15,487 research outputs found
The evolutionary state and fundamental parameters of metallic A-F giants
Using Hipparcos parallaxes, we show that the metallic A-F giants found by
Hauck (1986) on the basis of their high Delta m_2 index in Geneva photometry
are on average more evolved than their non-metallic counterparts. Their mass
distribution, rate of binaries and vsini are shown to be incompatible with
those of Am stars, so that they cannot be descendants of the latter. They might
be former normal stars going through a short metal-rich phase at the very end
of their life on the Main Sequence.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, to appear in: Proc. of the 26th workshop of the
European Working Group on CP stars, eds. P. North, A. Schnell and J.
Ziznovsky, Contrib. Astr. Obs. Skalnate Pleso Vol. 27, No
The role of finance in the development of technology-based SMEs: evidence from New Zealand
Purpose- In this paper we discuss an exploratory study that involved face to face, qualitative inter-views with 20 technology-based small firms (TBSFs) and seven qualitative interviews with key in-formants and funders. The TBSFs were all located in New Zealand (NZ), a small open economy with a limited domestic market, a population of 4.3 million, current GDP per capita of US1m, these could be sought from networks of business angels, even though such sources were limited and restricted. If the funding sought was in the range NZ5m; this was likely to fall between the informal and formal venture markets. Associated with this was a distinct preference for relying on internal funding by NZ TBSFs.
Originality/value- This paper provides a contribution by being the first serious study of TBSF devel-opment in New Zealand, specifically focusing on the role of finance. The example of TBSF develop-ment in New Zealandâs small, open economy is significant and comparisons are drawn with the extent of funding gaps and similar issues in TBSF development from a UK based study. These comparisons enable the findings to be set in context and implications developed
Stochastic Perturbations of Periodic Orbits with Sliding
Vector fields that are discontinuous on codimension-one surfaces are known as
Filippov systems and can have attracting periodic orbits involving segments
that are contained on a discontinuity surface of the vector field. In this
paper we consider the addition of small noise to a general Filippov system and
study the resulting stochastic dynamics near such a periodic orbit. Since a
straight-forward asymptotic expansion in terms of the noise amplitude is not
possible due to the presence of discontinuity surfaces, in order to
quantitatively determine the basic statistical properties of the dynamics, we
treat different parts of the periodic orbit separately. Dynamics distant from
discontinuity surfaces is analyzed by the use of a series expansion of the
transitional probability density function. Stochastically perturbed sliding
motion is analyzed through stochastic averaging methods. The influence of noise
on points at which the periodic orbit escapes a discontinuity surface is
determined by zooming into the transition point. We combine the results to
quantitatively determine the effect of noise on the oscillation time for a
three-dimensional canonical model of relay control. For some parameter values
of this model, small noise induces a significantly large reduction in the
average oscillation time. By interpreting our results geometrically, we are
able to identify four features of the relay control system that contribute to
this phenomenon.Comment: 44 pages, 9 figures, submitted to: J Nonlin. Sc
Probabilistic models of planetary contamination
Likely fundamental inadequacies in the model of planetary contamination advanced by Sagan and Coleman are discussed. It is shown that a relatively minor modification of the basic Sagan-Coleman formula yields approximations that are generally adequate with data in the range of interest. This approximation formula differs from the original Sagan-Coleman version only through an initial conditioning on landing outcome. It always yields an upper (conservative) bound for the total probability of contamination, this appealing feature is lost if the conditioning on landing outcome is deleted
Binaries with total eclipses in the LMC: potential targets for spectroscopy
35 Eclipsing binaries presenting unambiguous total eclipses were selected
from a subsample of the list of Wyrzykowski et al. (2003). The photometric
elements are given for the I curve in DiA photometry, as well as approximate
Teff and masses of the components. The interest of these systems is stressed in
view of future spectroscopic observations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; poster presented at the conference "Close binaries
in the 21st Century: new opportunities and challenges", Syros, 27-30 June
200
Mystery shopping the early stages of the Business Link service
This mystery shopping project tested the early stages of contact when businesses seek advice from Business Link, focusing on the level of responsiveness, professionalism and timeliness of the service. The study was carried out across all nine English regions and involved recruiting 159 businesses to act as âmystery shoppersâ. The research tracked the participating businesses through their Business Link journey. The results showed that overall there is widespread satisfaction and approval of the Business Link response and services received. Where dissatisfaction exists, much of it relates to failures in communication at the initial stages. The level of satisfaction increased as the customer journey progressed
The role of technological business incubators in supporting business innovation in China: a case of regional adaptability?
This paper examines the extent to which both the support services of Technological Business Incubators (TBIs) and exogenous local factors facilitate the innovation activity of incubated new ventures. Using data on all 215 surviving Chinese incubators and their incubated firms from government surveys conducted over five consecutive years from 2009 until 2013, combined with information from nine case studies, we examine the effects of four incubator services on three levels of innovation in incubated firms, whilst also taking account of key exogenous factors. Technical service support from an incubator was found to have had a positive influence on all levels of innovation activity across all regions whilst incubator financial support had a positive effect on the making of more advanced innovations. The availability of venture capital had a significant impact on making lower order innovations whereas the availability of scientific knowledge resources influenced more advanced innovation activity. Whereas TBI support services in the more developed Eastern region are mainly concerned with leveraging external resources, those in the less developed Central and Western regions are more concerned with compensating for the lack of external resources to support innovation
Between economic competitiveness and social inclusion: New Labour and the economic revival of deprived neighbourhoods.
Following the election of the first New Labour government in 1997 the revitalisation of deprived neighbourhoods quickly became a central feature of the policy landscape. Motivated by the desire to tackle processes of social exclusion and find a new economic basis for these areas, an array of policy experiments and interventions emerged. An increasing focus of these was to improve the economic conditions of deprived neighbourhoods with a particular emphasis upon tackling worklessness and promoting entrepreneurial activity. Yet despite this sustained activity, 13 years later the gap between the poorest neighbourhoods and the rest persisted. This paper reflects critically upon the development of this policy agenda, its aims, outcomes and effectiveness, and identifies the factors that constrained its ability to transform the economic fortunes of Englandâs most deprived neighbourhoods
The role of UK government hybrid venture capital funds in addressing the finance gap facing innovative SMEs in the post-2007 financial crisis era
This chapter examines how the United Kingdom (UK) government has addressed the equity finance gap since the onset of the recent financial crisis. Drawing on Lernerâs (2010) âguiding principlesâ for public intervention in the venture capital (VC) market it explores the notion that an equity finance gap may be holding back the growth of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using recent demand-side and supply-side research evidence alongside existing literature, the chapter focuses on the following five principles and lessons: (i) government has a justified, catalytic role in addressing the equity finance gap to stimulate research & development (R & D) investment; (ii) the management of funds should be private sector led and governments should resist the temptation to over-engineer; (iii) funds need to recognize the long lead times and investment horizons for sensible exit timescales, sustainability and encouragement for future private VC activity; (iv) government VC funds require the size, scale and flexibility to provide follow-on funding and achieve optimal outcomes for funds and their portfolio businesses; and (v) a global perspective encourages inward investment and foreign VC collaborations opening up overseas markets
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