The development and practical implementation of a project management model for enhancing new venture creation success

Thesis (M. Tech. (Business Admin.)) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2014Research by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) continuously indicate that new venture creation success rate in South Africa is disturbingly low. This situation arises despite numerous support mechanisms in place to encourage citizens to establish their own businesses. This is an indication that current approaches to encourage new venture creation are not working. New approaches must therefore be found. The goal of this study was to combine the processes of project management and entrepreneurship, two seemingly diametrically opposed management philosophies into an integrated process model that will contribute to enhancing the new venture creation process. So, at the heart of this study is the wish to assist prospective entrepreneurs in their new venture creation journey. To achieve this objective, action research design, an emerging approach to qualitative research was adopted. Specifically, the canonical action research was used. Holistically, the study can be described as applied, cross-sectional, descriptive and exploratory in nature. Through a series of iterative canonical action research cycles, a model was developed. The results suggest that despite their seemingly diametrically opposed management philosophies, an integrated project management model for new venture creation is achievable

Enhancing new venture creation success in South Africa: a project management perspective

Published ArticleSouth Africa’s new venture creation rate is disturbingly low. Ineffective management during start-up can lead to a low venture creation rate. Amidst the growing importance of project management in effective business management, utilizing project management in the entrepreneurial process has become very appealing. The purpose of this paper is to provide a project management model for starting a new venture. Desk research is undertaken through which relevant literature on the key components of the study is reviewed and synthesized. The authors find that through action research, project management aspects can be integrated into the entrepreneurial process to improve the new venture success rate. Based on this framework, the authors conclude that it is possible to improve Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) in South Africa and elsewhere. This theoretical framework is yet to be tested. However, even in its present untested form, the paper is important because it theoretically enriches the entrepreneurship literature whilst also offering a possible practical solution to the vexing problem of high new venture creation failure rate in South Africa and elsewhere through a structured framework

Modeling kicks from the merger of generic black-hole binaries

Recent numerical relativistic results demonstrate that the merger of comparable-mass spinning black holes has a maximum ``recoil kick'' of up to \sim 4000 \kms. However the scaling of these recoil velocities with mass ratio is poorly understood. We present new runs showing that the maximum possible kick perpendicular to the orbital plane does not scale as $\sim\eta^2$ (where $\eta$ is the symmetric mass ratio), as previously proposed, but is more consistent with $\sim\eta^3$, at least for systems with low orbital precession. We discuss the effect of this dependence on galactic ejection scenarios and retention of intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables. Version published in Astrophys. J. Let

A measurement of neutrino oscillations with muon neutrinos in the MINOS experiment

Experimental evidence has established that neutrino flavor states evolve over time. A neutrino of a particular flavor that travels some distance can be detected in a different neutrino flavor state. The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) is a long-baseline experiment that is designed to study this phenomenon, called neutrino oscillations. MINOS is based at Fermilab near Chicago, IL, and consists of two detectors: the Near Detector located at Fermilab, and the Far Detector, which is located in an old iron mine in Soudan, MN. Both detectors are exposed to a beam of muon neutrinos from the NuMI beamline, and MINOS measures the fraction of muon neutrinos that disappear after traveling the 734 km between the two detectors. One can measure the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting and mixing angle by observing the energy-dependence of this muon neutrino disappearance. MINOS has made several prior measurements of these parameters. Here I describe recently-developed techniques used to enhance our sensitivity to the oscillation parameters, and I present the results obtained when they are applied to a dataset that is twice as large as has been previously analyzed. We measure the mass splitting {Delta}m{sub 23}{sup 2} = (2.32{sub -0.08}{sup +0.12}) x 10{sup -3} eV{sup 2}/c{sup 4} and the mixing angle sin{sup 2}(2{theta}{sub 32}) > 0.90 at 90% C.L. These results comprise the world's best measurement of the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting. Alternative disappearance models are also tested. The neutrino decay hypothesis is disfavored at 7.2{sigma} and the neutrino quantum decoherence hypothesis is disfavored at 9.0{sigma}

Speed and Agility Prediction Models in High School Football Players

Background: Optimal relationships between speed, agility, power and body mass are essential in American football. An increase in body mass, theoretically, reduces acceleration (Newton’s 2nd Law). However, an increase in lean body mass may enhance overall force or power generating potential and momentum of an athlete. Body mass, height, and vertical jump height are routinely measured, easily obtainable, and may be used as predictors of speed and agility. Purpose: To determine associations between height, vertical jump height, and body mass to speed and agility in high school football players. Methods: Data were collected on 1261 male football players (16.4±0.9yrs, 179.7±6.9cm, 87.5±18.4kg) at a regional football combine. In successive order, each athlete completed the following tests: height (HT; cm), body mass (BM; kg), 40-yard sprint (SP; s), pro-agility (AG; s), and vertical jump (VJ; cm). The data were collected after a self selected warm-up and athletes were provided three trials on performance drills. HT was measured using a standard stadiometer and BM using a calibrated scale. SP and AG times were measured with hand held stop watches. Finally, a contact mat was used to measure flight time during a countermovement VJ; subsequently VJ height was calculated from flight time using freely falling body equations. Model prediction equations for SP and AG were generated using SigmaStat statistical software package. For each equation, HT, BM, and VJ were set as predictor variables. Non-significant variables were eliminated from the model with an alpha level of p \u3c 0.05. Results: VJ (R=-0.73), BM (R= 0.67), and HT (R = 0.17), were all significant predictors of SP. The combined regression model SP(s) = 6.60561–0.0217VJ+0.00753BM– 0.00438HT explains 73% of the variance in forty yard sprint time (R=0.086; SEE =0.20). HT (R=0.08), BM (R=0.44), and VJ (-0.62) were significantly correlated with AG and were included in the combined regression model: AG(s) = 6.479-0.00437HT+0.00394BM-0.0180VJ (R=0.40; SEE=0.304). Conclusions: HT, VJ, and BM are strong predictors of linear speed. American football players may be able to increase speed by engaging in exercise programs that reduce body mass and improve vertical ground reaction force production. However, these data suggest that HT, BM, and VJ are not as strong of predictors of agility. Future research should address associations between other potential testing constructs and agility in American football players

Enhancing new venture creation success in South Africa: a project management perspective

Published ArticleSouth Africa’s new venture creation rate is disturbingly low. Ineffective management during start-up can lead to a low venture creation rate. Amidst the growing importance of project management in effective business management, utilizing project management in the entrepreneurial process has become very appealing. The purpose of this paper is to provide a project management model for starting a new venture. Desk research is undertaken through which relevant literature on the key components of the study is reviewed and synthesized. The authors find that through action research, project management aspects can be integrated into the entrepreneurial process to improve the new venture success rate. Based on this framework, the authors conclude that it is possible to improve Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) in South Africa and elsewhere. This theoretical framework is yet to be tested. However, even in its present untested form, the paper is important because it theoretically enriches the entrepreneurship literature whilst also offering a possible practical solution to the vexing problem of high new venture creation failure rate in South Africa and elsewhere through a structured framework

A General Formula for Black Hole Gravitational Wave Kicks

Although the gravitational wave kick velocity in the orbital plane of coalescing black holes has been understood for some time, apparently conflicting formulae have been proposed for the dominant out-of-plane kick, each a good fit to different data sets. This is important to resolve because it is only the out-of-plane kicks that can reach more than 500 km/s and can thus eject merged remnants from galaxies. Using a different ansatz for the out-of-plane kick, we show that we can fit almost all existing data to better than 5 %. This is good enough for any astrophysical calculation, and shows that the previous apparent conflict was only because the two data sets explored different aspects of the kick parameter space.Comment: 14 pages