An examination of strategy development and strategic management processes within growth-seeking small businesses

This doctoral thesis responds to the need for greater understanding of what constitutes effective strategic management practice in successfully developing small firms. And an associate need to enhance the strategic management capability of small business owner managers and ability of support providers to deliver sound, pragmatic strategy development assistance. The study in its action research mode of investigation recognises and attempts to address the numerous shortcomings and pitfalls associated with small business management. Integral to this approach is a longitudinal business development project-orientation to facilitate the fulfilling of parallel academic and small business development practice objectives. The research approach is based upon the premise that there is a glove-tight relationship between advances in knowledge and the research methodology which facilitate those knowledge advances. An overarching aim of this study is thus the development of a creative and innovative research approach to enable production not only of advances in small business strategic management knowledge and practical small business development, but also a base research methodology capable of ongoing refinement and use by others in the future. The origins of the methodology lay in the non-acceptance of traditional philosophical positions in epistemology and ontology, with a philosophical standpoint of constructive alternativism underpinning the research and the use of a drive theory which builds out of that standpoint. As part response to that philosophical positioning, the concept of epistemological bootstrapping is used to develop a ‘partial research framework’ to foothold and inform the qualitative action research process. The key insights highlighted by the ‘bootstrap’ facilitate design and development of the innovative methodology, integral to which is a close ‘rich’ working partnership interface with the participant small business owner managers. A novel attempt at linked multi-level and processual (contextualist) analysis was attempted within an action research approach which is underpinned and driven by personal construct theory. Both researcher and the researched are thus treated as ‘man the scientist’ who is progressively seeking to refine and enhance his own personal constructions of phenomenon, issues and circumstances facing him throughout his life. Such conceptualisation facilitates the build up of dual working partner investigation using live, longitudinal practical business development projects to produce tangible outputs for both parties - academic small business management knowledge for the researcher and world of academia and practical strategic development and associate knowledge and enhanced abilities for the owner manager

Systemic Cyotkines/Chemokines Contribute To Microvascular Dysfunction And Tissue Injury in Compartment Syndrome

There are few more devastating complications of musculoskeletal trauma than compartment syndrome (CS). It occurs secondary to elevated pressure within a closed osseofascial compartment, leading to microvascular dysfunction, hypo- perfusion of the tissues, cellular anoxia and ultimately cell death. The aim of this thesis was to prove that CS leads to a systemic inflammatory response, and to examine the specific cytokines/chemokines associated with CS. Twenty-four cytokines/chemokines were measured in a rat model of CS. Additionally, microvascular dysfunction, tissue injury and inflammatory response following the neutralization of pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α, at the time of fasciotomy were assessed using intravital video microscopy (IVVM). The results of our studies were the first to confirm that CS is associated with an acute inflammatory response, and that neutralization of TNF-α at the time of fasciotomy provides some protection against tissue injury due to CS

Patients with Essential thrombocythaemia have an increased prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies which may be associated with thrombosis

A significant proportion of patients with Essential Thrombocythaemia (ET) have thrombotic complications which have an important impact upon the quality, and duration of their life. We performed a retrospective cross sectional study of the prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies (APA) in 68 ET patients. Compared to 200 elderly controls (> 50 years) there was a significant increase in anticardiolipin IgM (p < 0.0001) and anti β2 glycoprotein I (anti-β2GPI) IgM (p < 0.0001) antibodies in ET. Thrombosis occurred in 10/20 with APA and 12/48 without, p = 0.04, relative risk 2.0 (95% confidence intervals 1.03-3.86); these patients did not differ in terms of other clinical features. The prevalence of thrombosis in patients with dual APA (6/7) was significant when compared to those with single APA (p = 0.02) and the remaining patients (p < 0.0002). Also anti-β2GPI IgM antibodies either alone, or in combination with another APA, were associated with thrombosis (p = 0.02). These results suggest that the prevalence of APA in ET and their influence upon thrombotic risk merit investigation in a larger study

The measurement of lubricant-film thickness using ultrasound

Ultrasound is reflected from a liquid layer between two solid bodies. This reflection depends on the ultrasonic frequency, the acoustic properties of the liquid and solid, and the layer thickness. If the wavelength is much greater than the liquid-layer thickness, then the response is governed by the stiffness of the layer. If the wavelength and layer thickness are similar, then the interaction of ultrasound with the layer is controlled by its resonant behaviour. This stiffness governed response and resonant response can be used to determine the thickness of the liquid layer, if the other parameters are known. In this paper, ultrasound has been developed as a method to determine the thickness of lubricating films in bearing systems. An ultrasonic transducer is positioned on the outside of a bearing shell such that the wave is focused on the lubricant-film layer. The transducer is used to both emit and receive wide-band ultrasonic pulses. For a particular lubricant film, the reflected pulse is processed to give a reflection-coefficient spectrum. The lubricant-film thickness is then obtained from either the layer stiffness or the resonant frequency. The method has been validated using fluid wedges at ambient pressure between flat and curved surfaces. Experiments on the elastohydrodynamic film formed between a sliding ball and a flat surface were performed. Film-thickness values in the range 50-500 nm were recorded, which agreed well with theoretical film-formation predictions. Similar measurements have been made on the oil film between the balls and outer raceway of a deep-groove ball bearing

Pressure Tuning of the Charge Density Wave in the Halogen-Bridged Transition-Metal (MX) Solid Pt2Br6(NH3)4Pt_2Br_6(NH_3)_4

We report the pressure dependence up to 95 kbar of Raman active stretching modes in the quasi-one-dimensional MX chain solid $Pt_2Br_6(NH_3)_4$. The data indicate that a predicted pressure-induced insulator-to-metal transition does not occur, but are consistent with the solid undergoing either a three-dimensional structural distortion, or a transition from a charge-density wave to another broken-symmetry ground state. We show that such a transition cacan be well-modeled within a Peierls-Hubbard Hamiltonian. 1993 PACS: 71.30.+h, 71.45.Lr, 75.30.Fv, 78.30.-j, 81.40.VwComment: 4 pages, ReVTeX 3.0, figures available from the authors on request (Gary Kanner, [email protected]), to be published in Phys Rev B Rapid Commun, REVISION: minor typos corrected, LA-UR-94-246

Supplementation with DHA and the psychological functioning of young adults

The grey matter of the brain contains high levels of the essential nutrient DHA. Although the role of DHA in the developing brain and in dementia has attracted attention, its influence on the brain of the healthy adult has been little considered. A total of 285 young adult females took 400mg of DHA, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, for 50d. After 50d, recently acquired information was more likely to be forgotten by those who had consumed DHA. No significant differences in mood, reaction times, vigilance or visual acuity were foun

Photoinduced charge separation in Q1D heterojunction materials: Evidence for electron-hole pair separation in mixed-halide MXMX solids

Resonance Raman experiments on doped and photoexcited single crystals of mixed-halide $MX$ complexes ($M$=Pt; $X$=Cl,Br) clearly indicate charge separation: electron polarons preferentially locate on PtBr segments while hole polarons are trapped within PtCl segments. This polaron selectivity, potentially very useful for device applications, is demonstrated theoretically using a discrete, 3/4-filled, two-band, tight-binding, extended Peierls-Hubbard model. Strong hybridization of the PtCl and PtBr electronic bands is the driving force for separation.Comment: n LaTeX, figures available by mail from JTG ([email protected]