Ships passing in the night?: re-thinking the relationship between entrepreneurial agency and purposive transitions

In this paper, we examine the ways in which the phenomenon of entrepreneurial agency has been represented in the transitions literature with particular reference to purposive sustainability transitions. The aim of the paper is to encourage critical reflection on the relationship between transitions and entrepreneurship research. We present provisional findings from a content analysis conducted on sample publications, covering historical transitional and contemporary purposive transitions. We find that while entrepreneurial agency is clearly evident in both conceptual and empirical works, there are a number of limitations regarding: i) the role of context in relation to the dynamics of entrepreneurial agency; ii) differences in the types of entrepreneurs engaged in socio-technical transitions and the ways in which they interact with other key actors; iii) the predominantly individualistic interpretation accorded to entrepreneurship in the literature. We also review recent developments in entrepreneurship research, including work on: entrepreneurial opportunity, dynamic capabilities, networks and institutions, and indicate how these ideas might be integrated into transitions research, with reference to two sample studies. In the concluding remarks, we suggest ways in which a closer engagement with entrepreneurial agency might contribute to future transitions research and policy-making

Promoting environmentally sustainable enterprises: some policy options

Governments around the world are taking an increasing interest in promoting environmentally-sustainable economic activity. They have developed a variety of policy approaches in an effort to address environmental issues that range from localised pollution incidents to global climate change. This chapter examines the kinds of intervention tools that are being used to improve the environmental performance of SMEs, and to guide entrepreneurial energies towards more environmentally-benign goals. The chapter aims to: (1) outline the main options available to policy-makers; (2) compare specific intervention tools, noting their strengths and limitations; and (3) discuss the case for adopting more holistic approaches to address the pervasive, complex and often deeply-rooted challenges of sustainable development. Key lessons are that policy makers need to select appropriate combinations of tools based on careful reviews of the evidence, and that well-integrated, context-sensitive policies are likely to prove the most effective

Evaluating the role of enterprise policies in purposive sustainability transitions: a case-based comparison

Objectives • To review the literature on enterprise policy and purposive sustainability transitions • To present comparative case-based analyses of entrepreneurial activity in different transitions • To draw out the implications for research, policy and practice Prior Work Our paper is framed around the socio-technical transitions literature, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship and enterprise policy. It builds on previous work, in which we challenged pre-conceptions about the role of entrepreneurial actors in purposive sustainability transitions. In this paper, we build on these themes and draw out the implications for SME and entrepreneurship policies in Europe. Approach We conduct a critical review of recent policy developments, with selected case-based illustrations that involve various kinds of purposive sustainability transition. This concludes with a brief reflection on the main similarities and differences in terms of governance mechanisms and entrepreneurship infrastructures. We note that, while cross-national agreements, such as EU-ETS and the European Small Business Act, provide overarching frameworks, there is considerable variety in enterprise policies at a national level (e.g. goals, approaches, target audiences, performance), which overlay, and interact with, pre-existing geographic variations in entrepreneurial activity. Results Our argument is based around the following observations: (i) there is a groundswell of entrepreneurial activity oriented towards environmental sustainability; (ii) many governments have recognised that entrepreneurs can be key actors in the design and delivery of sustainability initiatives; (iii) transitions scholars have already highlighted many specific instances of entrepreneurial agency; (iv) there is now an urgent requirement to consolidate and build on this evidence base, in order to draw out practical implications for enterprise policy conception and implementation. Implications Traditionally, enterprise policies have been framed and evaluated with a primary focus on economic criteria, such as job creation and economic growth. A new set of challenges arises when governments seek to reorient policy around more ambitious and multi-faceted sustainability goals. For example: evidence on the long-term outcomes of previous policy initiatives are mixed, whether at firm-level or across geographic regions; there are difficulties in isolating the impact of particular policies even when relevant statistical measures and datasets (e.g. for unemployment and GDP) are generally available; and policies are now being developed in a much wider range of contexts, including newly-industrialised and developing countries. Value The study is designed to inform future research and policy-making. It makes connections between the socio-technical transitions literature and relevant research on entrepreneurship and enterprise policy, in pursuit of entrepreneurial activities that contribute to more effective and equitable sustainability transitions

The impact of numerical viscosity in SPH simulations of galaxy clusters

A SPH code employing a time-dependent artificial viscosity scheme is used to construct a large set of N-body/SPH cluster simulations for studying the impact of artificial viscosity on the thermodynamics of the ICM and its velocity field statistical properties. Spectral properties of the gas velocity field are investigated by measuring for the simulated clusters the velocity power spectrum E(k). The longitudinal component E_c(k) exhibits over a limited range a Kolgomorov-like scaling k^{-5/3}, whilst the solenoidal power spectrum component E_s(k) is strongly influenced by numerical resolution effects. The dependence of the spectra E(k) on dissipative effects is found to be significant at length scales 100-300Kpc, with viscous damping of the velocities being less pronounced in those runs with the lowest artificial viscosity. The turbulent energy density radial profile E_{turb}(r) is strongly affected by the numerical viscosity scheme adopted in the simulations, with the turbulent-to-total energy density ratios being higher in the runs with the lowest artificial viscosity settings and lying in the range between a few percent and ~10%. These values are in accord with the corresponding ratios extracted from previous cluster simulations realized using mesh-based codes. At large cluster radii, the mass correction terms to the hydrostatic equilibrium equation are little affected by the numerical viscosity of the simulations, showing that the X-ray mass bias is already estimated well in standard SPH simulations. Finally, simulations in which the gas can cool radiatively are characterized by the presence in the cluster inner regions of high levels of turbulence, generated by the interaction of the compact cool gas core with the ambient medium.Comment: 32 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Static and Dynamic Estimates of CO2 Storage Capacity in Two Saline Formations in the UK

TesisLIMAEscuela Profesional de ContabilidadT02326TPC 2 G15 2017FinanzasEl objetivo de la investigación fue determinar la relación del estado de flujos de efectivo y la solvencia de las empresas comercializadoras en el Perú en los periodos 2010 al 2015. También determinamos la relación de la actividad de operación, inversión y financiamiento con el endeudamiento patrimonial, el endeudamiento del activo total y la cobertura de gastos financieros. Aplicamos el análisis descriptivo – correlacional y el diseño no experimental de corte transversal en la data de empresas comerciales que informan a la Superintendencia de Mercado de Valores (SMV) en los periodos trimestrales del año 2010 - 2015. La actividad de operación, inversión y financiamiento se ha utilizado como una medida del Estado de Flujos de Efectivo, mientras que el endeudamiento patrimonial, el endeudamiento del activo total y la cobertura de gastos financieros obtenidos se utilizan como un indicador de la solvencia de una empresa. Los resultados revelan cuanto mayor sea el flujo obtenido del ejercicio anterior, mayor será la confianza de los bancos en la empresa y, consecuentemente, mayor será la posibilidad de endeudarse frente a terceros y mayor será el acceso a la financiación con terceros, así mismo; cuando el endeudamiento patrimonial y el endeudamiento del activo total es menor, mayor serán las actividades de inversión. Se recomienda a las empresas del sector comercialización del Perú usar como herramienta el EFE ya que esta herramienta podría ser usada como una oportunidad para obtener financiamiento externo y demostrar la solvencia de la empresa, por ello nos parece conveniente darle la importancia a este estado financiero

Polyacrylates Derived from Biobased Ethyl Lactate Solvent via SET-LRP

The precise synthesis of polymers derived from alkyl lactate ester acrylates is reported for the first time. Kinetic experiments were conducted to demonstrate that Cu(0) wire-catalyzed single electron transfer-living radical polymerization (SET-LRP) in alcohols at 25 °C provides a green methodology for the LRP of this forgotten class of biobased monomers. The acrylic derivative of ethyl lactate (EL) solvent and homologous structures with methyl and n-butyl ester were polymerized with excellent control over molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, and chain-end functionality. Kinetics plots in conventional alcohols such as ethanol and methanol were first order in the monomer, with molecular weight increasing linearly with conversion. However, aqueous EL mixtures were found to be more suitable than pure EL to mediate the SET-LRP process. The near-quantitative monomer conversion and high bromine chain-end functionality, demonstrated by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight analysis, further allowed the preparation of innovative biobased block copolymers containing rubbery poly(ethyl lactate acrylate) poly(ELA) sequences. For instance, the poly(ELA)-b-poly(glycerol acrylate) block copolymer self-assembled in water to form stable micelles with chiral lactic acid-derived block-forming micellar core as confirmed by the pyrene-probe-based fluorescence technique. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy measurements revealed the nanosize spherical morphology for these biobased aggregates

A global agenda for advancing freshwater biodiversity research

Global freshwater biodiversity is declining dramatically, and meeting the challenges of this crisis requires bold goals and the mobilisation of substantial resources. While the reasons are varied, investments in both research and conservation of freshwater biodiversity lag far behind those in the terrestrial and marine realms. Inspired by a global consultation, we identify 15 pressing priority needs, grouped into five research areas, in an effort to support informed stewardship of freshwater biodiversity. The proposed agenda aims to advance freshwater biodiversity research globally as a critical step in improving coordinated actions towards its sustainable management and conservation

Hopf algebras and Tutte polynomials

By considering Tutte polynomials of Hopf algebras, we show how a Tutte polynomial can be canonically associated with combinatorial objects that have some notions of deletion and contraction. We show that several graph polynomials from the literature arise from this framework. These polynomials include the classical Tutte polynomial of graphs and matroids, Las Vergnas' Tutte polynomial of the morphism of matroids and his Tutte polynomial for embedded graphs, Bollobas and Riordan's ribbon graph polynomial, the Krushkal polynomial, and the Penrose polynomial. We show that our Tutte polynomials of Hopf algebras share common properties with the classical Tutte polynomial, including deletion-contraction definitions, universality properties, convolution formulas, and duality relations. New results for graph polynomials from the literature are then obtained as examples of the general results. Our results offer a framework for the study of the Tutte polynomial and its analogues in other settings, offering the means to determine the properties and connections between a wide class of polynomial invariants.Comment: v2: change of title and some reorderin

The interaction of gambling outcome and gambling harm-minimisation strategies for electronic gambling: the efficacy of computer generated self-appraisal messaging

It has been argued that generating pop-up messages during electronic gambling sessions, which cause a player to engage in self-appraisal of their gambling behaviour, instil greater control and awareness of behaviour (Monaghan, Computers in Human Behaviour, 25, 202–207, 2009). Consideration for the potential interaction between the messaging’s efficacy and gambling outcome (winning or losing) is lacking however. Thirty participants took part in a repeated-measures experiment where they gambled on the outcome of a computer-simulated gambling task. Outcome was manipulated by the experimenter to induce winning and losing streaks. Participants gambled at a significantly faster speed and a higher average stake size, which resulted in a greater betting intensity in the Loss condition compared to the Win condition. Computer generated self-appraisal messaging was then applied during the gambling session, which was able to significantly reduce the average speed of betting in the Loss condition only, demonstrating an interaction effect between computer generated messaging and gambling outcome