An investigation into sleep patterns and the effect of time of day on performance in youth swimmers

The purpose of this study was to investigate sleep patterns in competitive youth swimmers and to establish any time-of-day effect on physiological and psychological variables linked to swimming performance. Twelve swimmers (14.8 ± 2.1 years) underwent physiological and psychological tests in morning and evening and completed sleep diaries over a 2-week period. There was a non-significant effect between morning and evening swimming performance for 800 m (p = 0.068) and 50 m (p = 0.306). Handgrip strength was significantly greater in evening (p = 0.007), back and leg strength were significantly greater in morning (p = 0.013). There was no time-of-day effect for jump height (p = 0.756). The profile of mood states indicated significantly higher anger (p = 0.012) and vigour (p = 0.000) in the morning. Swimming performance was not significantly affected by time of day; however, physiological variables showed varied results. Multiple factors could be influencing results including training time and mood state so should be monitored closely by coaches

Supersymmetric quantum mechanics and the Korteweg-de Vries hierarchy

The connection between supersymmetric quantum mechanics and the Korteweg- de Vries (KdV) equation is discussed, with particular emphasis on the KdV conservation laws. It is shown that supersymmetric quantum mechanics aids in the derivation of the conservation laws, and gives some insight into the Miura transformation that converts the KdV equation into the modified KdV equation. The construction of the $\tau$-function by means of supersymmetric quantum mechanics is discussed.Comment: 16 pages, latex, EFI 93/2

No. 3: Linking Migration, HIV/AIDS and Urban Food Security in Southern and Eastern Africa

This publication seeks to establish a background for understanding the complex and dynamic linkages between urbanization, migration, HIV/AIDS and urban food security in Southern and Eastern Africa (SEA). As urbanization accelerates, direct food transfers from rural areas are increasing as poor urban households seek to reduce their vulnerability to high food prices and a cash-intensive urban existence. At the same time, urban households or individual migrants remit money back to households in rural areas both inside and outside the country of employment. A significant proportion of remittances are used for consumption purposes, including the purchase of food. These processes are underwritten by various forms of rural-urban, cross-border and circulatory migration. Migration has clearly facilitated the rapid spread of HIV in the SEA region over the last two decades. For a number of reasons, migrants and other mobile people are especially vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. The epidemic, in turn, is leading to new forms of migration, including children’s migration and return migration of PLWHAs (People Living with HIV and AIDS) to rural areas. Not only does this lead to a decline in remittances but it places a greater burden on rural households. Rural food production for urban household members may also be negatively affected by the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural producers. In the context of HIV/AIDS, migrants themselves may be unable to pursue other food security avenues, including urban agriculture. As HIV/AIDS creates both short term and long term intergenerational impacts within the framework of its long wave epidemiological pattern, the development context is changing considerably. In order to formulate appropriate policy responses, it is therefore imperative to understand the complex linkages and transfers of people and commodities which characterize the “new social economy of migration” in the SEA. At the same time, it is important to understand the inter-related connections between migration and HIV/AIDS for two basic reasons. First, migrants are a particularly vulnerable group, both to HIV infection and to resultant food insecurity. Second, a disease which eats away at the fabric of the new social economy of migration will severely test the ability of urban and rural areas to provide a secure food supply for their populations, both at the aggregate and household levels. It is against this backdrop that this publication documents the key dimensions of the complex connections between urbanization, migration, HIV/AIDS and food security. There is an existing and growing literature on some of these connections; between migration and HIV/AIDS, for example, and between HIV/AIDS and rural food security. However, the linkages between HIV/AIDS and urban food security are less well-established. In addition, attempts to link both HIV/AIDS and urban food security simultaneously with migration are only now being considered, and this project is the first to examine these dynamics at the regional level. That task is rendered more challenging by the fact that migration itself has been undergoing rapid changes in form over the last decade. The publication is divided into three sections. It is designed to lay the foundation for further discussion and the articulation of a targeted action research agenda which addresses both the knowledge gaps and the policy and programming needs of the region in this field of development. This paper begins by reviewing the literature on urbanization and migration in SEA, showing how rapid urbanization is not eliminating migration but intensifying its scope and scale. The section also provides an overview of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in SEA and seeks to establish the reciprocal connections in the HIV/AIDS and migration nexus. Finally, the section reviews current evidence on the determinants of food security in urban areas. The second chapter focuses on the links between migration and HIV/AIDS, migration and food security, and HIV/AIDS and food security. Research on these sets of linkage is proceeding apace although much more is known about the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural than urban food security. The third chapter draws together these sets of relationships and outlines the key knowledge gaps and emerging research questions for the region. Although the research literature is not yet developed in this regard, various conceptual models have been devised to help understand these relationships. Although some of these models focus on rural food security and some on urban, this paper argues that the distinction is artificial, and that migration is the “missing link” between the urban and the rural. Migration links the rural and the urban social economies and emphasizes the point that urban food security cannot be isolated from rural food security and vice-versa. Finally, the paper proposes some next steps in developing a fully fledged and policy-relevant research agenda

Accomplishments of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, 2000-2010

Details the investments and impact of a funder collaborative focused on higher education in nine African countries, and each foundation's contribution. Discusses enduring improvements, increased resources, value added, and additional foundation efforts

Regenerating Out Crime - The Impact of an Urban Regeneration Programme on Safety and Security in a Dublin Suburb

The regeneration of Turristown was a programme for the economic, social and physical renewal of a suburban town in the north-west of Dublin, which began in 1997 and which remains on-going to this date. The area of Turristown is one which has been blighted by socioeconomic and physical deprivation since its establishment in the late 1960s, and the regeneration programme was therefore formulated to provide much needed housing, social services and economic investment to the area. This study sought to assess the impact of this urban regeneration on security and safety as perceived by the suppliers and consumers of security and safety in Turristown. The research was of a qualitative nature; semi-structured interviews were conducted with those involved in the planning and implementation of the redevelopment, with the suppliers of security and safety in the town, namely An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council, and with the consumers of public safety made up of business owners, the local authority and local agencies. Furthermore, the study sought to examine the nature of partnership in respect of urban regeneration programmes to establish whether the inter-agency approach to crime prevention and social development was a worthwhile endeavour. The research established that there were definite safety and security benefits to regenerating a deprived urban area, and this was confirmed from the perspective of both the suppliers and consumers of public safety. An Garda Síochána and Dublin City Council are better able to provide clean, safe and secure environments for those working and living in Turristown as a result of specific physical and social changes made to the area. Furthermore, consumers of public safety also feel more secure and are less affected by crime. However, the study shows that harder situational crime prevention measures such as CCTV proliferation and newer, more secure buildings are not the only explanations for this phenomenon; increased footfall, natural surveillance, and improved community spirit all contribute to a feeling of safety and have an effect on the level of criminal opportunity in an area. The regeneration project did cause some unforeseen issues, particularly in respect of empty tower blocks which became crime attractors, and from the increased availability of alcohol which occurred as a result of the establishment of a number of premises with off-sales facilities. Design issues also led to problems in maintaining the new housing developments and public areas from the perspective of Dublin City Council. The partnership approach to urban regeneration appears to have been a success and has enriched inter-agency relations in the town, thus improving the ability of agencies to provide safety and security to local residents and to those working in the town. However, a number of concerns were raised in respect of the partnership process, particularly around the representation afforded to local residents and on some of the non-housing decisions made by the Turristown Regeneration Company which affected local residents acutely. It is anticipated that this study will add depth to both situational crime prevention and community safety research already carried out in this jurisdiction. Furthermore, the research may inform policy relating to subsequent proposed regeneration programmes to be undertaken in this country and to the nature of inter-agency partnership schemes