A Qualitative Study on Optimism in Endurance Sports

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study is to review how much of a role mental factors, such as optimism and having a positive mental attitude can have on endurance sport performance. Methods: Nine peer reviewed studies were included in this research, one cohort study, one individual case study, four randomized control trials, and three questionnaires were included. Primary endpoints showed the importance of improving mindfulness, enrolling in a mental training program, cortisol production, the negative physical and emotional effects of losing, and the benefits of having a higher emotional intelligence with trait emotional intelligence (EI) Scores. Results: Perceived physical strain is decreased in athletes who have more emotional intelligence. The stress response elicited by the act of falling behind or losing can have a snowball effect and decrease an athlete’s performance. Conclusion: More research needs to be conducted in order to directly prove that being optimistic and positive can improve racing times and performance. Keywords: Emotional intelligence, optimism, fatigue, stress, performance, mood, mental toughness, endurance, athlete

Retirement Plans and Prospects for Retirement Income Adequacy

Will Americans have enough to live on in retirement? This paper attempts to address that question for the Baby Boomer and Gen Xer generations. While it is widely accepted that employment-based retirement plans have played a significant role in providing retirement income to American workers, this paper quantifies the impact that those programs have in the determination of retirement income adequacy. The analysis in this paper reveals that one of the most important factors in determining whether Gen Xers would have sufficient retirement resources is eligibility for participation in an employment-based defined contribution plan

The Declining Role of Private Defined Benefit Pension Plans: Who is Affected, and How

This chapter analyzes the impact of future freezes among corporate defined benefit (DB) pension plans. We simulate the impact on expected future pension wealth by assuming all existing private DB plans immediately freeze accruals for new employees. While this indicates the potential reduction in retirement wealth attributable to such plans, it does not recognize that sponsors freezing accruals may increase employer contributions to existing defined contribution (DC) plans or establish new DC plans. Using an empirical distribution of enhanced contributions to DC plans from sponsors freezing their DB plans, we simulate the nominal annuity that could be purchased at retirement age from these enhanced contributions. We then back out the net pension loss experienced by employees in the future

The Role of 401(k) Accumulations in Future Retirement Income

Defined contribution (DC) plans are increasingly being offered as the primary employer-sponsored pension, so it is of interest to ask whether DC accumulations are likely to yield sufficient income in retirement. This chapter uses the EBRI/ICI 401(k) Accumulation Projection Model to explore alternative future scenarios for retirees having had 401(k) plans available over a full working career. We assess the impact of catch-up contributions recently permitted by legislation; saving through individual retirement accounts if the employer does not offer a 401(k) plan; and changing the retirement age

The Development of Self-Regulation: Stability and Predictive Utility of Laboratory Task Performance Across Childhood and Adolescence

The development of self-regulation is dynamic, involving diverse skills and behavioral manifestations that change considerably across childhood and adolescence. The current study uses data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to analyze performance on laboratory tasks of self-regulation during four meaningful age periods: early childhood (36-54 months), during the transition to formal schooling (1st grade), middle childhood (3rd-5th grade), and adolescence (15 years). Primary research aims were to examine: 1) the developmental stability of self-regulation across childhood and adolescence; 2) how self-regulation at multiple points across development predicts various adaptive and maladaptive indicators of adolescent adjustment; and 3) the unique contribution of very early measures of self-regulation to the prediction of later adjustment. Latent factors derived from self-regulation task performance during the three childhood age periods were robust and stable over time, indicating that individuals’ rank-order of self-regulation was largely consistent across childhood. Adolescent measures were more problematic. Self-regulation during early and middle childhood differentially predicted adolescent adjustment. Early childhood self-regulation was related to positive attitudes toward school, and aggressive and antisocial behavior a decade later. Self-regulation in middle childhood, on the other hand, predicted academic achievement in adolescence. Very early indicators of self-regulation predicted both adaptive and maladaptive adjustment. Early childhood self-regulation explained unique variance in positive attitudes towards school and aggressive and antisocial behavior, beyond what was explained by self-regulation at later points in development. However, early childhood self-regulation was highly correlated with background characteristics. After accounting for the direct effect of gender, ethnicity, school readiness, and family income on adjustment, early childhood self-regulation did not explain additional variance in adolescent outcomes. Thus, individual variability in early self-regulation is meaningful for predicting later adjustment, but not more so than background characteristics that likely contribute to a child’s preparedness as he/she transitions to formal schooling. Findings illustrate the cascading effect of self-regulation skills from early childhood through adolescence, while also identifying the relative impact of self-regulation across development for predicting adolescent adjustment. Results highlight the importance of early childhood, as early self-regulation lays the foundation for later self-regulation skills, and ultimately, for successful functioning

Change and continuity in Japanese compensation practices: the case of occupational pensions since the early 2000s

This article analyses changes in the provision of Japanese occupational pensions since the early 2000s. It shows how Japanese companies have followed strategies of cost and risk reduction by creating multi-layered benefit systems that offer a combination of defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans whose benefits are becoming increasingly performance-oriented. Analysing the reasons behind the resilience of DB schemes in Japan, the article concludes that enterprise union behaviour has had less influence than regulatory issues and continued corporate commitment to long-standing employment practices for regular workers. These findings highlight the embeddedness of Japanese employment practices in their institutional context