Where do they come from? Prevalence and characteristics of nascent entrepreneurs

This paper reports on a unique study of a large, random sample of business start-ups that were identified prior to the actual, commercial launch of the ventures. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, to present frequencies on the involvement of the Swedish population in the small business sector (particularly in start-ups of firms) and to compare these with estimates from Norway and the USA, which are based on studies using a similar research design. The authors also discuss the possible reasons for the differences that emerge between countries. Second, the characteristics of nascent entrepreneurs (i.e. individuals trying to start an independent business) are analysed and compared for sub-groups within the sample and with characteristics of business founders as they appear in theoretical accounts or retrospective empirical studies of surviving all firms. In order to get a representative sample from the working age population, respondents (n = 30,427) were randomly selected and interviewed by telephone. It was found that 2.0% of the Swedish population at the time of the interview were trying to start an independent business. Sweden had a significantly lower prevalence rate of nascent entrepreneurs compared to Norway and the USA. Nascent entrepreneurs were then compared to a control group of people not trying to start a business. The results confirmed findings from previous studies of business founders pointing to the importance of role models and the impression of self-employment obtained through these, employment status, age, education and experience. Marital status, the number of children in the household, and length of employment experience were unrelated to the probability of becoming a nascent entrepreneur. The gender of the respondent was the strongest distinguishing factor. Importantly, the results suggest that while one has a reasonably good understanding of the characteristics associated with men going into business for themselves, the type of variables investigated here have very limited ability to predict nascent entrepreneur status for women.

Characteristics of immigrant entrepreneurs and their involvement in international new ventures

We studied 561 young firms in Australia to understand the involvement of immigrant entrepreneurs (IE) in international new ventures (INV). We found that IE are over-represented in INV and have many characteristics known to facilitate INV success including more founders, university degree, international connections and technical capability. Our study has implications for immigration policy and economic policy and the efficient use of a nation’s human capital. This research challenges a necessity-based stereotype of immigrant entrepreneurs by identifying areas in which immigrant entrepreneurs have natural competitive advantages over native entrepreneurs. This research makes a contribution to the theory of immigrant entrepreneurship by identifying the significant role of immigrant entrepreneurs in INV and the suitability of immigrant entrepreneurs for the development INV. We inform diverse streams of research in transnational and immigrant entrepreneurship with broader strategic work on the creation of INV.

Prediction of the wash-off of traffic related semi- and non-volatile organic compounds from urban roads under climate change influenced rainfall characteristics

Traffic generated semi and non volatile organic compounds (SVOCs and NVOCs) pose a serious threat to human and ecosystem health when washed off into receiving water bodies by stormwater. Climate change influenced rainfall characteristics makes the estimation of these pollutants in stormwater quite complex. The research study discussed in the paper developed a prediction framework for such pollutants under the dynamic influence of climate change on rainfall characteristics. It was established through principal component analysis (PCA) that the intensity and durations of low to moderate rain events induced by climate change mainly affect the wash-off of SVOCs and NVOCs from urban roads. The study outcomes were able to overcome the limitations of stringent laboratory preparation of calibration matrices by extracting uncorrelated underlying factors in the data matrices through systematic application of PCA and factor analysis (FA). Based on the initial findings from PCA and FA, the framework incorporated orthogonal rotatable central composite experimental design to set up calibration matrices and partial least square regression to identify significant variables in predicting the target SVOCs and NVOCs in four particulate fractions ranging from >300-1 μm and one dissolved fraction of <1 μm. For the particulate fractions range >300-1 μm, similar distributions of predicted and observed concentrations of the target compounds from minimum to 75th percentile were achieved. The inter-event coefficient of variations for particulate fractions of >300-1 μm were 5% to 25%. The limited solubility of the target compounds in stormwater restricted the predictive capacity of the proposed method for the dissolved fraction of <1 μm.

Gas sensing characteristics of Fe-doped tungsten oxide thin films

This study reports on the gas sensing characteristics of Fe-doped (10 at.%) tungsten oxide thin films of various thicknesses (100–500 nm) prepared by electron beam evaporation. The performance of these films in sensing four gases (H2, NH3, NO2 and N2O) in the concentration range 2–10,000 ppm at operating temperatures of 150–280 °C has been investigated. The results are compared with the sensing performance of a pure WO3 film of thickness 300 nm produced by the same method. Doping of the tungsten oxide film with 10 at.% Fe significantly increases the base conductance of the pure film but decreases the gas sensing response. The maximum response measured in this experiment, represented by the relative change in resistance when exposed to a gas, was ΔR/R = 375. This was the response amplitude measured in the presence of 5 ppm NO2 at an operating temperature of 250 °C using a 400 nm thick WO3:Fe film. This value is slightly lower than the corresponding result obtained using the pure WO3 film (ΔR/R = 450). However it was noted that the WO3:Fe sensor is highly selective to NO2, exhibiting a much higher response to NO2 compared to the other gases. The high performance of the sensors to NO2 was attributed to the small grain size and high porosity of the films, which was obtained through e-beam evaporation and post-deposition heat treatment of the films at 300 °C for 1 h in air.

Priorities for developing and evaluating data quality characteristics of road crash data in Australia

The National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020 outlines plans to reduce the burden of road trauma via improvements and interventions relating to safe roads, safe speeds, safe vehicles, and safe people. It also highlights that a key aspect in achieving these goals is the availability of comprehensive data on the issue. The use of data is essential so that more in-depth epidemiologic studies of risk can be conducted as well as to allow effective evaluation of road safety interventions and programs. Before utilising data to evaluate the efficacy of prevention programs it is important for a systematic evaluation of the quality of underlying data sources to be undertaken to ensure any trends which are identified reflect true estimates rather than spurious data effects. However, there has been little scientific work specifically focused on establishing core data quality characteristics pertinent to the road safety field and limited work undertaken to develop methods for evaluating data sources according to these core characteristics. There are a variety of data sources in which traffic-related incidents and resulting injuries are recorded, which are collected for a variety of defined purposes. These include police reports, transport safety databases, emergency department data, hospital morbidity data and mortality data to name a few. However, as these data are collected for specific purposes, each of these data sources suffers from some limitations when seeking to gain a complete picture of the problem. Limitations of current data sources include: delays in data being available, lack of accurate and/or specific location information, and an underreporting of crashes involving particular road user groups such as cyclists. This paper proposes core data quality characteristics that could be used to systematically assess road crash data sources to provide a standardised approach for evaluating data quality in the road safety field. The potential for data linkage to qualitatively and quantitatively improve the quality and comprehensiveness of road crash data is also discussed.

Catalytic properties of 26 S and 20 S proteasomes and radiolabeling of MB1, LMP7, and C7 subunits associated with trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like activities*

20 and 26 S proteasomes were isolated from rat liver. The procedure developed for the 26 S proteasome resulted in greatly improved yields compared with previously published methods. A comparison of the kinetic properties of 20 and 26 S proteasomes showed significant differences in the kinetic characteristics with certain substrates and differences in the effects of a protein substrate on peptidase activity. Observed differences in the kinetics of peptidylglutamyl peptide hydrolase activity suggest that the 26 S complex cannot undergo the conformational changes of 20 S proteasomes at high concentrations of the substrate benzyloxycarbonyl (Z) -Leu-Leu-Glu-b-naphthylamide. Various inhibitors that differentially affect the trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like activities have been identified. Ala-Ala-Phe-chloromethyl (CH2Cl) inhibits chymotrypsin-like activity assayed with succinyl (Suc) -Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-AMC, but surprisingly not hydrolysis of Ala-Ala-Phe-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin (AMC). Tyr-Gly-Arg-CH2Cl inhibits Suc-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-AMC hydrolysis as well as trypsinlike activity measured with t-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) -Leu-Ser-Thr-Arg-AMC, while Z-Phe-Gly-Tyr-diazomethyl (CHN2) was found to inhibit only the two chymotrypsin- like activities. Radiolabeled forms of peptidyl chloromethane and peptidyl diazomethane inhibitors, [3H]acetyl-Ala-Ala-Phe-CH2Cl, [3H]acetyland radioiodinated Tyr-Gly-Arg-CH2Cl, and Z-Phe-Gly- Tyr-(125I-CHN2), have been used to identify catalytic components associated with each of the three peptidase activities. In each case, incorporation of the label could be blocked by prior treatment of the proteasomes with known active site-directed inhibitors, calpain inhibitor 1 or 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin. Subunits of labeled proteasomes were separated either by reverse phase-HPLC and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or by twodimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography/fluorography and immunoblotting with subunit-specific antibodies. In each case, label was found to be incorporated into subunits C7, MB1, and LMP7 but in different relative amounts depending on the inhibitor used, consistent with the observed effects on the different peptidase activities. The results strongly suggest a relationship between trypsin-like activity and chymotrypsin-like activity. They also help to relate the different subunits of the complex to the assayed multicatalytic endopeptidase activities

Performance characteristics of compound curved sandwich shell structures

Sandwich shells have recently emerged as aesthetically pleasing, efficient and economical structural systems, with a number of applications. They combine the advantages of sandwich layer technology together with those of shell action. With different materials and thicknesses used in the sandwich layers, their performance characteristics largely remain un-quantified and there are no guidelines at present for their design. This research paper provides verification, through finite element modeling and testing, for the application of this technology to dome styled dwellings with research currently being conducted into the further application to roofing and floor structures.

Characteristics of the Internet for Criminal Child Sexual Abuse by Online Groomers

This paper presents a number of characteristics of the Internet that makes it attractive to online groomers. Relevant Internet characteristics include disconnected personal communication, mediating technology, universality, network externalities, distribution channel, time moderator, low‐cost standard, electronic double, electronic double manipulation, information asymmetry, infinite virtual capacity, independence in time and space, cyberspace, and dynamic social network. Potential sex offenders join virtual communities, where they meet other persons who have the same interest. A virtual community provides an online meeting place where people with similar interests can communicate and find useful information. Communication between members may be via email, bulletin boards, online chat, web‐based conferencing or other computer‐based media.

Exploring characteristics of expertise in information systems

Experts’ views and commentary have been highly respected in every discipline. However, unlike traditional disciplines like medicine, mathematics and engineering, Information System (IS) expertise is difficult to define. This paper attempts to understand the characteristics of IS-expert through a comprehensive literature review of analogous disciplines and then derives a formative research model with three main constructs. Further, this research validates the formative model to identify the characteristics of expertise using data gathered from 220 respondents using a contemporary Information System. Finally this research demonstrates how individuals with different levels of expertise differ in their views in relation to system evaluations.

Inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase target distinct phases of early reverse transcription

Early HIV-1 reverse transcription can be separated into initiation and elongation phases. Here we show, using PCR analysis of negative-strand strong-stop DNA [(−)ssDNA] synthesis in intact virus, that different reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors affect distinct phases of early natural endogenous reverse transcription (NERT). The effects of nevirapine on NERT were consistent with a mechanism of action including both specific and nonspecific binding events. The nonspecific component of this inhibition targeted the elongation reaction, whereas the specific effect seemed principally to be directed at very early events (initiation or the initiation-elongation switch). In contrast, foscarnet and the nucleoside analog ddATP inhibited both early and late (−)ssDNA synthesis in a similar manner. We also examined compounds that targeted other viral proteins and found that Ro24-7429 (a Tat antagonist) and rosmarinic acid (an integrase inhibitor) also directly inhibited RT. Our results indicate that NERT can be used to identify and evaluate compounds that directly target the reverse transcription complex.