The London games have begun. Does your favorite athlete have a leg up? Are they aware of the latest formula for speed? The newest way to win?

The development of bigger and stronger bodies brought many record-setting Olympic performances in the past. However, some feel the growth spurt is waning.

France's National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance examined track and field and swimming events from 1891 to 2008 and reported that record-breaking performances have declined sharply since 1988. They concluded, Our physiological evolution will remain limited in a majority of Olympic events."

With the decline in physiological evolutionary advancement and more consistent programs of nutrition and training, there has been a leveling of the playing field, so to speak. This has increased demand for the utilization of new ways to improve performances.

NPR recently aired the story Technology Could Give Athletes An Edge At Olympic Park. The piece included a discussion with Philippa Oldham of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Oldham explained how technologies such as spray-on clothing and 3D-printed shoes are assisting Olympians.

Greg Bishop in a New York Times piece Long Before London Games, James Bond Tactics explains that France even created an agency in its sports ministry to boost medal counts through athletic surveillance.

Bishop writes, France is not the only nation looking for an Olympic edge through stealth. Someone from the United States BMX cycling team surreptitiously rode the competition course in London for this summers Olympic Games with a three-dimensional mapping device, specifics of which officials declined to reveal, so the Americans could build and train on a replica of the Olympic track.

Aerodynamic bicycle helmet designs, hydrodynamic swimwear, carbon fiber blades used for prosthetic limbs, and running shoe spikes that grip the track more efficiently, will provide athletes an edge until each team employs them or they are banned from Olympic use.

Does it make you wonder who and what is more important, engineers, gear, or the athletes?

If competition were merely comprised of physical movements, mechanical engineers would hold all the cards when it comes to Olympic medal counts. Yet, there is a mental component to athletics. And many feel that sports psychology outweighs the mechanical manipulations of clothing and gear.

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KEITH WOMMACK: An Olympic edge

As always Peter Drakulich, President of Driving Up Sales is at the forefront of Solutions for Dealers and Salespeople trying to increase sales in tough times. Ask the Expert is an amazing format that gives everyone in the car business access to one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry to help them sort out their day to day questions and problems. If you have a question you would like to Ask the Expert please forward it to info@DrivingUpSales.com

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Sales Training Holding Gross In a Tough Market

Free classes from elite colleges like Princeton and Harvard have generated excitement, but they could actually widen the learning gap

Rooks' book is White Money Black Power: African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education

You have probably heard some of the hoopla about elite universities offering free online courses through Coursera, a new Silicon Valley start-up founded by Stanford University computer-science professors Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. In just the past few weeks, Coursera has added has added 12 universitiesto its lineup, bringing its total to 16, including Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke and Johns Hopkins.

The companys website says its goal is to give everyone access to the world-class education that has so far been available only to a select few, and, accordingly, much of the news coverage has focused on how this will democratize learning.Two weeks after Coursera announced its initial round of partnerships, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a plan to invest $60 million in a similar course platform callededX, and then a third company,Udacity, announced that it too would join the fray.

Despite near universal enthusiasm for such projects, its important to take a few steps back. First, although the content is free now, its unlikely that it will remain that way for long. According to an analysis of one of Courseras contracts, both the company and the schools plan to make a profit they just havent figured out the best way to do that yet. But more important, I am concerned that computer-aided instruction will actually widen the gap between the financially and educationally privileged and everyone else, instead of close it.

(MORE: Can Computers Replace Teachers?)

This is what has been happening in K-12 public schools. Over the past 10 years, public school districts have invested millions of dollars in various types of online and computer-aided learning and instruction programs, yet few are able to show the educational benefit of their expenditures for a majority of students. Those who benefit most are already well organized and highly motivated. Other students struggle, and may even lose ground.

In terms of learning on the college level, the Department of Education looked at thousands of research studies from 1996 to 2008 and found that in higher education, students rarely learned as much from online courses as they did in traditional classes. In fact, the report found that the biggest benefit of online instruction came from a blended learning environment that combined technology with traditional methods, but warned that the uptick had more to do with the increased amount of individualized instruction students got in that environment, not the presence of technology. For all but the brightest, the more time students spend with traditional instruction, the better they seem to do.

(MORE: Born to Be Bright: Is There a Gene for Learning?)

Supporters of online learning say that all anyone needs to access a great education is a stable Internet connection. Butonly 35% of households earning less than $25,000 have broadband access to the Internet, compared with 94% of households with income in excess of $100,000.In addition, according to the 2010 Pew Report on Mobile Access, only half of black and Latino homes have Internet connections at all, compared with almost 65% of white households. Perhaps most significant, many blacks and Latinos primarily use their cell phones to access the Internet, a much more expensive and less-than-ideal method for taking part in online education. In short, the explosion of this type of educational instruction, though free now, may leave behind the students who need education the most.

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Online Education Will Leave Many Students Behind

RENO -- Yoga is being used as a tool for women inmates at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office to manage stress, anger and other emotions.

Around the world, yoga is used for everything from meditation to weight loss. Now, the Washoe County Sheriffs Office is using Asana yoga classes, taught by volunteers, to help women in the custody of the Detention Facility manage stress, anger and other emotions in the hopes that it will prevent actions that could lead them back to jail.

Twice a month, on Saturday afternoons, volunteers facilitate yoga classes for eligible women in custody at the Detention Facility. The classes focus on teaching skills such as breathing exercises and yoga positions known as asanas to help improve individual well-being through the interconnection of mind, body, emotions and spirit.

Recent studies show that women who participate in yoga classes showed significant improvement in emotional control and their ability to calm themselves, the Sheriffs Alternatives to Incarceration Unit Program Coordinator Brooke Howard said. Yoga can also provide a great amount of confidence building while helping women to rejuvenate their mind and body from the trauma of physical, mental, emotional, and verbal abuse.

Howard said the yoga classes are part of the Alternatives to Incarceration Units Womens Empowerment Program. The program focuses on empowering women with skills that they can use to meet the challenges of their daily lives after release from the Detention Facility.

The Womens Empowerment Program is all about giving women skills that can help them make more rational and levelheaded decisions when faced with stressful and emotional situations, decisions that could prevent them from going down a path that leads back to jail, Howard said.

Because the yoga classes are facilitated by volunteers, they are offered at no cost to the County or the taxpayer. Howard said she plans to monitor the participants recidivism rate over the next several years to help determine the programs success.

Womens yoga classes take place at the Washoe County Detention Facility from 1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. The next scheduled class is this Saturday, July 28, 2012. Sheriffs Office Alternatives to Incarceration Unit Program Coordinator Brooke Howard will be available to speak with media about the program.

Womens Empowerment Workshops at the Washoe County Sheriffs Detention Facility are offered as part of the Sheriffs Alternatives to Incarceration Unit. These programs are aimed at diverting qualified offenders away from costly incarceration and provide a second chance to those who have committed less serious offenses.

The goal of the Sheriffs Office Alternatives to Incarceration Unit is to provide programs that help inmates take steps to make significant changes in their lives. That change is what will reduce recidivism, reduce the amount of money spent by tax payers to house an inmate, and reduce the cycle of criminal behavior for the next generation.

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Yoga classes offered in jail to women prisoners

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire -07/30/12)- Close your eyes and imagine taking in the elegant sounds of a harp while surrounded with like-minded individuals practicing karma yoga in the beautiful green field of Riley Park. Open your eyes. You can feel the love, beauty and energetic intention of this group helping to put an end to extreme poverty.

You will be one of many practicing yoga outside with our karma yoga teacher, Jamie Cameron, at the annual UEnd fundraiser One Yoga in the Park. With your entrance donations, 100 percent of the proceeds go directly to the projects. Not only will you practice yoga, but you will meet like-minded people while doing your part to change the world, one yoga pose at a time. There will be live music, food and beverages and, of course, yoga. Namaste.

Who: UEnd: Poverty

What: Giant, karma-filled yoga in the park

Where: Southwest corner of Riley Park, N.W. Calgary

When: Sunday, August 12, 2012 - Registration at 9 a.m., Yoga starts at 10:08 a.m.

Why: To create an incredible atmosphere while raising funds to help eradicate poverty

Entrance fee: By donation - a suggested $20 minimum will get you a free juice, a $25 donation will get you a tax receipt and a $40 donation will get you a free yoga mat (while supplies last)

Before the event:

1. RSVP on Facebook

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UEnd: Poverty- Ending Poverty Through Karma Yoga

When Georgia Demooy heard about a different kind of yoga class, she didn't just sit there and wait for it to come to her.

Or maybe she did.

The 67-year-old retired youth counselor is taking a 45-minute class in "chair yoga" on Wednesday mornings at the Nelson Hagnauer Township Hall, 2060 Delmar Ave., Granite City.

It's called "chair yoga" because students do their exercises while seated in chairs.

"To me, it stretches muscles that you don't normally stretch," Demooy said.

Although participant spent the July 18 class in chairs, other aspects of the class were close to typical yoga instruction. As calming music wafted from a boom box, certified yoga instructors Debbie Antognoli and Cheryl Mefford led pupils in the fine points of breathing, relaxing, stretching and meditating.

"Relax your neck and shoulders, your face and your jaw, relax your muscular energy," Mefford, 58, told students at the July 18 class. "Keep your attention and awareness on where you are right now."

The idea behind the class, Mefford said, is to introduce yoga to those who have difficulty getting to the ground.

"They can absorb the benefits of the practice from the chair," she said.

Laura Harris, a staff member at the senior center, said Bridget Brasfield, a chiropractor and owner of the Physical Medicine Clinic of Granite City, approached her about sponsoring the class.

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Chair yoga offers benefits of yoga

The Indianapolis Colts coaches most directly involved with rookie quarterback Andrew Luck don't like the guy. They love him.

New Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians compared him to quarterbacks who he has worked with over the course of his 20 years in the NFL.

"He has such a little bit of Peyton [Manning], a little bit of Timmy Couch and a little bit of Ben [Roethlisberger]," Arians said as the Colts officially reported to training camp.

"It's scary how good he can be. I'm really anxious to see him develop and watch him grow. He's got the best of all three of those guys."

Arians is hardly alone in the preseason praise, however.

"He just has a maturity, a football maturity and a life maturity that we couldn't have anticipated," Colts quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen said.

Christensen said he expects Luck to take most of the snaps during practices, and probably even more than usual since the team is implementing a new offense with new coaches and players.

Luck said he is eager to get to work in camp and looks forward to the nearly 24-7 training schedule at Anderson University the next three weeks.

Raiders

After spending a decade as an assistant in the NFL, Oakland coach Dennis Allen is excited for his first training camp as the man in charge. "Jacked up about it," Allen said. "We're ready. It's a start of a long journey." The hiring of Allen as coach was part of the major change that went on with the Raiders in the first offseason since the death of longtime owner Al Davis. Reggie McKenzie was hired as general manager and made Allen the team's first defensive head coach since John Madden.

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Luck already impressing Colts' coaching staff

You are here : Bernama News

July 30, 2012 12:07 PM

OLYMPIC: Chef-De-Mission Praises Performances Of Shooting And Fencing Athletes

LONDON, July 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's chef-de-mission to the 30th Olympic Games here, Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid said although Malaysia are still chasing their first gold medal, the performance of several athletes who had competed in the final events of the Games had shown their personal best achievements.

He said it was still too early to evaluate the actual performance of the contingent as the games officially had only entered its third day today (Monday), and out of the five final events where Malaysian athletes were in action so far, two had shown some improvement.

"The two final events participated by Malaysian athletes, namely shooting and fencing, had shown better personal achievements," he told Bernama, here today.

Ahmad Sarji said the solitary national woman shooter, Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi succeeded in placing herself among 34 of the top 56 world shooters in the Women's 10m Air Rifle.

"This will raise her world ranking and prepare herself for subsequent championships," he said.

-- BERNAMA

We provide (subscription-based) news coverage in our Newswire service.

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OLYMPIC: Chef-De-Mission Praises Performances Of Shooting And Fencing Athletes

Wake Forest University is continuing to explore the rapidly changing world of online higher education, but it's not yet ready to join other prestigious universities in offering free online classes.

Known as massive open online courses, or MOOCs, these free classes are the latest trend in higher education, with seven of the top universities in U.S. News and World Report's annual compilation agreeing to put a host of classes online for anyone to take.

Duke University is the latest to join the MOOC movement, announcing last week that it has joined Coursera, a startup company that has teamed with 17 universities to offer free online classes, ranging in everything from astrobiology to world music.

Other Coursera partners include Stanford, Princeton, Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania. Another company, edX, features courses from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Most universities do not offer college credit for the classes. However, the University of Washington, one of the new Coursera members, said it will offer college credit to be used toward a degree, for a fee.

More than 650,000 people from 190 countries have taken classes through Coursera since it debuted last fall.

The staff and faculty at Wake Forest have debated the merits of free online classes for several months, with no decisive stand coming from those talks, said Rogan Kersh, the university's new provost.

"To rush headlong into a new, exciting mode of delivery because it's new and exciting is a mistake," Kersh said. "There's a whole set of providers and ventures and combinations and coalitions of schools, and Wake is in that conversation on a bunch of fronts."

The debate often centers around two opposing viewpoints, Kersh said.

"You could view it as an end of itself, that this is how higher education should be and will be delivered," he said of MOOCs. "On the other hand, there's a perspective that this is a wonderful set of tools that can enhance the pedagogical experience, but it's not an end of itself, that you're not providing the full education experience when you're putting it online."

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Wake Forest University not ready to offer free online courses

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger The setting sun illuminates Newark resident Deidra Marshall, left, while she is next to classmate classmate Theresa Trakington. Yoga has caught on in Newark and its free. Each week 30 or more people gather in Washington Park for an hour to do yoga. The organizer, Debbi Kaminsky, said people's lives get transformed. She's part of a group called Newark Yoga Movement and it has brought Yoga into Newark schools and other venues. They've taught 9,000 students in 2 yrs and 1,000 teachers. In addition to going to the park each week, they are also working with the Shabazz High School football team. Wednesday July 25, 2012. NEWARK, NJ, USA. Photo by (Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger) Newark Yoga Movement Class in Washington Park gallery (19 photos)

Jauvon Scales was riding his bike in downtown Newark the other evening when he saw something he had never seen before in this tough old town, and it filled him with a sense of peace.

There were 40 people kneeling on mats in Washington Park practicing yoga. They were an island of calm, oblivious to the traffic, the light rail train gliding along Broad Street, horn blaring.

The oddity of it all made Scales get off his bike and join in. He did what practitioners call the chair pose, then a little downward dog, lifting his head slightly to see if he was doing it right.

The 18-year-old Scales didnt stay long, but merely by stopping he embraced one of the many yoga concepts and principles. Its called Namaste, and it loosely means: I see the good in you and you see the good in me and we see the good in each other.

There was a time when you could live to be 100 in this town and never see a sight like what young Scales saw.

But those days are gone, apparently.

Listen up.

Yoga is sweeping through Newark. There are classes at the YMWCA and at Lotus Yoga Newark on Washington Street, Welcome "Om" Yoga and Wellness House on Bleeker Street and New Ark Yoga & Wellness on Lincoln Park. If you get there today, you can take a free hip-hop yoga class at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln Park Music Festival.

The people in the park are part of the Newark Yoga Movement, a nonprofit group that has been gaining ground here for the past two years. By their own count, they have taught 9,000 students and 1,000 teachers in Newark.

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Carter: Newark stretches its limits with yoga, for free