A Primer On Collective Entrepreneurship: A Preliminary Taxonomy

We document an increasing prevalence of the term ―collective entrepreneurship‖ in scholarly research. By examining the context in which the term is utilized, we present a framework through which to understand motivations for research in collective entrepreneurship and the variety of entrepreneurial endeavors described as collective entrepreneurship. We identify five primary motivations for research: advancement of theory, intra-organizational efficiency, inter-organizational gains, economic growth and development, and socio-political change. We find preliminary evidence collective entrepreneurs may be able to generate rents inaccessible to the sole entrepreneur. In addition, we propose mechanisms which foster entrepreneurship may differ for sole and collective entrepreneurs.International Relations/Trade,

Lessons from Community Entrepreneurship: The Concept of Spawning

Capital-constrained cooperatives are being challenged by producer-members to provide vertical integration opportunities. We find evidence producer groups are utilizing an investment strategy described as spawning. Producer-investors familiar with a particular organizational form and who have developed joint investment networks were more apt to invest in newly spawned ventures.Spawning, Collective Entrepreneurship, Cooperative Development, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Fourth Wave Student Development: Constructing Student Affairs-Driven Spaces That Deliver Knowledge and Tools for Effecting Social Change

The following thesis explores how historical patterns of discrimination continue to pervade colleges and universities in ways that reinforce social inequity, lifting up work being done in divisions of student affairs as an opportunity to disrupt these patterns. After introducing a brief history of structural inequities in higher education, I turn to student affairs’ growing emphasis on programs that promote equity and social justice. I argue that because student affairs is positioned within colleges and universities, yet separate from some hierarchical power structures typical of academic affairs, it is uniquely able to provide co-curricular educational opportunities that convey the importance of equity and social justice and model what equitable, socially-just spaces look like. I refer to these spaces as fourth wave student development spaces. I then introduce the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) as a case for understanding these spaces and put my argument to the test through an assessment of a social justice leadership development workshop series called Lead the Change. I hypothesized that by constructing a space rooted in fourth wave student development principles, after each workshop, participants would be significantly more likely to agree with a series of learning outcome-based statements designed to represent skills essential to engaging in issues of social justice. Results from the program indicate promising opportunities for student affairs programming, particularly within an urban institution like UWM

Multiple Objective Co-Optimization of Switched Reluctance Machine Design and Control

This dissertation includes a review of various motor types, a motivation for selecting the switched reluctance motor (SRM) as a focus of this work, a review of SRM design and control optimization methods in literature, a proposed co-optimization approach, and empirical evaluations to validate the models and proposed co-optimization methods. The switched reluctance motor (SRM) was chosen as a focus of research based on its low cost, easy manufacturability, moderate performance and efficiency, and its potential for improvement through advanced design and control optimization. After a review of SRM design and control optimization methods in the literature, it was found that co-optimization of both SRM design and controls is not common, and key areas for improvement in methods for optimizing SRM design and control were identified. Among many things, this includes the need for computationally efficient transient models with the accuracy of FEA simulations and the need for co-optimization of both machine geometry and control methods throughout the entire operation range with multiple objectives such as torque ripple, efficiency, etc. A modeling and optimization framework with multiple stages is proposed that includes robust transient simulators that use mappings from FEA in order to optimize SRM geometry, windings, and control conditions throughout the entire operation region with multiple objectives. These unique methods include the use of particle swarm optimization to determine current profiles for low to moderate speeds and other optimization methods to determine optimal control conditions throughout the entire operation range with consideration of various characteristics and boundary conditions such as voltage and current constraints. This multi-stage optimization process includes down-selections in two previous stages based on performance and operational characteristics at zero and maximum speed. Co-optimization of SRM design and control conditions is demonstrated as a final design is selected based on a fitness function evaluating various operational characteristics including torque ripple and efficiency throughout the torque-speed operation range. The final design was scaled, fabricated, and tested to demonstrate the viability of the proposed framework and co-optimization method. Accuracy of the models was confirmed by comparing simulated and empirical results. Test results from operation at various torques and speeds demonstrates the effectiveness of the optimization approach throughout the entire operating range. Furthermore, test results confirm the feasibility of the proposed torque ripple minimization and efficiency maximization control schemes. A key benefit of the overall proposed approach is that a wide range of machine design parameters and control conditions can be swept, and based on the needs of an application, the designer can select the appropriate geometry, winding, and control approach based on various performance functions that consider torque ripple, efficiency, and other metrics

Wikipedia: Information literacy in the digital landscape

Undergraduate students work to master information literacy skills, which encompass concepts such as resource-based learning, effective research and information use. In addition, these students must also develop the ability to effectively collaborate, produce, and share content across the increasingly complex digital information landscape. Mackey and Jacobson (2014) have proposed reframing information literacy as a comprehensive “metaliteracy” model that encompasses the participatory nature of the digital environment. Since 2012, librarians have worked with New College of Florida faculty to leverage Wikipedia as a tool to facilitate student development of metaliteracy skills. Students taking humanities and social science courses critically analyze existing Wikipedia articles, assess information gaps, identify and evaluate sources, add new content using WikiCode, and develop a deeper understanding of collaborative authorship. During the January 2015 term, the first Wikipedia Independent Study Project (ISP) was offered, where students developed expertise in an area of interest and made substantive contributions to Wikipedia under the supervision of a librarian. In this presentation, the authors will illustrate the myriad ways that Wikipedia-based assignments and ISPs facilitate student achievement of metaliteracy skills and the information literacy skills set forth in the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (ACRL, 2000), as well as the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (ACRL, 2015)

Renewed Perspectives in Business Cycle Theory: An Analysis of Three Heterodox Approaches

Since the collapse of the housing market in 2007-2008, economists have been faltering to provide basic answers to why and how it happened. Turning back to the history of economic thought, this project examines three models of business cycles: the Austrian business cycle theory, Hyman Minsky’s Financial Instability Hypothesis, and the geoclassical cycle theory. Hypothesizing that mainstream economics has rendered its models irrelevant by abstracting from important concepts such as time and uncertainty, I propose that economics does not need to reinvent itself, but rather revisit its past. Using both logic and historical evidence to evaluate the three theories, I conclude that the geoclassical cycle theory is the best explanation of the both the 2008 crash and historical episodes of boom and bust

The Impact of Social Media on Social Behaviors and Alcohol Consumption

As part of INFO I499 Readings and Research in Informatics. Faculty advisor: Sara Anne Hook.This research project examines the subliminal effects that alcohol consumption may or may not have on a person’s technology-based social behaviors. If the effect of alcohol consumption alters social behaviors, then a logical question is whether and how these behaviors are expressed through social media. Sub-areas of inquiry include alcohol’s effect on mood, alcohol-based interactions on social media and the impact of alcohol on an individual’s use of different social media platforms. The main objective of this research is to obtain a clearer understanding of the extent to which alcohol consumption and advertisement impact social media interactions. If correlations can be found, then a further step is to examine alcohol consumption interactions and advertising-based interactions and their influence on the activities of other social media users and the content of their posts. The research will examine social media content created about consuming alcohol through the use of keyword analysis. It will focus specifically on data that can be gleaned from Facebook and Twitter postings. The frequency of social media content creation when under the influence of alcohol will be compared with content creation during periods of sobriety. The research will discern whether there is a noticeable change in content subject matter, attitude and/or tone when alcohol is being consumed. It will also determine whether there is a correlation between social media advertisements related to alcohol, and if so, whether the followers of those advertisements increase their own alcohol-related user content and whether this then increases alcohol consumption. Technology such as social media has significantly reduced the time and distance between communication channels and users. This research project examines technology-based social behaviors to discern whether user content on social media can be collected and analyzed to cultivate additional sales within the alcohol industry

Modulation of cholera toxin structure and function by host proteins

Cholera toxin (CT) moves from the cell surface to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where the catalytic CTA1 subunit separates from the holotoxin and unfolds due to its intrinsic thermal instability. Unfolded CTA1 then moves through an ER translocon pore to reach its cytosolic target. Due to the instability of CTA1, it must be actively refolded in the cytosol to achieve the proper conformation for modification of its G protein target. The cytosolic heat shock protein Hsp90 is involved with the ER-to-cytosol translocation of CTA1, yet the mechanistic role of Hsp90 in CTA1 translocation remains unknown. Potential post-translocation roles for Hsp90 in modulating the activity of cytosolic CTA1 are also unknown. Here, we show by isotope-edited Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy that Hsp90 induces a gain-of-structure in disordered CTA1 at physiological temperature. Only the ATP-bound form of Hsp90 interacts with disordered CTA1, and its refolding of CTA1 is dependent upon ATP hydrolysis. In vitro reconstitution of the CTA1 translocation event likewise required ATP hydrolysis by Hsp90. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments found that Hsp90 does not release CTA1, even after ATP hydrolysis and the return of CTA1 to a folded conformation. The interaction with Hsp90 allowed disordered CTA1 to attain an active state and did not prevent further stimulation of toxin activity by ADP-ribosylation factor 6, a host cofactor for CTA1. This activity is consistent with its role as a chaperone that refolds endogenous cytosolic proteins as part of a foldosome complex consisting of Hsp90, Hop, Hsp40, p23, and Hsc70. A role for Hsc70 in CT intoxication has not yet been established. Here, biophysical, biochemical, and cell-based assays demonstrate Hsp90 and Hsc70 play overlapping roles in the processing of CTA1. Using SPR we determined that Hsp90 and Hsc70 could bind independently to CTA1 at distinct locations with high affinity, even in the absence of the Hop linker. Studies using isotope-edited FTIR spectroscopy found that, like Hsp90, Hsc70 induces a gain-of-structure in unfolded CTA1. The interaction between CTA1 and Hsc70 is essential for intoxication, as an RNAi-induced loss of the Hsc70 protein generates a toxin-resistant phenotype. Further analysis using isotope-edited FTIR spectroscopy demonstrated that the addition of both Hsc70 and Hsp90 to unfolded CTA1 produced a gain-of-structure above that of the individual chaperones. Our data suggest that CTA1 translocation involves a ratchet mechanism which couples the Hsp90-mediated refolding of CTA1 with extraction from the ER. The subsequent binding of Hsc70 further refolds CTA1 in a manner not previously observed in foldosome complex formation. The interaction of CTA1 with these chaperones is essential to intoxication and this work elucidates details of the intoxication process not previously known

Relationships between characteristics of Tennessee woodland owners : their woodland operations and their use of recommended forestry practices and the number of contacts they had with Extension from 1979 to 1983

The major purpose of this study was to determine relationships between the characteristics of woodland owners, their use of recommended practices, and their contacts with Extension. A total of 383 woodland owners was interviewed or mailed questionnaires by Extension agents in Tennessee. The analysis of variance was used to determine the association between each dependent variable and each of the qualitative independent variables. F-values which achieved the .05 level of probability were accepted as being statistically significant. Major findings included the following: 1. The mean number of acres of forest land owned was almost 283; the mean number of acres of forest land grazed was nearly 44; the mean number of acres of forest land never grazed was more than 161; average acres of forest tree seedlings planted was less than 8; the average acres of timber stand improvement was just over 27; the mean number of forestry contacts with Extension personnel was about 2.4. 2. The average number of recommended forestry practices used by woodland owners was less than four. 3. Woodland owners who used forestry practices on more forest acres also used a significantly greater number of recommended practices. Total number of Extension contacts was the woodland owner characteristic which seemed to more accurately predict the total number of practices used. 4. Percent acres thinned that needed thinning and percent acres timber stand improvement were significantly related to number of Extension contacts in woodland management. 5. Woodland owners who used recommended forestry practices contacted Extension more frequently than those not using the practices. This difference was significant for almost all practices. 6. Woodland owners who used most recommended woodland product marketing practices had contacted Extension more than those who were not using the practices. Using trained foresters and knowing the amount of timber ready to sell were the only two practices significantly related to the number of contacts in woodland marketing. 7. Woodland owners who used most of the recommended forestry management practices owned more forest acres. Use of most of the management practices was significantly related to the number of forest acres owned. 8. Woodland owners who used most woodland product marketing practices owned significantly more forest acres than those who were not using the practices. 9. The percent forest acreage use was significantly related to the number of forest acres owned. 10. The total number of contacts in woodland management was not significantly related to the number of forest acres owned, but was significantly related to the total number of practices used. 11. The number of contacts related to woodland product marketing was significantly related to the number of forest acres owned, and was significantly related to the number of marketing practices used