29 research outputs found
Get sleep or get stumped: sleep behaviour in elite South African cricket players during competition
Introduction: Good sleep behaviour is associated with achieving optimal athletic performance and reducing the risk of injury. Elite cricket players have unique physical and cognitive demands, and must accommodate for congested competition and travel schedules (all of which increase the risk of disruptive sleep). Further, the political pressures and socioeconomic barriers in South African cricket could affect the sleep of the countryâs elite players. Previous research in cricket has focussed on the impact that nutrition, equipment specifications, movement physiology and psychology could elicit on performance (where many professional teams hire support staff to supervise these disciplines); however, there is limited empirical application of sleep research in elite cricket players. Therefore, this study aimed to characterise the sleep behaviours of elite South African cricket players during periods of competition and investigate the relationship between pre-match sleep and cricket performance. Methods: A longitudinal field-based investigation was implemented to monitor the sleep behaviour of 26 elite South African cricket players (age: 28.6 ± 4.0 years; height: 1.8 ± 0.1 m; weight: 85.7 ± 10.8 kg; elite experience: 3.7 ± 4.0 years) during home and away competitive tours. The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire and Athlete Sleep Behaviour Questionnaire were administered to identify chronotype and poor sleep behaviours. Players completed an altered version of the Core Consensus Sleep Diary every morning post-travel, pre-match and post-match. Linear mixed model regression was used to compare differences in sleep variables between time-periods, match venues, player roles, match formats, sleep medication and racial groups. Spearmanâs correlation (rs) was used to assess the relationship of substance use (alcohol and caffeine), age, elite experience and match performance with selected sleep indices. Statistical significance for all measures was accepted at p 0.05), allrounders took longer to fall asleep (g = 0.90 [0.23;1.57]), obtained less total sleep (0.76 [0.29;1.42]) and had lower morning freshness scores (g = 1.10 [0.42;1.78]) the night before a match compared to batsmen. Wake after sleep onset and get up time were moderately longer (g = 0.61 [0.22;1.26]) and later (g = 0.62 [0.27;1.17]) before. Twenty20 matches compared to One-Day International matches respectively. Further, sleep duration significantly declined from pre-match to post-match during the multi-day Test format (p = 0.04, g= 0.75 [0.40;1.12]). Late alcohol consumption was significantly (p 0.05), Asian/Indian players had moderately longer sleep onset latencies (g = 1.07 [0.66;1.47]), wake after sleep onset durations (g = 0.86 [0.42;1.29]), and lower subjective sleep quality (g = 0.86 [0.46;1.26]) and morning freshness scores (g = 0.89 [0.47;1.27]) compared to Whites. Similarly, Black Africans had moderately lower subjective sleep quality scores compared to Whites (g = 0.71 [0.43;0.97]). Longer sleep onset latencies and shorter total sleep times were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with poorer One-Day International (rs (28) = -0.57) and Test (rs (12) = 0.59) batting performances respectively. Higher subjective sleep quality scores were significantly associated with better Twenty20 bowling economies (rs (8) = -0.52). Discussion: There was no evidence of poor pre-match sleep behaviour, irrespective of venue; however, the most apparent disruption to sleep occurred post-match (similar to that found in other team-sports). Most disparities in sleep between match venues existed post-travel, with better sleep behaviour observed during the home condition. The differences in sleep patterns found in all three match formats were expected given the variations in format scheduling and duration. Although sleep medication was shown to promote better sleep, its long-term effectiveness was limited. The results promote the implementation of practical strategies aimed to reduce bedtime light-emitting technology use, late evening alcohol consumption and muscle pain. Inter-individual sleep behaviour was found between player roles, age, experience level and race. Moderate associations existed between sleep and markers of batting performance, specifically for the longer, strategic formats of the game. Conclusion: The current study provided new insight of the sleep behaviour in elite South African cricket players during competition. Individualized sleep monitoring practices are encouraged, with specific supervision over older, less experienced players as well as the racial minorities and allrounders of the team. The poor post-match sleep behaviour, together with the sleep and performance correlations, provide ideal opportunities for future interventions to focus on match recovery and the use sleep monitoring as a competitive advantage
Understanding sexual concurrency and HIV/AIDS: implicit and explicit attitudes in a South African student population
There are more people infected with HIV in South Africa, than in any other country in the world. Studies indicate a plausible relationship between concurrently organised sexual partnership and the spread of STIs, with concurrency being accountable for as much as 74% of HIV infections in South Africa. Understanding sexual concurrency is therefore of vital importance, especially in the South African perspective. It has, however, become increasingly unreliable to rely solely on explicit self-measures to study sexual concurrency, and research has suggested that implicit cognition is a reliable alternative to understanding sexual behaviour and attitudes towards sexuality, which cannot be directly measured by explicit means. The purpose of this study was to understand sexual concurrency among a population of university students by researching their implicit and explicit attitudes towards sexual concurrency; and thereby to aid in understanding sexual concurrency in relation to the spread of HIV. A quantitative research methodology was used to analyse results from explicit measures of sexual concurrency in the form of a questionnaire, and implicit measures of sexual concurrency in the form of the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Although no correlation existed between implicit and explicit measures attitudes towards sexual concurrency, it was, however, observed that sexual concurrency has and is being broadly practiced, and that age is a key determinant for sexual concurrency
Future scenarios in the automotive industry as a result of the social impact of industry 4.0 in the period up to 2033
With increasing human population growth, rising GDP levels, and more affluent lifestyles, the human race is progressively consuming, leading to an ever-increasing demand for renewable and non- renewable resources. The problem of resource scarcity is, therefore, emerging because it is questionable whether economic growth in a world with finite natural resources can be sustained. One of the objectives of this work is to analyse the potential of industrial 4.0 applications to achieve a more sustainable South African automotive industry. Even if the economy is still locked up in a system that favours the linear traditional production model, stricter environmental standards, a scarcity of resources and changing consumer expectations will force entities to find alternatives. New technologies can be used to trace materials through the value chain and to track the status of the product during its life cycle. Companies are beginning to capitalize on the potential of emerging technologies to more sustainably reorganise production, services, business models or entire organizations. What is certain is that many expect that the fourth industrial revolution will have a substantial effect on jobs worldwide as advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and automation are becoming more influential. Digitisation has a full impact on both the automotive industry and society. Automation weâve seen in the past has intensified. Digitisation has an ongoing and unprecedented effect on the operation of firms. It impacts all aspects from development to manufacturing and logistics and challenges business models and changes the place of work and the way we work. For this reason, a well- developed infrastructure and skilled workforce are key factors in transforming the industry successfully. From a South African point of view, qualification is a key challenge for industry 4.0 and requires decisive action. The challenge of skills in the manufacturing sector is growing as the industry becomes more digital. The plans of manufacturers to drive productivity improvements and capitalise on the fourth industrial revolution could be eroded because the education system is struggling to provide the right quantity and quality of skills to meet the needs of the sector. Manufacturers will need to keep investing in training current employees to keep up with new processes in line with company needs. One major challenge is to increase the digital skills of current and, in particular, older workers, by creating an offer of digital training. The research study aimed to develop insights into the future of the South African automotive industry by constructing two scenarios towards 2033: Worst case; South African automotive industry did little to change current linear traditional production mode trends in 2033; This narrative has seen the sector fall into the nightmare of its own dystonia. Best case; South African automotive is a success in 2033; The South African automotive industry finds its competitive global niche. And even with breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence, there is a major disruption in employment throughout the world, South Africa has succeeded in creating a small but intelligent base for youth who can recognise and exploit opportunities on the global market. Industry 4.0 has a high potential to ensure more sustainable production methods
Demystifying the database: the state's crafting of Cape Town's housing allocation tool and its technologies
The City of Cape Town's integrated housing database is used to manage the allocation of state housing across the city. It is a technical intervention in a contested and politicised context. On the surface, it appears to be an effective state tool that determines eligibility for housing assistance, and subsequently, the implementation of fair housing allocation practices. This veneer of technicality, however, conceals the complex state work involved in the production, maintenance, and use of the database. In the context of South Africa's transition from apartheid to democratic modes of governance, this research examines the database to engage with the state's work in producing tools for legitimate decision-making. As a state tool, the database and its functioning has been largely rendered invisible, either dismissed because of the opacity of its functioning, or positioned as a political myth, a smokescreen that conceals the state's inability to deliver on its housing promises. However, a technopolitical lens challenges researchers to pay attention to the form, function and development of state tools; nuances that are too often overlooked. In this research I therefore examine the housing database as a legitimate state tool for fair housing allocations. Using archival material, I explore the making of the database. Based predominantly on interview material with key informants, I investigate the production of the data held within the database. I consider, through policy and document analysis, the use of the database and its data in the actual practice of housing allocation decision-making. In sum, the research tracks the ideological, political, bureaucratic, and technological shifts that have shaped the database over three decades of housing allocation reform. Through this analysis of the development, form, and function of the database, I substantiate the ways in which the database works as a mode of governance, crafted by the state, that builds and sustains housing allocation decision-making. Demystifying the database as a state tool highlights its gradations, textures and contradictions. Its analysis makes visible the state craft that is key to its development, form, and function â what shapes the state's housing allocation decision-making. This analysis opens up the South African housing crisis beyond the impasse where citizen need exceeds the state's capacity to supply houses, and shifts the narrative away from an ambivalent, unwilling or uncaring state, to one that makes visible and describes the state's craft on housing allocation decision-making
Nuclear Weapons Latency
A novel nuclear weapons proliferation assessment method has been developed to determine a stateâs Nuclear Weapons Latency, the expected time to be taken by a non-nuclear weapons state to develop a conventionally deliverable nuclear weapon given the stateâs position on a path toward or away from a nuclear weapon and accounting for the stateâs motivations and intentions. Potential proliferation time is taken as a representation of the latent proliferation capacity of a non-nuclear weapons state. An assessment of proliferation time is critical to crafting an effective policy response within a useful time frame. Current proliferation assessments either neglect proliferation time or are static case-specific assessments frequently built on restricted information and opaque assumptions.
The Nuclear Weapons Latency computational tool has been developed to determine a stateâs Nuclear Weapons Latency and embodies a stochastic Petri net proliferation simulation. The tool makes only three simple assumptions: a decision to proliferate has been made, the proliferation pathway network is known, and the associated pathway activity times are estimable. Beyond the quantification of a stateâs latency, the tool provides a transparent, efficient, adaptable, and highly repeatable platform which allows for extensive sensitivity analysis to better inform the nonproliferation discussion and policy decisions.
Functionality of the tool was verified and inherent sensitivities determined through historical analysis with the U.S. case of proliferation in the Manhattan Project. Network and operational parameters were found that drove expected Latencies high while others increased the Latency distribution variance. Further confidence was built with historical analyses of the Pakistani and South African cases of proliferation. These verifications were done in lieu of experimental validation which is impossible for future event simulations like the Latency tool. Analysis revealed that while A.Q. Khan altered the Pakistani proliferation pathway, his impact on proliferation time may have been minimal.
A Multi-Attribute Utility Analysis (MAUA) function was implemented for proliferation pathway selection. This function might increase the accuracy of the most-likely Latency estimate in certain cases. However, use of MAUA for adversary modeling also significantly increased the number of assumptions necessary.
A Latency investigation of South Korean nuclear fuel cycle facility development, a current nonproliferation policy concern, demonstrates how Nuclear Weapons Latency can help characterize the proliferation risk of different policy options for decision makers. Analysis showed that development of any one of pyroprocessing, PUREX, or especially commercial uranium enrichment technologies reduces South Korean Latency. This risk characterization ability through policy option sensitivity enables the Latency tool to help fill a void of useful proliferation risk information provided by technical assessments to policy makers identified by the 2013 National Academies study Improving the Assessment of Proliferation Risk of Nuclear Fuel Cycles
Uneven encounters and paradoxical rights: embodiment and difference in sexual orientation rights and activism
My
thesis
takes
the
intersection
of
sexual
orientation
and
human
rights
and
the
increased
tendency
towards
the
expression
of
the
concerns
of
sexual
minorities
in
rights
based
terminology
in
international
law
as
a
Deleuzian
âproblemâ
to
be
explored
and
unpicked.
Sexual
orientation
is
a
singular
expression
of
a
complex
multifaceted
virtuality,
yet
the
term
-Ââ
understood
as
a
static
and
relatively
unchanging
denotation
of
a
particular
identity
and
mode
of
action
-Ââ
holds
increasing
purchase
as
a
human
rights
issue.
I
explore
the
way
in
which
rights
shape
the
expression
of
sexuality
within
institutional
and
activist
practices
in
international
arenas
and
suggest
that
the
complex
and
contested
encounter
between
sexuality
and
human
rights
in
international
law
exposes
the
problems,
limits
and
temporality
of
both.
By
taking
seriously
the
problems
inherent
to
the
encounters
between
sexuality
and
rights,
as
they
are
expressed
in
different
material
circumstances,
we
can
explore
sexuality
as
a
mutliplicitous
and
changing
flux
and
rights
as
a
dual
sided
paradox,
acting
simultaneously
machines
of
territorialisation
and
machines
of
deteritorialisation.
Thus,
I
suggest
that
in
their
engagement
with
questions
of
'sexual
orientation',
rights
act
as
both
modes
of
control,
restriction
and
exclusion
and
as
modes
of
communication
and
connection,
challenge
and
escape,
depending
upon
the
particular
circumstances
within
which
they
are
expressed.
As
such,
I
attempt
to
engage
with
the
embeddedness
of
âsexualityâ
within
particular
material
contexts
and
through
this
engagement,
explore
different
potentialities
that
are
implicated
within
divergent
enactments
of
rights
and
sexuality
in
order
to
critique
a
mode
of
action
that
remains
fixed
upon
abstract
discussion
of
ossified
âsexualitiesâ
and
transcendental
rights.
Furthermore,
my
aim
is
to
approach
the
encounter
not
only
as
a
means
of
critique
but
also
as
a
moment
of
uncertainty
and
a
site
of
productive
engagement,
vitality
and
becoming.
Thus,
the
key
question
to
be
asked
of the
encounter
between
sexual
orientation
and
rights
is
not
one
of
which
rights
have
been
violated
or
of
how
a
perceived
violation
can
be
expressed
in
relation
to
an
already
conceived
and
fixed
discourse
of
rights,
but
instead,
which
material
circumstances
have
facilitated
the
expression
of
injustice
suffered
by
a
sexual
minority
as
a
rights
violation
and
in
expressing
the
violation
in
this
way,
which
possibilities,
problematics
and
discourses
are
activated,
and
which
others
are
ignored
Cross SACCO information sharing and collaboration environment: ucredit mobile application
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Mobile Telecommunications and Innovation (MSc. MTI) at Strathmore UniversitySavings and Credit Co-operative societies (SACCOs) are the financial arm of the cooperative movement in Kenya. SACCOs have identified with mobile banking applications as a means of cheaply, efficiently accessing SACCOs transaction by their membership. These SACCOs mobile applications are designed to fit individual SACCO policy and Philosophy, locking the membership from access and comparing rival SACCOs service rates and products portfolios on same application. Hence no information sharing or SACCOs collaboration is being supported on these mobile platforms.Nevertheless, modern trends need to be adopted in the cooperative movement that will enable sharing of SACCOs information through mobile technology and inter SACCOs collaboration using mobile phone collaboration tools and thus SACCOs gaining stakeholdersâ trust. These factors are important for increasing growth of SACCOs financial base and increase of individual SACCOs potential to grow. Thus, avoid the need for SACCOs to merge, and make SACCOs provide a united front that perpetually creates a large business entity to compete effectively with other large financial institutions such as banks, for customer market share. Entrenching an environment that will make SACCOs able to maintain efficiency and security on financial information access. The mobile application platform will expand delivery of products and services to consumers who are SACCOs members, expand membersâ investment options and provide a simplified but high-quality service access to both current and new members.The SACCO collaborative information sharing platform is expected to provide a simplified concept that will enable consumers select services competitively across multiple SACCOs on one platform, consuming less time and reduce options burden to membership and reduce operational burden to individual SACCO.This dissertation is a study into possibility of designing and developing a mobile phone-based SACCO information sharing platform by adopting a collaborative business model. The study will apply theoretical frameworks which have been developed from existing literature on adoption of innovation in the sharing and collaboration application platforms. The factors that could influence SACCOs intention to adopt and use collaborative sharing platforms