Perceived financial barriers and the start-up decision: An econometric analysis of gender differences using GEM data

Although accessing finance is key to the foundation of any business, particular concerns have been expressed about the ability of UK women-owned firms to obtain external finance. In this paper we use an econometric approach to explore the effect of perceptions of financial barriers to start-up on the start-up decision itself. Our analysis is based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) UK 2004 database. Standardising for a range of individual characteristics, we find that women are around 7.4 per cent more likely to perceive financial barriers to business start-up than men. As perceptions of financial barriers are linked negatively to the start-up decision, stronger perceptions of financial barriers among women are having a disproportionate effect on women’s start-up decisions. However, being female also has an additional negative effect on the start-up decision, not linked to financial barriers. Policy responses, therefore, need to take into account the demand-side with the aim of countering the more negative perceptions of start-up finance among potential women entrepreneurs. Mentoring and confidence building programmes are obvious possibilities. We also find support for the value of university and college-based work experience programmes. [PUBLISHED ABSTRACT]Finance; entrepreneurship; start-up; SME; gender; women

The Folklore Period

Deixant de banda els casos de dedicació al llarg de la vida, hi ha un període de la vida en què és més probable que una persona conreï el folklore? Aquest article argumenta que n’hi ha, i és als anys vint i trenta d’una persona. Es donen diversos exemples històrics per donar suport a aquesta proposta. A continuació, es discuteixen aparents (i reals) excep- cions a aquesta generalització i es presenten una sèrie de possibles explicacions d’aquest fenomen. L’article conclou amb una discussió sobre les implicacions d’aquest fenomen i preguntes per al futur.Leaving aside cases of lifelong dedication, is there a period in life when a person would be most likely to cultivate folklore? This piece argues that there is, and it is in a person’s twenties and thirties. Various historical examples are adduced to support this proposition. Then seeming (and real) exceptions to this generalization are discussed, and a series of possible explanations for this phenomenon are put forward. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of this phenomenon, and questions for the future

Formule u narodnim pjesmama i narodnoj prozi: preklapanja ili neovisnost?

The existence of formulas in traditional songs of various kinds has been long recognized by scholars, and the presence of formulas in traditional tales has increasingly become a subject of discussion too. This prompts the question whether an individual who has a substantial repertoire of both songs and tales would use some of the same formulas in both these two modes. Or would it be the case that, as tales and songs have their own separate norms and rules, their formulas will not involve any significant similarities? To provide an initial response to such questions, this article draws upon verbal art documented in the third quarter of the twentieth century from one remarkable Newfoundlander, whose recorded repertoire included nineteen different tales and more than thirty songs.U različitim vrstama tradicijskih pjesama već se dugo istražuju formule, a u novije se vrijeme o formulama sve više govori i u kontekstu tradicijskih priča. Stoga se možemo zapitati hoće li se kazivač sa znatnim repertoarom pjesama i priča dijelom koristiti istim formulama u ova dva modaliteta. Ili će, budući da priče i pjesme imaju svoje zasebne norme i pravila, formule biti različite bez značajnih sličnosti? U ovom se radu nastoji zacrtati put prema mogućem odgovoru na navedena pitanja, i to na temelju usmene tradicije zabilježene u drugoj polovici dvadesetog stoljeća kod jednog osobitog kazivača iz Newfoundlanda, čiji je zabilježen repertoar sadržavao devetnaest različitih priča i više od trideset pjesama

The co-construction of helping services in Ennerdale

The co-construction of helping services in the community of Ennerdale is a study that explores men’s reluctance to make use of helping and psychological services. Academic and informal literature informs us that men are often unwilling to seek medical or psychological assistance and that the male stereotypes view these services as utilised only by the weak and powerless. A great part of men’s unwillingness is furthermore related to historical male roles and the perception that the helping, and specifically the psychological services, are for the weak and insane. This research study was conducted in the Community of Ennerdale, a community south of Johannesburg. A focus group was conducted with adult male volunteers from the community and individual interviews were conducted with two psychologists, one medical doctor, and one church minister. The study was conducted from a social constructionist epistemology that falls within the qualitative research framework. The social constructionist epistemology views our (individuals) understanding and views of our world as a uniquely social process that is influenced by our gender, culture, language, and history. A discourse analysis was utilised to analyse the information obtained from both the focus group and individual interviews. The results from this research study indicate that a great part of men’s reluctance is related to the dominant male discourses and male scripts that construct men as superior and proud individuals who are not supposed to display weakness or inability. The helping and psychological services are constructed as services that assist the weak, insane and powerless, constructing an identity of weakness and insanity which men wait to avoid. The most common indicator for men’s reluctance is the historical constructs of the helping services and the historical constructs and discourses related to masculinity and appropriate male behaviour.Dissertation (MA (Counselling Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006.Psychologyunrestricte

ENGLISH ORATURE, ENGLISH LITERATURE: THE CASE OF CHARMS

Traditional charms are a part of English orature; charms in literature are a part of English literature. This simple distinction does not, however, tell the whole story: charms, as is well known, are sometimes written down, rather than verbalized, in order to function as talismans; charms, no matter how traditionary, can feature motifs more commonly found in literature; and the transmission of charms may involve a written as well as an oral dimension (the most obvious example of this being the existence of spellbooks). On the other hand, charms in literature are not always purely literary: they may have a relationship with traditional verbal charms. At the very least, charms presumably existed in real life before they appeared in literature. This paper, which is not a full survey of charms in English literature, will examine some occurrences of supposed charms in literary texts and compare and contrast these items with the generic characteristics of the genuine article. For our first example, we can take the University play, Thersites, written in the in 1530s, probably by Nicholas Udall. This Interlude is a 917-line bit of knockabout which demonstrates "howe that the greatest boesters are not the greatest doers" by showing the comeuppance of the boaster, Thersites. And despite the classicizing names of the characters -Telemachus, Ulysses, and Thersites himself, the continued references to items of contemporary English popular culture throughout the work; e.g. at one stage Thersites says show that the de facto setting of the action is not in the Ancient Hellenic world. This bodes well for attempts to compare the one charm featured in the play to those current in contemporaneous folk tradition. The charm is spoken by Thersites' mother over hi

Systematic Review of Ambulatory Transitional Care Management (TCM) Visits on Hospital 30-Day Readmission Rates

To reduce readmission rates and prevent adverse outcomes after discharge, hospitals have begun implementing transitional care initiatives. This systematic review identifies research on the particular set of services now reimbursable by Medicare (transitional care management [TCM]) and evaluates the studies for program effectiveness. Results of 3 databases were screened for peer-reviewed journal articles published between January 2004 and 2015 that report on readmissions of adults in the US health care system under the Medicare TCM bundle. ClinicalTrials.gov was queried for funded studies. Of 969 identified studies, 77 met inclusion criteria for relevance to transitional care and appropriateness of population and setting. Of these, only 3 articles incorporated all required elements for TCM service. Although 2 were program improvement designs and none were randomized controlled studies, each report reduced readmission rates. Evidence for TCM effectiveness is limited. Additional study of TCM implementation and programmatic support for TCM is warranted

Understanding the Scope of Business Law Clinics: Perspectives from the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States

The impetus for the emergence of business law clinics across jurisdictions is remarkably similar: commercially orientated education and development of students combined with a reconceptualised social justice agenda which embraces entrepreneurial activity in all forms. Business law clinics face the challenge of balancing the interests of students and clients,of service provision versus learning environment, within a distinctly entrepreneurial environment. To achieve this, we must enter into a dialogue and embrace a common mission. This article addresses the gap in the literature with a comparative analysis of the Business and Commercial Law Clinic at Northumbria Law School, England; The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya Legal Clinic for Start-Ups at Radzyner Law School, Israel; and BrooklynLaw Incubator & Policy Clinic at Brooklyn Law School, United States. We posit that business law clinics should be valued for their rich educational experience, the important assistance they provide and the wider benefits they bestow on teaching institutions