A SWOT Analysis Of Competitive Knowledge From Social Media For A Small Start-Up Business

The analysis of data from social media sites can provide useful decision-making information for businesses; however, can small businesses with limited budgets and limited technical expertise compete in this new social media driven market? This study provides a proof of concept for increasing a company’s competitive knowledge through the use of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) framework model by gathering qualitative data about the use of social media from employee interviews. By increasing the competitive knowledge through evaluating the results of the SWOT analysis, this small start-up company will have a strategic plan for increasing their competitive advantage. The authors present the results of the study in the form of practical recommendations for short-term and long-term implementation. Several of the short-term and long-term recommendations are substantiated through prior research studies. Future research could include a follow-up study of this company using a SWOT framework tool or other methodologies to indicate what social media tools and strategies provide the most beneficial competitive knowledge for a small business, and why. Additionally, comparing the results from this study with a similar study of a different small start-up business could lead to the design of a model for other small businesses trying to increase their competitive knowledge through the effective use of social media

3D Printing As A Consumer Technology Business Model

Although the technology for 3D printing has been around for more than three decades, its full potential is just beginning to be realized in the business world.  Ideas for 3D printing run the gamut from the hobbyist printing jewelry and toys to the medical industry researching 3D printing of human organs. One way businesses are utilizing 3D printing is through support services within their own business processes, referred to in this paper as a consumer technology business model. As with any emerging use of a technology, legal and ethical issues will arise. This paper shows how 3D printing has evolved, why businesses are realizing the strategic potential for 3D printing to create a competitive advantage using a consumer technology business model and why this could raise legal and ethical issues associated with existing laws related to the use of 3D technology

Integrating Smart Ceiling Fans and Communicating Thermostats to Provide Energy-Efficient Comfort

The project goal was to identify and test the integration of smart ceiling fans and communicating thermostats. These highly efficient ceiling fans use as much power as an LED light bulb and have onboard temperature and occupancy sensors for automatic operationbased on space conditions. The Center for the Environment (CBE) at UC Berkeley led the research team including TRC, Association for Energy Affordability (AEA), and Big Ass Fans (BAF). The research team conducted laboratory tests, installed99 ceiling fans and 12 thermostats in four affordable multifamily housing sites in California’s Central Valley, interviewed stakeholders to develop a case study, developed an online design tool and design guide, outlined codes and standards outreach, and published several papers.The project team raised indoor cooling temperature setpoints and used ceiling fans as the first stage of cooling; this sequencing of ceiling fans and air conditioningreducesenergy consumption, especially during peak periods, while providing thermal comfort.The field demonstration resulted in 39% measured compressor energy savings during the April–October cooling seasoncompared to baseline conditions, normalized for floor area. Weather-normalized energy use varied from a 36% increase to 71% savings, withmedian savings of 15%.This variability reflects the diversity in buildings, mechanical systems, prior operation settings, space types, andoccupants’ schedules,preferences, and motivations. All commercial spaces with regular occupancy schedules (and twoof the irregularly-occupied commercial spaces and one of the homes) showed energy savings on an absolute basis before normalizing for warmer intervention temperatures,and 10 of 13 sites showed energy savings on a weather-normalized basis. The ceiling fans provided cooling for one site for months during hot weather when the coolingequipment failed.Occupants reported high satisfaction with the ceiling fans and improved thermal comfort. This technology can apply to new and retrofit residential and commercial buildings

A close up on close-to-practice research: reflecting on teacher educator’s experiences of and engagement with a classroom based research project

Recent drives to improve initial teacher education in Wales identify the need to build professional capital and to develop and sustain research capacity within the sector (Furlong, 2015). However, such capacity, and the integration of research into teacher education remains underdeveloped (Leat et al, 2014; Furlong, 2016). This paper reports on the experiences of three teacher educators who are novice researchers. They engaged in a small-scale close-to-practice research project with primary and secondary schoolteachers, under the guidance of a more experienced research colleague. Using evidence from self-study (Lunenberg and Willemse, 2006) and reflective enquiry (Lyons, 2006) the paper discusses how collaborative engagement in research allowed the participants the opportunity to reclaim a ‘sense of wonder’ (Berry, 1998) about their practice (where we define a sense of wonder as a sense of inquiry into their practice). The paper’s central argument is that whilst a national policy drive has necessitated a change in research culture within initial teacher education, reasons for involvement go beyond a feeling of ‘because we have to’. The participants regarded involvement as key to their professional growth. Time and opportunity to research pedagogical practices in other teacher’s classes opened up space for the participants to ‘wonder’ about their own practices. They also felt that the experience supported a shift towards adopting the identity of ‘researcher’. The paper considers why this is so important in the current climate of educational change in Wales

The effect of the regular solution model in the condensation of protoplanetary dust

We utilize a chemical equilibrium code in order to study the condensation process which occurs in protoplanetary discs during the formation of the first solids. The model specifically focuses on the thermodynamic behaviour on the solid species assuming the regular solution model. For each solution, we establish the relationship between the activity of the species, the composition and the temperature using experimental data from the literature. We then apply the Gibbs free energy minimization method and study the resulting condensation sequence for a range of temperatures and pressures within a protoplanetary disc. Our results using the regular solution model show that grains condense over a large temperature range and therefore throughout a large portion of the disc. In the high temperature region (T > 1400 K) Ca-Al compounds dominate and the formation of corundum is sensitive to the pressure. The mid-temperature region is dominated by Fe(s) and silicates such as Mg2SiO4 and MgSiO3 . The chemistry of forsterite and enstatite are strictly related, and our simulations show a sequence of forsterite-enstatite-forsterite with decreasing temperature. In the low temperature regions (T < 600 K) a range of iron compounds and sulfides form. We also run simulations using the ideal solution model and see clear differences in the resulting condensation sequences with changing solution model In particular, we find that the turning point in which forsterite replaces enstatite in the low temperature region is sensitive to the solution model. Our results show that the ideal solution model is often a poor approximation to experimental data at most temperatures important in protoplanetary discs. We find some important differences in the resulting condensation sequences when using the regular solution model, and suggest that this model should provide a more realistic condensation sequence.Comment: MNRAS: Accepted 2011 February 16. Received 2011 February 14; in original form 2010 July 2

The menopause transition and women\u27s health at midlife: a progress report from the Study of Women\u27s Health Across the Nation (SWAN)

OBJECTIVE: Our initial understanding of the menopause transition (MT) has been framed by clinical samples of women seeking treatment rather than by population-based studies. The Study of Women\u27s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) initiated in 1996 with an overall goal to define the MT, to characterize its biological and psychosocial antecedents and sequelae in an ethnically and racially diverse sample of midlife women. METHODS: This review summarizes the central findings of SWAN to date that can inform women and their healthcare providers about the impact of the MT and midlife aging on overall health and well-being. RESULTS: SWAN characterized changes in reproductive axis and menstrual cycle patterns that informed the development of the reproductive aging staging system Staging of Reproductive Aging Workshop+10; MT-related symptoms and mental health (vasomotor symptoms, sleep complaints, psychological symptoms, cognitive performance, and urogenital and sexual health); and physiological systems and functions (cardiovascular and cardiometabolic health, bone health, physical function performance) that are influenced by the MT. SWAN demonstrated substantial interrelations among these changes and significant racial/ethnic differences in the rate and magnitude of change in multiple health indictors in midlife women. The findings point to midlife as a critical stage for adopting healthy behavior and preventive strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Over the past 23 years, SWAN has advanced our understanding of the impact of the MT and midlife aging on health and well-being in women. SWAN will be instrumental to determine whether MT-related changes during midlife are related to unfavorable health and well-being in early old age

Pulmonary Rehabilitation With Balance Training for Fall Reduction in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A growing body of evidence shows that individuals with COPD have important deficits in balance control that may be associated with an increased risk of falls. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a key therapeutic intervention for individuals with COPD; however, current international guidelines do not include balance training and fall prevention strategies. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this trial is to determine the effects of PR with balance training compared to PR with no balance training on the 12-month rate of falls in individuals with COPD. Secondary aims are to determine the effects of the intervention on balance, balance confidence, and functional lower body strength, and to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the program. METHODS: A total of 400 individuals from nine PR centers across Canada, Europe, and Australia will be recruited to participate in a randomized controlled trial. Individuals with COPD who have a self-reported decline in balance, a fall in the last 2 years, or recent near fall will be randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. The intervention group will undergo tailored balance training in addition to PR and will receive a personalized home-based balance program. The control group will receive usual PR and a home program that does not include balance training. All participants will receive monthly phone calls to provide support and collect health care utilization and loss of productivity data. Both groups will receive home visits at 3, 6, and 9 months to ensure proper technique and progression of home exercise programs. The primary outcome will be incidence of falls at 12-month follow-up. Falls will be measured using a standardized definition and recorded using monthly self-report fall diary calendars. Participants will be asked to record falls and time spent performing their home exercise program on the fall diary calendars. Completed calendars will be returned to the research centers in prepaid envelopes each month. Secondary measures collected by a blinded assessor at baseline (pre-PR), post-PR, and 12-month follow-up will include clinical measures of balance, balance confidence, functional lower body strength, and health status. The cost-effectiveness of the intervention group compared with the control group will be evaluated using the incremental cost per number of falls averted and the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life years gained. RESULTS: Recruitment for the study began in January 2017 and is anticipated to be complete by December 2019. Results are expected to be available in 2020. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study will improve our understanding of the effectiveness and resource uses of tailored balance training for reducing falls in individuals with COPD. If effective, the intervention represents an opportunity to inform international guidelines and health policy for PR in individuals with COPD who are at risk of falling

Allocating the Burdens of Climate Action: Consumption-Based Carbon Accounting and the Polluter-Pays Principle

Action must be taken to combat climate change. Yet, how the costs of climate action should be allocated among states remains a question. One popular answer—the polluter-pays principle (PPP)—stipulates that those responsible for causing the problem should pay to address it. While intuitively plausible, the PPP has been subjected to withering criticism in recent years. It is timely, following the Paris Agreement, to develop a new version: one that does not focus on historical production-based emissions but rather allocates climate burdens in proportion to each state’s annual consumption-based emissions. This change in carbon accounting results in a fairer and more environmentally effective principle for distributing climate duties