The role of entrepreneurship education in the commercialization of intellectual property at Canadian universities

In this research paper, we explore the relationship between the commercialization of intellectual property created within Canadian universities and academic entrepreneurship education programs. The steady growth and importance of both these activities over the last twenty years highlights the value of empirically examining the linkages that may exist between them. This paper will endeavor to add to the limited research in these areas and provide both empirical evidence and theoretical support to improve definition and distinction of the roles of these two seemingly interrelated activities. The data tested suggest that the main driver of commercialization intensity is derived from the creation of an environment rich in IP. However, further study is required to enhance understanding. In particular, we need to know more about the impact that the development of entrepreneurial capacity within an institution may have upon the spin-out process.

Beyond e-commerce: an entrepreneurial business modelling method for profitable e-venturing

E- business is used as a term that embraces e-commerce, its commercial exchange or transaction component. Both are subsets of a larger concept, e-venturing. E-business is a major disruptive innovation that is rapidly changing many of the accepted norms of effective management. So the paper revisits and reassesses several established principles of economics, strategy and entrepreneurship to place them in the context of the forces driving the emerging e-business economy. Entrepreneurship is applied as a 'framework enrichener', model-building tool and critical organisational behaviour to guide integration of e-business strategy into the total organisational strategy of a profit-seeking firm This permits development of a new business modelling process, labelled 'map and locate', that adapts a combination of entrepreneurial and strategic imperatives to the internet environment. The process assumes that value-provision, competitive distinction and profitability are the three essentials of any successful e-business strategy design and execution. Apart from its general conceptual role of linking strategic and entrepreneurial thinking, the 'map and locate' modelling process can be used as a practical tool for specific performance in a variety of circumstances. It focuses on learning and the development of metrics useful for measuring progress towards achievement of target outcomes.

Using constructed-response and multiple-choice questions in undergraduate examinations

This paper looks at the use of constructed-response and multiple-choice questions in first year management examinations involving 2364 students over a three semester period in 2008-9. It also compares student’s performance in research and analytical assignments with their results in Multiple-Choice tests. The results show that students who perform poorly in non-multiple-choice tests are slightly advantaged by multiple-choice tests. However, students who display high distinction scores in other pieces of assessment do not receive any advantage from multiple-choice testing. Interestingly, the research also highlighted that female students perform better in their articulation of management techniques overall, but do not gain the same comparative advantage from multiple choice testing. The analysis of the assessment methods was extremely useful in predicting the level of failures for the unit in the subsequent year. Finding the right balance of assessment tasks in first year university business courses is extremely difficult, using multiple-choice tests can be useful tool as part of the assessment mix in management units.

Dielectrophoretically patterned carbon nanotubes to sort microparticles

This article compares the operation of a dielectrophoretic (DEP) platform before and after pattering carbon nanotubes (CNTs) between its microelectrodes. The diverse performance of the DEP system is assessed by separating 1 and 5 μm polystyrene particles. In the absence of CNTs, both particles can only be trapped by operating the system at low medium conductivities, (<10^-3 S/m) and frequencies (<75 kHz). Alternatively, applying CNTs to the system, some CNTs coat the surface of particles and increase their overall conductivity and permittivity, whereas the rest of them are patterned between the microelectrodes and induce strong DEP forces at their free ends, which can effectively trap the coated particles. The first development extends the range of medium conductivities and frequencies at which the trapping of both particles is achievable, whereas the second development facilitates the selective deposition of particles along the surface of curved microelectrodes. Setting the medium conductivity to 2×10^-3 S/m and the frequency to 20 MHz, most of 5 μm particles are trapped at the entry region of the first microelectrode pair, whereas most of 1 μm particles are trapped at the tips, and this distinction facilitates their separation. The trapping of 1 μm particles can be improved by decreasing the frequency to 1.5 MHz. This study demonstrates how the integration of CNTs into microfluidic systems enables them to operate beyond their capabilities.

Ethical relativism vs absolutism : research implications

Purpose – The constructs of relativism and absolutism have a significant role to play in the development of ethical theory; however, they are commonly simplified in their depictions and are philosophically more complex than we give them credit for. The purpose of this paper is to undertake an in-depth examination of ethical relativity and ethical absolutism before concluding with a discussion of which research implications warrant further investigation.
Design/methodology/approach – A descriptive, historical, anthological approach has been taken.
Findings – Ethical relativism is regrettably subject to a proliferation of related terminology and, in many instances with different meanings ascribed to similar terms. In addition, ethical relativity appears to attract different research perspectives that are heavily dependent on their academic origins. A clear distinction needs to be made between ethical and situational relativity. It is suggested that relativism is present in the process of moral justification and that ethical relativism should be analyzed from three levels: the individual level, the role and group level, and the cultural levels. The over-riding objection to ethical relativism rests on the consequences of accepting relativism, which undermines the existence and strength of global moral standards and the inherent positioning of ethical absolutism. Absolutism does not deny the existence of multiple moral practices evident around the world, but proposes that variations in ethical actions could still be rooted in common universal moral standards based on our requirements as human beings and the necessities of long-term survival.
Research limitations/implications – The ensuing discussions of relativism and absolutism open up a rich vein of research opportunities and suggest caution is required in regard to research methodologies. From a methodological perspective, care needs to be taken. For example, using hypothetical ethical dilemmas that are often unrelated to a specific industry or cultural setting has resulted in many researchers observing situational relativity rather than true ethical relativity.
Originality/value – This paper specifically examines whether there are differences in underlying and basic moral standards even though similarities in ethical behaviour have been determined, or whether differing ethical actions could, as the absolutists believe, originate from common universal standards despite apparent differences in perceptions and actions across cultures.

Quality in flexible, online and distance education at Deakin University, Australia

This chapter presents an overview of the management of quality for flexible, online and distance education (off-campus education) at Deakin University in Australia. In 1974, Deakin University was established as a dual-mode institution educating large numbers of both on- and off-campus students. From its foundation it has increasingly sought to provide the same learning resources, equivalent learning experiences and parity of outcomes to students studying in all modes (Hay, Lowe, Gibb & Anderson, 2002). While this was the ideal on which Deakin was founded, in practice approaches differed across various schools and courses where in some areas integration was achieved through an open-campus model, while in others the tendency was towards separation of the modes of delivery by course. Deakin’s history can be characterised as moving from dual-mode approaches to educating its student cohorts, to a now well articulated, integrated and institution-wide approach to assuring and improving the quality of all modes of educational delivery for an extremely diverse and complex set of student cohorts. In this regard, it makes no particular distinction between these student groups in its policies, procedures and processes relating to educational matters.

Australia's response to asylum seekers

Australia's asylum seeker policies are not widely understood. They are complex, and have changed many times, particularly since 2001. This chapter outlines Australia's policies towards asylum seekers and refugees. First, it highlights the fundamental tenets of the Refugee Convention, which forms the basis of Australia's obligations to refugees. It then explaines the different categories of intake, and the different procedures asylum seekers and refugees encounter to start a new life in Australia. We demonstrate that Australia's policies are based on a distinction between two groups of people needing protection: 'offshore' refugees and 'onshore' asylum seekers. The different reception of these two groups by the Australian government could not be greater. The result is a system of two classes of refugees - a distinction that contravenes our international obligations.

Proof of Concept : developing a peer reviewed evidence-based interactive e-learning programme

Knowledge and skill acquisition related to vascular access are traditionally individual institutional educational initiatives. Australia currently has no national evidence based education programme for renal nurses. A survey of Australian and New Zealand Nephrology Educators' conducted in 2009, identified the need for more effective and consistent delivery of clinical education for nurses using innovative, web-based approaches supporting the tenets of e-learning methodologies. This paper discusses the development, implementation and proposed evaluation of a peer reviewed Australasian e-learning programme on buttonhole cannulation. It will further highlight the benefits of inter-organisational partnerships and how these partnerships can facilitate positive change in teaching and learning practices. This project has unique characteristics that collectively provide value, distinction and innovation to nurses, patients and renal departments. As the e-learning programme was founded on a platform of evidence-based practice it is therefore easily transferable to an international context.

Factors affecting the site of investment, and the reliance on savings for arctic breeders : the capital–income dichotomy revisited

The extent to which migratory birds that breed in the Arctic and winter in southern biomes rely on residual body stores for reproduction is unresolved. The short arctic summer and the limited availability of food early in the season constrain the time available for successful reproduction. Birds that are able to bring sufficient endogenous reserves to the breeding ground to meet, at least partially, the demands of egg-laying can initiate clutch production soon after arrival, thereby shortening the length of the breeding season and improving the chances of reproductive success. The amount of reserves available will be influenced by body size, the increased energetic and predation costs associated with carrying large stores, distances between staging sites and the location of the breeding grounds within the Arctic. Birds need not fly directly to the breeding grounds from the established temperate staging sites. Extensive feeding by migrants may occur in the Arctic, even within a few kilometres of the breeding sites as the birds track the retreating snowline. Irrespective of their size, birds are thus able to store some resources necessary for egg laying at local or regional scales. It is thus important to make a distinction between local capital and distant capital breeding. The extent to which a bird is characterized as a distant capital, local capital, or an income breeder not only varies between species, but also between individuals and seasons.

Corporate intranet implementation : managing emergent technologies and organizational practices

This paper examines the adoption and development of intranets in large business organizations. The authors demonstrate that intranet technology introduces a host of new managerial and technical challenges and requires new approaches to IS development. Evidence from two European corporations indicates that the traditional division of labor and definition of work roles in IS development breaks down. The distinction between developers and users becomes increasingly blurred and new organizational roles and structures associated with intranets are emerging. However, ready-made organizational models for implementing and managing intranets do not exist and the two organizations in this study have followed two different approaches. One organization favors a “planned change” approach, emphasizing management control and careful planning. The other organization prefers an “improvisational” approach, emphasizing experimentation, innovation and local initiative.

An analysis of side chain interactions and pair correlations within antiparallel β-sheets : the differences between backbone hydrogen-bonded and non-hydrogen-bonded residue pairs

Cross-strand pair correlations are calculated for residue pairs in antiparallel β-sheet for two cases: pairs whose backbone atoms are hydrogen bonded together (H-bonded site) and pairs which are not (non-H-bonded site). The statistics show that this distinction is important. When glycine is located on the edge of a sheet, it shows a 3:1 preference for the H-bonded site. Thestrongest observed correlations are for pairs of disulfide-bonded cystines, many of which adopt a close-packed conformation with each cystine in a spiral conformation of opposite chirality to its partner. It is likely that these pairs are a signature for the family of small, cystine-rich proteins. Most other strong positive and negative correlations involve charged and polar residues. It appears that electrostatic compatibility is the strongest factor affecting pair correlation. Significant correlations are observed for β- and γ-branched residues inthe non-H-bonded site. An examination of the structures showsa directionality in side chain packing. There is a correlation between (1) the directionality in the packing interactions of non-H-bonded β- and γ-branched residue pairs, (2) the handedness of the observed enantiomers of chiral β-branched side chains, and (3) the handedness of the twist of β-sheet. These findings have implications for the formation of β-sheets during protein folding and the mechanism by which the sheet becomes twisted

Do healthy cities work? A logic of method for assessing impact and outcome of healthy cities

In this article, we discuss an appropriate methodology for assessing complex urban programs such as the WHO European Healthy Cities Network. The basic tenets and parameters for this project are reviewed, and situated in the broader urban health tradition. This leads to a delineation of the types of questions researchers can address when looking at a complex urban health program. Such questions reach appropriately beyond traditional public health concepts involving proximal and distal determinants of health (and associated upstream, midstream, and downstream rhetoric). Espousing a multi-level, reciprocal pathways perspective on Healthy Cities research, we also adopt a distinction between impacts and outcomes of Healthy Cities. The former are value driven, the latter intervention-driven. These approaches lead to the acknowledgment of a logic of method that includes situational and contextual appreciation of unique Healthy City experiences in a Realist Evaluation paradigm. The article concludes with a reflection of evaluation and assessment procedures applied to Phase IV (2003-2008) of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network and an interpretation of response rates to the range of methods that have been adopted.

Double horizons : shifting figure and ground in some Australian photography

Re-searching ethics : towards a more reflexive critical management studies

Fournier and Grey (2000) suggest that those inhabiting the contested terrain of Critical Management Studies (CMS) share a commitment to identifying inequality and subordination in organizations and to the associated possibility of emancipation, however this is conceived. Despite their additional claim that one crucial distinction between critical and non-critical management studies is the ‘philosophical and methodological reflexivity’ of the former (Fournier and Grey 2000: 19), our review indicates limits to this reflexivity in CMS’s empirical practices – indeed, we argue these may even be counter-productive with regard to its political allegiances. To encourage wider discussion of these issues, we provide a tripartite framework of understandings of research ethics drawn from within and outside the management academy, and interrogate the opportunities and limitations of each for enriching CMS research.

Motives influencing soccer coaching : an empirical study of professional soccer coaches in South Africa

Heightened competition both on a global and national level has raised the bar regarding the expectations that sport organisations have of their coaches. Using the Self-Determination Theory (SOT), which emphasizes the distinction between intrinsically- and extrinsically- driven behaviours, the current study investigated the specific intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate professional soccer coaches in South Africa to coach. A non-experimental design using a quantitative approach to assess the motives of individual involvement of coaches in South Africa was employed. The Coach Motivation Scale (CMS) designed to assess motivational factors in coaching was administered to a purposive sample of 112 soccer coaches. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the number and nature of factors of the underlying structure of the data. In addition, correlation analysis was conducted on the data set. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation correlated significantly with highest academic qualification. Arising from the findings of the study implications for further study are suggested and recommendations made.