, as well as the funds and programs included in its system, continue to support the parties in the implementation of various points of the agreement. Both steps reflect the growing confidence in the United Nations, acquired over the years of its peacekeeping activities in the country.

Children pose for the camera in front of a UN OCHA vehicle during a UN mission to assess the scope of humanitarian assistance needed in Cordoba, Colombia. 2016 year. Photo by UN OCHA / Felinto Cordoba

Subsequent events have highlighted a significant difference between the achievement of a ceasefire and the process of peace-building. The signing of the peace treaty put an end to the armed conflict with the FARC-AN.However, in many regions of the country, there was still a lot of work to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable segments of the population, provide protection from other armed formations, reduce social inequality, expand the activities of state bodies, transition the economy to a peaceful track, ensure respect for human rights, promote economic development and settlement of disputes by peaceful means. The negotiations in Havana and the subsequent peace agreement helped create an indispensable nationwide cooperation mechanism that enabled Colombians to re-energize their tackling long-term economic development and peacebuilding challenges. They have a long and difficult road ahead, during which they continue to rely on the support of the United Nations system.

Notes

¹ The United Nations began operations in Colombia in 1950 when the UNICEF office opened in the country. It was followed by the International Organization for Migration (1956), WFP (1969), UNDP (1974), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1977), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (1985), OHCHR (1996) and UNHCR ( 1999).During the peace talks in Havana, the UN Country Team in Colombia was represented in 24 of the country’s 32 departments and consisted of 26 agencies, funds and programs, employing more than 2,300 staff.

² Number provided by the authors based on data from the national register of victims of Colombia. The source can be found at the following link: https://www.unidadvictimas.gov.co/es/ruv/37385.

³ However, given the experience of previous years, the government was in no hurry to allow the international community to participate in the negotiations that had just begun, wishing to shield the peace process from outside interference. While the UN had a strong reputation among civil society representatives, it had a lot of work to do in building trust with other sectors and with different parts of government. Cooperation with government agencies and institutions was especially necessary for the UN to be able to contribute to the peace process, as well as to provide support during the implementation of peace agreements at the request of the government itself.

⁴ In addition to supporting the participation of women in the peace process, at the request of the parties, the United Nations also provided all kinds of technical assistance in other areas, such as child protection and transitional justice.

23 October 2020

Translated from English by Lyubov Ginzburg

The UN Chronicle is not an official document. We are honored to publish articles by dignitaries of the United Nations, as well as prominent statesmen and public figures from around the world. The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and may not reflect the official position of the United Nations.Likewise, the boundaries, geographical names and designations indicated in articles, maps and annexes may differ from those officially recognized by the Organization.

90,000 Perseverance, will, overcoming. Children’s Paralympic Games

took place for the first time in Ulyanovsk

I don’t know if you noticed an event that happened the other day in our area. But it happened for the first time. And this event can hardly be overestimated. True, this is not an Ulyanovsk invention, but an All-Russian one, which does not diminish its importance.

The first children’s Paralympic Games were held in Ulyanovsk for six days. On the opening day, a Paralympic flame was lit at the central stadium “Trud” named after Lev Yashin. The games were attended by more than 300 children with various forms of disabilities aged 10 to 18 years old from a sports-adaptive school, from rehabilitation centers, boarding schools, orphanages, from families of Dimitrovgrad and the Ulyanovsk region. The program of the games included athletics competitions (athletes competed in individual and team events in running 60, 100, 200 and 400 meters, long jump and shot put), football, swimming, table tennis, parabadminton, judo, arm wrestling and powerlifting …

The organizers of the competition were the Paralympic Committee of the Ulyanovsk Region, the FORBS League in conjunction with the children’s movement “Future Paralympic Champions of Russia”, thanks to which children’s Paralympic games were held in many cities of Russia.

“This event is being held here for the first time, and it is very significant for those children who will perform today,” said Viktor Baskakov, director of the adaptive sports school. “After winning these competitions, athletes will be able to go to the main children’s Paralympic Games, which will also be held for the first time in Russia.”

It is doubly harder for them

Of course, the games attracted few spectators, mainly friends and parents of the participants. This is not surprising, given that the information about the competition appeared several days before its opening. However, the most important thing is that three hundred girls and boys have proven what they can achieve in sports if they train hard, overcome themselves, and develop the will to overcome. “The will of athletes with disabilities to win is great,” said Artem Shvetsov, candidate for master of wheelchair basketball.“We have to double proof that we are able to overcome a lot, we have to overcome difficulties on which we spend more energy and strength, therefore, it is twice as difficult for us than for ordinary athletes, and maybe even triple.”

Among the participants of the games was one of the most famous young sportswomen of the region – “sunny girl”, a swimmer from Dimitrovgrad Natalya Nikolaeva. She has been swimming for eight years and has already achieved great success. Natasha won four gold, two silver and bronze medals at the European Swimming Championships in England last year. And at the VIII World Championships in Canada, as part of the national team in the age category of 16 years and under, she added a gold, two silver and two bronze medals to her personal piggy bank. The girl swims crawl, butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.

Natasha prepared for the games in Ulyanovsk as seriously as for the world championship. Workout – two hours every day. In parallel, I was preparing for the final exams. – this year the girl is finishing the ninth grade. About 100 participants in the Paralympic Games sailed along the blue lanes.Natasha came first at all three distances. And then she went to Kazan for the All-Russian tournament for swimmers among people with Down syndrome. Are you doing so much in your life?

Councils, committees, commissions …

How is adaptive sports developing in the Ulyanovsk region? Let’s look at the numbers taken from the 2018 report of the regional ministry of sports. “More than 20 adaptive sports and sports disciplines for people with disabilities are being developed in the Ulyanovsk region. The number of disabled people is 105 112 people, of which 10 268 are systematically involved in physical culture and sports. The number of children aged 6 to 18 is 3,276 people, of which 2,230 people go in for physical culture and sports.

On the basis of the sports adaptive school, departments for Paralympic and Deaflympic sports are being developed: light and weightlifting, swimming, judo, wheelchair basketball, powerlifting and arm wrestling, bocce, table tennis, futsal.158 athletes are engaged here, of which three are masters of sports of international class, four are masters of sports, 19 are candidates for master of sports. ”

Further in the report, not without pride, 19 names of winners and prize-winners of the Deaflympics, World Championships, Europe and Russia, Volga Federal District championships, interregional tournaments are named. But there is no specifics: what kind and how often competitions are held for disabled people, and even more so for disabled children. We regularly see these athletes in the track and field relay race for the prize of the newspaper “Ulyanovskaya Pravda”.Last year the regional championship in swimming among people with impairments of the musculoskeletal system and among the deaf, the regional championship in table tennis and chess among the deaf, the All-Russian wheelchair basketball tournament was held.

In general, there remains a sense of some randomness in the organization of competitions for people with disabilities, although there are many wonderful words in the reports of sports organizations and departments. And there are enough such organizations. In search of fresh news, I looked at some sites.

There is a public organization “Ulyanovsk Regional Sports Federation for Persons with Locomotor Impairment”, which regularly recruits people with disabilities and disabled children in sports sections: table tennis, swimming, wheelchair basketball, powerlifting, athletics, armwrestling, bocce, shooting. There is a regional branch of the Russian Paralympic Committee, but for some reason the latest news about its activities on the official website of the organization dates back to October 2018 (and the same news is the latest on the official website of the Russian Paralympic Committee in the Regions – Ulyanovsk section), and it is not connected with competitions, and with the next meeting.In the Olympic Council of the Ulyanovsk region there is a commission for the development of the Paralympic movement. In 2017, she developed a program for the development of wheelchair sports and registered the public organization Paralympic Council of the Ulyanovsk Region.

And these are just basic tips and commissions. But there are no such necessary and important competitions for disabled children as the past children’s games. After all, they can be carried out without waiting for all-Russian initiatives. So that the guys have an incentive to come to sports and try their hand.So that as many stars as Natalya Nikolaeva appear.

Ivan VOLGIN

Gray Library – Perseverance – Knowledge Base – World

Perseverance is a parameter for 12th level characters in the form of energy, which is spent on battles. The fully restored capacity of the parameter is 1000 units. It is displayed in the character’s inventory, in the upper block with experience, nobility, risk, etc.

Expenditure of Tenacity

Fights with monsters cost 0.5 units of perseverance, battles with players 20 units and +2 more for the status of the battle at the moment when the character dies or the battle ends in victory.

Tenacity is not spent on the following types of fights:

– 1v1 league

– tournaments (TVL and regular)

– clan battles – clan attacks, clan challenges, regular clan challenges, clan league.

Tenacity in Battle Royale costs 50% less.

If ​​a character’s nobility level is below 130, then battles with players do not consume tenacity.

If ​​the nobility level is 130-149, then battles with players consume 50% less tenacity than the same battles for characters 150+.

Parameter features

When tenacity is above 400, the character does not work “Debuff after combat”.

When tenacity is below 400, the character begins to gain 50% less experience / nobility.

When tenacity falls below 200, the character gains only 25% experience / nobility.

When tenacity decreases to zero, the character gets the “Fatigue” effect, the character weakens (his damage and defense are reduced by 20%), he does not gain experience / nobility, cannot start new cave campaigns and cannot participate in battles (with the exception of clan rate interference).

Perseverance does not affect multiclass classes below level 12, playing in lower grades does not waste or replenish tenacity.

Restoring Tenacity

Perseverance is restored while sleeping or training a character in a hotel, engaging in various game activities between battles, as well as when he is offline for a long time.

The fastest recovery occurs when the character is sleeping, recovery speed x2.

Slightly slower when training on a dummy, recovery speed x1.5.

By default, when a character just went offline, the recovery rate is x1.

Between battles, while the character is engaged in any other activity (moving, dressing, trading, communicating with NPCs in dialogues, etc.) recovery rate x 0.5.

Slightly on the rate of recovery of tenacity is affected Grace of Alchemists , 3rd rank accelerates by 10%, 4th rank by 15%, 5th rank by 20%.

The maximum rate of recovery for the full scale of Tenacity is 6.5 hours.

90,000 Three books on psychology to help you run your business

The annual summer break from the office provides an opportunity to take a fresh look at the work habits, habits and beliefs that managers find obvious. Three entertaining and sometimes inspiring books published this year by Western publishers will help you draw applied business ideas from psychological research.

Publishing every employee’s salary, paying people to leave, and banning email are just three of the thirteen unconventional management ideas described in The New Management Style. New Management: the Unexpected Truths about Leading Great Organizations, by the American psychologist and teacher David Burkus. The author explains that today’s understanding of organizational management stems from the tradition of “scientific management” pioneered by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the automotive industry.However, today’s understanding of organizations is different from what was then. The need for flexibility, adaptability, and personal motivation is now much greater. And, according to Burkus, today the best managers “invent not a new product, but a new factory”.

The book mainly describes how companies have coped with the introduction of new and radical methods of personnel management. At Adobe and Microsoft, the annual performance appraisal, which Burkus calls one of the worst management ideas, has been replaced by more frequent meetings with employees to discuss progress and provide feedback.Although certification allows you to determine the employee’s rating and decide on a salary increase, especially effective conversations, as a rule, do not take place there. And in those companies that use group ranking, as was the case at Microsoft before 2010, the “top performers”, the best employees, are actively prevented from cooperating with each other. Even the most effective employees can be motivated by revealing salaries and the value of each to the company. Publication of salaries avoids scandal if, as is often the case, people find out that they are underpaid compared to their peers.The voluntary layoff fee, which is offered to all new Zappos employees or Amazon order center employees on an annual basis, allows you to part with uninterested employees and, more importantly, increases the motivation of those who choose to stay. Of course, not every organization is going to lay off all executives and abandon traditional job interviews, as some of the companies described in the book have done. But there are often significant benefits to be gained by rethinking the traditional approach to business.

Is Talent So Important? According to Angela Duckworth, author of the book Persistence. The power of enthusiasm and perseverance ”(Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance), the most important factor in life success – dedication and perseverance in achieving goals, that is, perseverance. Perseverance, however, is more than just wasting time doing something, as many runners can attest to, who go for a run several times a week for years without seeing any improvement. It is necessary to conduct targeted training: systematically set goals, identify weaknesses and work to eliminate them.Duckworth studied how the champions of the All-American spelling competition for middle school students trained. It turned out that reading for pleasure, word games, and even practice tests were not effective enough. At the competitive level, systematic vocabulary study and word analysis are required. This approach may sound boring, but it is much more productive.

This book details how persistence plays an important role in the workplace. When Bill Gates was involved in the selection of programmers for Microsoft, he gave candidates tasks that involved many hours of tedious work to fix bugs.Duckworth writes: “This was not an IQ test or a skill test. Rather, it was a test for a person’s ability to break through, hold out, get to the finish line. Bill hired only those programmers who finished what he started. ”

Persistence is not just persistence at any cost. Interest also plays an important role. People tend to do better at work that grabs their attention and engages their imaginations. However, the connection here is not so direct. Duckworth notes: “I think a certain proportion of young people do not need support to do things that are exciting to them.If something aroused the necessary enthusiasm in you, you would instantly do it. ” It is a common mistake to think that a person finds his calling when a sudden insight descends on him. The book says that many very successful people devoted many years to different interests, until they found the only one that they wanted to develop: “Paradoxically, at first a person often does not notice that he has discovered his real interest … Boredom is always easy to recognize – you immediately feel that you are bored – but if attention is captured by a new deed or experience, then you may not even realize what exactly is happening to you. “The right environment and outside support, such as from a boss, coach, parent, or teacher, can help you find and nurture interest until it turns into real passion.

It seems natural that we make choices based on our own beliefs and perceptions. But Jonah Berger, a professor at the Wharton School of Business, casts doubt on this fact. In the new book “Invisible Influence. Invisible Influence: the Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior, he summarizes his research: the social environment influences our behavior to such an extent that “99.9% of all decisions are influenced by others.”However, while willingly recognizing that the social environment influences people, we consider ourselves an exception to the rule. Berger talks about a partner at a prestigious law firm who lamented how socially dependent his colleagues are:

“Everyone wants to be like everyone else,” he said. “As soon as young lawyers get a bonus, the first thing most of them buy is a BMW.

When I pointed out that he also had a car of this brand, he expressed disagreement:

“Of course, but they have silver BMWs, and I have a blue one.”

The book contains many non-obvious examples of how social factors affect us. A common theme is the unconscious preference for familiar things. In addition, we are attracted by the novelty and the idea of ​​our uniqueness. Thus, companies hoping to guess the trends of the future should focus on moderate similarity. Berger noted that Pantone’s 2012 color Tangerine Tango is noticeably similar to the Tigerlily color that won the previous year.Cars with a classic body shape sell better. Berger explains it this way: “If a thing has in common with what has recently been popular, it has a competitive advantage. It is familiar enough to evoke warm emotions, but it stands out enough to be perceived as a topical novelty. ” In addition, when choosing, we focus on those with whom he is associated. Berger describes an experiment in which the same socioeconomic agenda was attributed to rival political parties.And while people claim to judge party programs based on their own perceptions of government, the results have convincingly confirmed that the name of the party actually influences their opinion. Reading about such studies, the first thing you want to do is to distance yourself from the superficial approach that most people practice. But Berger addresses readers with a request: “It’s tempting to read such a study and be sure that this does not apply to you: of course, others succumb to the herd feeling, but not me.It is a delusion to believe that our social environment does not affect us. So please be objective. ”

Under New Management: the Unexpected Truths about Leading Great Organizations. David Burkus. Macmillan, 2016

Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance. Angela Duckworth. Vermilion, 2016

Invisible Influence: the Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior. Jonah Berger. Simon and Schuster, 2016 90,033 90,000 Based on Real Perseverance: 12 Films About Athletes – What to See

High-performance sport is not Pilates on a mat or biceps extension, the level of resistance in the blood should be much higher.Every day you need to overcome not only your own laziness, but also the barriers created by society, family, public opinion. Squeeze out of the body everything it can, plus a little more on top. Make a choice, believe in yourself no matter what, and don’t stop.

Made a selection of feature films and documentaries about real athletes who have achieved world fame and the top of the most honorable pedestals.

One breath

Drama about sportswoman Marina Gordeeva based on biography

Russian “queen of freediving”

Natalia Molchanova.She entered this dangerous sport when she was forty, but, overcoming resistance from family, medicine and leadership, as well as her own prejudices, set forty-one world records. For example, she became the first woman to overcome the Blue Hole Arch in one breath. The main role is played by Victoria Isakova.

Fighting my family

The comedy tells about a real family of English wrestlers.Their sporting path was complicated by internal competition, but the youngest daughter was able to become a champion. The picture with Nick Frost, Lena Headey and Dwayne Johnson was not released in Russia, and you can watch it online.

Diego Maradona

A documentary film about the legendary footballer who grew up in a poor quarter of Buenos Aires and faced not only fame and success, but their consequences, based on several hundred hours of unique video chronicles that recorded the athlete’s life.

Conor McGregor: Notorious

Another athlete emerging from poverty is Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor. Once he lived with his mother, without money and acquaintances, but thanks to perseverance he was able to achieve dizzying results.

Ronaldo vs. Messi

The creators of a documentary about two, perhaps, the equilibrium stars of modern football oppose athletes and collect opinions about them from experts and fans.And at the same time they tell the story of the formation of both Messi and Ronaldo.

Upward movement

The highest-grossing Russian film ever. In 1972, at the Munich Olympics, the USSR national basketball team beat the invincible US team for the first time in history. The picture emotionally and authentically tells how the team came to the victory, which meant so much for the whole country.

Champions

Five real stories about victories that came to Russian athletes: biathletes Nikolai Kruglov Sr. and Nikolai Kruglov Jr., figure skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, snowboarder Yekaterina Ilyukhina, hockey player Ilya Kovalchuk and speed skater Svetlana Zhurova.

Champions: Faster. Above. Stronger

The second film tells the stories of wrestler Alexander Karelin, gymnast Svetlana Khorkina and swimmer Alexander Popov, who have repeatedly become prize winners of the Olympic Games and other significant competitions.

Prefontein

Steve Prefontein is a great athlete whose entire short life has been devoted to running middle and long distances.This is not the most spectacular and spectacular sport, but he was able to attract a lot of attention to it. The main role in the film is played by Jared Leto.

I am the Bolt

A documentary about the world’s most famous runner who won gold in three consecutive Olympics and set eight world records. This tape is not just a listing of his victories, but a good and multifaceted story about a person.

Steep turns

One of the most positive sports films of all time, follows the debut of the amazing bobsleigh team, a team from Jamaica where it never snowed.But these guys bought some kind of old bean, somehow practiced there and in 1998 went to Calgary …

Chariots of fire

The film, which won four Oscars, follows the wrestling of two British runners at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. It was a confrontation between different religions, worldviews, class prejudices; the Jewish student of Cambridge Harold Abrahams; and the Scottish missionary Eric Liddell.

April 28, 2020

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“We are in the Game” – RFU launches a training program for girls

The Russian Football Union, the GirlPower Kids football project and adidas are launching the “We are in the Game” program. These are free football training sessions for girls of all skill levels from 5 to 12 years old. The project starts in 5 cities: Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don. To participate, it is enough to register on the program website and come to the training session.Training starts simultaneously in all cities on June 5th.

The program is suitable for both girls who have already played football and those who have never played. There are two coaches working at trainings, and all those who come are divided into groups by age and level, so that each girl is interested. Children coaches were selected specially for the project and underwent an internship at GirlPower FC.

The training program is designed in such a way as to develop not only football skills, but also leadership, creativity, teamwork, courage, perseverance, speed of decision-making in stressful situations and others.These qualities are important at any age, but the easiest way to bring them up is in childhood.

Maria Suchkova, Head of the Women’s Football Department of the RFU:
– We are confident that grassroots football is the foundation for the development of all areas of women’s football. In this regard, our task is to involve as many girls as possible in the game, prepare coaches for women’s football and create opportunities for football in all regions.
This is exactly what the RFU program “We are in the game” is aimed at.It aims to attract girls to football and demonstrate that football is a great way to make friends, improve health, develop important character traits, and, finally, just enjoy the game.

Vladimir Dolgiy-Rapoport, founder of the GirlPower Kids football academy for girls:
– Until now, many consider football to be a purely male occupation and often do not even offer it to girls as a sport that can be practiced. Together with the RFU and adidas, we are changing our attitude towards women’s football.We want as many girls as possible through training to develop all the skills that will be useful to them in adulthood. In partnership with the RFU, we are launching the We are in the Game project in 5 Russian cities. We hope that the interest of girls and their parents will allow us to launch a football training program throughout Russia.

Information about the place and time of the beginning of training and a list of things in which the girl will be comfortable during the lesson can be found on the website of the “We are in the game” project.

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