bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Why and How Do We Model Circadian Rhythms?
Authors: Beersma Domien G. M.
Published: August 2005

In our attempts to understand the circadian system, we unavoidably rely on abstractions. Instead of describing the behavior of the circadian system in all its complexity, we try to derive basic features from which we form a global concept on how the system works. Such a basic concept is a model of reality. The author discusses why it is advantageous or even necessary to transform conceptual models into mathematical formulations. As examples to demonstrate those advantages, the author reviews 4 types of mathematical models: negative feedback models thought to operate within pacemaker cells, models on coupling between pacemaker cells to generate pacemaker output, oscillator models describing the behavior of the composite circadian pacemaker, and models describing how the circadian pacemaker influences behavior.
Nonphotic Entrainment in Humans?
Authors: Mistlberger Ralph E. , Skene Debra J.
Published: August 2005

Although light is accepted as the dominant zeitgeber for entrainment of the human circadian system, there is evidence that nonphotic stimuli may play a role. This review critically assesses the current evidence in support of nonphotic entrainment in humans. Studies involving manipulations of sleep-wake schedules, exercise, mealtimes, and social stimuli are re-examined, bearing in mind the fact that the human circadian clock is sensitive to very dim light and has a free-running period very close to 24 h. Because of light confounds, the study of totally blind subjects with free-running circadian rhythms represents the ideal model to investigate the effects of nonphotic stimuli on circadian phase and period. Strong support for nonphotic entrainment in humans has already come from the study of a few blind subjects with entrained circadian rhythms. However, in these studies the nonphotic stimulus(i) responsible was not identified. The effect of appropriately timed exercise or exogenous melatonin represents the best proof to date of an effect of nonphotic stimuli on human circadian timing. Phase-response curves for both exercise and melatonin have been constructed. Given the powerful effect of feeding as a circadian zeitgeber in various nonhuman species, studies of meal timing are recommended. In conclusion, the available evidence indicates that it remains worthwhile to continue to study nonphotic effects on human circadian timing to identify treatment strategies for shift workers and transmeridian travelers as well as for the blind and possibly the elderly.
Entrainment of the Human Circadian System by Light
Authors: Duffy Jeanne F. , Wright Kenneth P.
Published: August 2005

The periodic light-dark cycle is the dominant environmental synchronizer used by humans to entrain to the geophysical 24-h day. Entrainment is a fundamental property of circadian systems by which the period of the internal clock (τ) is synchronized to the period of the entraining stimuli (T cycle). An important aspect of entrainment in humans is the maintenance of an appropriate phase relationship between the circadian system, the timing of sleep and wakefulness, and environmental time (a.k.a. the phase angle of entrainment) to maintain wakefulness throughout the day and consolidated sleep at night. In this article, we review these concepts and the methods for assessing circadian phase and period in humans, as well as discuss findings on the phase angle of entrainment in healthy adults. We review findings from studies that examine how the phase, intensity, duration, and spectral characteristics of light affect the response of the human biological clock and discuss studies on entrainment in humans, including recent studies of the minimum light intensity required for entrainment. We briefly review conditions and disorders in which failure of entrainment occurs. We provide an integrated perspective on circadian entrainment in humans with respect to recent advances in our knowledge of circadian period and of the effects of light on the biological clock in humans.
Timing and Consolidation of Human Sleep, Wakefulness, and Performance by a Symphony of Oscillators
Authors: Dijk Derk-Jan , von Schantz Malcolm
Published: August 2005

Daily rhythms in sleep and waking performance are generated by the interplay of multiple external and internal oscillators. These include the light-dark and social cycles, a circadian hypothalamic oscillator oscillating virtually independently of behavior, and a homeostatic oscillator driven primarilyby sleep-wake behavior. Both internal oscillators contribute to variation in many aspects of sleep and wakefulness (e.g., sleep timing and duration, REM sleep, non-REM sleep, REM density, sleep spindles, slow-wave sleep, electroencephalographic oscillations during wakefulness and sleep, and performance parameters, including attention and memory). The relative contribution of the oscillators varies greatly between these variables. Sleep and performance cannot be predicted by either oscillator independently but critically depend on their phase relationship and amplitude. The homeostatic oscillator feeds back onto the central pacemaker or its outputs. Thus, the amplitude of observed circadian variation in sleep and performance depends on how long we have been asleep or awake. During entrainment to external 24-h cycles, the opposing interplay between circadian and homeostatic changes in sleep propensity consolidates sleep and wakefulness. Some physiological correlates and mediators of both the circadian process (e.g., melatonin and hypocretin rhythms) and the homeostat (e.g., EEG, slow-wave activity, and adenosine release) have been established, offering targets for the development of countermeasures for circadian sleep and performance disorders. Interindividual differences in sleep timing, duration, and morning or evening preference are associated with changes of circadianor sleep homeostatic processes or both. Molecular genetic correlates, including polymorphisms in clock genes, of some of these interindividual differences are emerging.
Clinical Aspects of Human Circadian Rhythms
Authors: Klerman Elizabeth B.
Published: August 2005

Circadian rhythmicity can be important in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of clinical disease. Due to the difficulties in conducting the necessary experimental work, it remains unknown whether ~24-h changes in pathophysiology or symptoms of many diseases are causally linked to endogenous circadian rhythms or to other diurnal factors that change across the day, such as changes in posture, activity, sleep or wake state, or metabolic changes associated with feeding or fasting. Until the physiology is accurately known, appropriate treatment cannot be designed. This review includes an overview of clinical disorders that are caused or affected by circadian or diurnal rhythms. The clinical side effects of disruption of circadian rhythmicity, such as in shiftwork, including the public health implications of the disrupted alertness and performance, are also discussed.
The Deterritorializing Language of Child Detainees
Authors: Parr Adrian
Published: August 2005

The policy of mandatory detention for all asylum seekers who arrive in Australia without a valid visa regardless of age, religion, physical or mental health is uncompromising to say the least. The detention centres are harsh and alienating environments, where free and open communication is severely restricted, and in this context, children, in particular, suffer from a double silencing - unable to speak English, traumatized and often too young to speak for themselves. This article is concerned with how this silencing could be connected to a broader problem of representation. In order to understand how Australia, in the name of sovereignty, transcends its own colonial subjectivity through the systematic colonization of the experiences, bodies and histories of asylum seekers, the article draws on Spivak and Deleuze’s understanding of representation to examine the material and immaterial exploitation of child detainees.
Some Demographic Measures from a Child’s Perspective
Authors: Neupert Ricardo
Published: August 2005

Population and demographic studies have made a major contribution to the study of children and childhood. However, the demographic analysis on children has rarely been carried out using the children as the unit of analysis; the usual unit is the household, the family or the mother. For example, standard demographic measures of fertility are women-based and, therefore, do not entirely reveal the size of a child’s family of orientation. Children are considered as related to their parents but not to other siblings or even other relatives. The purpose of this article is to use three child-based measures to analyse demographic data from a child’s perspective: namely, children’s mean family size, net mean family size and the mean number of children that co-reside with other children. These three measures are applied to data from the 1998 Census of Cambodia. The argument proposed in this article is that the study of children is incomplete unless they are also studied as unit of analysis in their own right and with respect to other children and not only to adults. It is demonstrated that, in fact, this approach may open new avenues to the study of children from a social perspective.
Poverty and livelihoods: whose reality counts?
Authors: Chambers Robert
Published: August 2005

This paper explores how professionals’ universal, reductionist and standardized views of poverty differ from those of the poor themselves. Poverty line thinking concerned with income-poverty and employment thinking concerned with jobs, project Northern concerns on the South, where the realities of the poor are local, diverse, often complex and dynamic. Examples illustrate how poor people’s criteria differ from those assumed for them by professionals. The paper also discusses neglected dimensions of deprivation including vulnerability, seasonality, powerlessness and humiliation. In the new understandings of poverty, wealth as an objective is replaced by wellbeing and “employment” in jobs by livelihood. The final sections argue for altruism and reversals to enable poor people to analyze and articulate their own needs, and they conclude with the implications for policy and practice of putting first the priorities of the poor.
The myth exploded: urban poverty in the Pacific
Authors: Bryant-Tokalau Jenny J
Published: August 2005

This paper describes how the extent and intensity of urban poverty have been under-estimated in the Pacific and how urban poverty's many dimensions - in health, housing and living conditions and school attendance as well as incomes - not fully acknowledged. The first part of the paper reviews urban poverty in the whole region while the second looks in more detail at urban poverty in Fiji. A concluding section suggests new initiatives needed to address urban poverty.
Fighting poverty: the economic adjustment of female migrants in Dhaka
Authors: Huq-Hussain Shahnaz
Published: August 2005

This paper examines how recent and long-term female migrants find paid work when they arrive in Dhaka, including how long it takes to do so, the work they find, the income they receive, the extent to which they retain control over the income they earn and their work satisfaction. The paper also considers their intention to work, when moving to Dhaka and their work preferences on arrival. It highlights the importance of women's contribution to household income.
Differentiation among the urban poor and the reproduction of poverty: the case of Nanjido
Authors: Kim Ik Ki
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the internal differentiation within a low income community living on a garbage dump in Seoul. This includes the differences in work within the garbage dump in terms of work undertaken and income. Differences in level of education, expenditure and use of family labour are also explored, as are the different survival strategies adopted by households. The paper also considers why it is so difficult for the inhabitants to escape from poverty and the mechanisms which ensure that poverty is reproduced.
Squeezed: the middleclass in Latin America
Authors: Minujin Alberto
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the significant fall in income experienced by a majority of the population in Latin America during the 1980s and how this also increased inequality. The sharp fall in the income of many households, who previously had been part of the middle-class, meant a rapid increase in the “new poor”. The paper considers the scale of the “new poor” and how they differed from the people who were already poor prior to the 1980s crisis. It also includes an in-depth study of the “new poor” in Argentina and a consideration of the differences between them and the structural poor in terms of unsatisfied basic needs.
Environmental problems inherent to a development style: degradation and poverty in Brazil
Authors: Mueller Charles C.
Published: August 2005

This paper describes how a large proportion of Brazil's urban population still lacks provision for sanitation and, to a lesser extent, access to piped water, and how this is rooted in a society with a high degree of inequality and a growing number of urban poor. It also considers why environmental economics has failed to develop operational instruments to highlight the environmental and health costs of inadequate sanitation, the benefits of improved sanitation and the options available for addressing this problem.
Options for municipal interventions in urban poverty alleviation
Authors: Wegelin Emiel A. , Borgman Karin M.
Published: August 2005

This paper reviews the wide range of options available to municipalities in the South to alleviate or reduce poverty. This includes options for employment creation and improving low income groups’ access to justice and protection from crime as well as improvements to urban services such as water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, public transport, health care and education. The paper also outlines how municipal action must encourage and support the activities of community based organizations, NGOs and the private sector in contributing to such improvements and describes how changes in the regulatory framework for land management, urban agriculture and housing can also contribute to poverty alleviation.
The informal housing sector in the metropolis of Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Authors: Yapi-Diahou Alphonse
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the people who live in informal housing in Abidjan's precarious settlements. This includes details of from where they came, how long they have been in the city, and where they lived before coming to their current home. It also describes why they came to live there (and why they chose that particular neighbourhood), how they gained access to land or rooms and, for owner occupiers, how they built and financed the building. The paper also contrasts the situation of owner occupiers and tenants in each of these descriptions.
Innovative urban environmental management in Ilo, Peru
Authors: Díaz Doris Balvín , Follegatti José Luis López , Hordijk Micky
Published: August 2005

This paper describes how the local authorities and population of a small city in Peru addressed the environmental problems they faced from a large copper mine, the fishmeal industry and a lack of basic investment in infrastructure. It shows how an innovative and committed local council was able to work with the industrial concerns and the inhabitants in developing a long-range plan to reduce industrial pollution and to improve housing conditions and the living environment through support for community organization and self-help in both new and established low-income settlements. Strong local democracy proved to be a key factor in this success.
Implementing the new urban agenda: the case of Ismailia, Egypt
Authors: Khoury Zaki B.
Published: August 2005

This paper examines the implementation of an urban environmental management process in Ismailia, Egypt within the context of what can be termed the "new urban agendas" that emerged in recent years which stress the need to combine economic, social and environmental goals and to involve all actors within a city in defining and implementing solutions. The paper also suggests factors that are important for effective urban management in all cities.
Reducing automobile dependence
Authors: Newman Peter
Published: August 2005

Successful and wealthy cities are usually associated with high levels of automobile use and are struggling to cope with the large economic, social and environmental costs this brings. This paper shows how such cities do not need to depend on high levels of private automobile use and describes how automobile dependence has been reduced in many of the most successful cities in the North and kept relatively low in some of the wealthiest cities in the South.
Towards a city of solidarity and citizenship
Authors: Flores Enrique Ortiz
Published: August 2005

This paper draws on examples from Mexico and Japan to show how Habitat II must reinforce the basic rights of people to democratically control their own neighbourhoods and cities, to obtain adequate housing and to protect their social and cultural resources.
Fax: messages from a near future
Authors: Wilheim Jorge
Published: August 2005

In this paper, Prof. J, a character created by the deputy Secretary General of the Habitat II Conference (Jorge Wilheim) discusses with a cultural historian from the year 2024 how the contemporary urban problems that the Habitat II Conference is seeking to address were addressed in the last few years of the 20th century and the first two decades of the 21st century.
Child waste pickers in India: the occupation and its health risks
Authors: Hunt Caroline
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the health risks to which waste pickers are exposed in their work (and often in their homes). It then presents the findings of a study on the health problems of a group of 100 children living in informal settlements in Bangalore (India) in which the health problems of those who work as waste pickers were compared to those who do not.
Healthy cities or unhealthy islands? The health and social implications of urban inequality
Authors: Stephens Carolyn
Published: August 2005

This paper suggests that governments and international agencies must address the large and often growing levels of inequality within most cities if health is to be improved and poverty reduced. It describes the social and health implications of inequalities within cities and discusses why descriptions of the physical symptoms of poverty (and their health implications) are more common than analyses of the structural systems which produce and perpetuate poverty. It also describes the health problems from which low-income groups in urban areas suffer more than richer groups including those that are not linked to poor sanitary conditions and those that are more linked to relative poverty (and thus the level of inequality) than to absolute poverty.
Players in urban informal land markets; who wins? who loses? A case study of Cebu City
Authors: Thirkell Allyson J.
Published: August 2005

This paper describes how informal land developments for housing, more typically associated with the urban poor, are increasingly attracting middle-income households, and how low income households lose out in comparison to middle and upper income households in the purchase and sale of land for housing. Drawing on research in five informal settlements in Cebu, it suggests that low income households often sell land cheaper because of crisis-sales (as money is needed quickly) or because of a greater fear of reprisal because they are selling land they do not own. Low income households also seem to sell land plots cheaper because they perceive their value to be lower than when middle or upper income households sell comparable plots. This contributes over time to the residential segregation of income groups between informal settlements in cities such as Cebu, with the low income groups concentrated on the poorest quality, least desirable sites as they are no longer able to enter the wider informal land market for housing.
From community development to housing finance: from Mutiroesto Casa Melhorin Fortaleza, Brazil
Authors: Cabannes Yves
Published: August 2005

This paper describes two new approaches to financing and supporting the improvement of housing and living conditions for low-income groups in Fortaleza, capital of one of the poorest Brazilian states. The first is the comunidades programme which primarily supports the development of new homes, settlements and income-generating activities for the lowest-income groups through mutirão , mutual self-help (as the participants collectively build and also manage the building process). This is sometimes known as the mutirão programme. The paper presents a case study of one project within this wider programme, Parque Havaí , to illustrate how it works. The second programme described is the casa melhor (meaning “better house”) which provides loans, subsidies and technical support to households living in squatter settlements or other poor quality settlements to improve, rebuild or expand their homes. Although there are elements of mutual aid, this is primarily support for individual selfhelp. In Section III, the paper explains how this fund was developed, along with support programmes provided by NGOs and government agencies to help it function. The programme is financed through a combination of savings, loans and subsidies and has achieved high rates of repayment for the loan component. This section also describes its achievements and limitations - and what possibilities exist for scaling-up the support for housing finance of this kind to meet growing demand. The concluding section reflects on what the experience with both these programmes implies for future work in this area.
Huaycán self-managing urban community: may hope be realized
Authors: T Pedro Arèvalo
Published: August 2005

This paper tells the story of how the settlement of Huaycán in Lima (Peru) came into existence and how, from the outset, when the land invasion which was to form the settlement was first organized, the organizers sought to achieve a democratic, self-managed community. The author, who was one of the community leaders involved in the formation and development of Huaycán, also describes the complex political struggles they faced, especially with Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) but also with other political factions and parties. The article describes how in successive people's congresses they achieved support for self-management and development and recounts the marches into Lima to demand that the politicians keep their promises. It also describes the improvements in basic infrastructure and services achieved in Huaycán with support from local, national and international sources.
The Big Issueand other street papers: a response to homelessness
Authors: Hanks Sinead , Swithinbank Tessa
Published: August 2005

This paper concerns The Big Issue, a magazine that is sold on the streets by homeless people in the UK, and describes how it was started, who reads it and how the homeless are involved. It also describes the work of The Big Issue Foundation and discusses the growing number of street papers being produced in many other countries and the development of an international network of street papers.
What determines vulnerability to floods; a case study in Georgetown, Guyana
Authors: Pelling Mark
Published: August 2005

This paper describes how a high proportion of Greater Georgetown’s inhabitants are subjected to regular floods and examines also the vulnerability of households to flooding and flood impacts in four of the city’s 49 wards. It demonstrates the importance of incorporating social and economic assets together with physical resources as key “dynamic pressures”( 1)in assessments of household and neighbourhood vulnerability to environmental stress. It also identifies households and communities as active agents in the management of vulnerability and examines the potential of such organizations for reducing vulnerability based upon economic poverty.
“Tenant today, posseiro tomorrow”
Authors: Barbosa Ronnie , Cabannes Yves , Morães Lúcia
Published: August 2005

This paper tells the story of FEGIP, a federation of tenants and “posseiros” working in Goiás state, Brazil and their struggle over the last 17 years to assist tenants and the homeless. Section I serves as introduction and Section II outlines the methodology and scope of the research. Section III provides some basic information on the city of Goiânia, and the situation of tenants within the city. Section IV explains the central role of tenants' movements in creating an alternative means through which low-income families are able to secure housing. It analyzes the specific nature of FEGIP - the Goiânia Federation of Tenants and Posseiros - and former organizations. Section V illustrates these strategies with a number of histories of individual settlements. The final sections consider the achievements and impacts, and some conclusions are drawn following an assessment of their effect on both local and national housing policy.
Urbanization and caregiving: a framework for analysis and examples from southern and eastern Africa
Authors: Engle Patrice L. , Menon Purnima , Garrett James L. , Slack Alison
Published: August 2005

This paper considers the role of caregiving on children's health and development with a special focus on identifying the constraints on effective caregiving in urban areas, and the potential solutions. It uses the extended UNICEF framework for nutrition which suggests that there are six major types of care behaviour: feeding and breast-feeding, food preparation and handling, hygiene behaviour, psycho-social care, care for women and home health practices. To ensure adequate care for the child, the caregiver needs adequate knowledge and education, physical and mental health, autonomy in decision-making, time, and social support from the family and community. This paper describes each of these resources and constraints, and two of the behaviour types (breast-feeding and health care utilization) in the urban areas of eight countries in eastern and southern Africa. It also presents a matrix highlighting critical constraints on caregiving behaviours in urban areas, and potential solutions, and identifies areas where further research is needed.
Greening small recycling firms: the case of leadsmelting units in Calcutta
Authors: Dasgupta Nandini
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the limitations in the government's attempts to control pollution from lead-smelting units in Calcutta, and how most businesses installed inappropriate and ineffective pollution control equipment when required to reduce emissions. It also describes what can be learnt from this not only in terms of setting standards but also in ensuring that these can be met by small as well as large firms at costs they can afford. This suggests a broader role for government agencies involved in pollution control that includes information dissemination on how businesses could comply with environmental legislation and the costs and benefits of different pollution control or reduction options. In this case, the most cost-effective solutions were not necessarily the cheapest and the industry owners were not made aware of the reduction in costs and wastes that some of the pollution control options brought.
Falahak, Inshallah (Flowering-God's Will): the struggle of the labouring poor, and a vision, strategy and programme for tenant-led bastiand city renewal
Authors: Ramaswamy V. , Chakravarti Manish
Published: August 2005

This paper describes a new programme to assist tenants living in the bastis (low-income settlements) in Howrah. After this introductory section, Section II describes the development of low-income rental accommodation in the city including the establishment of the thika tenancy system in Calcutta. Despite legislation to improve the situation of tenants, living conditions remain very poor. Section III summarizes government responses, first through legislation and then through settlement upgrading programmes. These responses, however, did not secure improvements in living conditions. A new programme, the Calcutta Environmental Management Strategy and Action Plan (CEMSAP) has provided a new opportunity to look afresh at the needs of the city and its low-income residents. This programme has benefitted from being able to draw on several decades of innovative thinking and experience in urban development. The final section describes the local environment in one settlement where 80 per cent of the residents are tenants, and discusses the plans and activities to strengthen local representative groups and make interim improvements in living conditions. However, these improvements are recognized as being inadequate. The legislation has resulted in the tenants being virtual owners within the settlement and the authors end the paper by describing recent plans for more substantive improvements.
Migrants' long-distance relationships and social networks in Dakar
Authors: Fall Abdou Salam
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the changes in the relationships between migrants in Dakar and their relatives in rural home areas, and how traditional kin structures are gradually replaced by new solidarity networks in the city. While remittances are an important resource for rural households, especially during the “hungry months” before the new harvest, migrants' visits are not linked to regular seasonal agricultural work but rather to occasional participation in family ceremonies, suggesting a decrease in temporary migration and a more permanent urban residence.
Women vendors' work histories in Port-au-Prince: what lessons can be learned for research and action?
Authors: Blanc Bernadette
Published: August 2005

This paper reports on interviews with women street vendors in a poor neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. It describes the reasons why the vendors undertake this work, their income sources prior to becoming vendors, the importance of vending and, for some, other sources of income for family survival. It evaluates the significance of two notions often considered self-evident for women in such contexts: family assistance and community solidarity. It also analyzes the impact of gender relations on the vendors' access to work and on the possibilities of obtaining better livelihoods.
Interlocking livelihoods: farm and small town in Zimbabwe
Authors: Kamete Amin Y.
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the nature of the relationship between two settlement types in Zimbabwe. It explores the links between the often neglected and underestimated farm and the ever-popular town in north-western Zimbabwe. Two interactive channels and their associated sub-channels are identified and analyzed. The nature of these interactions shows that the links between the two settlement types are by no means simple and cannot be narrowed down to the traditional rural-urban divide. The paper concludes by discussing the question of benefits and intervention in the light of the identified livelihood channels.
“Basics are now a luxury”: perceptions of structural adjustment's impact on rural and urban areas in Zimbabwe
Authors: Potts Deborah , Mutambirwa Chris
Published: August 2005

This paper describes differences in the impact of the Economic Structural Adjustment Policy (ESAP) on Zimbabwe's rural and urban areas through the views of recent migrants to Harare. Although the outcomes of ESAP have been more acutely felt in the city than in the countryside, rural populations have also suffered from increases in the prices of basic commodities and in public services fees. Retrenchment and increasing poverty in the city affect rural households, as remittances decline and migrants return to their rural homes, increasing the burden there. Due to the strength of rural-urban interactions and the economic interdependence between city and countryside, the impact of structural adjustment is not clearly geographically defined.
The rural linkages of urban households in Durban, South Africa
Authors: Smit Warren
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the linkages between low-income migrant households in Durban and their rural home areas. These relationships can be seen as a continuum, from households which regard their rural homestead as their real home to households who seem to have severed their rural ties. For a number of households, described as “multiple-home households”, maintaining both an urban and a rural base provides a safety net in times of economic hardship or political violence. In order to address the needs of these households, housing and rural development subsidy policies should take variations in household size into account and allow greater choice in the allocation of subsidies between urban and rural homes.
Population, environment and security: a new trinity
Authors: Hartmann Betsy
Published: August 2005

This paper critically examines the literature which claims that internal conflict in Africa, Asia and Latin America is often the result of population pressures and resource scarcities, focusing particularly on the work of Thomas Homer-Dixon. This literature largely fails to consider the underlying economic and political causes of environmental degradation and violence, including the role of international companies, development assistance agencies and militaries. Yet, as the paper describes, this literature has a growing influence. It provides a convenient rationale for sustaining US military expenditures which are threatened by the end of the Cold War and gives hardliners in the population control lobby a justification for moving away from the new, broader focus on reproductive health back to more coercive population policies. It has also been used by journalists such as Robert Kaplan to present inaccurate and racist images of Africa. The paper ends with a discussion of why it is important to challenge this ideology before it exercises a firmer hold on public policy and consciousness, not least because it leads to negative stereotypes of women and “peasant” farmers and could lead to the militarization of environmental policy.
One David and three Goliaths: avoiding anti-poor solutions to Mumbai's transport problems
Authors: Patel Sheela , Sharma Kalpana
Published: August 2005

The paper describes how community organizations representing the inhabitants of “slum” communities living along Mumbai's railway tracks and supportive Indian NGOs demonstrated effective and propoor solutions to the need to move people to increase the speed of Mumbai's overloaded commuter rail system. In so doing, it discusses the slow and often difficult negotiations they had in seeking such solutions with the three Goliaths – the state government, the railways board and the World Bank.
Localizing Agenda 21 in small cities in Kenya, Morocco and Vietnam
Authors: Tuts Raf
Published: August 2005

This paper describes a Localizing Agenda 21 programme in three small cities which sought to enhance the local capacity for urban planning and management, for the benefit of the citizens and the quality of their urban environment. It explains the focus of this programme within a growing worldwide Local Agenda 21 movement and describes its two methodological cornerstones the strategic structure planning approach and the capacitybuilding strategy. This is followed by a description of the contexts and thematic action plans in Nakuru, Essaouira and Vinh City, including both the successes and the constraints which limited or slowed progress. The paper finishes with a discussion of the impacts and how these can be assessed, and draws lessons which were learnt while supporting the Local Agenda 21 processes in the three cities.
Street homelessness in Johannesburg inner-city: a preliminary survey
Authors: Olufemi Olusola
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the scale and nature of homelessness, and the spatial location of the homeless in central Johannesburg based on a survey of street shelters, public places and buildings used by the homeless. It also considers the broader context wherein the legacy of apartheid combines with inadequate housing policies to leave much of the low-income population with little possibility of finding adequate quality housing.
Let us build cities for life: the national campaign of Local Agenda 21s in Peru
Authors: Miranda Liliana , Hordijk Michaela
Published: August 2005

In March 1996, representatives from several Peruvian cities, grassroots organizations and NGOs, together with scientists and staff from universities and local government authorities, decided to establish a national forum to promote the development and implementation of Agenda 21 in cities in Peru. This came to be called the “Cities for Life” Forum which, today, brings together representatives from 41 institutions in 18 cities. This paper describes the origin and early development of the Forum -and its vision, strategies and work to date. It seeks to show how this Forum developed beyond what was initially a conventional project which depended upon technical assistance and the initiatives of a local NGO into a network of many different actors from many urban centres in Peru who, together, form an autonomous and independent entity. The Forum has encouraged and supported its members in developing and implementing local environmental action plans and in learning from each other's experiences. The paper also outlines the main environmental problems in Peru's urban areas and the unsupportive national framework within which urban authorities and other urban actors strive to address environmental problems.
The urban community environmental activities project and its environment fund in Thailand
Authors: Boonyabancha Somsook
Published: August 2005

This paper describes the work of an environment fund set up to support community initiated and managed projects within low-income settlements in urban areas throughout Thailand. Drawing on a grant of US$ 1.3 million, over a two-year period, the fund has supported 196 projects benefiting 41,000 families. Although managed by a Thai government agency (the Urban Community Development Office) and with funds from the Danish government agency, DANCED, the fund has allowed lowincome communities to develop their own projects and manage their implementation. It also encouraged inter-community exchanges and, more generally, a strengthening of the capacity of low-income communities to work together and negotiate and work with external agencies.
Information and participation within environmental management
Authors: Haughton Graham
Published: August 2005

This paper reviews the key components of processes for informed and participatory environmental management and planning in urban areas. These include techniques more commonly associated with external technical expertise such as environmental impact assessments, capacity studies and environmental audits and initiatives that place more emphasis on the role of the community in understanding the environment and helping develop appropriate responses. The paper also discusses how these fit within broader debates on “good governance”.
Partnerships for urban environmental management: the roles of urban authorities, researchers and civil society
Authors: Wacker Corinne , Viaro Alain , Wolf Markus
Published: August 2005

This paper discusses the different roles of researchers, urban authorities and civil society groups in developing partnerships that address both environmental management and development. It draws on discussions at a workshop which brought together teams from six countries involved in research on this theme. It begins by describing the Local Agenda 21 and stakeholder partnershipsdeveloped in Jinja, Uganda and then discusses the experiences of the different teams in developing partnerships. The paper highlights how much the local context and broader political settings influence the set of roles the research teams take on, and ends with recommendations directed at urban authorities, researchers and civil society leaders.
Havana's self-provision gardens
Authors: Moskow Angela
Published: August 2005

This paper discusses how urban agriculture is promoted in Havana as a means of addressing the acute food scarcity problems that developed when Soviet aid and trade were drastically curtailed in 1989. It describes the contributions which Havana's 26,000 self-provision gardens make to household nutrition and income and to communities’ environmental quality, drawing on research which included interviews with a range of households engaged in urban agriculture, and discusses what lessons can be learnt from this experience.
A comparative analysis of urban agricultural enterprises in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Authors: Ezedinma Chuma , Chukuezi Comfort
Published: August 2005

This paper describes commercial vegetable production in Lagos and commercial floriculture in Port Harcourt. Commercial vegetable entrepreneurs are mainly poorly educated migrant farmers who engage in vegetable production as an off-season income-generating activity. By contrast, commercial floriculturists are well-educated urban residents who usually combine this with other well-paid occupations. Returns are also higher in floriculture. In order to attract consumers, location is essential and both categories of entrepreneurs prefer land sites close to major highways and roads. Both enterprises are profitable and rely on hired workers as an important production input. The problems associated with urban vegetable production include access to land, credit and technology. In floriculture, the lack of skilled labour and exotic plants are more important problems. The paper ends by stressing the advantages of integrating support for urban agriculture within urban policies.
An Investigation Into Parent Perceptions of the Needs of Siblings of Children With Cancer
Authors: Sidhu Ranita , Passmore Anne , Baker David
Published: August 2005

Although more is understood about childhood cancer’s impact on the often forgotten siblings in the family, developing empirically tested interventions that support positive health outcomes is only just emerging. As family support is of key importance in sibling adjustment, further knowledge about their needs is crucial to the development of effective interventions. This investigation focused on examining parental perceptions regarding the concerns and issues for siblings of children with cancer and explored what support is helpful. Focus group methods were used to gather the data with probe questions developed from the literature and from clinical experience. Emergent topics generated were further analyzed using content analysis with 3 major topics identified: the universality of losses arising from the illness experience, behavioral challenges and adaptation, and parent-sibling communication. Parents also discussed helpful interventions. These are described and discussed in relation to the literature. The information obtained will contribute to developing interventions for siblings, specifically to produce a protocol for a therapeutic peer-support camp.
The Inpatient Advanced Practice Nursing Roles in a Canadian Pediatric Oncology Unit
Authors: Maloney Anne Marie , Volpe Jocelyne
Published: August 2005

The role of the nurse practitioner has been long established in the outpatient setting in pediatric oncology. The inpatient nurse practitioner role has been described to a lesser extent. This review of the role of the inpatient clinical nurse specialist/nurse practitioner on the 27-bed inpatient oncology unit at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, will describe the role and strategies for its implementation. This role of the clinical nurse specialist/nurse practitioner facilitates the provision of quality care to children and families admitted to the inpatient oncology unit.
Performance Measures
Authors: Starbuck William H.
Published: August 2005

Performance measures are important. They shape the future and indirectly determine the quality of human life. However, performance measures often assess something other than what researchers assume they do, and their meaning is made ambiguous by the fact that they subsume conflicting subgoals. Performance measures contain correlated errors that distort inferences, and the errors in performance measures often exceed the limitations imposed by prevalent statistical techniques. Thus, researchers should be cautious about inferring that they understand the determinants or consequences of performance.
Building the Knowledge Base for Improving Educational and Social Programs through Planned Variation Evaluations
Authors: Yeh Stuart S.
Published: August 2005

In this paper I argue that research, development, and evaluation of social and educational programs should routinely be integrated through a planned variation approach. This approach typically involves the design, implementation, and evaluation of an enhanced, as well as standard, variation of a program. In contrast to conventional black box evaluations, I argue that a planned variation approach is better suited to the needs of program operators, offers methodological advantages, tests program theory, helps to build the base of knowledge for constructing better programs, and would foster greater utilization of evaluation findings. I discuss implications regarding the role and preparation of evaluators and issues in conducting planned variation evaluations. I compare the planned variation approach to other types of theory-based evaluation and discuss when and why it may be preferable.
Empowerment Evaluation Applied: Experiences, Analysis, and Recommendations from a Case Study
Authors: Schnoes Connie J. , Murphy-Berman Virginia , Chambers Jeff M.
Published: August 2005

The empowerment evaluation approach is applied and examined within the context of a case study involving three comprehensive communities’ initiatives. Although considerable literature has been published concerning the efficacy and legitimacy of the empowerment evaluation approach, little documentation exists regarding the empirical application of this approach. In this article we discuss, from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, issues related to the evaluator’s role, differences relative to other inclusive evaluation approaches, stakeholder involvement, evaluation context variables, and the concept and practice of empowering program participants via an evaluation approach. Data were gathered to assess how the approach was viewed through the eyes of both the evaluation consumers and the evaluators. Recommendations are discussed regarding the types of circumstances that might most facilitate and support the empowerment evaluation approach.
Situational Enhancement of Design Validity: The Case of Training Evaluation at the World Bank Institute
Authors: Eckert Wm. Albert
Published: August 2005

The critical role played by research design has been widely discussed among evaluators. Generally there is a consensus that experimental and certain quasi-experimental designs are preferable for their ability to eliminate or minimize threats to internal validity. Least preferred are the class of nonexperimental designs, particularly the one-group, pretest-posttest design. This design, while convenient, is regarded as incapable of controlling for most standard threats to internal validity. In practical applications, however, this design may be stronger than expected. The context, or situation, in which the design is applied may make one or more standard threats to validity implausible. An example from evaluations at the World Bank Institute is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of this design within a given situation. It is suggested that evaluators carefully review the plausibility of each threat to design validity within the context to which it is applied as a means of adding to their repertoire of existing evaluation tools.