Entrepreneurship, Collective Entrepreneurship and the Producer-Owned Firm

Entrepreneurship is predominantly associated with the activities of an individual actor – the entrepreneur. It has also been related to the concept of firm ownership (e.g. Foss and Klein, 2005). This may lead to the conjecture that a collectively-owned firm is a setting for collective entrepreneurship. However, such reasoning encounters a number of taxing questions. If entrepreneurship is usually related to the individual, how does the collective embody entrepreneurial spirit and lead to effective outcomes? These and other questions will be addressed in this paper, which is mainly based on a review of the literature. The paper starts by providing an overview of the different schools of (economic) thought on entrepreneurship. Subsequently we discuss the implications for the conceptualization of entrepreneurship when it is not carried out by an individual but by a group of people. Finally, the notion of collective entrepreneurship will be framed within the context of the producer-owned firm in agriculture, by considering conditions under which collective entrepreneurship can be attributed to the cooperative.entreprepreneurship, cooperative, pro, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

The energetic relationship between ports and cities:how the role of shared values is under pressure

Worldwide, ports are subject to the same trends such as globalization, increase in scale of the modus operandi and the process of containerization. These are general dynamics that are responsible for a changing relationship between the port and the city where it is located. This paper aims to describe and explain the developments that three port regions in Europe have experienced over the last decades, i.e., Hamburg, Antwerp and Rotterdam. Special attention is paid to the relationships between the most important actors within the three port-city clusters. The complex relationships are operationalized by a set of newly developed sensitizing concepts. It is concluded that all three cases have unique shared values play that play a crucial role in the changing relationships between ports and cities. The nature and intensity of these shared values are responsible for the impact of the trends on the relationship between a certain port and its city. E.g., the bond between the port and the city is the strongest in Hamburg and based on a strong culture that strengthen the integration of between port and city in many domains of society. For Antwerp, the political constellation is responsible for a continuing presence in the development of the city and the port, but also of the surrounding smaller municipalities. In Rotterdam, a more business-oriented culture was introduced that replaced a culture of common interests. It is concluded that the three cases have in common that variations in shared values plays a crucial role in the changing relationships between port and city.</p

Development and Validation of Functional Model of a Cruise Control System

Modern automobiles can be considered as a collection of many subsystems working with each other to realize safe transportation of the occupants. Innovative technologies that make transportation easier are increasingly incorporated into the automobile in the form of functionalities. These new functionalities in turn increase the complexity of the system framework present and traceability is lost or becomes very tricky in the process. This hugely impacts the development phase of an automobile, in which, the safety and reliability of the automobile design should be ensured. Hence, there is a need to ensure operational safety of the vehicles while adding new functionalities to the vehicle. To address this issue, functional models of such systems are created and analysed. The main purpose of developing a functional model is to improve the traceability and reusability of a system which reduces development time and cost. Operational safety of the system is ensured by analysing the system with respect to random and systematic failures and including safety mechanism to prevent such failures. This paper discusses the development and validation of a functional model of a conventional cruise control system in a passenger vehicle based on the ISO 26262 Road Vehicles - Functional Safety standard. A methodology for creating functional architectures and an architecture of a cruise control system developed using the methodology are presented.Comment: In Proceedings FESCA 2016, arXiv:1603.0837

Evaluating the New Secondary Informatics Curriculum in The Netherlands:The Teachers’ Perspective

Since the introduction of Informatics as an elective course in secondary education in the Netherlands in 1998, the implemented curriculum is being regularly monitored. The results of the large 2013 secondary Informatics teachers survey contributed to the revision of the Informatics curriculum. This revised curriculum came into effect in 2019. In line with regular curriculum monitoring practices, the Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development is polling the secondary Informatics teachers to understand their views and opinions on the intended curriculum and to learn about their implemented curriculum The results indicate that the majority of the respondents find the new Informatics curriculum better than the old one and that it offers a solid foundation for their teaching practice. A minority either misses some content in the curriculum or considers it overloaded with content, and some find it not to be up to date. Furthermore, the results of this survey are compared to the results of the 2013 survey to assess to what extent the new Informatics curriculum meets the teachers’ needs and recommendations better.</p

Within- and between-year variation in the presence of individually marked Ruff <i>Calidris pugnax</i> at a stopover site during northward migration

Ruffs Calidris pugnax migrate from wintering areas in West-Africa and Europe tobreeding grounds in northern Eurasia, using stopover sites along the way. At onesuch stopover site in southwest Friesland (53°N, The Netherlands), we studiedvariation in the timing of individual stopover based on 6474 Ruffs colour-ringedin 2004–2012. 43% of males and 22% of females were recorded in the studyarea in March–May the years following marking. Minimal stopover duration ofreturning individuals showed substantial within-year heterogeneity. We distinguishedtwo classes: (1) ‘transient’ individuals were observed only on a singleday in the study area within a season (51% of observed males and 79% offemales), and (2) ‘staging’ individuals were observed on multiple days. Weobserved two seasonal peaks in the presence of transient Ruffs, typically coincidingwith the peak of arrival and departure of staging birds. Males known towinter in Europe were more likely to be observed in the study area and arrivedearlier than males of unknown winter origin (3.1 days and 3.7 days earlier fortransient and staging males, respectively), but departure was unrelated to winterorigin. Staging and transient females arrived later than males. Between-yearrepeatability of individual behaviour was low, and individuals did not significantlyadvance their arrival date over the course of years, in contrast with a pattern ofshifting arrival dates at the population level. The observation that a large proportionof Ruffs visit southwest Friesland for only a short stop suggests that manyindividuals rely on other sites for moulting and refuelling during spring migration.Resightings of marked individuals elsewhere in western Europe indicated thatthese sites are largely located between 51° and 54°N. Thus, during springmigration, Ruffs marked in southwest Friesland displayed high between- andwithin-individual variation in minimal stopover duration

Rat testicular germ cells and sertoli cells release different types of bioactive transforming growth factor beta in vitro

Several in vivo studies have reported the presence of immunoreactive transforming growth factor-β's (TGF-β's) in testicular cells at defined stages of their differentiation. The most pronounced changes in TGF-β(1 )and TGF-β(2 )immunoreactivity occurred during spermatogenesis. In the present study we have investigated whether germ cells and Sertoli cells are able to secrete bioactive TGF-β's in vitro, using the CCl64 mink lung epithelial cell line as bioassay for the measurement of TGF-β. In cellular lysates, TGF-β bioactivity was only observed following heat-treatment, indicating that within these cells TGF-β is present in a latent form. To our surprise, active TGF-β could be detected in the culture supernatant of germ cells and Sertoli cells without prior heat-treatment. This suggests that these cells not only produce and release TGF-β in a latent form, but that they also release a factor which can convert latent TGF-β into its active form. Following heat-activation of these culture supernatant's, total TGF-β bioactivity increased 6- to 9-fold. Spermatocytes are the cell type that releases most bioactive TGF-β during a 24 h culture period, although round and elongated spermatids and Sertoli cells also secrete significant amounts of TGF-β. The biological activity of TGF-β could be inhibited by neutralizing antibodies against TGF-β(1 )(spermatocytes and round spermatids) and TGF-β(2 )(round and elongating spermatids). TGF-β activity in the Sertoli cell culture supernatant was inhibited slightly by either the TGF-β(1 )and TGF-β(2 )neutralizing antibody. These in vitro data suggest that germ cells and Sertoli cells release latent TGF-β's. Following secretion, the TGF-β's are converted to a biological active form that can interact with specific TGF-β receptors. These results strengthen the hypothesis that TGF-β's may play a physiological role in germ cell proliferation/differentiation and Sertoli cell function

Three-Dimensional-Printed Drill Guides for Occipitothoracic Fusion in a Pediatric Patient With Occipitocervical Instability

BACKGROUND: Pediatric occipitothoracic fusion can be challenging because of small size pedicles and thin occipital bone. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology can help with accurate screw insertion but has not been described for occipital keel plate positioning so far. OBJECTIVE: To describe the novel use of 3D technology to position occipital keel plates during pediatric occipitothoracic fixation. METHODS: A young boy with segmental spinal dysgenesis presented with asymmetrical pyramidal paresis in all limbs. Developmental abnormities of the cervical spine caused a thinned spinal cord, and because of progressive spinal cord compression, surgical intervention by means of occipitothoracic fixation was indicated at the age of 3 yr. Because of the small-size pedicles and thin occipital bone, the pedicle screws and occipital plates were planned meticulously using 3D virtual surgical planning technology. The rods were virtually bent in order to properly align with the planned screws. By means of 3D-printed guides, the surgical plan was transferred to the operating theater. For the occipital bone, a novel guide concept was developed, aiming for screw positions at maximal bone thickness. RESULTS: The postoperative course was uneventful, and radiographs showed good cervical alignment. After superimposing the virtual plan with the intraoperative acquired computed tomography, it was confirmed that the occipital plate positions matched the virtual plan and that pedicle screws were accurately inserted without signs of breach. CONCLUSION: The use of 3D technology has greatly facilitated the performance of the occipitothoracic fixation and could, in the future, contribute to safer pediatric spinal fixation procedures