Morphological proportionality in elite age group North American divers.

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the morphological parameters that characterize elite age group divers. Comparisons are made to normative age group data from the Coquitlam Growth Study and the constancy of important characteristics from age group to age group is examined. Data were collected on 27 male and 28 female elite divers who participated in the 1990 North American Age Group Diving Championships. Body build, body composition and skinfold corrected diameters were determined from 36 anthropometric parameters and analysed by ANOVA, t-test and Phantom z-scores procedures. All age groups except the 14- to 15-year-old males were significantly (P < or = 0.05) shorter than their norms but recorded higher androgyny index values. The estimated relative muscle mass increased significantly (P < or = 0.05) with age for males at all ages (40.8-46.3%). The 16- to 18-year-old females had a significantly (P < or = 0.05) larger relative muscle component compared to the younger age groups (40.1-38.4%). When normalized for height, active tissue development of the extremities was comparable between the sexes except in the forearm. The results indicate that at all age levels short stature is an important characteristic for divers. Analysis of regional active tissue development provides further insight into sport-specific prerequisites for success at elite levels.     

Acquiring unpublished population documents in Africa: a personal experience

Acquiring both published and unpublished documents produced in Africa is, generally, a difficult task due to the existing poor state of bibliographic control and the publishing industry. It is even more difficult to obtain unpublished documents in a specialized area of study such as demography--a diffuse area which cuts across several disciplines. This paper discusses the problems encountered on acquisition trips to some African countries to acquire unpublished population material. To help solve the problems, the Population Association of Africa must persuade its members to send copies of their publications to population libraries and documentation centers in their individual countries for dissemination to the other users in Africa. The various organizations and institutions in Africa engaged in the teaching and research of population studies should have an agreement to exchange copies of their theses. The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) should make representations to the various African member countries on the need to disseminate the results of vital censuses and surveys conducted. Finally, the Population Information Network for Africa (POPIN-AFRICA) with its coordinating unit at the population division of ECA should ensure that all the nodes of the network have the financial and other resources to be able to acquire the relevant documents needed for their operations.