Weight of transformations and major drifts related to major river water projects in Africa : case of the manantali dam on the senegal river basin

This article deals with the weight of major developments or hydroelectric works in the development of the Senegal River Basin. He is interested in the positive and negative consequences resulting from the installation of the Manantali dam. This dam is the only major dam in the world that is declared a joint dam, financed, operated and jointly managed. The methodology is based on the collection of information from secondary sources and available statistics (books and Internet). Thus, it required dialogue and consultation between Senegal, Mali and Mauritania, through the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS). However, it has long since been built into controversy even before its construction began in 1982 and it was flooded in 1988. The results show that: first, the benefits of Manantali Dam are flood prevention and surface water availability, power generation, navigation, aquaculture, ecological protection, development-based restocking, food self-sufficiency, water transfer and supply in neighboring countries, irrigation, etc ; on the other hand, the disadvantages of dam are the impacts on environment (waterborne diseases and proliferation of aquatic plants), the effect on local culture and traditional economy, the sedimentation, etc. From the point of view of the impacts the Manantali Dam shows proof that there are more advantages than disadvantages. Thus, it could well be compatible with an ethic of sustainable development and the preservation of ecological balances.Keywords: Manantali dam, environmental impact, flood prevention, electricity production, ecological protectio

An Examination of the Effects of Type of Sport Participation on Weight Classification and Academic Achievement: Academic Persistence as a Predictor

This study evaluated effectiveness of a soccer intervention for reducing obesity and increasing academic performance in low-income elementary school children by analyzing data regarding sport participation, academic performance, classroom behavior, and BMI using ANOVAS and Chi-Squared tests. While the intervention did not directly affect weight classification or academic performance, the type of sport(s) students participated in did. Team sport players had significantly higher weights and fared the worst academically, followed by those who played individual sports. Non-athletes fared the best. The type of sport a child played influenced academic persistence, which influenced academic performance

Practical Strategies for School Leaders to Improve African American Males’ Reading Achievement

The study identified parental involvement activities that significantly influenced the reading achievement of the African American male learner. Teachers and administrators were surveyed using an instrument adapted from Epstein\u27s School, Family, and Community Partnership Survey, The Virginia Standards of Learning reading and language arts assessments provided data for reading achievement of fourth-grade African American males. Significant differences were found between principals and teachers in their ratings of Teacher Reports of Total School Program to Involve Families. A correlation was found between teacher estimates of parents\u27 involvement and the mean SOL English score for African American male fourth-grade students

Hands-On Universe: A Global Program for Education and Public Outreach in Astronomy

Hands-On Universe (HOU) is an educational program that enables students to investigate the Universe while applying tools and concepts from science, math, and technology. Using the Internet, HOU participants around the world request observations from an automated telescope, download images from a large image archive, and analyze them with the aid of user-friendly image processing software. This program is developing now in many countries, including the USA, France, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Australia, and others. A network of telescopes has been established among these countries, many of them remotely operated, as shown in the accompanying demo. Using this feature, students in the classroom are able to make night observations during the day, using a telescope placed in another country. An archive of images taken on large telescopes is also accessible, as well as resources for teachers. Students are also dealing with real research projects, e.g. the search for asteroids, which resulted in the discovery of a Kuiper Belt object by high-school students. Not only Hands-On Universe gives the general public an access to professional astronomy, but it is also a more general tool to demonstrate the use of a complex automated system, the techniques of data processing and automation. Last but not least, through the use of telescopes located in many countries over the globe, a form of powerful and genuine cooperation between teachers and children from various countries is promoted, with a clear educational goal.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of the ADASS X conference, Boston, October 2000, ASP conf. pro

Novelty Induces Behavioural And Glucocorticoid Responses In A Songbird Artificially Selected For Divergent Personalities

Stress physiology is thought to contribute to individual differences in behaviour. In part this reflects the fact that canonical personality measures consist of responses to challenges, including novel objects and environments. Exposure to novelty is typically assumed to induce a moderate increase in glucocorticoids (CORT), although this has rarely been tested. We tested this assumption using great tits, Parus major, selected for divergent personalities (bold-fast and shy-slow explorers), predicting that the shy birds would exhibit higher CORT following exposure to a novel object. We also scored behavioural responses to the novel object, predicting that bold birds would more frequently approach the novel object and exhibit more abnormal repetitive behaviours. We found that the presence of a novel object did induce a moderate CORT response, but selection lines did not differ in the magnitude of this response. Furthermore, although both selection lines showed a robust CORT elevation to a subsequent restraint stressor, the CORT response was stronger in bold birds and this effect was specific to novel object exposure. Shy birds showed a strong positive phenotypic correlation between CORT concentrations following the novel object exposure and the subsequent restraint stress. Behaviourally, the selection lines differed in their response during novel object exposure: as predicted, bold birds more frequently approached the novel object and shy birds more strongly decreased overall locomotion during the novel object trial, but birds from both selection lines showed significant and similar frequencies of abnormal repetitive behaviours during novel object exposure. Our findings support the hypothesis that personality emerges as a result of correlated selection on behaviour and underlying endocrine mechanisms and suggest that the relationship between endocrine stress physiology and personality is context dependent

Food avoidance in children:the influence of maternal feeding practices and behaviours

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of a broad range of maternal feeding practices in predicting parental reports of food avoidance eating behaviours in young children, after controlling for child temperament, and maternal dietary restraint which have previously been associated with feeding problems. One hundred and four mothers of children aged between 3 and 6 years completed self report measures of their child's eating behaviour and temperament, maternal dietary restraint and child feeding practices. Maternal reports of food avoidance eating behaviours were associated with an emotional child temperament, high levels of maternal feeding control, using food for behaviour regulation and low encouragement of a balanced and varied food intake. Maternal feeding practices, predominantly pressure to eat, significantly predicted food avoidance eating behaviours after controlling for child emotionality and maternal dietary restraint. The significant contribution of maternal feeding practices, which are potentially modifiable behaviours, suggests that the feeding interactions of parents and their children should be targeted for intervention and the prevention of feeding difficulties during early childhood. Future research should continue to explore how a broader range of feeding practices, particular those that may be more adaptive, might influence child eating behaviour