Identifying entrepreneurs through risk taking behaviour: illegal downloading

Purpose – This paper is the first in a series which explores whether it is possible to use risk-taking activities as a way of identifying potential entrepreneurs. The research examines the motivations of individuals to engage in deviant consumer behaviour, in this case illegal downloading and the link between this behaviour and possible entrepreneurial characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology approach was of a quantitative nature using a 32-item questionnaire disseminated to 215 undergraduate students at a UK University. Findings – Although there was strong evidence of entrepreneurial traits existing across the participants, including risk taking propensity, no relationship could be found between risk taking propensity and illegal downloading. Reasons put forward for this findings were that the level of risk involved was too low to be identified as such by the downloaders, even though the nondownloaders were worried about being caught and therefore were not participating in it. Attitudes towards this misbehaviour changes when it is not for their own consumption and very few students participated in that activity. Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to a cohort of undergraduate students at only one University. This study begins to understand the potential link between misbehaviour and entrepreneurial traits. Originality/value – This paper examines the possible link between consumer misbehaviour, in this case illegal downloading and the display of entrepreneurial risk-taking characteristics. The implication of ‘consumer misbehaviour’ through illegal downloading being ‘entrepreneurial’ has, to our knowledge, not been previously tested and could be a useful and inexpensive way of identifying future entrepreneurs and consequently directing relevant support and training to the right people

Benzo-pyrones for reducing and controlling lymphoedema of the limbs.

Background Lymphoedema is the accumulation of excess fluid in the body caused by obstruction of the lymphatic drainage mechanisms. Treatment with Benzo-pyrones is thought to reduce fluid forming in the subcutaneous tissues and reduce pain and discomfort of the affected area. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of benzo-pyrones compared to placebo in the management of lymphoedema. Search strategy We searched the Cochrane Breast Cancer Group register (September 2003), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 4,2003), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, UnCover, PASCAL, SIGLE, reference lists produced by The British Lymphology Society, the National Research Register (NRR) and The International Society of Lymphology congress proceedings. Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials comparing Benzo-pyrones with placebo. Data collection and analysis Trials were selected for eligibility and tested for quality by two blinded reviewers who independently extracted data. Meta-analysis was not performed due to the poor quality of the trials. Main results Fifteen trials were included. Three oxerutin trials tested the same dose over 6 months against placebo and included a total of 127 participants (data were available for 81). There were insufficient data from these to calculate the per cent reduction or increase in baseline excess limb volume. One trial testing Cyclo 3 Fort (approved name) was found (57 participants) but insufficient data was provided to allow a proper analysis of its findings. A single trial of Daflon (approved name) was found (104 participants) but this also provided insufficient information to reach a conclusion about the effectiveness of the drug. Three trials of coumarin combined with troxerutin were found which tested two different doses of the drug against each other with no placebo, however participant numbers and baseline data were not provided. Eight trials of coumarin were identified. Two of these reported the same trial and the other potentially also referred to the same trial but this could not be confirmed. A further two papers also appeared to refer to the same trial but again this was unconfirmed. Five studies added anti-filarial drugs to the interventions tested. Participant data could not be extracted and the reporting of outcome measures in most was unclear. Loprinzi's 1999 trial was reported in more detail but its conclusions were very much at odds with other findings. Authors' conclusions It is not possible to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of Benzopyrones in the management of lymphoedema from the current available trials

Magelonidae (annelida: Polychaeta) de las Seychelles 2: Descripción de cuatro especies más, tres de ellas nuevas para la ciencia

P align=justify>In 2000, the National Museum of Wales mounted a marine biological expedition to the Seychelles as part of the Shoals of Capricorn programme. Following this, three new species of Magelona (M. conversa, M. falcifera and M. gemmata) were described, and published in the Proceedings of the 7th International Polychaete Conference. In this second paper, the authors describe a further three new species (M. symmetrica, M. mahensis and M. cepiceps) and present a new record of M. pygmaea Nateewathana and Hylleberg, 1991 – previously known only from Thailand. The taxonomic affinities of the four species are discussed and a key is provided to all seven recorded from the Seychelles. En el año 2000, dentro del programa Shoals of Capricorn, el Museo Nacional del País de Gales organizó una expedición biológica marina a las Seychelles. Tras ella, se describieron tres nuevas especies de Magelona (M. conversa, M. falcifera, y M. gemmata) que fueron publicadas en los Proceedings of the 7th International Polychaete Conference. En este segundo trabajo, los autores describen tres nuevas especies más (M. symmetrica, M. mahensis y M. cepiceps) y citan nuevamente a M. pygmaea Nateewathana y Hylleberg, 1991 previamente sólo hallada en Tailandia. Se discuten las afinidades taxonómicas de las cuatro especies y se proporciona una clave para las siete especies citadas en las Seychelles. &nbsp

New records and new species of Magelonidae (Polychaeta) from the Arabian Peninsula, with a re–description of Magelona pacifica and a discussion on the magelonid buccal region

66 páginas, 2 tablas, 17 figuras.Five Magelona species, M. cornuta, M. crenulifrons, M. obockensis, M. pulchella, and an undescribed species (identified by Louis Amoureux as M. cornuta in 1983 and described herein as M. montera sp. nov.) have been previously reported from the seas surrounding the Arabian Peninsula. The present study details a further six Magelona species off the coasts of Iran and Qatar, collected between 1998 and 2007. Five species are newly recorded for the region: Magelona cf. agoensis, Magelona cf. cincta, M. conversa, Magelona cf. falcifera and M. symmetrica, and one species (M. sinbadi sp. nov.) is deemed new to science. A key is provided for the 15 species with verified reports currently known from the western Indian Ocean region. Magelona pacifica originally described from Panama is discussed and re-described due to its similarity to M. montera sp. nov. A ‘buccal organ/tube’ in addition to an everted proboscis was observed in one specimen (Magelona cf. agoensis) and is herein described and discussed in relation to previous morphological studies.The collection of material from Iran and Qatar was partly financed by a research contract between the CEAB (CSIC) and the French company CREOCEAN, and was also supported by TOTAL. This specimen was collected in a study carried out within the frame of a project financed by Total E&P (HSE Division). . This paper is a contribution of D. Martin and J. Gil to the Consolidated Research Group 2009SRG665 of the ‘Generalitat de Catalunya’.Peer reviewe

Impact of historic sediment characterisation on predicting polychaete distributions: a case study of so-called muddy habitat shovelhead worms (Annelida: Magelonidae)

Shovelhead worms are common polychaetes around the British Isles and have been recorded in numerous ecological surveys. Yet, understanding of their habitat conditions is poor, based heavily on visual observations of sediments from historical records. In this study, the drivers of abundance and geographical distribution of two morphologically and behaviourally diverse species Magelona alleni and Magelona minuta are investigated by reanalysing sediment characteristics and depths from museum marine monitoring surveys. Although both species are historically associated with muddy sediments, the records herein suggest that M. alleni occurs in an extensive range of sediments, but is more abundant at localities with more than 25% sand. In comparison, M. minuta shows a negative linear relationship between grain diameter and abundance, corroborating previous work that the species is abundant in fine-grained mud. The depth records show that while M. alleni predominates below 60 m, M. minuta is a distinct offshore species. These differences may be attributed to the interspecific variation in morphology and motility between the species: M. alleni is stout and tube-dwelling, while M. minuta is fragile, small, and fairly motile. To corroborate these findings, sediment grains from tubes of M. alleni were classified using the Udden–Wentworth grain size scale and suggest sand is the key component for tube construction. Overall, this study highlights that sediment parameters for M. alleni have been misinterpreted and generalised in historical records, emphasising the importance of quantitative sediment analysis in defining the habitat of Magelona

Neocerebellar Crus I Abnormalities Associated with a Speech and Language Disorder Due to a Mutation in FOXP2

Bilateral volume reduction in the caudate nucleus has been established as a prominent brain abnormality associated with a FOXP2 mutation in affected members of the ‘KE family’, who present with developmental orofacial and verbal dyspraxia in conjunction with pervasive language deficits. Despite the gene’s early and prominent expression in the cerebellum and the evidence for reciprocal cerebellum-basal ganglia connectivity, very little is known about cerebellar abnormalities in affected KE members. Using cerebellum-specific voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and volumetry, we provide converging evidence from subsets of affected KE members scanned at three time points for grey matter (GM) volume reduction bilaterally in neocerebellar lobule VIIa Crus I compared with unaffected members and unrelated controls. We also show that right Crus I volume correlates with left and total caudate nucleus volumes in affected KE members, and that right and total Crus I volumes predict the performance of affected members in non-word repetition and non-verbal orofacial praxis. Crus I also shows bilateral hypo-activation in functional MRI in the affected KE members relative to controls during non-word repetition. The association of Crus I with key aspects of the behavioural phenotype of this FOXP2 point mutation is consistent with recent evidence of cerebellar involvement in complex motor sequencing. For the first time, specific cerebello-basal ganglia loops are implicated in the execution of complex oromotor sequences needed for human speech

'Pneumonia has gone': exploring perceptions of health in a cookstove intervention trial in rural Malawi

Introduction Air pollution through cooking on open fires or inefficient cookstoves using biomass fuels has been linked with impaired lung health and with over 4 million premature deaths per annum. However, use of cleaner cookstoves is often sporadic and there are indications that longer-term health benefits are not prioritised by users. There is also limited information about how recipients of cookstoves perceive the health benefits of clean cooking interventions. We therefore conducted a qualitative study alongside the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS). Methods Qualitative methods and the participatory methodology Photovoice were used in an in-depth examination of health perceptions and understandings of CAPS trial participants. Fifty participants in five CAPS intervention villages collected images about cooking. These were discussed in village-level focus groups and in interviews with 12 representative participants. Village community representatives were also interviewed. Four female and eight male CAPS fieldworkers took part in gender-specific focus groups and two female and two male fieldworkers were interviewed. A thematic content approach was used for data analysis. Results We found a disconnect between locally situated perceptions of health and the biomedically focused trial model. This included the development of potentially harmful understandings such as that pneumonia was no longer a threat and potential confusion between the symptoms of pneumonia and malaria. Study participants perceived health and well-being benefits including: cookstoves saved bodily energy; quick cooking helped maintain family harmony. Conclusion A deeper understanding of narratives of health within CAPS showed how context-specific perceptions of the health benefits of cookstoves were developed. This highlighted the conflicting priorities of cookstove intervention researchers and participants, and unintended and potentially harmful health understandings. The study also emphasises the importance of including qualitative explorations in similar complex interventions where potential pathways to beneficial (and harmful) effects, cannot be completely explicated through biomedical models alone

'Cooking is for everyone?': Exploring the complexity of gendered dynamics in a cookstove intervention study in rural Malawi

BACKGROUND Household air pollution (HAP) resulting from cooking on open fires has been linked to considerable ill-health in women and girls, including chronic respiratory diseases, and has been identified as a contributor to climate change. It has been suggested that cleaner burning cookstoves can mitigate these risks, and that time saved through speedier cooking can lead to the economic empowerment of women. Despite these and other potential advantages of cookstoves, sustained use is difficult to achieve. OBJECTIVE We used qualitative methods (focus groups, interviews, observation) and the participatory methodology Photovoice in order to inform a deeper understanding of gendered social relationships within the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS) in rural Malawi. METHODS Over five CAPS villages, forty women and ten men were recruited for Photovoice activities, including image collection, village-level focus group discussion and interviews. Data were also collected from interviews with village-based community representatives. RESULTS This study facilitated a rich exploration of context-specific gendered household roles and power relations which found that there was space for contestation in seemingly entrenched and 'traditional' household responsibilities. The results suggest that the introduction of cookstoves through CAPS provided a focus for this contestation. It was evident that men and children also cooked, and that cooking played a central role in the gendered socialisation of children. However, there were no indications that time saved resulted in the empowerment of women. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that dominant narratives of the links between gender and cookstoves are often reductive and fail to reflect the complexity of gender power relations. The use of qualitative methods incorporating Photovoice helped to facilitate an alternative 'bottom-up' view of cookstove use which demonstrated that while cookstoves may disrupt gendered relationships in target communities, positive impacts for women and girls cannot be assumed