889 research outputs found

    Entrepreneurship and Team Participation: An Experimental Study

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    Entrepreneurs are surprisingly unlikely to have partners. In spite of the obvious advantages to forming partnerships, only a small minority of entrepreneurs (less than 10%, excluding family businesses) have partners. A number of possible explanations exist for this puzzling phenomenon, including an inability to locate suitable partners, fear of free-riding by partners, and a preference for not working in groups. Utilizing a diverse subject population with a high proportion of active entrepreneurs, we use a team production experiment to study whether entrepreneurs prefer to work alone or in a team. The data indicate that entrepreneurs, while no more likely to free-ride on their teammates, are substantially less interested in joining teams. This suggests that efforts to encourage partnership among entrepreneurs may run contrary to the preferences of this group.Entrepreneurship, Teams, Artefactual Field Experiment

    Entrepreneurship and Team Participation: An Experimental Study

    Get PDF
    Entrepreneurs are surprisingly unlikely to have partners. In spite of the obvious advantages to forming partnerships, only a small minority of entrepreneurs (less than 10%, excluding family businesses) have partners. A number of possible explanations exist for this puzzling phenomenon, including an inability to locate suitable partners, fear of free-riding by partners, and a preference for not working in groups. Utilizing a diverse subject population with a high proportion of active entrepreneurs, we use a team production experiment to study whether entrepreneurs prefer to work alone or in a team. The data indicate that entrepreneurs, while no more likely to free-ride on their teammates, are substantially less interested in joining teams. This suggests that efforts to encourage partnership among entrepreneurs may run contrary to the preferences of this group

    Ten-year experience of more than 35,000 orofacial clefts in Africa

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    Abstract Background Surgical correction of orofacial clefts greatly mitigates negative outcomes. However, access to reconstructive surgery is limited in developing countries. The present study reviews epidemiological data from a single charitable organization, Smile Train, with a database of surgical cases from 33 African countries from 2001–2011. Methods Demographic and clinical patient data were collected from questionnaires completed by the participating surgeons. These data were recorded in Excel, analyzed using SPSS and compared with previously reported data. Results Questionnaires were completed for 36,384 patients by 389 African surgeons. The distribution of clefts was: 34.44% clefts of the lip (CL), 58.87% clefts of the lip and palate (CLP), and 6.69% clefts of the palate only (CP). The male to female ratio was 1.46:1, and the unilateral: bilateral ratio 2.93:1, with left-sided predominance 1.69:1. Associated anomalies were found in 4.18% of patients. The most frequent surgeries included primary lip/nose repairs, unilateral (68.36%) and bilateral (11.84%). There was seasonal variation in the frequency of oral cleft births with the highest in January and lowest by December. The average age at surgery was 9.34 years and increased in countries with lower gross domestic products. The average hospital stay was 4.5 days. The reported complication rate was 1.92%. Conclusions With the exception of cleft palates, results follow trends of worldwide epidemiologic reports of 25% CL, 50% CLP, and 25% CP, 2:1 unilateral:bilateral and left:right ratios, and male predominance. Fewer than expected patients, especially females, presented with isolated cleft palates, suggesting that limitations in economic resources and cultural aesthetics of the obvious lip deformity may outweigh functional concerns and access to treatment for females. A fewer than expected associated anomalies suggests either true ethnic variation, or that more severely-affected patients are not presenting for treatment. The epidemiology of orofacial clefting in Africa has been difficult to assess due to the diversity of the continent and the considerable variation among study designs. The large sample size of the data collected provides a basis for further study of the epidemiology of orofacial clefting in Africa.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110688/1/12887_2015_Article_328.pd

    Plasma ADP levels: Direct determination with luciferase luminescence using a biometer

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    A method is described for the determination of low plasma levels of adenosine-5'-diphosphate (ADP) using a Dupont Biometer to measure luminescence produced by the luciferin-luciferase reaction. Endogenous ATP is removed by incubation with luciferase. The remaining ADP is then quantitated, following its conversion to ATP, after incubation with creatine phosphate and creatine kinase. The mean coefficient of variation for 0.02 and 2.2 [mu]mol/liter ADP standards were 2.1 and 1.8% respectively. The method has been applied to human and rabbit plasma. Human plasma ADP concentrations were found to be 0.13 [plus-or-minus sign] 0.025 (10) [mu]mol/liter and rabbit plasma concentration were 0.07 [plus-or-minus sign] 0.05 (5) [mu]mol/liter. Several other possible applications of the method are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22719/1/0000274.pd
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