4,721 research outputs found
Limited partners' perceptions of the Central Eastern European venture capital and private equity market
Growth expectations and institutional settings in Central Eastern Europe are assumed to be favorable for the establishment of a vibrant Venture Capital and Private Equity market. Despite this, there is a lack of risk capital. We examine the obstacles to institutional investments in the region through a questionnaire addressed to (potential) Limited Partners world-wide. The respondents provide information about their perceptions of the region. The protection of property rights is the dominant concern, followed by social criteria, such as the belief in the management quality of local people, and the lacking size and liquidity of the Central Eastern European capital markets. However, Limited Partners regard the growth expectations as attractive, and those with exposure in Central Eastern Europe are satisfied with the historical risk and return ratio, they have a good knowledge of the region, are attracted by other emerging regions, and they appreciate the region's entrepreneurial opportunities and the local General Partners. Overall, the region is ranked very favorable compared to other emerging regions, and especially with respect to its economic and entrepreneurial activity.Venture Capital; Private Equity; International Asset Allocation; Institutional Investors;
Shape Control for Experimental Continuation
An experimental method has been developed to locate unstable equilibria of
nonlinear structures quasi-statically. The technique involves loading a
structure by application of either a force or a displacement at a main
actuation point, while simultaneously controlling the overall shape using
additional probe points. The method is applied to a shallow arch, and unstable
segments of its equilibrium path are identified experimentally for the first
time. Shape control is a fundamental building block for the experimental---as
opposed to numerical---continuation of nonlinear structures, which will
significantly expand our ability to measure their mechanical response.Comment: Updated Figure 6 experimental results with correct calibration factor
for linear transducer. Updated Figure 6 finite element results with correct
load multiplier for half-model. Updated paper text to reflect these changes.
5 pages, 6 figure
Allocation determinants of institutional investments in venture capital and private equity limited partnerships in Central Eastern Europe
Growth expectations and institutional settings are favorable in CEE to establish a vibrant VC/PE market. However, there is lacking supply of risk capital. We address the obstacles for institutional investments in the region via a questionnaire addressed to (potential) Limited Partners worldwide. The respondents provide information about their criteria for international asset allocation. The protection of property rights is the dominant concern, followed by the need to find local quality General Partners and by the management quality and skills of local entrepreneurs. Further, the expected deal flow plays an important role for the allocation process, while the investors fear bribing and corruption. CEE is regarded as very attractive, especially the economic and entrepreneurial activity. However, the investors are not comfortable there with the protection of their claims.Venture capital; Private equity; International asset allocation; Institutional investors;
Crystal structures and freezing of dipolar fluids
We investigate the crystal structure of classical systems of spherical
particles with an embedded point dipole at T=0. The ferroelectric ground state
energy is calculated using generalizations of the Ewald summation technique.
Due to the reduced symmetry compared to the nonpolar case the crystals are
never strictly cubic. For the Stockmayer (i.e., Lennard-Jones plus dipolar)
interaction three phases are found upon increasing the dipole moment:
hexagonal, body-centered orthorhombic, and body-centered tetragonal. An even
richer phase diagram arises for dipolar soft spheres with a purely repulsive
inverse power law potential . A crossover between qualitatively
different sequences of phases occurs near the exponent . The results are
applicable to electro- and magnetorheological fluids. In addition to the exact
ground state analysis we study freezing of the Stockmayer fluid by
density-functional theory.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
Magnetization of ferrofluids with dipolar interactions - a Born--Mayer expansion
For ferrofluids that are described by a system of hard spheres interacting
via dipolar forces we evaluate the magnetization as a function of the internal
magnetic field with a Born--Mayer technique and an expansion in the dipolar
coupling strength. Two different approximations are presented for the
magnetization considering different contributions to a series expansion in
terms of the volume fraction of the particles and the dipolar coupling
strength.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures submitted to PR
Particle dynamics of a cartoon dune
The spatio-temporal evolution of a downsized model for a desert dune is
observed experimentally in a narrow water flow channel. A particle tracking
method reveals that the migration speed of the model dune is one order of
magnitude smaller than that of individual grains. In particular, the erosion
rate consists of comparable contributions from creeping (low energy) and
saltating (high energy) particles. The saltation flow rate is slightly larger,
whereas the number of saltating particles is one order of magnitude lower than
that of the creeping ones. The velocity field of the saltating particles is
comparable to the velocity field of the driving fluid. It can be observed that
the spatial profile of the shear stress reaches its maximum value upstream of
the crest, while its minimum lies at the downstream foot of the dune. The
particle tracking method reveals that the deposition of entrained particles
occurs primarily in the region between these two extrema of the shear stress.
Moreover, it is demonstrated that the initial triangular heap evolves to a
steady state with constant mass, shape, velocity, and packing fraction after
one turnover time has elapsed. Within that time the mean distance between
particles initially in contact reaches a value of approximately one quarter of
the dune basis length
Multivessel Coronary Bypass Grafting With Minimal Access Using Cardiopulmonary Bypass (Port Access Approach)
Bridging the equity gap for young innovative companies: The design of effective government venture capital fund programs
Governmental venture capital funds (GVCs) are created by policymakers around the world to support young innovative companies (YICs) with the aim of \u201cbridging the equity gap\u201d. In this paper, we study the heterogeneity in the design of GVC programs in Europe and identify the design features that are most effective in achieving the desired outcomes of this policy. Specifically, we focus on the probability that GVC-backed companies will receive additional funds from private venture capital investors and, ultimately, changes in their growth and innovation outcomes. We find that the choices of location, colocation, syndication and industry focus of a GVC program substantially influence the extent to which it is able to achieve such goals. Important policy implications are discussed
3D Dune Skeleton Model as a Coupled Dynamical System of 2D Cross-Sections
To analyze theoretically the stability of the shape and the migration process
of transverse dunes and barchans, we propose a {\it skeleton model} of 3D dunes
described with coupled dynamics of 2D cross-sections. First, 2D cross-sections
of a 3D dune parallel to the wind direction are extracted as elements of a
skeleton of the 3D dune, hence, the dynamics of each and interaction between
them is considered. This model simply describes the essential dynamics of 3D
dunes as a system of coupled ordinary differential equations. Using the model
we study the stability of the shape of 3D transversal dunes and their
deformation to barchans depending on the amount of available sand in the dune
field, sand flow in parallel and perpendicular to wind direction.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, lette
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