The Support Needs of Social Entrepreneurs - lessons from the Impact Hub network

This paper presents an overview of insights from 5 years of research together with the Impact Hub networks, analyzing a sample of over 6,000 social entrepreneurial members. Focusing on the types of support and resources that their members seek, we identify the types of support that are most sought after, temporal patterns of support, and how support needs differ along economic contexts. Finally, we give an overview of typical support institutions of social enterprises in Impact Hubs around the world

Meldepflichten bei der feindlichen Übernahme börsennotierter Aktiengesellschaften mittels Swaps

Die vorliegende Dissertation untersucht die Zulässigkeit des Einsatzes derivativer, auf Barausgleich gerichteter Finanzinstrumente, insbesondere sogenannte Cash Settled Total Return Equity Swaps im Rahmen von feindlichen Übernahmen ohne vorherige Bekanntmachung nach den einschlägigen kapitalmarktrechtlichen Vorschriften. Zu diesem Zweck wird eingangs der Begriff der feindlichen Unternehmensübernahme sowie die verschiedenen zur Verfügung stehenden Techniken beleuchtet werden. Nach einer Vorstellung der Vorschriften über die Beteiligungstransparenz nach dem Börsegesetz und der Vorschriften betreffend das Pflichtangebot nach dem Übernahmegesetz erfolgt eine detaillierte Darstellung der eingangs erwähnten Finanzinstrumente. Neben ihrer Funktionsweise werden insbesondere auch die Motive eines Investors für den Einsatz derartiger Finanzinstrumente dargestellt. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit werden die einschlägigen kapitalmarktrechtlichen Vorschriften, also sowohl Börsegesetz als auch Übernahmegesetz, auf Anknüpfungspunkte hinsichtlich der Erfassung derartiger Finanzinstrumente untersucht. Zu diesem Zwecke werden immer wieder Argumente der deutschen Diskussion herangezogen und auf ihre Stichhaltigkeit nach österreichischem Recht untersucht. Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass eine kapitalmarktrechtliche Erfassung derartiger Finanzinstrumente aus Gründen des Normzwecks zwar wünschenswert erscheint, eine solche mit den Vorschriften, die das geltende Kapitalmarktrecht dem Rechtsanwender derzeit zur Verfügung stellt, allerdings nur in gewissen Konstellationen und somit nicht lückenlos möglich ist. Aus diesem Grund wird im dritten Teil der Arbeit der rechtspolitische Bedarf für eine Neuregelung der Erfassung dieser Instrumente im österreichischen Kapitalmarktrecht dargestellt. Anhand der Identifizierung der mit dem Einsatz dieser Instrumente verbundenen Marktstörungen wird der Handlungsbedarf des Gesetzgebers herausgearbeitet. Berücksichtigt werden dabei auch die Erfahrungen, die in der Schweiz, wo eine Verschärfung der einschlägigen Vorschriften bereits stattgefunden hat, im Zuge dieses Prozesses gewonnen wurden. Im Anschluss daran werden verschieden Lösungsansätze zur Erfassung derartiger Finanzinstrumente vorgestellt und auf ihre Stichhaltigkeit untersucht. Dabei wird auch auf die Nachteile aufmerksam gemacht, die mit der Verschärfung der kapitalmarktrechtlichen Meldepflichten einher gehen und der Zielkonflikt dargestellt, dem der Gesetzgeber bei einer allfälligen Verschärfung der Meldepflichten ausgesetzt ist.This thesis deals with the duty to disclose the use of financial instruments, in particular contracts for difference, in the regard of hostile takeovers under the Austrian stock market regulations. The thesis starts with describing the term of hostile takeovers and illustrates the different techniques of hostile takeovers followed by an overview of the legal framework for hostile takeovers, in particular reporting obligations for major holdings and financial instruments according to the Austrian Stock Exchange Act (Börsegesetz) and the rules on mandatory bids according to the Austrian Takeover Act (Übernahmegesetz). Then the thesis takes a close look on the financial instruments mentioned above and illustrates the different reasons for their use. The application of the Austrian Stock Exchange Act and the Austrian Takeover Act on contracts for difference is subject of the second part of the thesis. In this regard the thesis also compares the Austrian laws with the respective German laws and takes into account the arguments brought forward in the context of the use of derivative financial instruments for hostile takeovers in Germany. The assessment of the application of the Austrian stock market regulations on contracts for difference shows that a duty to disclose the use of such financial instruments is desirable. However, at the present time under Austrian laws such disclosure is only compulsory in specific situations. As a result, in a third part the thesis focuses on the need for legislative actions by pointing out potential market failures that are the outcome of the use of such financial instruments without disclosure. This part of the thesis also depicts the experiences gained from the Swiss authorities when implementing more stringent reporting obligations. Finally, the thesis discusses the different methods of resolutions in order to strengthen the existing regime of disclosure and points out their pros and cons

Impact-oriented networks in the context of philanthropy: an evaluation of the Bosch Alumni Network

This report presents the findings of an exploration into the operating principles, benefits and social impact of the Bosch Alumni Network (BAN), an impact-oriented network that brings together more than 6,800 current fellows, grantees, staff and partners of the Robert Bosch Stiftung (RBSG) from all over the world. It builds on the results of a 12-month research project (09/2019-08/2020), comprising of the review of scientific literature (80+ sources) and company documents, 13 background interviews, 22 interviews with members, a participatory observation and an online survey of 634 members

Skilog: A Smart Sensor System for Performance Analysis and Biofeedback in Ski Jumping

In ski jumping, low repetition rates of jumps limit the effectiveness of training. Thus, increasing learning rate within every single jump is key to success. A critical element of athlete training is motor learning, which has been shown to be accelerated by feedback methods. In particular, a fine-grained control of the center of gravity in the in-run is essential. This is because the actual takeoff occurs within a blink of an eye ($\sim$300ms), thus any unbalanced body posture during the in-run will affect flight. This paper presents a smart, compact, and energy-efficient wireless sensor system for real-time performance analysis and biofeedback during ski jumping. The system operates by gauging foot pressures at three distinct points on the insoles of the ski boot at 100Hz. Foot pressure data can either be directly sent to coaches to improve their feedback, or fed into a ML model to give athletes instantaneous in-action feedback using a vibration motor in the ski boot. In the biofeedback scenario, foot pressures act as input variables for an optimized XGBoost model. We achieve a high predictive accuracy of 92.7% for center of mass predictions (dorsal shift, neutral stand, ventral shift). Subsequently, we parallelized and fine-tuned our XGBoost model for a RISC-V based low power parallel processor (GAP9), based on the PULP architecture. We demonstrate real-time detection and feedback (0.0109ms/inference) using our on-chip deployment. The proposed smart system is unobtrusive with a slim form factor (13mm baseboard, 3.2mm antenna) and a lightweight build (26g). Power consumption analysis reveals that the system's energy-efficient design enables sustained operation over multiple days (up to 300 hours) without requiring recharge.Comment: 5 pages, 2 tables, 4 figure, Accepted at IEEE BioCAS 202

Tissue Transglutaminase 2 has higher affinity for relaxed than for stretched fibronectin fibers

Tissue transglutaminase 2 (TG2) plays a vital role in stabilizing extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins through enzymatic crosslinking during tissue growth, repair, and inflammation. TG2 also binds non-covalently to fibronectin (FN), an essential component of the ECM, facilitating cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and survival. However, the interaction between TG2 and fibrillar FN remains poorly understood, as most studies have focused on soluble or surface-adsorbed FN or FN fragments, which differ in their conformations from insoluble FN fibers. Using a well-established in vitro FN fiber stretch assay, we discovered that the binding of a crosslinking enzyme to ECM fibers is mechano-regulated. TG2 binding to FN is tuned by the mechanical tension of FN fibers, whereby TG2 predominantly co-localizes to low-tension FN fibers, while fiber stretching reduces their affinity for TG2. This mechano-regulated binding relies on the proximity between the N-terminal β-sandwich and C-terminal β-barrels of TG2. Crosslinking mass spectrometry (XL-MS) revealed a novel TG2-FN synergy site within TG2's C-terminal β-barrels that interacts with FN regions located outside of the canonical gelatin binding domain, specifically FNI2 and FNIII14-15. Combining XL-MS distance restraints with molecular docking revealed the mechano-regulated binding mechanism between TG2 and modules FNI7-9 by which mechanical forces regulate TG2-FN interactions. This highlights a previously unrecognized role of TG2 as a tension sensor for FN fibers. This novel interaction mechanism has significant implications in physiology and mechanobiology, including how forces regulate cell adhesion, spreading, migration, phenotype modulation, depending on the tensional state of ECM fibers. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD043976

Addressing Grand Challenges Collectively: A brief introduction to Impact-oriented Networks

This paper aims to provide a brief introduction to networks from the perspective of philanthropy and social impact. Acknowledging the depth and breadth of the discourse around networks and its terminology, we focus on a particular type of networks – impact-oriented networks – and discuss their key characteristics, value creation and, briefly, their potential role in the philanthropic toolkit

Towards the development and verification of a 3D-based advanced optimized farm machinery trajectory algorithm

Efforts related to minimizing the environmental burden caused by agricultural activities and increasing economic efficiency are key contemporary drivers in the precision agriculture domain. Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) techniques are being applied against soil compaction creation, using the on-line optimization of trajectory planning for soil-sensitive field operations. The research presented in this paper aims at a proof-of-concept solution with respect to optimizing farm machinery trajectories in order to minimize the environmental burden and increase economic efficiency. As such, it further advances existing CTF solutions by including (1) efficient plot divisions in 3D, (2) the optimization of entry and exit points of both plot and plot segments, (3) the employment of more machines in parallel and (4) obstacles in a farm machinery trajectory. The developed algorithm is expressed in terms of unified modeling language (UML) activity diagrams as well as pseudo-code. Results were visualized in 2D and 3D to demonstrate terrain impact. Verifications were conducted at a fully operational commercial farm (Rostenice, the Czech Republic) against second-by-second sensor measurements of real farm machinery trajectories

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results