The effect of entrepreneurship education programmes on the development of self-efficacy, entrepreneurial intention and predictions for entrepreneurial activity

ORIENTATION : South Africa is currently facing a youth unemployment crisis. Confirmation of the problem was situated in our review of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Quarter 3, 2015. We found that the 15–24 years age group was most affected where many were neither in employment, education or training. We asked whether the promotion of entrepreneurship among youth could be a potential solution. RESEARCH PURPOSE : Our research sought to investigate whether there existed a correlation between exposure to entrepreneurship education (EE) and the development of self-efficacy in high school South African youth in the age group of 15–18 years. We also investigated if the programme duration would influence the degree to which self-efficacy was developed, and the correlation of self-efficacy with entrepreneurial and entrepreneurial intention as a predictor of entrepreneurial activity. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : Our motivation stemmed from the belief that the youth unemployment crisis will not be solved by formal employment; that entrepreneurship education needed to be promoted at the school level to address skills mismatches between education and employment creation. RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD : We collected our data through a questionnaire from two samples of students taking the Junior Achievement programme. The study adopted a quantitative approach and adopted the use of a Likert scale questionnaire. Of the 1 200 questionnaires distributed, 637 were usable for the short entrepreneurship education programme and 381 were usable for the long entrepreneurship education programme. The purposive sampling technique was adopted. We collected data around the participants’ perceptions of selfefficacy post-entrepreneurship education intervention. We used Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Model (SEM) to analyse our data. Our tests of reliability and validity by use of CFA and SEM confirmed that we were using a stable model. MAIN FINDINGS : The research found positive correlations between the items comprising selfefficacy that can be developed through EE. Also, EE of a longer duration had stronger positive correlations with such items. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : We make practical recommendations pertinent to the type of EE schools ought to introduce. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD : Our research contributed to existing theory about the influence of EE on the development of self-efficacy.This article is based on the PhD thesis of the first author at the University of Pretoria, 2017, titled ‘The effect of entrepreneurship education programmes on the mind-set of South African youth’ by Sara Bux, available at: http://hdl. handle.net/2263/60530.http://www.actacommercii.co.zaam2019Business Managemen

Duale Ausbildung als betriebliche Strategie der Fachkräftesicherung: Motivation von Betrieben und Organisation im internationalen Vergleich

In diesem Beitrag werden erste Ergebnisse des Projekts "Duale Ausbildung als betriebliche Strategie der Fachkräftesicherung - Motivation und Organisation im internationalen Vergleich" vorgestellt. Dies geschieht auf der Basis von ausgewählten Betriebsfallstudien aus der Kfz-Service-Branche in Spanien und Italien. Im Abschluss des Beitrages stehen einige Folgerungen für die weitere Arbeit in dem noch laufenden Forschungsprojekt sowie eine Gegenüberstellung der identifizierten Formen von Ausbildungsengagement im Vergleich mit dem in den beiden Ländern vorliegenden formalen Rahmen, der durch das Berufsbildungssystem strukturiert ist. Der Beitrag zeigt anhand einiger ausgewählter Fallstudien, dass es eine Diskrepanz zwischen den vom Bildungssystem vorgesehenen Möglichkeiten betrieblichen Engagements und den tatsächlichen Aktivitäten der Betriebe geben kann. So tragen die Betriebe teilweise erheblich zur beruflichen Kompetenzentwicklung der jungen Erwachsenen bei, ohne dass diese Aktivitäten im formalen Bildungssystem gespiegelt werden. Dieses Ergebnis kann für die Entwicklung berufsbildungspolitischer Strategien relevant sein

Understanding User Intent Modeling for Conversational Recommender Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

Context: User intent modeling is a crucial process in Natural Language Processing that aims to identify the underlying purpose behind a user's request, enabling personalized responses. With a vast array of approaches introduced in the literature (over 13,000 papers in the last decade), understanding the related concepts and commonly used models in AI-based systems is essential. Method: We conducted a systematic literature review to gather data on models typically employed in designing conversational recommender systems. From the collected data, we developed a decision model to assist researchers in selecting the most suitable models for their systems. Additionally, we performed two case studies to evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed decision model. Results: Our study analyzed 59 distinct models and identified 74 commonly used features. We provided insights into potential model combinations, trends in model selection, quality concerns, evaluation measures, and frequently used datasets for training and evaluating these models. Contribution: Our study contributes practical insights and a comprehensive understanding of user intent modeling, empowering the development of more effective and personalized conversational recommender systems. With the Conversational Recommender System, researchers can perform a more systematic and efficient assessment of fitting intent modeling frameworks

Safety and efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with immune thrombocytopenia:A two-centre review

Multiple studies have reported immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) relapse following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, however baseline ITP relapse rate and antibody response to vaccination are not known. Patients with ITP who received at least one of the first three SARS-CoV-2 vaccination doses were included in the study. One hundred and twenty-four patients met the inclusion criteria. Relapse rate was 4.2% following a first vaccine dose, 9.1% after a second and 2.9% after a third; baseline relapse rate was 7.6%. Ninety-four per cent of patients who received three vaccine doses developed a clinical antibody response. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination appears to be safe and effective in patients with ITP.</p

MinION Analysis and Reference Consortium: Phase 1 data release and analysis

The advent of a miniaturized DNA sequencing device with a high-throughput contextual sequencing capability embodies the next generation of large scale sequencing tools. The MinION™ Access Programme (MAP) was initiated by Oxford Nanopore Technologies™ in April 2014, giving public access to their USB-attached miniature sequencing device. The MinION Analysis and Reference Consortium (MARC) was formed by a subset of MAP participants, with the aim of evaluating and providing standard protocols and reference data to the community. Envisaged as a multi-phased project, this study provides the global community with the Phase 1 data from MARC, where the reproducibility of the performance of the MinION was evaluated at multiple sites. Five laboratories on two continents generated data using a control strain of Escherichia coli K-12, preparing and sequencing samples according to a revised ONT protocol. Here, we provide the details of the protocol used, along with a preliminary analysis of the characteristics of typical runs including the consistency, rate, volume and quality of data produced. Further analysis of the Phase 1 data presented here, and additional experiments in Phase 2 of E. coli from MARC are already underway to identify ways to improve and enhance MinION performance

Rencontre Dramaturgie et traduction

Dans le cadre du festival « Les Européennes », le laboratoire « Agôn – Dramaturgies des arts de la scène », en partenariat avec le théâtre Les Ateliers, a organisé le 29 mai 2010 une rencontre intitulée « Dramaturgie et traduction ». Après avoir exploré plusieurs champs relevant de la dramaturgie dans les différents arts de la scène, cette rencontre revenait au théâtre afin d’aborder la question fondamentale de la traduction. Afin d’éclairer nos interrogations et la richesse émanant de la di..

PACAP-38 and PACAP(6–38) Degranulate Rat Meningeal Mast Cells via the Orphan MrgB3-Receptor

Infusion of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide-38 (PACAP-38) provokes migraine attacks in migraineurs and headache in non-migraineurs. Adverse events like long-lasting flushing and heat sensation can be terminated with oral antihistamine treatment, indicating the involvement of mast cell activation after PACAP-infusion. Degranulation of rat peritoneal mast cells was provoked by several isoforms of PACAP via previously unknown receptor pharmacology. The effect might thus be mediated either via specific splice variants of the PAC1-receptor or via an unknown receptor for PACAP-38. In the present study, we characterize degranulation of rat meningeal mast cells in response to PACAP-receptor ligands. Furthermore, we investigate if PACAP-38-induced mast cell degranulation is mediated via PAC1-receptor splice variants and/or via the orphan Mas-related G-protein coupled member B3 (MrgB3)-receptor. To address this, the pharmacological effect of different PACAP isoforms on meningeal mast cell degranulation was investigated in the hemisected skull model after toluidine blue staining followed by microscopic quantification. Presence of mRNA encoding PAC1-receptor splice variants and the MrgB3-receptor in rat mast cells was investigated by Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. The effect of PACAP isoforms on PAC1- and MrgB3-receptor-expressing Xenopus laevis oocytes were performed by two-electrode voltage-clamp (TEVC) electrophysiology. PACAP-38 is a more potent mast cell degranulating agent than Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Peptide-27 (PACAP-27) in the meninges. Presence of mRNA encoding the PAC1-receptor and its different splice variants could not be detected in peritoneal mast cells by RT-PCR, whereas the orphan MrgB3-receptor, recently suggested to be a mediator of basic secretagogues-induced mast cell degranulation, was widely present. In PAC1-receptor-expressing Xenopus laevis oocytes both PACAP-38, PACAP-27 and the specific PAC1-receptor agonist maxadilan were equipotent, however, only PACAP-38 showed a significant degranulatory effect on mast cells. We confirmed Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Peptide(6–38) [PACAP(6–38)] to be a PAC1-receptor antagonist, and we demonstrated that it is a potent mast cell degranulator and have an agonistic effect on MrgB3-receptors expressed in oocytes. The present study provides evidence that PACAP-induced mast cell degranulation in rat is mediated through a putative new PACAP-receptor with the order of potency being: PACAP-38 = PACAP(6–38) &gt; &gt; PACAP-27 = maxadilan. The results suggest that the observed responses are mediated via the orphan MrgB3-receptor

Emission Line Abundances of Absorption Selected Galaxies at z<0.5

We have obtained optical spectra of four galaxies associated with MgII QSO absorbers at redshifts 0.10 < z < 0.45. We calculate the gas-phase oxygen abundance of these galaxies using the empirical R23 strong line method. The absolute B-band magnitudes of the galaxies span -20.6 < M_B < -18.3. If the metallicities lie on the R23 upper branch (8.4 < log (O/H) + 12 < 8.9), then the metallicities of these absorption selected galaxies span the range between 0.5--1.4 solar and would be consistent with the well-known luminosity-metallicity relation for 0.10 < z < 0.45 emission-line galaxies. However, such metallicities would be 0.5--1.0 dex higher than those observed in damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) via absorption line measurements at similar redshifts. Conversely, the lower R23 branch calibration yields metallicities approximately 1/7 solar, consistent with the DLA absorption metallicities at low redshifts. In this case, the absorption selected galaxies would lie significantly lower than the luminosity-metallicity relation for emission-line galaxies at z<0.5. We discuss the implications and possible solutions for each scenario.Comment: Accepted for publications in MNRA

DIFUSÃO DE INOVAÇÕES TECNOLÓGICAS EM MEIOS DE PAGAMENTO: O CASO DO PAGAMENTO MÓVEL EM CURITIBA

Este trabalho tem por objetivo verificar a existência de relações entre as características pessoais dos consumidores (idade e classe econômica), a adoção prévia de outro serviço inovador (e-commerce) e a intenção de adoção de uma inovação tecnológica nos meios de pagamento, o m-payment ou pagamento móvel. O m-payment caracterizase por uma nova tecnologia que permite aos consumidores pagarem suas compras utilizando apenas seu telefone celular, sem a necessidade de uso de cartões ou dinheiro. O estudo está embasado na Teoria da Difusão de Inovações, tendo como principais referências a obra seminal de Rogers (1962) e o trabalho de Gatignon e Robertson (1991). Os resultados auferidos mostram que é possível verificar a existência de relacionamento entre a intenção de adoção do m-payment e a idade do indivíduo, sendo que os consumidores mais jovens demonstram maior interesse pela inovação em questão. Observou-se também que a adoção prévia do e-commerce apresenta uma relação positiva com a intenção de adoção do m-payment. Por fim, refutou-se a hipótese da existência de uma relação entre a intenção de adoção do m-payment e as classes econômicas dos consumidores. Esse resultado pode ter sido influenciado pela não contemplação de indivíduos das classes D e E, fato que constitui uma limitação desta pesquisa.Palavras-chave: Difusão de inovações. M-payment. Celular

DIFUSÃO DE INOVAÇÕES TECNOLÓGICAS EM MEIOS DE PAGAMENTO: O CASO DO PAGAMENTO MÓVEL EM CURITIBA

Este trabalho tem por objetivo verificar a existência de relações entre as características pessoais dos consumidores (idade e classe econômica), a adoção prévia de outro serviço inovador (e-commerce) e a intenção de adoção de uma inovação tecnológica nos meios de pagamento, o m-payment ou pagamento móvel. O m-payment caracterizase por uma nova tecnologia que permite aos consumidores pagarem suas compras utilizando apenas seu telefone celular, sem a necessidade de uso de cartões ou dinheiro. O estudo está embasado na Teoria da Difusão de Inovações, tendo como principais referências a obra seminal de Rogers (1962) e o trabalho de Gatignon e Robertson (1991). Os resultados auferidos mostram que é possível verificar a existência de relacionamento entre a intenção de adoção do m-payment e a idade do indivíduo, sendo que os consumidores mais jovens demonstram maior interesse pela inovação em questão. Observou-se também que a adoção prévia do e-commerce apresenta uma relação positiva com a intenção de adoção do m-payment. Por fim, refutou-se a hipótese da existência de uma relação entre a intenção de adoção do m-payment e as classes econômicas dos consumidores. Esse resultado pode ter sido influenciado pela não contemplação de indivíduos das classes D e E, fato que constitui uma limitação desta pesquisa.Palavras-chave: Difusão de inovações. M-payment. Celular