Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The empowering of local governments in South Africa as engines of national development has been plagued with problems and imbalance related to the ethic and the functioning of the local government machinery itself. The said imbalances are being reinforced by a lack of understanding and consensus as to what democracy is and how it should work. The consequences are widespread corruption and distortions of government priorities; both of which undermine the ability of governments to improve broad-based economic growth and social well-being. The central problem addressed in this study investigates the extent to what the City of Cape Town’s accountability mechanism support good governance and develop institutional development and service deliver. The researcher is of the opinion that municipalities in their daily endeavours should now be at the sustainable phase which would mean that all policies, systems and procedures are in place for good governance. The researcher further assumes that municipalities should be at this stage capacitated and therefore, are able to fulfil basic institutional mandate of providing basic services and facilitating economic development. This is a wide subject that different researchers will undertake and provide potential solutions. But for the purpose of this research the following are posited to prevent some developmental issues: Firstly, a wall-to-wall local government, i.e., a constitutional guarantee that there shall be local government through the jurisdiction of the country. This suggestion has waken up the importance to emphasize the distinction and independence of each local government. The only challenge within and between local government, is seen by a politico-administration dichotomy which historically has always been an issue in public administration. As a matter of facts, there is interpenetration between the role of political and the one of administrative leadership as one can’t separate them in practice since officials also play important role in policy development. The effectiveness of Ward Committees for institutional development in reflecting on the best practice at the operational level rests on the need to capacitate the said formed ward committees in terms of skills equipping to maintain a world class service standard. The author posits that, this will do away with incompetence at local level and will promote efficiency and effectiveness in the fulfillment of daily tasks. Furthermore the following should be considered: 1.There should be a provision of adequate resources; this will enable officials to perform their tasks. 2. There should be a display of less politics or noninterference from politicians in the administration; this will avoid encroachment and mismanagement while enhancing proper accountability principles. Secondly, local government should maintain democratic elections, i.e., an electoral system that mixes proportional representation with ward representation as the best basis for local government councils. A wide array of information collected on this level from respondents posited that local government should only have ward representation although full time councillors found it difficult to perform both functions because of high demand from the community and from their job. This should maybe be rated at 90% to 10% rather than 50%.Finally, emphasis should be on financial decision-making power i.e., municipalities should be creatures of the Constitution rather than creatures of statue. The formal local government only entrusted service delivery powers to local government. Municipalities were not developmental in nature. However, the current local government is expected to be developmental. This turns its focus on top of its daily routine, to economic development. It is only then that one can maintain that local government powers are relevant to the development mandate.

Überwachung der Narkosetiefe: Wissenschaft und Wirklichkeit Fragestellung: Die vorliegende systematische Übersicht soll einen Überblick über die wissenschaftlich getesteten Verfahren zur Bestimmung der Narkosetiefe schaffen. Darüber hinaus könnte die dadurch entstandene Wissensbank zur Errechnung eines kombinierten Narkosetiefenparameters dienen. Parallel dazu wird durch eine Umfrage die klinische Wirklichkeit abgebildet. Methoden: Mit Hilfe der Suchfunktionen der Internetdatenbanken der National Library of Medicine, Pubmed, Embase und Central aus der Cochrane Library wurden alle Veröffentlichungen über passende wissenschaftliche Studien zum Thema „Narkosetiefe-Monitoring“ ausgewählt, gesichtet, katalogisiert und verglichen. Gleichzeitig wurde eine Umfrage nach den tatsächlich angewandten Überwachungsverfahren der Narkosetiefe an 30 Universitätskliniken Deutschlands durchgeführt. Ergebnisse: Die Auswertung der 179 aus den Datenbanken ausgewählten Originalarbeiten ergab eine große Vielfalt an unterschiedlichen Möglichkeiten im Studiendesign. Es konnten vier gänzlich verschiedene Herangehensweisen definiert werden. Selbst innerhalb dieser vier Gruppen sind die Differenzen so groß, dass die jeweils zugeordneten Studien kaum untereinander verglichen werden können. Die Unterschiede wurden herausgestellt und tabellarisiert, so dass Studien mit ähnlichen oder gleichen Ansätzen, Bedingungen und Parametern erkannt werden können. Insgesamt fällt auf, dass in 70,8% der Studien EEG-basierte Monitore (wie z.B. BIS) mehr als in einem Vergleich oder als einziges untersucht wurden. Herz-Kreislauf-Parameter (wie z.B. Blutdruck und Herzfrequenz) wurden in 14,6% der Studien in mehr als einem Vergleich oder ausschließlich untersucht. Im Gegensatz dazu werden in den 313 Abteilungen der 30 befragten Universitätskliniken Deutschlands zu 9,3% EEG-basierte Monitore tatsächlich standardmäßig angewandt und zu 92,7 % Herz-Kreislauf-Parameter. Diskussion: Die Unterschiede in den 179 Originalarbeiten sind so zahlreich und vielfältig, dass aus ihren Ergebnissen keine Wissensbank für einen kombinierten Narkosetiefe-Parameter erstellt werden kann. In den Studien wurden hauptsächlich EEG-basierte Monitore untersucht, die im Gegensatz dazu in der klinischen Wirklichkeit nur selten und in bestimmten Situationen angewandt werden. Zu den am häufigsten eingesetzten Herz-Kreislauf-Parametern gibt es dagegen kaum geeignete und wenn nur schlecht vergleichbare wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen. Ein akzeptierter Goldstandart, der auch die für Patienten so schwerwiegenden Wachheitserlebnisse zuverlässig verhindern lässt, fehlt weiterhin. Schlussfolgerung: In Zukunft sollten Studien mit einheitlicheren Designs durchgeführt werden, damit direkte Vergleiche und Zusammenfassungen ermöglicht werden können. / Monitoring depth of anaesthesia: Science and reality Introduction/Question: This survey provides a synopsis of the scientifically tested methods of determining depth of anaesthesia. The thus developed knowledge base may allow the calculation of a combined parameter for measuring depth of anaesthesia. Additionally the clinical practice of methods of monitoring depth of anaesthesia is mapped by a survey and enables comparisons to be made. Methods: Using the search functions of the internet databases of the National Library of Medicine, Pubmed and the Cochrane Library all suitable publications of scientific studies concerning the topic “depth of anaesthesia-monitoring” were selected, reviewed, catalogued and compared. In addition, a survey of the methods of measuring depth of anaesthesia currently used was conducted at 29 university-hospitals in Germany. Results: The evaluation of the 185 original studies generates a great variety of different possibilities in the design of the study. Four entirely different approaches to the topic could be defined. Even within these four groups the discrepancies were so wide, that the respectively assigned studies could hardly be compared to each other. The differences were emphasized and tabularised so that such studies with comparable conditions and parameters can be identified. Overall the following fact is striking (See figure below): In 70,8% of the studies EEG-based monitor-systems (e.g. BIS bispectral index) were investigated by more than one comparison or solely. Cardiovascular parameters (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure) were investigated in 14,6% of the studies more than once ore solely. In contrast to this in the 313 interviewed departments of the 29 German university hospitals EEG-based monitoring systems are actually applied as a standard in 9,3%, whereas cardiovascular parameters are used in 92,7%. Discussion: The diversity of the original 185 papers made it impossible to yield a knowledge-base for a combined depth of anaesthesia-parameter from their results. The studies predominantly examined EEG-based monitors which poorly reflects the reality of clinical practice. Conversely, there are few suitable or comparable studies on the commonly used cardiovascular parameters. We are still lacking an accepted gold standard to allow us to reliably ensure that the distressing state of patient awareness during anaesthesia is avoided. Conclusion: In future several studies with the same or more similar designs should be conducted so that direct comparisons and combinations become possible.

Bei der Operation eines Akustikusneurinoms kann es zu einer Schädigung von Hirnnerven kommen. Unter anderem kann die Funktion des Nervus facialis postoperativ vermindert sein. Um nachteilige Effekte durch eine Facialisstörung zu verhindern wurde das intraoperative elektrophysiologische Monitoring des Nervus facialis eingeführt. Ein Vergleich von Daten aus vorangegangenen Artikeln, bei denen Patienten ohne intraoperatives Monitoring behandelt worden waren, mit Werten des Patientengutes der Universitätsklinik Würzburg zwischen 1998-2003, zeigte einen deutlichen Vorteil für diejenigen Patienten, die während der Operation eine Überwachung des Nervus facialis erfuhren. / Operating on acoustic neuromas can lead to serious impairment of cranial nerves including the facial nerve whose function can be postoperatively reduced. Therefore, intraoperative electropysiological nerve monitoring has been established in order to avoid negative effects on the facial nerve during operation. Comparing historic data where the adjunct of intraoperative monitoring had not been used with data from the Universitätsklinik Würzburg (from patients who had been operated between 1998-2003 with intraoperative monitoring), an obvious benefit was being proved for those who had been operated on with monitoring.

MMed, Psychiatry, University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Health Sciences / Introduction Antipsychotics are used for the treatment of psychotic disorders, most commonly schizophrenia, as well as mood disorders e.g. bipolar mood d isorder. The efficacy of the newer second generation (atypical) antipsychotics is equivalent to first generation antipsychotics. The apparent advantage of the second generation antipsychotics is related to their purported reduced side effect profile, thus making them more desirable due to improved compliance and relapse prevention. The limiting factor with this class of drugs, especially in the state sector in South Africa, has been the cost. However, reports of treatment-emergent adverse events such as diabetes mellitus, diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia in patients receiving second generation antipsychotics have increased in recent times. This has lead to growing concern about the link between metabolic complications and their use, with consequent reconsideration of the implications of prescribing. Aims The study aimed to establish the extent to which metabolic and cardiovascular screening and monitoring has been undertaken on patients who have been prescribed olanzapine, a second generation antipsychotic. Specifically the extent to which the American Diabetes Association Consensus Conference monitoring protocols were being implemented in a specialist psychiatric South African setting i.e.: at Tara: The H. Moross Centre’s outpatient department. Objectives The study objectives were to describe the demographic profile, clinical diagnosis and risk factors for metabolic complications in a sample of patients receiving olanzapine. Further, to establish the extent to which metabolic and cardiovascular screening and monitoring has been undertaken on patients prescribed olanzapine as well as to what extent the patients’s demographics, diagnosis and metabolic risk factors influenced the treating doctor’s adherence to screening guidelines. Method This study was undertaken at Tara: The H. Moross Centre (outpatient department). A convenience sample of patients prescribed olanzapine were selected as the study group. The study involved a review of case records. It was a retrospective descriptive study. Relevant data was entered on a data sheet, designed for the study in accordance with the objectives and adapted from the American Diabetes Association Consensus Development Conference on Antipsychotic Drugs, Obesity and Diabetes. The data sheet is based on an existing protocol for monitoring metabolic status. v Frequencies for the presence or absence of evidence of screening or monitoring for metabolic complications were established, as per American Diabetes Association monitoring protocol requirements. Although the study involved outpatients, not all patients were intiated on olanzapine as outpatients i.e. some of the prescribing was inpatient initiated. Results The sample comprised of 19 females and 20 males. 48.72% female and 51.28% male. The mean age of females in the sample was 52.38 years (SD=16.20) and the mean age of males was 41.28 (SD=17.05) years. The sample were predominantly single ( 61.54% n=24 ) with the majority being white (79.49% n=31 ); most had either tertiarty (43% n=17 ) or secondary (53.85% n =21 ) level of education. Only 2.56% (n=1) had only primary level education. With regards to the diagnoses of patients in the sample, 17,95% (n=7) were diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder, 7.69% (n=3) with major depressive disorder with psychosis, 20,51% (n=8) schizoaffective disorder and 53,84% (n=21) with schizophrenia. The percentage of screening for all the parameters was generally less than 20% and it continued to decline to less than 20% until 4 months. The exception was weight, where frequency increased slightly over time. Comparing inpatient vesus outpatient initiated treatment there were apparent differences in the extent of screening i.e. greater for inpatient initiated treatment, specifically with respect to weight and blood pressure. Conclusion The current study was conducted in a very specific setting, but the findings demonstrated an area requiring attention i.e. adherence to acceptable clinical guidelines. Whilst one can only speculate on the basis for non-adherence, having established the status quo, there is a requirement for an appropriate strategy to address the deficit, given the implications of inadequate monitoring.

Machine condition monitoring is gaining importance in industry due to the need to increase machine reliability and decrease the possible loss of production due to machine breakdown. Often the data available to build a condition monitoring system does not fully represent the system. It is also often common that the data becomes available in small batches over a period of time. Hence, it is important to build a system that is able to accommodate new data as it becomes available without compromising the performance of the previously learned data. In real-world applications, more than one condition monitoring technology is used to monitor the condition of a machine. This leads to large amounts of data, which require a highly skilled diagnostic specialist to analyze. In this thesis, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are used to build a condition monitoring system that has incremental learning capabilities. Two incremental learning algorithms are implemented, the first method uses Fuzzy ARTMAP (FAM) algorithm and the second uses Learn++ algorithm. In addition, intelligent agents and multi-agent systems are used to build a condition monitoring system that is able to accommodate various analysis techniques. Experimentation was performed on two sets of condition monitoring data; the dissolved gas analysis (DGA) data obtained from high voltage bushings and the vibration data obtained from motor bearing. Results show that both Learn++ and FAM are able to accommodate new data without compromising the performance of classifiers on previously learned information. Results also show that intelligent agent and multi-agent system are able to achieve modularity and flexibility.

Smartphones continue to grow increasingly ubiquitous for a variety of reasons. This study employed an online survey experiment in order to determine whether perceptions of environmental/locational privacy or individual levels of self-monitoring have any effect on smartphone uses and gratifications. While perceptions of locational privacy did indeed have a modest effect on smartphone gratifications sought, self-monitoring did not, and no interactions were detected between locational privacy and self-monitoring. Implications for these findings as well as avenues for future research are discussed.

In any infrastructure project, monitoring and managing the built assets is an important task. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is meant for continuous assessment of safety and serviceability of a structure and its elements. SHM has taken a leading role in the field of structural engineering and has become very popular in recent age. Bridge deflection is the basic evaluation index to examine the health status of a bridge structure. The existing bridge monitoring systems have several drawbacks. Hence, a new methodological approach has been proposed to overcome the limitations of traditional contact-based bridge deflection monitoring system and other non-contact based system. This study developed a non-contact linear feature based Deflection Monitoring System (DMS) using Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and cameras for timber railroad bridges. The process and detailed workflow of building the DMS, its components and sensors involved are discussed here. The efficiency of this DMS is validated against a deflectometer. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar o efeito do treinamento e competição na resposta de parâmetros hormonais, indicadores da função imune da mucosa oral, no comportamento e nos episódios de infecção do trato respiratório superior (ITRS) em jovens jogadores de futebol. Para tanto, foram desenvolvidos dois estudos. No primeiro estudo foram investigadas as respostas do cortisol salivar, da tolerância ao estresse e da severidade dos episódios de ITRS de jovens jogadores de futebol submetidos a um mesociclo pré-competitivo de quatro semanas, o qual foi dividido em um período de overload e um período de taper, que precedeu o campeonato nacional mais importante para a categoria. Onze jogadores de futebol do sexo masculino da categoria sub-17 forneceram amostras de saliva, em jejum, para posterior análise do cortisol salivar, e responderam os questionários Daily Analysis of Life Demands for Athletes (DALDA) e Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey-21 (WURSS-21) semanalmente, durante as quatro semanas. A percepção subjetiva de esforço da sessão (PSE da sessão) foi registrada após cada sessão de treinamento durante todo o período de investigação para análise da carga interna de treinamento (CIT). Os principais resultados do estudo foram: concentração significantemente maior de cortisol e dos valores de CIT na primeira semana do período de overload, quando comparados aos valores da terceira e quarta semanas e a correlação negativa e significante entre a tolerância ao estresse e a severidade de ITRS, sugerindo que uma queda da tolerância ao estresse pode causar um aumento do risco ou incidência de episódios de ITRS em jovens jogadores de futebol de campo. No segundo estudo foi avaliado o efeito da competição em marcadores da função imune da mucosa oral e na PSE da sessão em jovens jogadores de futebol. Para tanto, foram comparadas as respostas da imunoglobulina salivar A (SIgA) e da PSE da sessão em jogos oficiais e simulados. Foram analisados 26 jovens jogadores do sexo masculino, em duas partidas simuladas (S) e duas partidas oficiais (O). Os indivíduos forneceram amostras salivares antes do aquecimento (PRÉ) e logo após o término de cada uma das partidas (PÓS) para análise da concentração da SIgA (concentração absoluta SIgAabs e taxa de secreção de SIgA SIgAtaxa). A PSE da sessão foi respondida após a finalização das partidas. Observou-se redução da SIgAabs e da SIgAtaxa do momento PRÉ para o PÓS apenas para a condição O. Um maior valor de SIgAtaxa 6 foi observado no momento PRÉ na condição O quando comparado ao mesmo momento na condição S, demonstrando que o estresse psicológico vivenciado pelos atletas antes do início da partida oficial modulou a imunidade da mucosa oral desses jovens jogadores. É possível concluir que um delineamento que alterne duas semanas de overload com duas semanas de taper não representa uma carga excessiva para jovens jogadores de futebol e que participação em jogos oficiais é percebida como uma fonte de estresse de maior magnitude do que as sessões de treinamento específicas modulando, por sua vez, a resposta de marcadores da função da imunidade da mucosa oral / The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of training and competition in the responses of hormonal parameters, indicators of oral mucosal immune function, behavior and episodes of upper respiratory tract infection in young soccer players. Therefore, two studies were developed. In the first study it was investigated the responses of salivary cortisol, stress tolerance and severity of episodes of upper respiratory tract infection in young soccer players that underwent a 4-week pre-competitive mesocycle, which was divided into in an overload and a taper period and preceded the most important national competition of the category. Eleven male soccer players who belonged to the under-17 team provided saliva samples, on a fast, for analysis of salivary cortisol and answered the Daily Analysis of Life Demands for Athletes (DALDA) and the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey-21 (WURSS-21) during a 4-week period. The rate of perceived exertion of the session (REP-session) was registered after every training session during the investigation period for analysis of internal training load (ITL). The main findings of the study were: significantly higher cortisol concentrations and values of ITL in the first week of the overload period when compared to the values of the third and fourth weeks and the negative correlation observed between stress tolerance and severity of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), suggesting that a decay of stress tolerance might cause an increase of the risk or incidence of URTI episodes in young soccer players. In the second study it was analyzed the effect of competition on the immune function of the oral mucosa and on RPE-session in young soccer players. For that, the salivary immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and RPE-session responses in official and simulated games were compared. Twenty six young male soccer players were observed during two official and two simulated matches. Each player participated in a simulated (S) and an official match (O). Subjects provided saliva samples before (PRE) and right after (POST) each match for analysis of SIgA concentration (absolute concentration SIgAabs and the secretion of SIgA SIgArate). RPE-session was answered after every match. Reductions of SIgAabs and SIgArate from PRE to POST moment were observed only during O condition. A higher SIgArate value was observed during O condition in the PRE moment when compared to the same moment during S condition, demonstrating that the psychological stress experienced by the young athletes before the beginning of the official match modulated the oral mucosa immunity of 8 these young soccer players. It is possible to conclude that a design that alternates two weeks of overload with two weeks of taper does not represent an excessive load for young soccer players and that the participation of these young players in official matches is perceived as a source of stress of greater magnitude than specific training sessions, modulating the response of markers of immunity of the oral mucosa

Kuwait is undergoing rapid economic growth involving substantial developments along its coastal shores and the marine environment. Many of the activities in the region are associated with oil industry, which can pollute the shores leading to contamination from oil residues, tar balls and trace metals. About 2 million barrels of oil are spilled annually from routine discharges into the Gulf, which derives mainly from dirty ballast waters and tank washing. The comprehensive literature review of hazardous substances in Kuwait’s marine environment has concluded that for the majority of these pollutants, contamination is localized around industrialised areas, and elsewhere is generally below the permitted international standards. These finding have been supported by a fieldwork. This has been conducted to assess the use of biomarkers (bile metabolites and EROD activities) for 60 fish consisting of two native species Giant sea catfish (Arius thalassinus) and (Pelates quadrilineatus) to demonstrate the potential for the concentrations of oil based contaminants present to induce detectable levels of biological effects in fish species living in Kuwait’s marine environment. Therefore, the focus of this research has shifted its attention to another anthropogenic source that chronically pollute Kuwait’s marine environment. One of the main sources of contaminants is the continuous discharge of sewage, which impacts many locations around Kuwait. Sewage is known to contain wide array of substances that could pose an ecotoxicological impact at different levels of the ecosystem. One such threat is posed by antimicrobial agents that contribute to the growing global concern surrounding the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria. Therefore, a major theme of this research project was to conduct a novel survey of the prevalence of AMR bacteria isolated from Kuwait’s marine environment. The AMR screening, including 598 E.coli isolated from seawater and bivalves samples during summer and winter seasons against 23 frontline antibiotics, revealed that resistance was observed from a number of locations (particularly associated with sewage outlets) for the majority of antibiotics (seawater: summer 89 - 64%; winter 90 - 57% and bivalves: summer 77%; winter 88%). A baseline screening for the class 1 integron which is known to be implicated in disseminating the antimicrobial resistance among bacteria was conducted for the isolated 598 E.coli. The findings highlighted the prevalence of such molecular genetic elements especially around the sewage outlets (36% of tested E.coli). The whole genome sequencing was conducted for a representative E.coli (26 E.coli) and it showed that E.coli derived from Kuwait’s marine environment possessed a variety of genes implicated in antimicrobial resistance potential against wide spectrum of antibiotics and suggesting that genes are exchanged via the horizontal gene transfer. These observations and recording of antimicrobial resistance phenomenon support the notion that marine environment could act not only as a reservoir for antimicrobial resistance but could also play a significant role in driving it. The AMR bacteria is considered as an effective tool for monitoring the impacts of sewage pollution. Furthermore, it highlights one of the key human health risks sewage pollution poses and its assessments allows a fully integrated health assessment of Kuwait’s marine environment to be undertaken. This will ultimately lead to recommendations outlining the future monitoring and remediation requirements required by Kuwait to tackle this issue including rational antibiotics consumption and stewardship; developing effective wastewater treatment processes to improve removal efficiency of these pollutants in sewage treatment plants; more researches on this area will provide scientific information for responsible authorities to make up regulatory standards and guidelines to control environmental dissemination of these emerging contaminants.

There is growing concern that many children in Britain do not take sufficient exercise to benefit cardiovascular health. This is supported by extensive evidence advocating the importance of regular physical activity for lifelong health and well-being, and is of particular relevance in Scotland given it's notorious record of adult coronary heart disease death. This study examined aspects of fitness and physical activity in groups of Edinburgh school children, aged between 13 and 14 years. A three stage investigation was adopted: Phase One: A repeated measures, same subject design was used to examine the reliability and validity of selected measures (20m shuttle run test, peak oxygen uptake (V02 Peak), and anthropometric measures). Thirty three children (15 boys, 18 girls) performed each test on 3 separate days. Anthropometric measures showed strong reliability (r > 0.94, n=33) whilst reliability for the treadmill test ofV02 peak and shuttle run performance was lower (r=0.89 and r=0.79 respectively). Multiple regression analysis yielded a new equation for predicting V02 peak for children. This age specific prediction equation incorporated shuttle run performance in conjunction with skinfold thickness measures (Boys, R2=0.64 SEE=3.46; Girls, R2=0.79, SEE=2.81). Repeat testing was also recommended. Phase Two: An evaluation of methods of heart rate data analysis to assess physical activity in children. Twenty eight children (14 boys, 14 girls) wore continuous heart rate monitors (polar Electro PE4000, Finland) over a period of 7 days (Monday to Sunday), mean duration 737 (+/-55) mins/day. A detailed 7 day self report activity diary was also completed. Variability of heart rate measures was high (R=0.10-0.30), and it was noted that using data for just 4 days or less resulted in considerable underestimation of total weekly activity levels (44-100% error). If activity levels are to be compared against current recommendations, researchers must endeavour to achieve weekly rather than daily estimates of activity. Evaluation of methods of heart rate data analysis showed good correlation between heart rate activity indices and reported seven day activity. For boys strongest correlation was achieved using the number of 5 minute periods with HR > 139 b.min"l and the number of 5 minute periods with HR > 50% heart rate reserve (r=0.80, n=14). Total activity time was similar for both males and females but girls engaged in fewer sustained bouts of activity (>5 minutes) and a better correlate with activity in females was achieved using the total number of elevated heart rates (total HR > 50% heart rate reserve, r=0.64, n=14). Phase Three: A cross sectional survey was conducted to investigate standards of aerobic fitness and patterns of physical activity in groups of Edinburgh school children. Height, weight, skinfold thickness, shuttle run performance and physical activity (assessed by heart rate monitoring and activity diary) were recorded in a sample of 91 children (44 Boys, 47 Girls). Overall, males performed significantly better on the shuttle run test (t=5.4, df=88, p < 0.05), had higher predicted peak oxygen uptake (t=5.6, df=87, p < 0.05), and engaged in more bouts of moderate to vigorous activity than females. Seventy percent of boys and 50% of girls fulfilled current physical activity guidelines. Most activities were school based (131 mins per week as compared to 85 mins per week of out of school activities). Activity tended to be sporadic with active days interspersed with inactive days (mean 3.2 +/·1.6 days per week). After school activities specifically targeting young girls should be promoted.