Entrepreneurial experience and opportunity identification : the role of intuition and cognitive versatility

The issue of “why, when and how” some people, but not others, discover opportunities is central to our understanding of entrepreneurship. Although there is a growing body of research in this area, opportunity identification remains an ongoing phenomenon of interest as many questions remain unanswered. One important question concerns the effects of experience on opportunity identification. Research suggests that entrepreneurs become more adept at identifying opportunities as they gain experience, but the cognitive processes underlying this relationship remain unclear. This study explores this gap in the literature by addressing the following research question: To what extent can the relationship between entrepreneurial experience and opportunity identification be explained by cognitive strategy? Guided by sound theoretical principles (Cognitive-Experiential Self- Theory) and by a critical review of the scholarly literature, this study argued first, that intuition is a key process that links experience to an enhanced ability for opportunity identification, and second that intuition is most effective when used together with analysis in a versatile cognitive strategy – an approach characterised by high levels of both intuition and analysis, and an ability to switch between them as needed. Building on these arguments, this study develops and tests a model in which intuition and cognitive versatility are hypothesised to mediate the relationship between experience and opportunity identification. Seventy-four technology-entrepreneurs completed a think-aloud protocol analysis exercise in which they generated potential business ideas for three innovative technologies. In addition, they completed an online survey that was designed to control for factors which may influence intuition, cognitive versatility and/or opportunity identification, namely cognitive style, risk perception, risk propensity, and entrepreneurial experience. The model was tested by integrating the survey data with the coded and quantified protocol data in a series of regression and mediation analyses. Consistent with prior research, this study found that experienced entrepreneurs are more proficient than novices at identifying opportunities. Extending previous research, this study shows that intuition and cognitive versatility mediate the relationship between experience and opportunity identification. Not only do experienced entrepreneurs use their intuition to help them identify potentially lucrative opportunities, they also employ a process of analysis to complement their intuition and to ensure that this intuition is not leading them astray. Overall, these results suggest that scholars need to consider cognitive versatility, rather than simply looking at intuition or analysis in isolation, and to think about how this can be shaped to benefit opportunity identification

Incubators, accelerators and urban economic development

We combine theory and evidence on incubator and accelerator programmes, and their effects on urban economic development. These structured co-working programmes have grown rapidly. However, a rich descriptive literature reveals little about their impact on participants or surrounding urban areas. We situate programmes in a conceptual framework of co-location tools, theorise objectives and benefits, and report findings from systematic, OECD-wide reviews of the evaluation literature. These evaluations provide evidence that accelerators and incubators raise participant employment, with accelerators also aiding access to finance. Ecosystem features such as university involvement and urban economic conditions also influence programme outcomes. However, evaluation evidence is less clear on detailed intervention design. We consider wider lessons and lay out an agenda for future research

MARLUI: Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Adaptive UIs

Adaptive user interfaces (UIs) automatically change an interface to better support users' tasks. Recently, machine learning techniques have enabled the transition to more powerful and complex adaptive UIs. However, a core challenge for adaptive user interfaces is the reliance on high-quality user data that has to be collected offline for each task. We formulate UI adaptation as a multi-agent reinforcement learning problem to overcome this challenge. In our formulation, a user agent mimics a real user and learns to interact with a UI. Simultaneously, an interface agent learns UI adaptations to maximize the user agent's performance. The interface agent learns the task structure from the user agent's behavior and, based on that, can support the user agent in completing its task. Our method produces adaptation policies that are learned in simulation only and, therefore, does not need real user data. Our experiments show that learned policies generalize to real users and achieve on par performance with data-driven supervised learning baselines

Assisting Navigation and Object Selection with Vibrotactile Cues

Our lives have been drastically altered by information technology in the last decades, leading to evolutionary mismatches between human traits and the modern environment. One particular mismatch occurs when visually demanding information technology overloads the perceptual, cognitive or motor capabilities of the human nervous system. This information overload could be partly alleviated by complementing visual interaction with haptics. The primary aim of this thesis was to investigate how to assist movement control with vibrotactile cues. Vibrotactile cues refer to technologymediated vibrotactile signals that notify users of perceptual events, propose users to make decisions, and give users feedback from actions. To explore vibrotactile cues, we carried out five experiments in two contexts of movement control: navigation and object selection. The goal was to find ways to reduce information load in these tasks, thus helping users to accomplish the tasks more effectively. We employed measurements such as reaction times, error rates, and task completion times. We also used subjective rating scales, short interviews, and free-form participant comments to assess the vibrotactile assisted interactive systems. The findings of this thesis can be summarized as follows. First, if the context of movement control allows the use of both feedback and feedforward cues, feedback cues are a reasonable first option. Second, when using vibrotactile feedforward cues, using low-level abstractions and supporting the interaction with other modalities can keep the information load as low as possible. Third, the temple area is a feasible actuation location for vibrotactile cues in movement control, including navigation cues and object selection cues with head turns. However, the usability of the area depends on contextual factors such as spatial congruency, the actuation device, and the pace of the interaction task

Thinking Bodies and Sensational Minds: Affect and Embodiment in Contemporary Art

The human subject is profoundly interdependent, in relation to other people and to the surrounding environment, both “natural” and technological. Western dualistic thinking creates bounded and oppositional categories and generates a conception of human subjects as autonomous, self-sufficient beings that are transparent to themselves and in control of self, other, and world. This contributes to the ongoing inequalities in society and supports normative hegemony. This dissertation argues that it is imperative to insist on the intersubjective, permeable, and contingent qualities of existence. While this project is preceded by a great deal of theoretical criticism of Western metaphysical dualism, we must still continually work to break down the binaries of mind and body, self and other, rational and emotional, culture and nature. We need not just to critique the binaries but to generate new ways of thinking. I propose that art can act as a catalyst for thinking the new. Art can queer the boundaries. It is impossible to separate out the mind from the sensual body in the production or reception of art. Art demonstrates how the sensual and affected/affecting body is integral to the thinking subject, not an impurity or distraction that needs to be controlled

Concussion\u27s impact on learning: The need for return-to-learn protocols for hospital and school collaboration

Over half million children with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) pass through United States emergency departments each year. While there is Return-to-Play legislation in all 50 states, in response to sports-related concussion, there are very few Return-to-Learn protocols in place in the nation’s public schools. Concussion is a mild form of TBI; the vast spectrum of TBI makes it a complex disability, which may involve intensive physical rehabilitation and cognitive therapy. The primary purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the collaboration between educational and medical providers at one high school in Michigan to illuminate the process of school reintegration for students with concussion. The analysis was organized around Duffy’s nested theories of action to understand the communication strategies, decision-making processes, and culture influence on the collaboration between the hospital and school. Data were collected through cognitive interviewing methodology with medical providers, educational personnel, and a TBI teacher consultant from a district agency. Findings reveal there is one directional communication from the medical professionals to the educators via the student, and educators defer to the doctors on how to accommodate the student, implementing recommended environmental accommodations without an educational lens for needed academic supports. Additionally, confused terminology does not provide educators a clear understanding of concussion as a mild traumatic brain injury, the unique healing process, and a new way of learning for each student post injury. This study illustrates the need for a new model of “short-term disability” to activate educational accommodations within the framework of multi-tiered systems of support, shifting the perspective of educational leaders and the current mindset of concussion