Research | Peter "Just Loves Flying"

Importance of sleep for early learning highlighted

April 10, 2014

Peter Singhatey Health peter singhateh, Research Leave a comment

Importance of sleep for early learning highlighted.

“Sleep plays a vital role in the early learning and development of babies and young children, a study has found.

Infants who nap are better able to apply lessons learned to new skills, while sleeping appears to help toddlers retain learned knowledge.

The US researchers looked at the ability of young children to recognise something similar but not identical to what they have learned and apply it to a new situation. Known as “generalisation,” examples include recognising the letter ‘A’ in different fonts, or understanding a word regardless of who speaks it.

“Sleep is essential for extending learning to new examples,” said study leader Dr Rebecca Gomez, from the University of Arizona…”

Reading Books Is Fundamental – NYTimes.com

January 24, 2014

Peter Singhatey Education Education, People & Society, peter singhateh, Research Leave a comment

Reading Books Is Fundamental – NYTimes.com.

“…we are now inundated with information, and people’s reading habits have become fragmented to some degree by bite-size nuggets of text messages and social media, and that takes up much of the time that could otherwise be devoted to long-form reading. I get it. And I don’t take a troglodytic view of social media. I participate and enjoy it. Write A Comment

But reading texts is not the same as reading a text...”

Scientists say sex encourages growth of brain cells and improves long-term memory | Mail Online

January 15, 2014

Peter Singhatey Research peter singhateh, Research, Sex Leave a comment

Scientists say sex encourages growth of brain cells and improves long-term memory | Mail Online.

How sex can make you smarter: Scientists say it encourages the growth of brain cells and improves long-term memory

Study found rats developed a greater number of brain cells after mating
This increase in neurons can restore cognitive function, such as memory
After sexual activity was stopped, improvements in brain power were lost
A separate study suggests having sex can counteract the effects of stress

Dublin student wins Young Scientist for maths project – Science News | Daily News from The Irish Times – Fri, Jan 10, 2014

January 13, 2014

Peter Singhatey Irish News Education, Ireland, peter singhateh, Research Leave a comment

Dublin student wins Young Scientist for maths project – Science News | Daily News from The Irish Times – Fri, Jan 10, 2014.

A Dublin student who found answers to previously unsolved mathematical problems has won the 50th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS. Paul Clarke undertook months of research into complex mathematical theory to become the young scientist of the year.

A project by students from Kinsale seeking to understand people’s attitudes to older people in the work force took the prize for best group. The runner up individual award went to a Dublin student who developed a laboratory management system and the runner up group prize was claimed by students from Mayo who designed and built a gumshield communication device for managers and players…

50 Years Later, War on Poverty Is a Mixed Bag – NYTimes.com

January 7, 2014

Peter Singhatey Uncategorized Gambia, People & Society, peter singhateh, Research Leave a comment

50 Years Later, War on Poverty Is a Mixed Bag – NYTimes.com.

WASHINGTON — To many Americans, the war on poverty declared 50 years ago by President Lyndon B. Johnson has largely failed. The poverty rate has fallen only to 15 percent from 19 percent in two generations, and 46 million Americans live in households where the government considers their income scarcely adequate…

…But in the meantime, the greatest hope for poorer Americans would be a stronger economic recovery that brought the unemployment rate down from its current level of 7 percent and drew more people into the work force. The poverty rate for full-time workers is just 3 percent. For those not working, it is 33 percent.

Barry Andrews: Failure to tackle climate change puts unfair burden on the poor – Independent.ie

November 13, 2013

Peter Singhatey Uncategorized Africa, Climate Change, Gambia, peter singhateh, Research 1 Comment

Barry Andrews: Failure to tackle climate change puts unfair burden on the poor – Independent.ie

via Barry Andrews: Failure to tackle climate change puts unfair burden on the poor – Independent.ie.

This weekend’s Typhoon Haiyan was more severe in every respect and latest estimates suggest that more than 12,000 people have lost their lives as a result of the storm.

The question that returns more and more, as weather patterns become increasingly dynamic, is whether these events can truly be considered “natural disasters” any more. The truth is, these events are not entirely natural but whipped up through our failure to properly confront and tackle the human impact on our weather systems.

And the other awkward truth is that those that contribute most to climate change do not share equally the burden of its effects. Rather it is disproportionately the poorest and most vulnerable who are its victims…

Facts about Syria

August 28, 2013

Peter Singhatey International Security International Security, Military Intervention, peter singhateh, Research, Syria Leave a comment

Syria Facts: 11 Things to Know About the Country We\\’re Going to Bomb

via Syria Facts: 11 Things to Know About the Country We\\\’re Going to Bomb.

On August 27, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that, should President Obama give the order, the U.S. military is ready to launch attacks on Syria. The U.S. is responding to the Assad regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons outside of Damascus, which killed hundreds. Below are 11 facts about Syria to put the country’s geopolitical situation in context for Americans…

Dealing with bullies – Political News | Irish & International Politics | The Irish Times – Fri, Jul 12, 2013

July 12, 2013

Peter Singhatey Research Cyberbulling, Ireland, peter singhateh, Research Leave a comment

Dealing with bullies – Political News | Irish & International Politics | The Irish Times – Fri, Jul 12, 2013.

At a time of rising concern over the effects of cyberbullying, new proposals by the Government’s special rapporteur on child protection to criminalise this kind of abusive behaviour are a welcome step in the right direction. Research suggests almost one in five secondary school students have felt bullied or abused online. But pupils, parents and teachers often feel powerless to tackle the problem. Legal difficulties in proving harassment on social networking websites mean there have been relatively few prosecutions to date. The report by Dr Geoffrey Shannon recommends amending existing laws used to combat harassment – the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act – to provide for a specific offence of cyberbullying. Significantly, it also proposes that homophobic bullying in schools should be classified as a child protection issue. This would require schools to address these issues and report them to social services, if necessary…