How SME owners’ characteristics influences external advice and access to finance

This paper aims to investigate the linkage between the use of external advice and access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, with particular consideration of differences in personal characteristics: gender, ethnicity and education. The approach adopted for the research is a telephone survey conducted by the Barclays small business research team in late 2005 on behalf of the authors. These data are quantitative in nature and involve a large sample of 400 SMEs with specific questions analysed by gender, ethnicity and education level. The approach adopted is robust and empirically sound and is a long established research methodology. We find that there appears to be a correlation between the provision of external advice and the ability to raise bank finance. Furthermore, there are clear gender, ethnic and educational differentials in the use of particular sources of advice, for example: Gender • men and women are equally likely to use accountants as sources of advice. • men are more likely to use family and friends and solicitors. • women, however, are around twice as likely to access external advice from Business Link and Enterprise Agencies. Ethnicity • family and friends is predominant amongst Asians or black respondents and the other ethnic group, which is also slightly true of accountants and solicitors. • ethnic minority respondents were considerably less likely to use Business Link/ Enterprise Agencies. Education • graduates are most likely to use solicitors and accountants, whilst they are very low users of advice from family and friends and Business Links/Enterprise Agencies. • O level and A level educated respondents predominate in family and friends and Business Link/ Enterprise Agencies.

The application of remote sensing to water resources

Techniques are developed for the visual interpretation of drainage features from satellite imagery. The process of interpretation is formalised by the introduction of objective criteria. Problems of assessing the accuracy of maps are recognized, and a method is developed for quantifying the correctness of an interpretation, in which the more important features are given an appropriate weight. A study was made of imagery from a variety of landscapes in Britain and overseas, from which maps of drainage networks were drawn. The accuracy of the mapping was assessed in absolute terms, and also in relation to the geomorphic parameters used in hydrologic models. Results are presented relating the accuracy of interpretation to image quality, subjectivity and the effects of topography. It is concluded that the visual interpretation of satellite imagery gives maps of sufficient accuracy for the preliminary assessment of water resources, and for the estimation of geomorphic parameters. An examination is made of the use of remotely sensed data in hydrologic models. It is proposed that the spectral properties of a scene are holistic, and are therefore more efficient than conventional catchment characteristics. Key hydrologic parameters were identified, and were estimated from streamflow records. The correlation between hydrologic variables and spectral characteristics was examined, and regression models for streamflow were developed, based solely on spectral data. Regression models were also developed using conventional catchment characteristics, whose values were estimated using satellite imagery. It was concluded that models based primarily on variables derived from remotely sensed data give results which are as good as, or better than, models using conventional map data. The holistic properties of remotely sensed data are realised only in undeveloped areas. In developed areas an assessment of current land-use is a more useful indication of hydrologic response.

Access to medical information and the role of english language in an Algerian selected community : media and modes of exchange among the paediatricians

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Black and minority ethnic graduate entrepreneurs: motivations, characteristics and access to finance

This paper draws upon four case studies to examine characteristics, entrepreneurial motivations and access to finance of black and minority ethnic (BME) graduates in the UK. We find that BME graduates starting a business are motivated by a desire to “do better”, and rely heavily on personal savings and family sources for start-up capital. In addition: • There is no conclusive evidence that suggests in this study that BME graduates entered entrepreneurship because of unemployment; with the exception of a few, all had jobs prior to entering self employment. • “Glass ceilings” were often cited by participants of the case studies as a kind of barrier, but there was reluctance to specify exactly what that meant. • Also, lack of satisfaction from working for others is considered to be a strong motivator for entering self-employment but other reasons, to be one’s own boss and the prospect of higher earnings, are also strong motivators. There is, therefore, a need for support agencies and universities to recognise the distinctive nature of BME graduate enterprise in order to provide effective solutions for different groups. This might include a) work experience, b) advice on an adequate capital structure at start up, c) adequate funding and training, and d) appropriate training for all graduates in basic business education.

Access to start up finance for ethnic minority graduate entrepreneurs in the West Midlands: a gendered perspective

This aim of this paper, from a study funded by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE), is to explore access to finance for ethnic minority graduate entrepreneurs (EMGEs) with a particular focus on comparisons between different ethnic groups, and men and women. The authors interviewed selected individuals based upon a review of literature on finance for ethnic minority enterprise. A number of key results from the survey, in that EMGEs: • use external finance significantly (more so than non graduates) and encounter barriers in accessing finance at start-up, in particular those belonging to poor families. • rely excessively on personal savings and family finance, at the start-up and long after the start-up stage, that has implications for the optimal capital structure. • start up businesses that are, on average, larger than non-graduate enterprises and have the potential to reduce economic inactivity amongst the ethnic population. • have, in contrast to general graduate start-ups, a high level of unemployment, take a longer period of time to enter employment and there is a higher level of dissatisfaction with career progression. These findings raise the question whether the right financial advice is taken and whether this behaviour constrains EMGEs' expansion.

Developing a forest data portal to support multi-scale decision making

Forests play a pivotal role in timber production, maintenance and development of biodiversity and in carbon sequestration and storage in the context of the Kyoto Protocol. Policy makers and forest experts therefore require reliable information on forest extent, type and change for management, planning and modeling purposes. It is becoming increasingly clear that such forest information is frequently inconsistent and unharmonised between countries and continents. This research paper presents a forest information portal that has been developed in line with the GEOSS and INSPIRE frameworks. The web portal provides access to forest resources data at a variety of spatial scales, from global through to regional and local, as well as providing analytical capabilities for monitoring and validating forest change. The system also allows for the utilisation of forest data and processing services within other thematic areas. The web portal has been developed using open standards to facilitate accessibility, interoperability and data transfer.

Enhanced semantic access to formal software models

The success of the Semantic Web, as the next generation of Web technology, can have profound impact on the environment for formal software development. It allows both the software engineers and machines to understand the content of formal models and supports more effective software design in terms of understanding, sharing and reusing in a distributed manner. To realise the full potential of the Semantic Web in formal software development, effectively creating proper semantic metadata for formal software models and their related software artefacts is crucial. In this paper, a methodology with tool support is proposed to automatically derive ontological metadata from formal software models and semantically describe them.

Concepts and methods of quantitative assessment of risk to groundwater resources

This work presents a two-dimensional approach of risk assessment method based on the quantification of the probability of the occurrence of contaminant source terms, as well as the assessment of the resultant impacts. The risk is calculated using Monte Carlo simulation methods whereby synthetic contaminant source terms were generated to the same distribution as historically occurring pollution events or a priori potential probability distribution. The spatial and temporal distributions of the generated contaminant concentrations at pre-defined monitoring points within the aquifer were then simulated from repeated realisations using integrated mathematical models. The number of times when user defined ranges of concentration magnitudes were exceeded is quantified as risk. The utilities of the method were demonstrated using hypothetical scenarios, and the risk of pollution from a number of sources all occurring by chance together was evaluated. The results are presented in the form of charts and spatial maps. The generated risk maps show the risk of pollution at each observation borehole, as well as the trends within the study area. This capability to generate synthetic pollution events from numerous potential sources of pollution based on historical frequency of their occurrence proved to be a great asset to the method, and a large benefit over the contemporary methods.

Ownership characteristics and access to finance:evidence from a survey of large privatised companies in Hungary and Poland

We examine financial constraints and forms of finance used for investment, by analysing survey data on 157 large privatised companies in Hungary and Poland for the period 1998 - 2000. The Bayesian analysis using Gibbs sampling is carried out to obtain inferences about the sample companies' access to finance from a model for categorical outcome. By applying alternative measures of financial constraints we find that foreign companies, companies that are part of domestic industrial groups and enterprises with concentrated ownership are all less constrained in their access to finance. Moreover, we identify alternative modes of finance since different corporate control and past performance characteristics influence the sample firms' choice of finance source. In particular, while being industry-specific, the access to domestic credit is positively associated with company size and past profitability. Industrial group members tend to favour bond issues as well as sells-offs of assets as appropriate types of finance for their investment programmes. Preferences for raising finance in the form of equity are associated with share concentration in a non-monotonic way, being most prevalent in those companies where the dominant owner holds 25%-49% of shares. Close links with a leading bank not only increase the possibility of bond issues but also appear to facilitate access to non-banking sources of funds, in particular, to finance supplied by industrial partners. Finally, reliance on state finance is less likely for the companies whose profiles resemble the case of unconstrained finance, namely, for companies with foreign partners, companies that are part of domestic industrial groups and companies with a strategic investor. Model implications also include that the use of state funds is less likely for Polish than for Hungarian companies.

Towards Content-Sensitive Access to the Artefacts of the Bulgarian Iconography

his paper presents an ontological model of the knowledge about Bulgarian iconographical artefacts. It also describes content-sensitive services for access, browse, search and group iconographical objects, based on the presented ontology that will be implemented in the multimedia digital library “Virtual encyclopedia of Bulgarian iconography”.

Introducing consultant outpatient clinics to community settings to improve access to paediatrics:an observational impact study

Objectives - In line with a national policy to move care ‘closer to home’, a specialist children's hospital in the National Health Service in England introduced consultant-led ‘satellite’ clinics to two community settings for general paediatric outpatient services. Objectives were to reduce non-attendance at appointments by providing care in more accessible locations and to create new physical clinic capacity. This study evaluated these satellite clinics to inform further development and identify lessons for stakeholders. Methods - Impact of the satellite clinics was assessed by comparing community versus hospital-based clinics across the following measures: (1) non-attendance rates and associated factors (including patient characteristics and travel distance) using a logistic regression model; (2) percentage of appointments booked within local catchment area; (3) contribution to total clinic capacity; (4) time allocated to clinics and appointments; and (5) clinic efficiency, defined as the ratio of income to staff-related costs. Results - Satellite clinics did not increase attendance beyond their contribution to shorter travel distance, which was associated with higher attendance. Children living in the most-deprived areas were 1.8 times more likely to miss appointments compared with those from least-deprived areas. The satellite clinics’ contribution to activity in catchment areas and to total capacity was small. However, one of the two satellite clinics was efficient compared with most hospital-based clinics. Conclusions - Outpatient clinics were relocated in pragmatically chosen community settings using a ‘drag and drop’ service model. Such clinics have potential to improve access to specialist paediatric healthcare, but do not provide a panacea. Work is required to improve attendance as part of wider efforts to support vulnerable families. Satellite clinics highlight how improved management could contribute to better use of existing capacity.

Digital Preservation and Web Access to the Konkoly Observatory Schmidt Telescope Plate Archive

ACM Computing Classification System (1998): J.2.

Access to Digital Cultural Heritage: Innovative Applications of Automated Metadata Generation

Access to Digital Cultural Heritage: Innovative Applications of Automated Metadata Generation Edited by: Krassimira Ivanova, Milena Dobreva, Peter Stanchev, George Totkov Authors (in order of appearance): Krassimira Ivanova, Peter Stanchev, George Totkov, Kalina Sotirova, Juliana Peneva, Stanislav Ivanov, Rositza Doneva, Emil Hadjikolev, George Vragov, Elena Somova, Evgenia Velikova, Iliya Mitov, Koen Vanhoof, Benoit Depaire, Dimitar Blagoev Reviewer: Prof., Dr. Avram Eskenazi Published by: Plovdiv University Publishing House "Paisii Hilendarski" ISBN: 978-954-423-722-6 2012, Plovdiv, Bulgaria First Edition

Online Access to the Encyclopaedia Slavica Sanctorum

Encyclopaedia Slavica Sanctorum project aims at building a repertoire of medieval and early modern Bulgarian texts for saints in combination with ethnological data and some visual sources. A basic project task is to produce an accessible on-line digital repository of this valuable cultural heritage treasure. The paper presents the Encyclopaedia Slavica Sanctorum environment, its architecture, functional specification, application modeling process and software implementation. The paper also discusses the specifics of the ―Encyclopaedia Slavica Sanctorum‖ project and its knowledge domain. The paper also presents the integration between the Encyclopaedia Slavica Sanctorum and the Bulgarian Iconographical Digital Library, a digital library keeping rare specimens, private collections of Orthodox icons, wall- paintings and other iconographical objects, selected from difficult-to-access storages, distant churches, chapels, and monasteries, objects in a risk environment or unstable conditions.

Access to the Sound Archives of the Bulgarian National Radio

The aim of this paper is to review the sound archives of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). The accesses to different sound archives are analyzed. A case study for preparing a radio presentation using the existing archives is outline.