Supporting Women Entrepreneurs in Tunisia

Whether policy support should be designed differently for women entrepreneurs is a particularly relevant question. To answer this, and to inform the design of policies to provide appropriate support for women entrepreneurs, the paper compares male and female perceptions of typical entrepreneurship support services, such as government provision of information, training and funding. The focus is on Tunisia, a developing country characterized by high level of unemployment, particularly of women. Based on a survey of 50 men and 50 women entrepreneurs in the regions of Sfax, Sousse and Tunis, our results suggest that existing support services are inadequate for promoting female entrepreneurship. Accordingly we discuss support measures specifically designed for women entrepreneurs.entrepreneurship, gender, women entrepreneurs, Africa

Application of Crisis Communication Theories during the 2019 College Admissions Scandal: Operation Varsity Blues

Operation Varsity Blues was a federal investigation in 2019 that discovered an enormous college admissions scandal, where wealthy parents were paying to have someone bribe school officials or coaches with the end goal of having their child accepted into an elite university. As the investigation was released, each of the eight universities involved sent out press releases that explained where the university stood regarding the scandal and what they were doing in response. Using the well-establish crisis communication theories of Benoit’s Image Repair Theory (1995) and Coomb’s Situational Crisis Communication Theory (2007), a qualitative content analysis on the communications from the universities, specifically their press releases, surrounding the crisis, allows a better understanding for what specific response strategies were applied in this situation. The study concludes that while the universities each denied responsibility regarding the scandal itself, they also communicated that they would take full responsibility in preventing the crisis from happening again. This combination of strategies allowed the universities to maintain their innocence while reassuring the public that they were making changes to prevent cheating in the future. Understanding how the theory’s recommended strategies were applied to this situation provides further clarity in understanding how the theories in general are applied, and how universities use them under these specific circumstances

Incorporação de resíduos de embalagens pós-consumo provenientes das agroindústrias na fabricação de bandejas de polpa moldada

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Química.Em geral classifica-se a reciclagem de resíduos como parte fundamental do desenvolvimento de qualquer país, mas até pouco tempo atrás, era empregada apenas como redução de custos. Esta visão aparentemente tem se alterado, sobretudo em função de pesquisas desenvolvidas para diminuir os custos dos produtos por meio da incorporação de resíduos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a incorporação de celofane originário de resíduos da agroindústria na fabricação de embalagens de polpa moldada, visando à melhoria de suas propriedades físicas e mecânicas e também buscando a geração de produtos com propriedades diferenciadas. Esta é uma abordagem preliminar para a realização do uso do celofane pós-consumo em uma cadeia de reciclagem. Embora o celofane não apresente problemas relacionados à contaminação do meio ambiente, não existe uma utilização bem definida para os seus resíduos, sendo na maioria das vezes incinerado. Portanto este material poderia ter uma destinação mais nobre do que a atual em função das quantidades geradas. A incorporação do celofane permite não apenas a redução do custo com a matéria-prima, mas também ganhos indiretos com a redução do uso de recursos naturais. O termo polpa moldada é uma expressão técnica que é usada pela indústria de papel e abrange o processo de desagregação ou separação das fibras de jornal e aparas de papel em geral e moldagem na forma de um produto acabado. A celulose, na forma de papel, é misturada à água e a produtos químicos para formação de uma massa que depois é moldada, dando origem a produtos como embalagens ou bandejas para acondicionamento, transporte e proteção de hortifrutigranjeiros, etc. Neste trabalho se testou a utilização de diferentes concentrações de celofane na composição da pasta celulósica produzindo assim, uma pasta de celulose/celofane que foi utilizada para a moldagem das bandejas. Para melhorar as propriedades mecânicas das bandejas foram utilizados o amido e o poli(acetato de vinila) como agentes aglutinantes. Foram acrescentadas 4%, 2% e 1% de amido e poli(acetato de vinila) às polpas produzidas. Foram realizados testes de tração para avaliar a resistência das bandejas produzidas. As análises de tensão de escoamento, tensão máxima e alongamento de ruptura das bandejas produzidas, se comparadas com as caixas de ovos comerciais, apresentaram bons resultados, indicando que o método proposto pode ser uma boa alternativa para a aplicação de resíduos de celofane. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos com a adição de 4% de amido a polpa de celulose e celofane. Mas as bandejas produzidas apresentaram pouca resistência ao contato direto com a água. Uma alternativa para a utilização destas bandejas seria no acondicionamento de frutas e verduras que não necessitam de refrigeração

Form factors of exclusive b→ub\to u transitions

We present the form factors of the $B\to\pi,\rho$ transitions induced by the $b\to u$ quark currents at all kinematically accessible $q^2$. Our analysis is based on the spectral representations of the form factors within the constituent quark picture: we fix the soft meson wave functions and the constituent quark masses by fitting $A_1(q^2)$ and $T_2(q^2)$ to the lattice results at small recoils ($17\lesssim q^2\lesssim 20 GeV^2$). We then calculate the $B\to\pi,\rho$ transition form factors down to $q^2=0$. For the $B\to\pi$ case the region $q^2\lesssim 20 GeV^2$ however does not cover the whole kinematically accessible range. Due to the smallness of the pion mass the region of small recoils is close to the nearby $B^*(5234)$ resonance. We develop a parametrization which includes the $B^*$ dominance of the form factors $f_+$ and $f_-$ at small recoils and numerically reproduces the results of calculations at $q^2\lesssim 20 GeV^2$. We find $\Gamma(B\to\pi\ell\nu)=8.0^{+0.8}_{-0.2} |V_{ub}|^2$ps$^{-1}$ and $\Gamma(B\to\rho\ell\nu)=15.8\pm 2.3 |V_{ub}|^2$ps$^{-1}$.Comment: revtex, 6 pages, 1 figur

Lifetimes of the b-flavored baryons in the light-front quark model

The calculation of lifetimes of heavy-flavored baryons in the light-front quark model approach is briefly reviewed.Comment: 4 pages, proceedings of the IV International Conference on Hyperons, Charm and Beauty Hadrons, Valencia, June 27--30, 200

Electromagnetic form factors of the ρ\rho meson in a light-front constituent quark model

The electromagnetic form factors of the $\rho$ meson are evaluated adopting a relativistic constituent quark model based on the light-front formalism, and using a meson wave function with the high-momentum tail generated by the one-gluon-exchange interaction. The breakdown of the rotational covariance for the one-body component of the current operator is investigated and the sensitivity of the ratio of the $\rho$-meson form factors to the pion (charge) form factor to the spin-dependent component of the effective $q \bar{q}$ interaction is illustrated.Comment: 8 pages, latex file, 4 figures available as a separate .uu fil

Temperature deformations of the mirror of a radio telescope antenna

The stress informed state of the mirror of an antenna, with a diameter of 3 m, for a radio interferometer used in space, and located in a temperature field is examined. The mirror represents a parabolic shell, consisting of 19 identical parts. The problem is based on representations of the thermoelasticity of thin shells

Charmed decays of the B-meson in the quark model

Exclusive and inclusive, semileptonic and non-leptonic, charmed decays of the B-meson are investigated in the context of a phenomenological quark model. Bound-state effects are taken care of by adopting a single (model-dependent) non-perturbative wave function, describing the motion of the light spectator quark in the B-meson. A nice reproduction of both exclusive and inclusive semileptonic data is obtained. Our predictions for the electron spectrum are presented and compared with those of the Isgur-Scora-Grinstein-Wise quark model. Finally, our approach is applied to the calculation of inclusive non-leptonic widths, obtaining a remarkable agreement with experimental findings.Comment: to appear in the Proc. of the 2^{nd} Int. Conf. on Hyperons, Charm and Beauty Hadrons, Montreal, Canada, 27-30 August 199