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To date, relatively few studies have examined information and communication technologies (ICT) use in the subset of SMEs known as micro-enterprises. Even fewer have looked at agricultural micro firms. The study presented here compares ICT use among micro-enterprises and SMEs in the agricultural sector. Results indicate extensive use of computers and the Internet, especially for basic ICT functions like email, online purchasing and online business-related research, regardless of firm size. Website ownership is less widespread; larger SMEs are more likely than micro-enterprises to have a website. A number of other ICTs are used similarly by both groups. Among different sized micro-enterprise firms, larger micro-enterprises are more likely than smaller ones to have a website and to conduct financial activities online. However, growth does not result in different adoption rates among micro-enterprises for most internet ICTs. The study also investigates micro-enterprise use of emerging social technologies such as instant messaging, chat, blogging, etc. Perceptions of ICT benefits are also discussed.

Is sponsorship and cosponsorship behavior by U.S. House members responsive to which party controls the chamber? The Republican takeover of the U.S. House in 1995 provides an ideal natural experiment to test whether House members are more or less likely to sponsor and cosponsor legislation as a function of their majority or minority party status. We suggest that changes in control of the House created a set of institutional incentives that shifted sponsorship and cosponsorship behavior by House members. Using data on House members serving from the 102nd Congress to the 105th Congress, we consider whether Democrats and Republicans reconfigured their sponsorship and cosponsorship behavior after the shift in partisan control, controlling for the effects of other variables. We find that majority party status matters, withmembers of the majority party consistently exhibiting higher levels of sponsorship activity, though our findings on cosponsorship activity are less definitive.

This volume is the first book to examine issues that arise when minority children's lives are directly or indirectly influenced by law and public policy, laws and policies that are rooted in historical racism. It addresses intersections of race/ethnicity within the context of child maltreatment, child dependency court, custody and interracial adoption, familial incarceration, school punishment and the so-called "school-to-prison pipeline," juvenile justice, police/youth interactions, jurors' perceptions of child and adolescent victims and defendants, and immigration law and policy.

This study explores an emerging work arrangement, the partially distributed work group, in which one member is separated from the "core" group but linked via communication and computer support. Partially distributed groups may well interact differently from those that are either fully co-located or fully distributed. In light of that possibility, the study examined the effects of providing various types of media support in addition to computer support over four sessions. Results indicate that media perceptions do not differ between remote and co-located members. Perceptions of remote and co-located members improve over time. Perceptions of remote members dropped, though not significantly,—relative to those of co-located members—at the midpoint of the exercise. Our data suggest that future studies could find remote participants to be hypersensitive to media deficiencies. Although performance did not depend on type of media used, groups using richer media felt their medium was more effective.

Intro -- FrontMatter -- Reviewers -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Summary -- Part I: Introduction and Context -- 1 Introduction -- 2 The Care and Education Landscape for Children from Birth Through Age 8 -- Part II: The Science of Child Development and Early Learning -- 3 The Interaction of Biology and Environment -- 4 Child Development and Early Learning -- Part II Summation -- Part III: Implications of the Science for Early Care and Education -- 5 The Importance of Continuity for Children Birth Through Age 8 -- 6 Educational Practices -- 7 Knowledge and Competencies -- Part IV: Developing the Care and Education Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 -- 8 Overview of Factors That Contribute to Quality Professional Practice -- 9 Higher Education and Ongoing Professional Learning -- 10 Qualification Requirements, Evaluation Systems, and Quality Assurance Systems -- 11 Status and Well-Being of the Workforce -- Part IV Summation -- Part V: Blueprint for Action -- 12 A Blueprint for Action -- Appendixes -- Appendix A: Biosketches of Committee Members and Staff -- Appendix B: Public Session Agendas -- Appendix C: Information-Gathering from the Field -- Appendix D: Historical Timeline: Preparation for the Care and Education Workforce in the United States -- Appendix E: Credentials by Setting and State -- Appendix F: Tools and Examples to Inform Collaborative Systems Change -- Appendix G: Funding and Financing Examples.