Can psychometric testing be used to explain, predict and measure behavioural competences and the funding resource orchestration of the entrepreneur?

Financing is a critical entrepreneurial activity (Shane et al. 2003) and within the study of entrepreneurship, behaviour has been identified as an area requiring further exploration (Bird et al. 2012). Since 2008 supply side conditions for SMEs have been severe and increasingly entrepreneurs have to bundle or ‘orchestrate’ funding from a variety of sources in order to successfully finance the firm (Wright and Stigliani 2013: p.15). This longitudinal study uses psychometric testing to measure the behavioural competences of a panel of sixty entrepreneurs in the Creative Industries sector. Interviews were conducted over a 3 year period to identify finance finding behaviour. The research takes a pragmatic realism perspective to examine process and the different behavioural competences of entrepreneurs. The predictive qualities of this behaviour are explored in a funding context. The research confirmed a strong behavioural characteristic as validated through interviews and psychometric testing, was an orientation towards engagement and working with other organisations. In a funding context, this manifested itself in entrepreneurs using networks, seeking advice and sharing equity to fund growth. These co-operative, collaborative characteristics are different to the classic image of the entrepreneur as a risk-taker or extrovert. Leadership and achievement orientation were amongst the lowest scores. Three distinctive groups were identified and also shown by subsequent analysis to be a positive contribution to how entrepreneurial behavioural competences can be considered. Belonging to one of these three clusters is a strong predictive indicator of entrepreneurial behaviour – in this context, how entrepreneurs access finance. These Clusters were also proven to have different characteristics in relation to funding outcomes. The study seeks to make a contribution through the development of a methodology for entrepreneurs, policy makers and financial institutions to identify competencies in finding finance and overcome problems in information asymmetry.

Formative variables and unreal variables:why the formative MIMIC model is invalid

In this rejoinder, we provide a response to the three commentaries written by Diamantopoulos, Howell, and Rigdon (all this issue) on our paper The MIMIC Model and Formative Variables: Problems and Solutions (also this issue). We contrast the approach taken in the latter paper (where we focus on clarifying the assumptions required to reject the formative MIMIC model) by spending time discussing what assumptions would be necessary to accept the use of the formative MIMIC model as a viable approach. Importantly, we clarify the implications of entity realism and show how it is entirely logical that some theoretical constructs can be considered to have real existence independent of their indicators, and some cannot. We show how the formative model only logically holds when considering these ‘unreal’ entities. In doing so, we provide important counter-arguments for much of the criticisms made in Diamantopoulos’ commentary, and the distinction also helps clarify a number of issues in the commentaries of Howell and Rigdon (both of which in general agree with our original paper). We draw together these various threads to provide a set of conceptual tools researchers can use when thinking about the entities in their theoretical models.

Kritikai menedzsmentelméletek – irányzatok és törésvonalak (Critical Management Studies: Streams and Debates)

A tanulmány a kritikai menedzsmentelméletek (KME) területére nyújt bevezetést a Hidegh – Gelei – Primecz (2014) által a Vezetéstudomány hasábjain kezdeményezett cikksorozat részeként. A KME fogalmát a korábbi, szervezetelméleti paradigmákat ismertető tanulmányoktól eltérő módon, a mátrixokon át-/ túllépve lépcsőszerűen tárgyalja. Bemutatja, hogyan definiálhatjuk kritikai módon a menedzsmentet és a menedzsmentelméleteket, majd a KME meghatározása és három legfontosabb jellemzője (denaturalizáció, teljesítményelv-ellenesség, reflexivitás) következik. A cikk ismerteti a KME három legmarkánsabb irányzatát: a posztmodernizmust, a kritikai elméletet és a kritikai realizmust, valamint az irányzatok közötti főbb vitapontokba nyújt betekintést. ____ The article provides an introduction into Critical Management Studies (CMS) continuing the series of papers about CMS started by Hidegh – Gelei – Primecz (2014) on the pages of Budapest Management Review. CMS is defined here in a different way as in the previously published Hungarian articles which were based on the Burrell-Morgan matrix (1979). This study exceeds the boundaries of the matrix by introducing management and management studies as a critical field step by step. The definition of CMS is followed by the main features of the field: denaturalization, anti-performativity and reflexivity (Fournier – Grey, 2000). Finally, the paper discusses the three most prevailing streams of CMS: postmodernism, critical theory and critical realism by providing an insight into the main debates among them.

Entre la provincia y el mundo. Modernidad e innovacion en la narrativa de Lino Novas Calvo

Lino Novás Calvo (1903–1983) is by many considered the best Cuban short story writer. Critics acknowledge his major contribution to the modernization of narrative prose in that country. With Cayo Canas and La Luna Nona, the short story achieved a language of its own, a precise technique, an acute outlook and an awareness of its own individual art form. Nevertheless, his novels and short stories have not received the recognition and the distribution they deserve, in part because his books have not been reprinted. ^ The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the innovative character of Novás Calvo's work. From the starting point of traditional discourse, he gathered together the main tendencies that until then co-existed in Cuban literature (realism, social criticism, criollismo, Afro Cuban themes and cosmopolitism) and renewed them with modern contributions, mainly assimilated from American authors writing between the two World Wars. He based himself in a concept of realism that does not limit itself to recreating reality and that eludes language localisms and the portrayal of environments. He brought Cuban characters and themes to his stories which at the same gave them a universal dimension. Novás Calvo participated in debates which amounted to a rupture between tradition and localism and brought universality to the Cuban short story. This achieved the aesthetic syncretism imposed by modernity. ^

Soviet and Western bloc competition in the less developed world and the collapse of Détente

The purpose of my dissertation was to examine the competition between the U.S.-led Western bloc and the Soviet bloc in the less developed world during Détente. I assessed whether or not the Soviet bloc pushed for strategic gains in the less developed world in the middle-to-late 1970's and whether this contributed to the U.S. decision to abandon Détente in 1979. I made the attempt to test the international relations theory of balance of threat realism (Walt, 1992). I accomplished the test in two ways. First, I measured the foreign aid allocations (military and economic) made by each respective bloc towards the Third World by using a quantitative approach. Second, I examined U.S. archives using the process-tracing/historical method. The U.S. archives gave me the ability to evaluate how U.S. decision-makers and U.S. intelligence agencies interpreted the actions of the Soviet bloc. They also gave me the chance to examine the U.S. response as we evaluated the policies that were pushed by key U.S. decision-makers and intelligence agencies. On the question of whether or not the Soviet bloc was aggressive, the quantitative evidence suggested that it was not. Instead, the evidence found the Western-bloc to have been more aggressive in the less developed world. The U.S. archives also showed Soviet actions to have been defensive. Key U.S. decision-makers and intelligence agencies attested to this. Finally, the archives show that U.S. officials pushed for aggressive actions against the Third World during the final years of Détente. Thus, balance of threat realism produced an incorrect assessment that U.S. aggression in the late 1970's was a response to Soviet aggression during Détente. The evidence suggests structural Marxism and domestic politics can better explain U.S./Western actions. The aggressive foreign aid allocations of the West, coupled with evidence of U.S. decision-makers/agencies vehemently concerned about the long-term prospects of the West, strengthened structural Marxism. Domestic politics can also claim to explain the actions of U.S. decision-makers. I found extensive archival evidence of bureaucratic inter-agency conflict between the State Department and other intelligence agencies in areas of strategic concern to the U.S.

Trojan horses: On the origins of national security concerns over foreign investments in the United States from 1919 to 2008

In this thesis I sought to explain the origins of national security concerns over foreign investments in the United States from 1919 to 2008. I identified and examined 29 cases of national security concerns over foreign investments in the United States during that period, and argued that in order to understand the circumstances under which foreign investments in the United States are perceived to be threats to the U.S. security we must rely on a combination of democratic peace theory and the version of political realism known as power transition theory. Thus, I tested the argument that national security concerns over foreign investments in the United States from 1919 to 2008 resulted from: (1) perceptions of international power transition, (2) perceptions of ideological and institutional differences between the United States and the home country of the investor, (3) perceptions of the strategic importance of the sector where the investment is made, and (4) perceptions of participation or control of the foreign investor by the government of the country of origin. I found that all these hypotheses have some explanatory power.

Soft power as the new norm: How the Chinese-Russian strategic partnership (soft) balances American hegemony in an era of unipolarity

This study explores how great powers not allied with the United States formulate their grand strategies in a unipolar international system. Specifically, it analyzes the strategies China and Russia have developed to deal with U.S. hegemony by examining how Moscow and Beijing have responded to American intervention in Central Asia. The study argues that China and Russia have adopted a soft balancing strategy of to indirectly balance the United States at the regional level. This strategy uses normative capabilities such as soft power, alternative institutions and regionalization to offset the overwhelming material hardware of the hegemon. The theoretical and methodological approach of this dissertation is neoclassical realism. Chinese and Russian balancing efforts against the United States are based on their domestic dynamics as well as systemic constraints. Neoclassical realism provides a bridge between the internal characteristics of states and the environment which those states are situated. Because China and Russia do not have the hardware (military or economic power) to directly challenge the United States, they must resort to their software (soft power and norms) to indirectly counter American preferences and set the agenda to obtain their own interests. Neoclassical realism maintains that soft power is an extension of hard power and a reflection of the internal makeup of states. The dissertation uses the heuristic case study method to demonstrate the efficacy of soft balancing. Such case studies help to facilitate theory construction and are not necessarily the demonstrable final say on how states behave under given contexts. Nevertheless, it finds that China and Russia have increased their soft power to counterbalance the United States in certain regions of the world, Central Asia in particular. The conclusion explains how soft balancing can be integrated into the overall balance-of-power framework to explain Chinese and Russian responses to U.S. hegemony. It also suggests that an analysis of norms and soft power should be integrated into the study of grand strategy, including both foreign policy and military doctrine.

A comprehensive assessment of self -report experiences of adoptive parents of special needs children in Florida

Adoption of special needs children is now seen as a life long event whereby the adoptive child and family have unique needs. The need for postplacement resources throughout the life cycle of the adoption process is evident. This exploratory-descriptive research employed a random stratified cross-sectional design. The purpose of the study was to describe, identify, examine, and assess the relative influence of identified empirically and conceptually relevant variables of self-report experiences of adoptive parents of special needs children. Primary areas of exploration included: (1) adoptive children and families' characteristics, (2) postplacement service needs, utilization and satisfaction, and (3) adoptive parents' perceptions of their adoption experiences. A proportionate stratified random mail survey was used to obtain 474 families who had adopted special needs children from the 15 geographic districts which make up the state adoption social service agency in Florida. A 144-item survey questionnaire was used to collect basic information on demographic data, service provision, and adoption experiences. Four research questions were analyzed to test the effect the predictor variables had on willingness to adopt another special needs child, successful adoption, satisfying experience, and realism about problems. All four research questions revealed that the full model and the child's antecedent and the adoptive parents' intervening variable blocks were significant in explaining the variance in the dependent variables. The child's intervening variables alone were only significant in explaining the variance for one of the dependent variables. The results of the statistical analysis on the fifth research question and the three hypotheses determined that (1) only one postplacement service, crisis intervention, had a statistically significant impact on the adoptive parents' perceived level of satisfaction with the adoption experience; (2) adoptive parents who rate their adoption as successful are more likely to express a desire to adopt another special needs child; (3) the more adequate information on the child the adoptive parents perceived that they had prior to placement, the more they perceived they were realistic about the problems they would encounter; and (4) six specific postplacement services were found to be significant in predicting successful adoptions--crisis intervention, outpatient drug/alcohol treatment, maintenance subsidy, physical therapy, special medical equipment, and family counseling. Implications for the social work field and future research are discussed. ^

Background traffic modeling for large-scale network simulation

Network simulation is an indispensable tool for studying Internet-scale networks due to the heterogeneous structure, immense size and changing properties. It is crucial for network simulators to generate representative traffic, which is necessary for effectively evaluating next-generation network protocols and applications. With network simulation, we can make a distinction between foreground traffic, which is generated by the target applications the researchers intend to study and therefore must be simulated with high fidelity, and background traffic, which represents the network traffic that is generated by other applications and does not require significant accuracy. The background traffic has a significant impact on the foreground traffic, since it competes with the foreground traffic for network resources and therefore can drastically affect the behavior of the applications that produce the foreground traffic. This dissertation aims to provide a solution to meaningfully generate background traffic in three aspects. First is realism. Realistic traffic characterization plays an important role in determining the correct outcome of the simulation studies. This work starts from enhancing an existing fluid background traffic model by removing its two unrealistic assumptions. The improved model can correctly reflect the network conditions in the reverse direction of the data traffic and can reproduce the traffic burstiness observed from measurements. Second is scalability. The trade-off between accuracy and scalability is a constant theme in background traffic modeling. This work presents a fast rate-based TCP (RTCP) traffic model, which originally used analytical models to represent TCP congestion control behavior. This model outperforms other existing traffic models in that it can correctly capture the overall TCP behavior and achieve a speedup of more than two orders of magnitude over the corresponding packet-oriented simulation. Third is network-wide traffic generation. Regardless of how detailed or scalable the models are, they mainly focus on how to generate traffic on one single link, which cannot be extended easily to studies of more complicated network scenarios. This work presents a cluster-based spatio-temporal background traffic generation model that considers spatial and temporal traffic characteristics as well as their correlations. The resulting model can be used effectively for the evaluation work in network studies.

Blotto in the Lifeboat

Blotto in the Lifeboat is a book of poems that investigates natural processes and idiosyncrasies of human societies. Ranging from the absurd to the scientific in tone, the poems in Blotto in the Lifeboat situate themselves on the blurry-line between fact and imagination, employing a style that Thomas Lux describes as “imaginative realism.” The middle of three sections is comprised solely of the long poem, “A Compendium of the True and Wondrous,” which collages remarkable facts and anecdotes to highlight the strange realities of the world and the rapidity of change. The first and third sections contain shorter, narrative poems in which the surreal or comic is often employed. The language of the poems in BLOTTO IN THE LIFEBOAT reflects a similar desire to affix the fantastic to the familiar. Metaphors in the tradition of Elizabeth Bishop and Charles Simic rely on wild leaps of imagination to illuminate the real world.

Desenvolvimento e avaliação do emprego de dispositivo ajustável ao corpo para treinamento de habilidade de acesso venoso periférico no membro superior

OBJECTIVE: To dev elop and evaluate the use of a body adjustable device for training of peripheral venous catheterization for healthcare undergraduate students . METHODS: This study involved two phases: I) development of the innovative simulator and II) a controlled trial co mparing the performance of the body adjustable device in relation to the commercial simulator for the training of venipuncture skills. A total of 79 first - year medical students participated in the intervention phase, which consisted of pretest assessment, lecture on peripheral venous access, randomization into two groups according to the simulator used for training (Commercial Simulator and Experimental Simulator), real venipuncture procedure, post - test assessment and evaluation of satisfaction. RESULTS: Gr oups were homogeneous in age, sex, pre - test and post - test scores, attitudinal assessment and performance in performing the real venipuncture. Students from the Experimental Simulator group performed better on the filling of simulated records. At the end of the study, cognitive gain significantly increased in both groups. The degree of realism perceived by students was equivalent for two groups. A total of 85.7% of students rated the Experimental Simulator as good or excellent. CONCLUSIONS: Experimental simu lator proved to be a low cost alternative for the training of venipuncture skills in upper limb. The cognitive procedural and attitudinal performances of students who used the experimental simulator were similar to those observed in the group trained with commercial simulator.

A simulação como método de ensino de habilidades no curso de medicina: relato de uma experiência com punção lombar

The teaching of the lumbar puncture (LP) technique with simulator is not well systematized in the curricula of medical schools. Studies show that training in the simulator provides learning technical skills, acquisition and retention of knowledge, improve self-confidence of the learner and enables the transfer to clinical practice. We intend this study to introduce simulated training in LP in medical course at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte evaluating the experience taking into account quantitative aspects (performance on standardized tests) and qualitative (perception of the students regarding the method and the teaching process learning). The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase practical training in PL was introduced in the 3rd year of medical school. Seventy-seven students were trained in small groups, guided by a checklist developed in the model Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS), at this moment they knew they were not under performance evaluation. They were also asked whether they had prior chances to make an LP in patients. At the end of the first phase the students evaluated training in the following areas: teaching technique, simulator realism, time available per group, number of participants per group and relevance to medical practice. In the second phase, two years later, 18 students trained in first stage performed a new LP on the mannequin simulator, and its performance was evaluated through the same checklist of training in order to verify the technical retention. In addition, they answered a multiple choice test about practical aspects of the LP technique. Each participant received individual feedback on their performance at the end of their participation in the study. In the first phase of the study we found that only 4% of students had performed a lumbar puncture in patients until the 3rd year. The training of LP technique with simulator mannequin was considered relevant and the teaching methods was thoroughly evaluated. In the second phase, all participants were successful in implementing the lumbar puncture on the mannequin simulator, compliance with the most steps in a reasonable time, suggesting that would be able to perform the procedure in a patient.

“O CRISTO AFOGADO: UMA NÃO-CRISTOLOGIA” RELIGIÃO, LITERATURA E PÓS-COLONIALISMO

O objetivo dessa tese é aprofundar, a partir do discurso pós-colonial, uma crise na perspectiva teológica da libertação. Esta promoveu, na década de 1970, uma reviravolta nos estudos teológicos no terceiro mundo. Para tanto, leremos um conto de Gabriel García Márquez chamado “El ahogado más hermosodel mundo” (1968) analizando e avaliando as estratégias políticas e culturais ali inscritas. Para levar a frente tal avaliação é preciso ampliar o escopo de uma visão que divide o mundo em secular/religioso, ou em ideias/práticas religiosas e não religiosas, para dar passo a uma visão unificada que compreende a mundanalidade, tanto do que é catalogado como ‘religioso’ quanto do que se pretende ‘não religioso’. A teologia/ciências da religião, como discurso científico sobre a economia das trocas que lidam com visões, compreensões e práticas de mundo marcadas pelo reconhecimento do mistério que lhes é inerente, possuem um papel fundamental na compreensão, explicitação, articulação e disponibilização de tais forças culturais. A percepção de existirem elementos no conto que se relacionam com os símbolos sobre Jesus/Cristo nos ofereceu um vetor de análise; entretanto, não nos deixamos limitar pelos grilhões disciplinares que essa simbologia implica. Ao mesmo tempo, esse vínculo, compreendido desde a relação imperial/colonial inerente aos discursos e imagens sobre Jesus-Cristo, embora sem centralizar a análise, não poderia ficar intocado. Partimos para a construção de uma estrutura teórica que explicitasse os valores, gestos, e horizontes mundanos do conto, cristológicos e não-cristológicos, contribuindo assim para uma desestabilização dos quadros tradicionais a partir dos quais se concebem a teologia e as ciências da religião, a obra de García Márquez como literatura, e a geografia imperial/colonial que postula o realismo ficcional de territórios como “América Latina”. Abrimos, assim, um espaço de significação que lê o conto como uma “não-cristologia”, deslocando o aprisionamento disciplinar e classificatório dos elementos envolvidos na análise. O discurso crítico de Edward Said, Homi Bhabha e GayatriSpivak soma-se à prática teórica de teólogas críticas feministas da Ásia, da África e da América Latina para formular o cenário político emancipatório que denominaremos teologia crítica secular.

‘The past was never simply there to begin with and the future is not simply what will unfold’ : a posthumanist performative approach to qualitative longitudinal research

Peer reviewed

Conceptions and expectations of mentoring relationships in a teacher education reform context

Peer reviewed