The influence of socio-cultural environments on the performance of nascent entrepreneurs:community culture, motivation, self-efficacy and start-up success

The importance of informal institutions and in particular culture for entrepreneurship is a subject of ongoing interest. Past research has mostly concentrated on cross-national comparisons, cultural values and the direct effects of culture on entrepreneurial behaviour, but in the main found inconsistent results. We add a fresh perspective to this research stream by turning attention to community-level culture and cultural norms. We hypothesize indirect effects of cultural norms on venture emergence: Community-level cultural norms (performance-based culture and socially supportive institutional norms) impact important supply-side variables (entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial motivation) which in turn influence nascent entrepreneurs' success in creating operational ventures (venture emergence). We test our predictions on a unique longitudinal dataset, tracking nascent entrepreneurs' venture creation efforts over a five-year time span, and find evidence supporting them. Our research contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of how culture, in particular perceptions of community cultural norms, influences venture emergence. Based on these findings, we discuss how venture creation efforts can be supported. Our research highlights the embeddedness of entrepreneurial behaviour and its immediate antecedent beliefs in the local, community context. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

The influence of socio-cultural environments on the performance of nascent entrepreneurs:an instrumental variable approach

The importance of informal institutions and in particular culture for entrepreneurship is a subject of ongoing interest. Past research has mostly concentrated on cross-national comparisons, cultural values, and the direct effects of culture on entrepreneurial behavior, but in the main found inconsistent results. The present research adds a fresh perspective to this research stream by turning attention to community-level culture and cultural norms. We hypothesize indirect effects of cultural norms on venture emergence. Specifically that community-level cultural norms (performance-based culture and socially-supportive institutional norms) impact important supply-side variables (entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial motivation) which in turn influence nascent entrepreneurs’ success in creating operational ventures (venture emergence). We test our predictions on a unique longitudinal data set (PSED II) tracking nascent entrepreneurs venture creation efforts over a 5 year time span and find evidence supporting them. Our research contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of how culture, in particular perceptions of community cultural norms, influences venture emergence. This research highlights the embeddedness of entrepreneurial behavior and its immediate antecedent beliefs in the local, community context.

A környezeti teljesítményértékelés módszerei (Environmental performance evaluation methods)

A környezeti teljesítmény mérésére számtalan módszer létezik. A cikk a környezeti teljesítményértékelési eszközök útvesztőjében kínál némi eligazítást azáltal, hogy hat, a gyakorlatban is többé-kevésbé használt módszert mutat be és értékel. A szerző kísérletet tesz a bemutatott módszerek összehasonlítására is aszerint, hogy kitérnek-e a környezeti és a vállalati teljesítmény kapcsolatának vizsgálatára, illetve a környezeti teljesítményt kellően átfogóan vizsgálják-e. Nagyító alá kerül az a kérdés is, hogy vajon a teljesítményértékelési módszerek alapján jól teljesítő vállalatok valóban tekinthetők-e fenntarthatónak. ________ There are numerous methods existing for evaluating corporate environmental performance. The article offers some guidance in this labyrinth by introducing and evaluating six, in practice also used methods. The author makes an attempt to compare the different methods, whether they cover the relationship between environmental and company performance, and whether they analyse different components of environmental performance comprehensively enough. The question is also covered, whether companies with excellent performance based on the methods analysed can really be regarded as sustainable companies.

The Impact of Proactive Strategies on Market Performance in Economic Downturn: the Case of Hungary

Recession in 2008/09 affected almost all the European countries seriously but some of them were hurt to greater extent. The timing of economic downturns can never be appropriate but it found Hungary at the time when it was in a vulnerable condition leading to a prolong struggle to find the way out. However, each company’s own experience and approach in crisis can differ from what the whole economy would explain. This study aims to contribute to the emerging research field regarding the concept of proactive marketing. We investigated the relationship between approach to crisis as an opportunity and market performance. Based on a survey of 173 companies we demonstrated that proactive marketing can lead to better performance but larger companies have the advantage of implementing this strategy more successfully.

Adult education directors' perceptions of performance indicators for adult education programs in the state of Florida

Current demands for accountability in education emphasize outcome-based program evaluation and tie program funding to individual student performance. As has been the case for elementary and secondary programs, demands for accountability have increased pressure on adult educators to show evidence of the benefits of their programs in order to justify their financial support. In Florida, recent legislation fundamentally changes the delivery of adult education in the state by establishing a performance-based funding system that is based on outcomes related to the retention, completion, and employment of program participants.^ A performance-based funding system requires an evaluation process that stresses outcome indicators over indicators that focus on program context or process. Although the state has adopted indicators of program quality to evaluate its adult education programs, these indicators focus mostly on program processes rather than student outcomes. In addition, the indicators are not specifically tied to workforce development outcomes, a priority to federal and local funding agents.^ Improving the accountability of adult education programs and defining the role of these programs in Florida's Workforce Development System has become a priority to policy makers across the state. Another priority has been to involve adult education practitioners in every step of this process.^ This study was conducted in order to determine what performance indicators, as judged by the directors and supervisors of adult education programs in the state of Florida, are important and feasible in measuring the quality and effectiveness of these programs. The results of the study indicated that, both statewide and by region, the respondents consistently gave the highest ratings on both importance and feasibility to the indicators of Program Context, which reflect the needs, composition, and structure of the programs, and to the indicators of Educational Gain, which reflect learner progress in the attainment of basic skills and competencies. In turn, the respondents gave the lowest ratings on both importance and feasibility to the indicators in the areas of Return on State's Investment, Efficiency, Retention, and Workforce Training. In general, the indicators that received high ratings for importance also received high ratings for feasibility. ^

Evaluation of the evidential value of the elemental composition of glass, ink and paper by laser-based microspectrochemical methods

Elemental analysis can become an important piece of evidence to assist the solution of a case. The work presented in this dissertation aims to evaluate the evidential value of the elemental composition of three particular matrices: ink, paper and glass. In the first part of this study, the analytical performance of LIBS and LA-ICP-MS methods was evaluated for paper, writing inks and printing inks. A total of 350 ink specimens were examined including black and blue gel inks, ballpoint inks, inkjets and toners originating from several manufacturing sources and/or batches. The paper collection set consisted of over 200 paper specimens originating from 20 different paper sources produced by 10 different plants. Micro-homogeneity studies show smaller variation of elemental compositions within a single source (i.e., sheet, pen or cartridge) than the observed variation between different sources (i.e., brands, types, batches). Significant and detectable differences in the elemental profile of the inks and paper were observed between samples originating from different sources (discrimination of 87–100% of samples, depending on the sample set under investigation and the method applied). These results support the use of elemental analysis, using LA-ICP-MS and LIBS, for the examination of documents and provide additional discrimination to the currently used techniques in document examination. In the second part of this study, a direct comparison between four analytical methods (µ-XRF, solution-ICP-MS, LA-ICP-MS and LIBS) was conducted for glass analyses using interlaboratory studies. The data provided by 21 participants were used to assess the performance of the analytical methods in associating glass samples from the same source and differentiating different sources, as well as the use of different match criteria (confidence interval (±6s, ±5s, ±4s, ±3s, ±2s), modified confidence interval, t-test (sequential univariate, p=0.05 and p=0.01), t-test with Bonferroni correction (for multivariate comparisons), range overlap, and Hotelling's T2 tests. Error rates (Type 1 and Type 2) are reported for the use of each of these match criteria and depend on the heterogeneity of the glass sources, the repeatability between analytical measurements, and the number of elements that were measured. The study provided recommendations for analytical performance-based parameters for µ-XRF and LA-ICP-MS as well as the best performing match criteria for both analytical techniques, which can be applied now by forensic glass examiners.

Does Financial Performance Depend on Hotel Size? Analysis of the Financial Profile of the U.S. Lodging Industry

This research presents a financial profile of the U.S. Lodging Industry based on an analysis of 2,091 financial statements (fiscal year 2011) for individual hotels ranging in asset size of $500 thousand to $250 million. The study analyzes summary results of the financial position and profitability of hotels based on a common size analysis of Balance Sheets and Income Statements. Furthermore, the study analyzes 10 key performance benchmarks as measured by Liquidity, Solvency and Operating Ratios. The results of the study show a divergence in the hotel industry’s financial performance based on the size of the hotel and by upper, median and lower quartiles of the study sample.

Relationships between gifted selection criteria and performance in sixth -grade gifted science

This study examined the relationships between gifted selection criteria used in the Dade County Public Schools of Miami, Florida and performance in sixth grade gifted science classes.^ The goal of the study was to identify significant predictors of performance in sixth grade gifted science classes. Group comparisons of performance were also made. Performance in sixth grade gifted science was defined as the numeric average of nine weeks' grades earned in sixth grade gifted science classes.^ The sample consisted of 100 subjects who were formerly enrolled in sixth grade gifted science classes over two years at a large, multiethnic public middle school in Dade County.^ The predictors analyzed were I.Q. score (all scales combined), full scale I.Q. score, verbal scale I.Q. score, performance scale I.Q. score, combined Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) score (Reading Comprehension plus Math Applications), SAT Reading Comprehension score, and SAT Math Applications score. Combined SAT score and SAT Math Applications score were significantly positively correlated to performance in sixth grade gifted science. Performance scale I.Q. score was significantly negatively correlated to performance in sixth grade gifted science. The other predictors examined were not significantly correlated to performance.^ Group comparison results showed the mean average of nine weeks grades for the full scale I.Q. group was greater than the verbal and performance scale I.Q. groups. Females outperformed males to a highly significant level. Mean g.p.a. for ethnic groups was greatest for Asian students, followed by white non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and black. Students not receiving a lunch subsidy outperformed those receiving subsidies.^ Comparisons of performance based on gifted qualification plan showed the mean g.p.a. for traditional plan and Plan B groups were not different. Mean g.p.a. for students who qualified for gifted using automatic Math Applications criteria was highest, followed by automatic Reading Comprehension criteria and Plan B Matrix score. Both automatic qualification groups outperformed the traditional group. The traditional group outperformed the Plan B Matrix group. No significant differences in mean g.p.a. between the Plan B subgroups and the traditional plan group were found. ^

Risk Based Post Closure Care Analysis for Florida Landfills

Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires a post closure period of 30 years for non hazardous wastes in landfills. Post closure care (PCC) activities under Subtitle D include leachate collection and treatment, groundwater monitoring, inspection and maintenance of the final cover, and monitoring to ensure that landfill gas does not migrate off site or into on site buildings. The decision to reduce PCC duration requires exploration of a performance based methodology to Florida landfills. PCC should be based on whether the landfill is a threat to human health or the environment. Historically no risk based procedure has been available to establish an early end to PCC. Landfill stability depends on a number of factors that include variables that relate to operations both before and after the closure of a landfill cell. Therefore, PCC decisions should be based on location specific factors, operational factors, design factors, post closure performance, end use, and risk analysis. The question of appropriate PCC period for Florida’s landfills requires in depth case studies focusing on the analysis of the performance data from closed landfills in Florida. Based on data availability, Davie Landfill was identified as case study site for a case by case analysis of landfill stability. The performance based PCC decision system developed by Geosyntec Consultants was used for the assessment of site conditions to project PCC needs. The available data for leachate and gas quantity and quality, ground water quality, and cap conditions were evaluated. The quality and quantity data for leachate and gas were analyzed to project the levels of pollutants in leachate and groundwater in reference to maximum contaminant level (MCL). In addition, the projected amount of gas quantity was estimated. A set of contaminants (including metals and organics) were identified as contaminants detected in groundwater for health risk assessment. These contaminants were selected based on their detection frequency and levels in leachate and ground water; and their historical and projected trends. During the evaluations a range of discrepancies and problems that related to the collection and documentation were encountered and possible solutions made. Based on the results of PCC performance integrated with risk assessment, projection of future PCC monitoring needs and sustainable waste management options were identified. According to these results, landfill gas monitoring can be terminated, leachate and groundwater monitoring for parameters above MCL and surveying of the cap integrity should be continued. The parameters which cause longer monitoring periods can be eliminated for the future sustainable landfills. As a conclusion, 30 year PCC period can be reduced for some of the landfill components based on their potential impacts to human health and environment (HH&E).

Improved Criteria for Estimating Calibration Factors for Highway Safety Manual (HSM) Applications

The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) estimates roadway safety performance based on predictive models that were calibrated using national data. Calibration factors are then used to adjust these predictive models to local conditions for local applications. The HSM recommends that local calibration factors be estimated using 30 to 50 randomly selected sites that experienced at least a total of 100 crashes per year. It also recommends that the factors be updated every two to three years, preferably on an annual basis. However, these recommendations are primarily based on expert opinions rather than data-driven research findings. Furthermore, most agencies do not have data for many of the input variables recommended in the HSM. This dissertation is aimed at determining the best way to meet three major data needs affecting the estimation of calibration factors: (1) the required minimum sample sizes for different roadway facilities, (2) the required frequency for calibration factor updates, and (3) the influential variables affecting calibration factors. In this dissertation, statewide segment and intersection data were first collected for most of the HSM recommended calibration variables using a Google Maps application. In addition, eight years (2005-2012) of traffic and crash data were retrieved from existing databases from the Florida Department of Transportation. With these data, the effect of sample size criterion on calibration factor estimates was first studied using a sensitivity analysis. The results showed that the minimum sample sizes not only vary across different roadway facilities, but they are also significantly higher than those recommended in the HSM. In addition, results from paired sample t-tests showed that calibration factors in Florida need to be updated annually. To identify influential variables affecting the calibration factors for roadway segments, the variables were prioritized by combining the results from three different methods: negative binomial regression, random forests, and boosted regression trees. Only a few variables were found to explain most of the variation in the crash data. Traffic volume was consistently found to be the most influential. In addition, roadside object density, major and minor commercial driveway densities, and minor residential driveway density were also identified as influential variables.

Comparison of earthquake-related consequences through loss analysis of different braced frame structural systems

Il presente elaborato di tesi tratta la valutazione di differenti sistemi di controventatura, sia dal punto di vista di risposta ad un evento sismico che in termini di perdite economiche legate al danneggiamento delle varie componenti. Tra di esse è presentata anche una nuova tipologia strutturale, ideata per ridurre il comportamento “soft-story” e “weak-story”, tipico delle strutture controventate convenzionali. In questo caso, è integrata alla struttura una trave reticolare metallica, che funge da supporto verticale ed è progettata per rimanere in campo elastico. Tale sostegno garantisce una distribuzione più uniforme degli sforzi lungo l’intera altezza della struttura, anziché concentrarli in un unico piano. La ricerca tratta lo studio della fattibilità economica di questa nuova tecnologia, rispetto alle precedenti soluzioni di controventatura adottate, confrontando le perdite economiche delle diverse soluzioni, applicate ad un unico prototipo di edificio collocato a Berkeley, CA. L’analisi sismica tiene in considerazione di tre diversi livelli di intensità, riferiti a un periodo di ritorno di 50 anni, corrispondente alla vita dell’edificio: questi sono caratterizzati dalla probabilità di ricorrenza, rispettivamente del 2%, 10% e 50% ogni 50 anni. L’ambito di ricerca presentato è estremamente innovativo e di primario interesse per lo sviluppo di uno studio sulla resilienza, che può essere adattato anche in un modello di urbanizzazione futura.

Factors affecting airport route development activity and performance

Airports have become increasingly active in route development as a means of attracting, growing and retaining air services. However, little is known about the different levels of route development activity at airports, or the extent to which route development activity affects performance. Based on the findings of a survey of 124 airports worldwide, this study finds that larger airports are significantly more active than smaller airports. It also finds that private airports are more active than public airports, and that airports in Europe are more active than airports in other world regions, although differences according to ownership and location are not significant. Route development activity has a significant positive effect on performance. Factors associated with the airport business environment (market turbulence, competitive intensity, market growth and airport constraints) were not found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between route development activity and performance. However, two factors were found to have a significant direct effect on performance; market growth has a significant positive effect while airport constraints have a significant negative effect.

Grupo Totem: a infecção pela performance e a encenação performática

The issue of creating productions of hybrid matrices has demanded, for more than three decades, the attention of several theater theorists (COHEN: 1995; LEHMANN: 2007). The study of philosophers (DELEUZE & GUATTARI: 1995) has contributed for new concepts of the scene. These artistic practices, depending on the context, have been generating, more and more, new ways of staging. I will discuss the contamination caused by Antonin Artaud in contemporary theater, and the theater s infection by the performance, based on the thought of Barbara Browning (1995), from its capacity to penetrate and invade territories, and installs a new system. I affirm that the Totem Group (Recife PE) was contaminated by the performance and analyze two performative plays of the group, their points of convergence and separation. The first one is Ita, the search for the origin, the animal devir; the second is Caosmopolita, the body as a reflex of urbanity

Grupo Totem: a infecção pela performance e a encenação performática

The issue of creating productions of hybrid matrices has demanded, for more than three decades, the attention of several theater theorists (COHEN: 1995; LEHMANN: 2007). The study of philosophers (DELEUZE & GUATTARI: 1995) has contributed for new concepts of the scene. These artistic practices, depending on the context, have been generating, more and more, new ways of staging. I will discuss the contamination caused by Antonin Artaud in contemporary theater, and the theater s infection by the performance, based on the thought of Barbara Browning (1995), from its capacity to penetrate and invade territories, and installs a new system. I affirm that the Totem Group (Recife PE) was contaminated by the performance and analyze two performative plays of the group, their points of convergence and separation. The first one is Ita, the search for the origin, the animal devir; the second is Caosmopolita, the body as a reflex of urbanity

THE PERFORMANCE AND MODIFICATION OF RECYCLED ELECTRONIC WASTE PLASTICS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF ASPHALT PAVEMENT MATERIALS

Bulk electric waste plastics were recycled and reduced in size into plastic chips before pulverization or cryogenic grinding into powders. Two major types of electronic waste plastics were used in this investigation: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS). This research investigation utilized two approaches for incorporating electronic waste plastics into asphalt pavement materials. The first approach was blending and integrating recycled and processed electronic waste powders directly into asphalt mixtures and binders; and the second approach was to chemically treat recycled and processed electronic waste powders with hydro-peroxide before blending into asphalt mixtures and binders. The chemical treatment of electronic waste (e-waste) powders was intended to strengthen molecular bonding between e-waste plastics and asphalt binders for improved low and high temperature performance. Superpave asphalt binder and mixture testing techniques were conducted to determine the rheological and mechanical performance of the e-waste modified asphalt binders and mixtures. This investigation included a limited emissions-performance assessment to compare electronic waste modified asphalt pavement mixture emissions using SimaPro and performance using MEPDG software. Carbon dioxide emissions for e-waste modified pavement mixtures were compared with conventional asphalt pavement mixtures using SimaPro. MEPDG analysis was used to determine rutting potential between the various e-waste modified pavement mixtures and the control asphalt mixture. The results from this investigation showed the following: treating the electronic waste plastics delayed the onset of tertiary flow for electronic waste mixtures, electronic waste mixtures showed some improvement in dynamic modulus results at low temperatures versus the control mixture, and tensile strength ratio values for treated e-waste asphalt mixtures were improved versus the control mixture.