Embedding Enterprise Education: the Fashion Project

Enterprising students learn by doing, learn from each other and from debate and discovery. They also learn by borrowing from others and making mistakes. Tutors and curriculum designers must also take an entrepreneurial approach to the design and delivery of a course of this kind. By taking part in the business project, students develop a higher order of thinking or metacognition. They can identify and understand how they approached a problem, goal, challenge and so on, thereby increasing levels of self-efficacy

Baltic Creative Community Interest Company: Critical Success Factors in Creative and Digital Clusters in Liverpool, UK

Abstract: The purpose of this preliminary case study paper is to establish the historic context and evolution of Baltic Creative Community Interest Company (CIC) in Liverpool and identify the key activities that have defined its success as a social enterprise business over the past five years. Baltic Creative CIC was established in 2009 to provide work space for the creative & digital sector. It has overseen the implementation of £4.5m acquisition and redevelopment scheme, attracted 65 businesses to the space and implemented systems and controls to operate as a fully functioning commercial landlord through a social enterprise business model. It has also played a key part in transforming the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool which was once a derelict, unloved and under-used part of the city. By 2014 the space was fully let supporting businesses and creating jobs and the area is home to a vibrant community of creatives and technologists. During the first five years of Baltic Creative, growth has far exceeded expectations and the CIC now supports 182 full time equivalent jobs, and its tenants add £1.4m every year to the regional economy. Baltic Creative is now considered an exemplar social enterprise in a post-industrial city. This case study makes a valuable contribution to the knowledge of social enterprise development and business success and the impact of long term capital funding initiatives that can create a sustainable business model. The research method currently in development for this study is an auto ethnographic approach. As a founder director of BC CIC it is not possible for me to deny both my motivations to join as a voluntary board member, my access to the data and my influence on the strategic direction that the CIC has taken over 6 years. The findings are also triangulated through semi structured interviews with the MD and Chair of the board to identify any unique or particularly personal bias

On becoming an organizational autoethnographer; considering the ethical perspectives of the research application process.

Purpose: To explore the process and challenges of applying an autoethnographic research method to a professional doctoral thesis ethics application. It examines the traditional university ethical approval process and if it is appropriate for this evolving qualitative research method within an organizational context. Design/methodology/approach: A short introduction to the literature on ethics prefaces an analytical autoethnographic account of my experience as Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) candidate tackling the application process for ethical approval of primary research. The account is a reflection of the review process and critiques with reference to the existing literature. Findings: The majority of the literature relating to ethics has focussed on the private, personal and largely evocative accounts of autoethnography. This paper highlights some of the differences and potential for organizational autoethnography and ethical conduct. It highlights the ethical implications of obtaining consent from ones colleagues, developing and maintaining dependent relationships, risk and reward to one’s own professional reputation and becoming equipped to create both personal and organizational change through a process of reflexivity. Originality/value: This paper adds to the discussion about ethical conduct when undertaking new forms of organizational ethnographic research. For those interested or involved in the university institutional ethics review committees and for professional doctoral students who are developing an emancipatory insider research approach

Chair based exercise in community settings: a cluster randomised feasibility study

Background: Some older people who find standard exercise programmes too strenuous may be encouraged to exercise while remaining seated - chair based exercises (CBE). We previously developed a consensus CBE programme (CCBE) following a modified Delphi process. We firstly needed to test the feasibility and acceptability of this treatment approach and explore how best to evaluate it before undertaking a definitive trial. Methods: A feasibility study with a cluster randomised controlled trial component was undertaken to 1. Examine the acceptability, feasibility and tolerability of the intervention and 2. Assess the feasibility of running a trial across 12 community settings (4 day centres, 4 care homes, 4 community groups). Centres were randomised to either CCBE, group reminiscence or usual care. Outcomes were collected to assess the feasibility of the trial parameters: level of recruitment interest and eligibility, randomisation, adverse events, retention, completion of health outcomes, missing data and delivery of the CCBE. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with participants and care staff following the intervention to explore acceptability. Results: 48% (89 out of 184 contacted) of eligible centres were interested in participating with 12 recruited purposively. 73% (94) of the 128 older people screened consented to take part with 83 older people then randomised following mobility testing. Recruitment required greater staffing levels and resources due to 49% of participants requiring a consultee declaration. There was a high dropout rate (40%) primarily due to participants no longer attending the centres. The CCBE intervention was delivered once a week in day centres and community groups and twice a week in care homes. Older people and care staff found the CCBE intervention largely acceptable. Conclusion: There was a good level of interest from centres and older people and the CCBE intervention was largely welcomed. The trial design and governance procedures would need to be revised to maximise recruitment and retention. If the motivation for a future trial is physical health then this study has identified that further work to develop the CCBE delivery model is warranted to ensure it can be delivered at a frequency to elicit physiological change. If the motivation for a future trial is psychological outcomes then this study has identified that the current delivery model is feasible

The Resilience and Adaptability of an Innovative Ecosystem of Creative Entrepreneurs during Crisis Times: Baltic Creative CIC – A Case Study

This empirical chapter explores the case of Baltic Creative Community Interest Company, a creative hub that enabled and demonstrated intrapersonal entrepreneurial capitals (Pret, Shaw and Drakopoulou Dodd 2016) to adapt quickly and develop novel offers for their tenants during an unprecedented period of crisis and change in the wider ecosystem. Baltic Creative CIC is a community owned property development company established to regenerate an underused post-industrial area in Liverpool and support the Creative and Digital community. Over the past decade, they have become a creative hub where small, unique micro businesses thrive alongside more established enterprises. Using an organisational ethnographic approach, we highlight the complexity in the conversion of entrepreneurial capitals and how this has demonstrated resilience and adaptability in the CIC during the global coronavirus pandemic in the 2020s. During the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, they responded swiftly to tenants by providing a wide variety of business support initiatives. Regular communications on sector specific Covid-19 operational guidance and a support programme to help tenants apply for Liverpool City Council Small Business Support grants. The establishment of this hub for creative entrepreneurs prior to the recent disruption proved invaluable. Although they were severely tested, emerging behaviours were identified, agility, adaptability, and resilience during periods of crisis. This chapter offers key insights for scholars and those leading on creative hubs and cluster policy development and economic initiatives for creative sector support regionally, nationally, and internationally

Stomach cancer and occupational exposure to asbestos: a meta-analysis of occupational cohort studies

BACKGROUND: A recent Monographs Working Group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that there is limited evidence for a causal association between exposure to asbestos and stomach cancer. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate this association. Random effects models were used to summarise the relative risks across studies. Sources of heterogeneity were explored through subgroup analyses and meta-regression. RESULTS: We identified 40 mortality cohort studies from 37 separate papers, and cancer incidence data were extracted for 15 separate cohorts from 14 papers. The overall meta-SMR for stomach cancer for total cohort was 1.15 (95% confidence interval 1.03–1.27), with heterogeneous results across studies. Statistically significant excesses were observed in North America and Australia but not in Europe, and for generic asbestos workers and insulators. Meta-SMRs were larger for cohorts reporting a SMR for lung cancer above 2 and cohort sizes below 1000. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the conclusion by IARC that exposure to asbestos is associated with a moderate increased risk of stomach cancer

Gene therapy for monogenic liver diseases: clinical successes, current challenges and future prospects

Over the last decade, pioneering liver-directed gene therapy trials for haemophilia B have achieved sustained clinical improvement after a single systemic injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV) derived vectors encoding the human factor IX cDNA. These trials demonstrate the potential of AAV technology to provide long-lasting clinical benefit in the treatment of monogenic liver disorders. Indeed, with more than ten ongoing or planned clinical trials for haemophilia A and B and dozens of trials planned for other inherited genetic/metabolic liver diseases, clinical translation is expanding rapidly. Gene therapy is likely to become an option for routine care of a subset of severe inherited genetic/metabolic liver diseases in the relatively near term. In this review, we aim to summarise the milestones in the development of gene therapy, present the different vector tools and their clinical applications for liver-directed gene therapy. AAV-derived vectors are emerging as the leading candidates for clinical translation of gene delivery to the liver. Therefore, we focus on clinical applications of AAV vectors in providing the most recent update on clinical outcomes of completed and ongoing gene therapy trials and comment on the current challenges that the field is facing for large-scale clinical translation. There is clearly an urgent need for more efficient therapies in many severe monogenic liver disorders, which will require careful risk-benefit analysis for each indication, especially in paediatrics

No hypoperfusion is produced in the epicardium during application of myocardial topical negative pressure in a porcine model

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Topical negative pressure (TNP), commonly used in wound therapy, has been shown to increase blood flow and stimulate angiogenesis in skeletal muscle. We have previously shown that a myocardial TNP of -50 mmHg significantly increases microvascular blood flow in the myocardium. When TPN is used in wound therapy (on skeletal and subcutaneous tissue) a zone of relative hypoperfusion is seen close to the wound edge. Hypoperfusion induced by TNP is thought to depend on tissue density, distance from the negative pressure source, and the amount negative pressure applied. When applying TNP to the myocardium, a significant, long-standing zone of hypoperfusion could theoretically cause ischemia, and negative effects on the myocardium. The current study was designed to elucidate whether hypoperfusion was produced during myocardial TNP. METHODS: Six pigs underwent median sternotomy. Laser Doppler probes were inserted horizontally into the heart muscle in the LAD area, at depths of approximately, 1-2 mm. The microvascular blood flow was measured before and after the application of a TNP. Analyses were performed before left anterior descending artery (LAD) occlusion (normal myocardium) and after 20 minutes of LAD occlusion (ischemic myocardium). RESULTS: A TNP of -50 mmHg induced a significant increase in microvascular blood flow in normal myocardium (**p = 0.01), while -125 mmHg did not significantly alter the microvascular blood flow. In ischemic myocardium a TNP of -50 mmHg induced a significant increase in microvascular blood flow (*p = 0.04), while -125 mmHg did not significantly alter the microvascular blood flow. CONCLUSION: No hypoperfusion could be observed in the epicardium in neither normal nor ischemic myocardium during myocardial TNP

Mesothelioma and asbestosis in a young woman following occupational asbestos exposure: Short latency and long survival: Case Report

A 27-year-old female white-collar worker was diagnosed in 1998 with mesothelioma eight and one-half years following first exposure as a bystander to debris in a site in which asbestos-containing building materials were being dismantled and rebuilding work took place. Prodromal back pain had been present for a year and a half. She underwent extrapleural pneumectomy and received an intrapleural infusion of cisplatin post-operatively. Exposure to asbestos was verified by contemporary reports and lung biopsy, which demonstrated asbestos bodies and microscopic interstitial fibrosis -conforming evidence for asbestosis. The patient is alive and well 12 years after diagnosis and 14 years after onset of symptoms. The combination of an extremely short latency period and long survival following occupational exposure to asbestos dust is unique