Religious diversity and entrepreneurship in transition: lessons for policymakers

Using the 2010 Life in Transition Survey, we show that localities with higher religious diversity have more respondents who have tried to set up a business. Although religious diversity also correlates with a higher start-up probability (following trial), this effect is driven by access to finance and risk preferences. We provide suggestive evidence that the positive association between religious diversity and entrepreneurial trial is positively moderated by social capital (when measured as access to weak ties and the ability to bridge structural holes). Our results suggest that programs which encourage entrepreneurial attempts in diverse areas and develop such social capital are likely to be particularly effective. At the start-up stage, relaxing credit constraints should rank high on the policy agenda

Outsourcing to self-employed knowledge workers: What are the key success factors?

This paper reveals the lack of discovery of the interrelationships between the various factors identified as key factors in building successful in situations where organisations outsource knowledge work to self employed management consultants. Masterful management of these success factors could lead to fruitful outcomes for both clients and consultants alike. In addition, consultants mastering these factors could gain a competitive advantage in a highly competitive profession. This paper reviews both academic and practitioner literature in relation to factors that are seen as impacting significantly on consulting assignment outcomes for both client and consultant and highlights the dearth of research surrounding the investigation of the interplay, connectedness and relationship between the various factors identified in isolation in the existing literature. In addressing this gap, a conceptual framework is proposed with a broad research agenda with seven propositions to establish the linkages between the significant success factors identified in the literature. This paper makes a unique contribution towards future research in this respect through the provision of a clear conceptual framework and robust research agenda

Gaining the competitive edge: The key to successful client consultant relationships

This paper reveals the lack of discovery of the interrelationships between the various factors identified as key factors in building successful in client-consultant relationships. Masterful management of these success factors could lead to fruitful outcomes for both clients and consultants alike. In addition, consultants mastering these factors could gain a competitive advantage in a highly competitive profession. This paper reviews both academic and practitioner literature in relation to factors that are seen as impacting significantly on consulting assignment outcomes for both client and consultant and highlights the dearth of research surrounding the investigation of the interplay, connectedness and relationship between the various factors identified in isolation in the existing literature. In addressing this gap, a conceptual framework is proposed with a broad research agenda with seven propositions to establish the linkages between the significant success factors identified in the literature. This paper makes a unique contribution towards future research in this respect through the provision of a clear conceptual framework and robust research agenda

Activity Identification and Local Linear Convergence of Douglas--Rachford/ADMM under Partial Smoothness

Convex optimization has become ubiquitous in most quantitative disciplines of science, including variational image processing. Proximal splitting algorithms are becoming popular to solve such structured convex optimization problems. Within this class of algorithms, Douglas--Rachford (DR) and alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) are designed to minimize the sum of two proper lower semi-continuous convex functions whose proximity operators are easy to compute. The goal of this work is to understand the local convergence behaviour of DR (resp. ADMM) when the involved functions (resp. their Legendre-Fenchel conjugates) are moreover partly smooth. More precisely, when both of the two functions (resp. their conjugates) are partly smooth relative to their respective manifolds, we show that DR (resp. ADMM) identifies these manifolds in finite time. Moreover, when these manifolds are affine or linear, we prove that DR/ADMM is locally linearly convergent. When $J$ and $G$ are locally polyhedral, we show that the optimal convergence radius is given in terms of the cosine of the Friedrichs angle between the tangent spaces of the identified manifolds. This is illustrated by several concrete examples and supported by numerical experiments.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, published in the proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Scale Space and Variational Methods in Computer Visio

Нанохайку и нанохайга, или как нанотехнологиите се срещат с изкуството

The present work combines science and arts in an innovative and intriguing way. Using Electron Beam Lithography (EBL) and Directed Self-Assembly (DSA) of Block Co-Polymers (BCP) in conjunction with the shortest poetic form, haiku, the paper attractively demonstrate the capabilities of these nanofabrication techniques and explores the interaction between the top-down EBL process and the bottom-up DSA approach. Silicon (Si) substrates and EBL with the hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) negative tone resist were used for capturing examples of the tiniest haiku poems written and translated into six languages having four different character styles. Subsequently, the haiku nanostructures (“nanohaiku”) were used as guiding features between which the poly(styrene)-blockpoly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock copolymer is spin coated to create self-organised nanopatterns. The annealing was done in toluene solvent vapours at 50°C for 1.5 hours and then the samples were immersed in ethanol for 15 hours at 40°C to dissolve the PEO copolymer. In areas within and in-between the individual characters and syllables of the poems, unusual patterns were observed. We interpret them as self-assembled “nanohaiga” directed by the morphology and the linguistic geometry of the nanohaiku. Moreover, we demonstrate how the BCP pattern changes when interacting with the same verse translated into different languages. Thus we add to the haiku poem's own nanostructure and meaning a new visual identity, nanohaiga, combining for the first time poetry, visual art and advanced nanofabrication technologies

FibroTest, transient elastography method, and combined FibroTest and transient elastography method for diagnosis of severe hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis in adults with chronic hepatitis C

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of FibroTest, transient elastography method, combined FibroTest and transient elastography method, no matter the sequence, using liver biopsy as reference standard, for assessment of severe hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis in adults with chronic hepatitis C without any co-infections such as hepatitis B, HIV, and alcoholic liver disease. To compare the accuracy of FibroTest, transient elastography method, combined FibroTest and transient elastography method, for assessment of hepatic fibrosis in adults with chronic hepatitis C. To explore heterogeneity analysing the following study factors: different grade of inflammation according to the liver biopsy; different lengths of liver biopsy sample; different number of portal tracts included in a liver biopsy sample; different serum levels of ALT activity. different grade of inflammation according to the liver biopsy; different lengths of liver biopsy sample; different number of portal tracts included in a liver biopsy sample; different serum levels of ALT activity

Chemical Composition and Energy Nutritional Value of the Meat of Guinea Fowls (Numidameleagris), Fattened to different Ages

The aim of the study was to investigate the chemical composition and energy content of the meat of young Guinea-fowls, with different duration of the fattening period, raised in a free-range, semi-intensive production system. The authors establish the following data: dry matter content- from 27.08 to 28.82% in breast muscle and from 23.83 to 26.56% in thigh muscle; crude protein in dry matter –from 86.19to 93.54% in breastand from 82.02 to 87.84% in thigh muscle; crude fat in dry matter - from 5.64 to 7.58% in breast and from 9.02 to 11.05% in thigh muscles. The average energy content in 100 g dry matter varies from 23.7 (breast muscle, 16 weeks of age) to 25.07 kJ (thigh muscle, 24 weeks of age)