Fetal Neurobehavioral Development

The ontogeny of fetal autonomic, motoric, state, and interactive functioning was investigated longitudinally in a sample of 31 healthy fetuses from 20 weeks through term. Fetal heart rate and movement data were collected during 50 min of Doppler-based fetal monitoring at 6 gestational ages. Measures of fetal heart rate and variability, activity level and vigor, behavioral state, and reactivity were derived from these digitized data. Weighted least squares analyses were conducted to model the developmental patterns and to examine the role of maternal and fetal covariates. With advancing gestation, fetuses displayed slower heart rate, increased heart rate variability, reduced but more vigorous motor behavior, coalescence of heart rate and movement patterns into distinct behavioral states, and increasing cardiac responsivity to stimulation. Male fetuses were more active than female fetuses, and greater maternal stress appraisal was associated with reduced fetal heart rate variability. An apparent period of neurobehavioral transition exists between 28 and 32 weeks. Fetal research methods are evaluated.     

Why Do Companies Sponsor Arts Events? Some Evidence and a Proposed Classification

Corporate philanthropy towards the arts isof long standing in the United States. There is nosuch tradition in Europe, but corporate sponsorship ofthe arts has been in place since the 1960s (seeFrémion, 1994). This paper will discuss thedifferences and similarities between these two formsof business support to the arts and then concentrateprimarily on corporate sponsorship. The motivationsfor companies to sponsor arts events are examined inthe context both of the literature relating to themotivations for corporate philanthropy and corporatepromotional/marketing expenditure. Results from asurvey of 69 companies that had sponsored 129 artsevents in Ireland are presented and compared to thelimited results from similar surveys elsewhere. Itis suggested that the motivations for such sponsorshipcan usefully be reduced to four: promotion ofimage/name, supply-chain cohesion, rent-seeking andnon-monetary benefit to managers/owners. The evidence for this from the survey, either directly available orimplicit in the responses to some other questions, issignificant.     

Exploring copyright knowledge in relation to experience and education level among academic librarians in Kenya

Since the year 2001, Kenya’s copyright regime has extensively been shaped by Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement; World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty; Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA); and The Cotonou Agreement, which have advocated for effective copyright administration and management structures in addition to stiffer penalties for those who violate copyright laws. Despite better administrative structures being put in place, copyright infringement in Kenya has persisted. Being able to balance the needs of rights owners and information consumers becomes a critical role librarians have to play. Knowledge about copyright, thus, becomes critical. Despite the fact that librarians in Kenya are not a homogenous group, how knowledgeable the different librarian cadres are concerning copyright issues is least understood. The raison d’être for this study is to find out whether different cadres of librarians based on academic qualifications differ in the level of knowledge on copyright issues. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Results indicate no statistically significant difference in self-reported knowledge of copyright among the five librarian cadres based on their education level and neither is there a statistically significant difference based on librarians’ years of service. Statistically significant differences among the five librarian cadres exist when we compare “tested knowledge” of copyright issues. Evidence of insufficient mastery of provisions in the Kenyan copyright law does exist.