Atypical Eating Behaviors Identified in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Aged 3 to 5 Years, Using the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire in a Caregiver-Reported Online Survey

Background: Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), aged 3 to 5 years, have physical, behavioral, and functional problems. Because of alcohol-related deficits, children with FASDs are at risk for malnutrition; yet, little is known about how FASD affects eating behavior and nutrition. Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify atypical eating behavior in children with FASDs, aged 3 to 5 years, and their associations with socio-demographic characteristics. Method:This descriptive cross-sectional study gathered data from a caregiver-reported online survey targeting the eating behavior of preschool-aged children with FASDs. The survey included the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Participants/Setting:Seventy-four caregivers qualified for the study with nine having two children with FASDs. Responses to survey questions varied since caregivers had permission to omit any question. Results: Significant differences were found between the preschool-aged children with FASDs and Wardle's published normative sample by gender and age. Compared to reported norms, study children scored higher in Desire to Drink, Food Responsiveness, Emotional Overeating, and Food Fussiness, and lower in Enjoyment of Food. Regarding socio-demographic characteristics, there was greater Enjoyment of Food with larger families and Food Avoidance with college-educated caregivers. Conclusion: Children with FASDs, aged 3 to 5 years, have atypical eating behaviors characteristic of maladaptive appetites, overeating under stress, selective eating, slowness in eating, and an excessive need for drinks, in comparison with a published normative sample

The design and implementation of an information literacy training course that integrated Information and Library Science conceptions of information literacy, educational theory and information behaviour research: a Tanzanian pilot study.

This paper reviews the implementation of an Information Literacy Training course at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. The training lasted seven days and involved Masters students from the Faculty of Education. The course was created as part of a PhD research project on information literacy that was undertaken by the second author of this paper at the Department of Information Science at Loughborough University. The objective was to develop a training course that inculcated information literacy and could be implemented by staff in the library. The success of the course was therefore partly judged on whether it effectively enabled knowledge transfer. This was tested by involving librarians in the pilot, and who took the entire course, and then seeing whether they were able to effectively implement the course themselves. This paper explores the implementation of the information literacy training programme attended by Master students from the Faculty of Education at the University of Dar Es Salaam. The course was innovative in that it integrated knowledge from information behaviour research and educational theory with current perspectives of information literacy from Information and Library Science. The style of training was influenced by the pedagogical theories of Kolb and Vygotsky that stress the importance of experiential and reflective learning and mediated communication. The notion that learning information literacy is more akin to learning a culture rather than skills and that learners are active participants in the learning process further emphasised the need for communication and sharing of learning throughout the course. All stages of the course were evaluated using quizzes, exercises, group reflection and presentations that related to each stage in the course. Trainees’ knowledge of information literacy was evaluated before and after the course to provide an indication of changes in knowledge. A review of the course content and its rationale is given here, challenges are identified, and questions about future initiatives are raised. The course, judging from the various forms of feedback, was effective. It also enabled the librarians to run subsequent courses, including the training of Masters students described in this paper. Hence, the programme proved successful in terms of knowledge transfer

Environmental citizen complaints

Citizen complaints feature prominently in public oversight contexts. The nature and effects of complaints, however, are controversial and poorly understood. We first investigate attitudes about citizen complaints using a nationally representative survey. We document that the public believes complaints promote open, efficient, and equitable governance. We then exploit novel administrative data on over 130,000 complaints in Texas to investigate their observed dynamic effects on regulator behavior. Empirically, complaints are associated with sharp increases in regulator monitoring and enforcement. Complaints uncover more, and more severe violations, than more standard monitoring approaches. Overall, our findings are consistent with complaints enhancing regulatory efficiency

Kinematically Cold Populations at Large Radii in the Draco and Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidals

We present projected velocity dispersion profiles for the Draco and Ursa Minor (UMi) dwarf spheroidal galaxies based on 207 and 162 discrete stellar velocities, respectively. Both profiles show a sharp decline in the velocity dispersion outside ~30 arcmin (Draco) and ~40 arcmin (UMi). New, deep photometry of Draco reveals a break in the light profile at ~25 arcmin. These data imply the existence of a kinematically cold population in the outer parts of both galaxies. Possible explanations of both the photometric and kinematic data in terms of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium models are discussed in detail. We conclude that these data challenge the picture of dSphs as simple, isolated stellar systems.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Student Perceptions Of And Preferences For A Short Overseas Study Tour

Business programs and colleges of business have responded to calls from both AACSB and industry with many different methods of internationalizing business curricula.  One increasingly popular method of exposing business students to international issues is the short study tour.  This research investigates student perceptions of and preference for, different aspects of a short study tour.  Students at a medium-sized metropolitan university in the Midwest were asked to complete a survey.  Results suggest that for the students involved in this research, cost is the most important criteria, followed by the country or countries in which the tour will take place.  Students recognize the value of short study tours, and seem prepared to pay a reasonable price for the appropriate experience.  The paper concludes with a discussion of the value of study tours to developed versus emerging market countries

Public Preferences for Investments in Renewable Energy Production and Energy Efficiency

In this paper we investigate the choices citizens make when asked to express willingness to support a proposed energy policy and are then compelled to allocate the program funds to either renewable energy or energy efficiency. In a survey study based on a random sample of residents of the state of Maine, USA, we find that citizens have preferences for specific types of renewable energy but these preferences do not yield significantly different allocation of investment funds between renewable energy and energy efficiency. We find that preferences are generally consistent regardless of presentation of options (i.e. limited ordering effects). Our results also indicate that personal characteristics that are understudied in the energy literature, including promotion/prevention focus and social/fiscal leanings, influence both willingness to support energy policies and also their allocation of fund choices, but in different ways. This suggests the importance of including multiple options in energy policy proposals, and that targeted messages regarding the components of such policies is key for optimal communication