Working Capital Financing

Howard E. Van Auken is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Iowa State University

The Business Launch Decision: An Empirical Investigation of Reasons for Not Starting a New Business

This article presents  the results of a survey that examined the business launch decision.  All of the individuals in the study al/ended a workshop on how to evaluate a business idea and launch a new venture. All of the individuals who all ended the workshop were interested in, but decided against, launching a new venture. The results of the study indicate that time constraints, availability of capital, and risk tolerance are perceived as significant obstacles by potential new business owners. Significant differences in the ranking of obstacles were found relative to whether the individuals believed that the obstacles to launch could be overcome, age of the respondent, and whether the individuals had previously owned a business. In addition, individuals who were more highly educated and had previous business ownership were less likely to launch a new business subsequent to the workshop. The results of the study can be used by service providers and consultants who develop training programs that assist individuals in the screening of business ideas and launching of new firms. The results of the study also can be incorporated into college curriculum to provide students with insight into obstacles impacting on business launch

New Technology-Based Firms' Persuit of SBIR Funds

This paper presents the results of a study that investigated the relationship between characteristics of firms and their experience with applying for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding.  The basic issues investigated are (1) the relationship between firm characteristics and the decision to apply for SBIR funding, and (2) the relationship between firm characteristics and whether the SBIR application was successful. The results of the study demonstrate that local efforts to promote the SBJR program  by encouraging firms to apply and by increasing the visibility of workshops can lead to a greater number of firms to apply for SBIR funding. Efforts directed at firms in small communities may be even more effective than efforts directed towards firms in large communities. The results also suggest that organizations that provide SBIR assistance may consider screening potential clients according to the business goals of firm’s owners. Owners of "life-style" firms may need extra encouragement and, perhaps, assistance to apply for SBJR funding. Finally, the results also imply that firms that are smaller (as compared to larger firms), have more limited experience raising capital, and serve a smaller market may need greater assistance in pursuing SBIR funding

Increasing the resolution and the signal-to-noise ratio of magnetic resonance sounding data using a central loop configuration

Surface nuclear magnetic resonance technique, also called magnetic resonance sounding (MRS), is an emerging geophysical method that can detect the presence and spatial variations of the subsurface water content directly. In this paper, we introduce the MRS central loop geometry, in which the receiver loop is smaller than the transmitter loop and placed in its centre. In addition, using a shielded receiver coil we show how this configuration greatly increases signal-to-noise ratio and improves the resolution of the subsurface layers compared to the typically used coincident loop configuration. We compare sensitivity kernels for different loop configurations and describe advantages of the MRS central loop geometry in terms of superior behaviour of the sensitivity function, increased sensitivity values, reduced noise level of the shielded receiver coil, improved resolution matrix and reduced instrument dead time. With no extra time and effort in the field, central-loop MRS makes it possible to reduce measurement time and to measure data in areas with high anthropogenic noise. The results of our field example agree well with the complementary data, namely airborne electromagnetics, borehole data, and the hydrologic model of the area

Comparison of stabiliser functions for surface NMR inversions

Surface nuclear magnetic resonance is a geophysical technique providing non-invasive aquifer characterization. Two approaches are commonly used to invert surface nuclear magnetic resonance data: (1) inversions involving many depth layers of fixed thickness and (2) few-layer inversions without predetermined layer thicknesses. The advantage of the many-layer approach is that it requires little a priori knowledge. However, the many-layer inversion is extremely ill-posed and regularisation must be used to produce a reliable result. For optimal performance, the selected regularisation scheme must reflect all available a priori information. The standard regularisation scheme for many-layer surface nuclear magnetic resonance inversions employs an L-2 smoothness stabiliser, which results in subsurface models with smoothly varying parameters. Such a stabiliser struggles to reproduce sharp contrasts in subsurface properties, like those present in a layered subsurface (a common near-surface hydrogeological environment). To investigate if alternative stabilisers can be used to improve the performance of the many-layer inversion in layered environments, the performance of the standard smoothness stabiliser is compared against two alternative stabilisers: (1) a stabiliser employing the L-1-norm and (2) a minimum gradient support stabiliser. Synthetic results are presented to compare the performance of the many-layer inversion for different stabiliser functions. The minimum gradient support stabiliser is observed to improve the performance of the many-layer inversion for a layered subsurface, being able to reproduce both smooth and sharp vertical variations of the model parameters. Implementation of the alternative stabilisers into existing surface nuclear magnetic resonance inversion software is straightforward and requires little modification to existing codes

Impact of Operational Planning on Small Business Retail Performance

This study examined operational planning activities (inventory, marketing, financial, and personnel) of successful (n=92) and failed (n= 91) small  business apparel and accessory retailers. Results suggest that inventory, marketing, and financial planning activities significantly differed between groups with successful retailers being more likely than failed retailers to engage in such functions. No differences were found between groups in personnel planning. Study implications are discussed for small business practitioners and academic researchers

Efficient full decay inversion of MRS data with a stretched-exponential approximation of the distribution

We present a new, efficient and accurate forward modelling and inversion scheme for magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) data. MRS, also called surface-nuclear magnetic resonance (surface-NMR), is the only non-invasive geophysical technique that directly detects free water in the subsurface. Based on the physical principle of NMR, protons of the water molecules in the subsurface are excited at a specific frequency, and the superposition of signals from all protons within the excited earth volume is measured to estimate the subsurface water content and other hydrological parameters. In this paper, a new inversion scheme is presented in which the entire data set is used, and multi-exponential behaviour of the NMR signal is approximated by the simple stretched-exponential approach. Compared to the mono-exponential interpretation of the decaying NMR signal, we introduce a single extra parameter, the stretching exponent, which helps describe the porosity in terms of a single relaxation time parameter, and helps to determine correct initial amplitude and relaxation time of the signal. Moreover, compared to a multi-exponential interpretation of the MRS data, the decay behaviour is approximated with considerably fewer parameters. The forward response is calculated in an efficient numerical manner in terms of magnetic field calculation, discretization and integration schemes, which allows fast computation while maintaining accuracy. A piecewise linear transmitter loop is considered for electromagnetic modelling of conductivities in the layered half-space providing electromagnetic modelling of arbitrary loop shapes. The decaying signal is integrated over time windows, called gates, which increases the signal-to-noise ratio, particularly at late times, and the data vector is described with a minimum number of samples, that is, gates. The accuracy of the forward response is investigated by comparing a MRS forward response with responses from three other approaches outlining significant differences between the three approaches. All together, a full MRS forward response is calculated in about 20 s and scales so that on 10 processors the calculation time is reduced to about 34 s. The proposed approach is examined through synthetic data and through a field example, which demonstrate the capability of the scheme. The results of the field example agree well the information from an in-site borehole

Geophysical and hydrogeologic investigation of groundwater in the Karoo stratigraphic sequence at Sawmills in northern Matabeleland, Zimbabwe: a case history

Geophysical and hydrogeological investigations have been carried out around Sawmills in Zimbabwe, Africa. The investigations are components of a larger investigation to assess the groundwater potential of the Karoo sedimentary basin with regards to supplying water to Bulawayo City. The Sawmills area was selected due to the availability of borehole logs indicating favourable stratigraphy for groundwater availability and due to the high yields from the aquifers measured from these boreholes. Data collected using two geophysical methods are presented here: transient electromagnetic (TEM) and continuous vertical electrical sounding (CVES) data. The data have also been processed using laterally constrained inversion (LCI). Because the CVES provides greater detail in the shallow subsurface, whereas TEM is more effective at depth, a more accurate image of the entire subsurface profile is provided based on using both methods. The results suggest that LCI of CVES and TEM data, in the subsurface at the required depths at Sawmills, is able to provide a substantially more accurate image of the subsurface than either method alone. The hydrogeological interpretation of the geophysical data is valuable for determining the depth to and thickness of the potential aquifer horizon(s) and for identifying the position of potential recharge zones

La innovación entre las PYME emprendedoras durante la crisis de la COVID-19 en Irá

[ENG] COVID-19 is affecting the development of the global economy and threatening the survival of SMEs worldwide. In light of the current situation, this paper examines the factors affecting product and process innovation in SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis. We carried out a simple random sample of 185 SME entrepreneurs in Ardakan, Iran, using a multivariate regression analysis. The results showed that experience is one of the most important factors affecting innovation. Organization size and age were negatively associated with process innovation during the current crisis. Moreover, the findings reveal that training to facilitate cooperation as well as higher commitment to R&D can lead to greater innovation. An important conclusion is that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, government efforts to encourage SMEs to create new products helped them to withstand the crisis. The study suggests that, during the COVID-19 crisis, embracing innovation as a core organizational value helped SMEs to remain competitive. [SPA] La crisis COVID-19 está afectando al desarrollo de la economía mundial y amenazando la supervivencia de las PYMEs de todo el mundo. A la luz de la situación actual, este trabajo examina los factores que afectan a la innovación de productos y procesos en las PYMEs durante la crisis de la COVID-19. Para ello se realizó un muestreo aleatorio simple de 185 empresarios de PYMEs de Ardakan, Irán, utilizando un análisis de regresión multivariante. Los resultados mostraron que la experiencia es uno de los factores más importantes que afectan a la innovación. El tamaño y la edad de las empresas se asociaron negativamente con la innovación de procesos durante la crisis actual. Además, los resultados revelan que, la formación encaminada a facilitar la cooperación, así como un mayor compromiso en I+D, pueden conducir a una mayor innovación. Una conclusión importante es que, durante la pandemia de la COVID-19, los esfuerzos del gobierno por alentar a las PYMEs a crear nuevos productos les ayudaron a resistir a la crisis. El estudio sugiere que, durante la crisis del COVID-19, la adopción de la innovación como valor organizativo fundamental ayudó a las PYME a seguir siendo competitivas

AEMIP robust inversion using maximum phase angle Cole–Cole model re-parameterisation applied for HTEM survey over Lamego gold mine, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, MG, Brazil

This paper presents the results of airborne electromagnetic induced polarisation inversions using the Maximum Phase Angle (MPA) model for a helicopter time domain survey in the Quadril\ue1tero Ferr\uedfero area, Minas Gerais State (MG), Brazil. The inversions were conducted using a laterally constrained robust scheme, in order to decrease the difficulties to recover the multi-parametric model in a very ill-posed inverse problem, often found in induced polarisation studies. A set of six flight lines over the Lamego gold mine mineralised structure were inverted using the MPA re-parameterisation of the Cole\u2013Cole model and also the classical resistivity-only parameterisation, in order to understand the implications of the induced polarisation effect in the data and, consequently, in the resistivity model. A synthetic study was also conducted, seeking to understand what to expect from the resistivity-only inversions in the real data. According to borehole lithological data and previous structural knowledge from the literature, the results from the Maximum Phase Angle approach indicate an important chargeable body that seems to be in good agreement with a sulfide enriched carbonaceous/graphite and altered mafic unities, which are important markers for the gold mineralisation