The Role and Measurement of Social Capital in New Technology-Based Start-up Context

Tämän Pro gradu-tutkielman tavoitteena olirakentaa esiymmärrys sosiaalisen pääoman roolista ja mittaamisesta uuden teknologian start-up yrityksissä. Pääasiallisena tarkoituksena tässä tutkimuksessa olilöytää sosiaalisen pääoman ja start-up yrityksen tuloksellisuuden välille yhdistävä tekijä. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin pääasiallisesti kuuden OKO Venture Capitalin sijoitusportfolioon sisältyvien case-yritysten kvalitatiivisten teemahaastatteluiden sekä kvantitatiivisten kyselylomakkeiden avulla. Kvalitatiivisten haastatteluiden tulosten perusteella sosiaalisen pääoman ja tuloksellisuuden välille löytyi yhdistävä tekijä, jota käytettiin myöhemmin hyväksi kvantitatiivisessa kyselylomakkeessa. Tämän tutkielman tulokset osoittivat, että startegisen päätöksenteon kautta sosiaalinen pääoma vaikuttaa osittain start-up yritysten tuloksellisuuteen. Manageriaalisesti tärkempi löydös tässä tutkimuksessa oli kuitenkin se, että sosiaalista pääomaa voidaan käyttää hyväksi ennustettaessa uuden teknologian start-up yritysten tulevaisuuden kassavirtoja.

Grander system: A new technology to reduce surface tension of adhesive systems in dentistry

Background. Reduced surface tension of liquids results in higher surface wetting ability and diffusivity by the substrate. Objectives. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the Grander Technology in reducing the surface tension of adhesive systems. Methods. Two adhesive systems (self-etch and total-etch) were modified by physical contact with the Grander system Flexible unit to revitalize water, for 48 h. Surface tension of adhesive systems and water in normal and grander-modified conditions was measured with a goniometer. Results. The results showed a reduction of surface tension for all conditions grander-modified between 3-15%. Conclusions. Grander Technology was effective in reducing the surface tension of the Single Bond and Clearfil SE Bond adhesive systems. Clinical significance. Grander technology was employed to restructure the molecular structure of water-based adhesive systems, which can increase their wetness capacity and therefore ensure a greater diffusibility.

New technology enables high precision multislit collimators for microbeam radiation therapy

During the past decade microbeam radiation therapy has evolved from preclinical studies to a stage in which clinical trials can be planned, using spatially fractionated, highly collimated and high intensity beams like those generated at the x-ray ID17 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The production of such microbeams typically between 25 and 100 microm full width at half maximum (FWHM) values and 100-400 microm center-to-center (c-t-c) spacings requires a multislit collimator either with fixed or adjustable microbeam width. The mechanical regularity of such devices is the most important property required to produce an array of identical microbeams. That ensures treatment reproducibility and reliable use of Monte Carlo-based treatment planning systems. New high precision wire cutting techniques allow the fabrication of these collimators made of tungsten carbide. We present a variable slit width collimator as well as a single slit device with a fixed setting of 50 microm FWHM and 400 microm c-t-c, both able to cover irradiation fields of 50 mm width, deemed to meet clinical requirements. Important improvements have reduced the standard deviation of 5.5 microm to less than 1 microm for a nominal FWHM value of 25 microm. The specifications of both devices, the methods used to measure these characteristics, and the results are presented.

The Use of New Technology and Occupational Mobility: An Event History Analysis of the Swiss Labor Market

The investigation of the consequences of new technologies has a long standing tradition within economics. Particularly, labor economists are wondering how the introduction of new technologies, e.g. Personal Computers, have shaped labor markets. Former research has concentrated on the question of whether on-the-job use of PCs creates a wage bonus for employees. In this paper, we investigate whether the use of PCs increases employees’ probability of an upward shift in their employment status and whether it reduces the risk of involuntary labor market exits. We do so by applying event history analysis to the Swiss Labor Market Survey, a random sample of 3028 respondents, and by analyzing a Panel sub-sample of 650 respondents conducted recently in Switzerland. Our results show that on-the-job use of PCs was beneficial for employees in the past by increasing their probability of an upward shift by approximately 50%. The analysis also suggests that PC use reduces the risk and duration of unemployment. However, these latter results fail to reach statistical significance.