Business angel exits: A theory of planned behaviour perspective

Although there are a handful of studies on business angel investment returns, the business angel literature has given little or no attention to exits and the exit strategy. This is surprising given that a primary objective of investing is to achieve a capital gain through some form of liquidity event. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as an interpretative heuristic, we examine how exits happen: specifically, what are the motivations to seek an exit and to what extent are they planned or opportunistic? Based on multiple case studies in which business angels were invited to tell the story of their most recent exit(s), the evidence suggests that the majority of liquidity events are the outcome of planned behaviour. We propose a typology of angel-backed investment exits as the basis for identifying future directions for research and developing practical advice to angels on effective business practices

Measuring local depletion of terrestrial game vertebrates by central-place hunters in rural Amazonia

The degree to which terrestrial vertebrate populations are depleted in tropical forests occupied by human communities has been the subject of an intense polarising debate that has important conservation implications. Conservation ecologists and practitioners are divided over the extent to which community-based subsistence offtake is compatible with ecologically functional populations of tropical forest game species. To quantify depletion envelopes of forest vertebrates around human communities, we deployed a total of 383 camera trap stations and 78 quantitative interviews to survey the peri-community areas controlled by 60 semi-subsistence communities over a combined area of over 3.2 million hectares in the Médio Juruá and Uatumã regions of Central-Western Brazilian Amazonia. Our results largely conform with prior evidence that hunting large-bodied vertebrates reduces wildlife populations near settlements, such that they are only found at a distance to settlements where they are hunted less frequently. Camera trap data suggest that a select few harvest-sensitive species, including lowland tapir, are either repelled or depleted by human communities. Nocturnal and cathemeral species were detected relatively more frequently in disturbed areas close to communities, but individual species did not necessarily shift their activity patterns. Group biomass of all species was depressed in the wider neighbourhood of urban areas rather than communities. Interview data suggest that species traits, especially group size and body mass, mediate these relationships. Large-bodied, large-group-living species are detected farther from communities as reported by experienced informants. Long-established communities in our study regions have not “emptied” the surrounding forest. Low human population density and low hunting offtake due to abundant sources of alternative aquatic protein, suggest that these communities represent a best-case scenario for sustainable hunting of wildlife for food, thereby providing a conservative assessment of game depletion. Given this ‘best-case’ camera trap and interview-based evidence for hunting depletion, regions with higher human population densities, external trade in wildlife and limited access to alternative protein will likely exhibit more severe depletion

ICAR: endoscopic skull‐base surgery

n/

The impact of public support for SMEs' patenting activity: Empirical evidence from Italy

Over the last decade, public patent subsidies have played an important role in several countries in enhancing international filings by domestic companies, especially SMEs. In this paper, we first analyze patent subsidies implemented in Italy from 2002 to 2012 and classify them according to four different typologies, based on their rationale and objectives. We then use data from a sample of 222 patents subsidized by the Chamber of Commerce of Milan in Northern Italy, and a control group of non-subsidized patents, to assess the impact of patent subsidies on patent value and firmsâ\u80\u99 turnover growth. We conclude by discussing policy recommendations for the optimal design of patent subsidy schemes

Percepções e atuação do Agente Comunitário de Saúde em saúde mental

Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar as percepções de Agentes Comunitários de Saúde acerca de saúde e transtorno mental, bem como verificar o preparo desses agentes para atuar na área. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa que utilizou como técnica de coleta de dados a entrevista semiestruturada e, para interpretação dos dados, a técnica de análise de conteúdo. Foram entrevistados 45 Agentes Comunitários de Saúde da Estratégia Saúde da Família, pertencentes às 21 unidades básicas de saúde do município de Maringá, PR. Os resultados obtidos demonstram os preconceitos em relação ao transtorno mental desses profissionais, que reconhecem a importância de se trabalhar tanto com o portador quanto com a família, mas não se sentem capacitados para prestar uma assistência adequada. Por compartilharem o mesmo contexto social e por conhecerem de perto a dinâmica da comunidade, vislumbramos os agentes como importantes facilitadores no cuidado à saúde mental