High Growth Firms in Scotland

High growth firms (HGFs) are widely thought to be a key force driving economic growth in modern advanced economies (Acs et al, 2008; BERR, 2008; Henrekson and Johansson, 2010). One of the central aims of the current economic strategy of the Scottish Government is to provide responsive and focused enterprise support to increase the number of highly successful, competitive businesses (Scottish Government, 2007). Hence, for the past decade there have been a number of policy initiatives designed to stimulate high growth entrepreneurship in Scotland. Many of these policies have had a strong technology focus. Given the importance these firms have for a region’s economic growth potential and the policy attention they are beginning to receive, it was felt to be important that Scottish Enterprise develops a deeper understanding of these important generators of wealth creation in the Scottish economy. This report examines HGFs in Scotland from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives

The anatomy of high growth firms in Scotland

There is a growing volume of scholarly evidence from various countries which points to high growth firms (HGFs) as a key force fuelling economic growth. These businesses are typically highly dynamic enterprises which undertake very rapid growth, generating substantial levels of turnover and employment growth over relatively short periods of time (BERR, 2009; Anyadike-Danes et al, 2009; Mason et al, 2009; Henrekson and Johnannson, 2010)

The t-stability number of a random graph

Given a graph G = (V,E), a vertex subset S is called t-stable (or t-dependent) if the subgraph G[S] induced on S has maximum degree at most t. The t-stability number of G is the maximum order of a t-stable set in G. We investigate the typical values that this parameter takes on a random graph on n vertices and edge probability equal to p. For any fixed 0 < p < 1 and fixed non-negative integer t, we show that, with probability tending to 1 as n grows, the t-stability number takes on at most two values which we identify as functions of t, p and n. The main tool we use is an asymptotic expression for the expected number of t-stable sets of order k. We derive this expression by performing a precise count of the number of graphs on k vertices that have maximum degree at most k. Using the above results, we also obtain asymptotic bounds on the t-improper chromatic number of a random graph (this is the generalisation of the chromatic number, where we partition of the vertex set of the graph into t-stable sets).Comment: 25 pages; v2 has 30 pages and is identical to the journal version apart from formatting and a minor amendment to Lemma 8 (and its proof on p. 21

Largest sparse subgraphs of random graphs

For the Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi random graph G(n,p), we give a precise asymptotic formula for the size of a largest vertex subset in G(n,p) that induces a subgraph with average degree at most t, provided that p = p(n) is not too small and t = t(n) is not too large. In the case of fixed t and p, we find that this value is asymptotically almost surely concentrated on at most two explicitly given points. This generalises a result on the independence number of random graphs. For both the upper and lower bounds, we rely on large deviations inequalities for the binomial distribution.Comment: 15 page

The growth dynamics of technology-based firms in Scotland

In recent years high growth firms (HGFs) undertaking rapid, transformative growth, have been identified as important contributors to economic growth (Acs et al, 2008; Anyadike-Danes et al, 2009; OECD, 2010). For a wide variety of reasons, notably their contribution to employment growth, high export intensity, strong contribution to productivity growth and innovation, HGFs have been hailed as vital drivers of economic competitiveness (Henrekson and Johansson, 2010). As a consequence, these firms (often referred to as 'gazelles'), have been accorded a central role in many economic development strategies at both national and regional levels, especially during a time of economic austerity where employment growth has been an overriding policy goal for many governments (BERR, 2008; NESTA, 2011; OECD, 2010; Scottish Enterprise, 2011). Yet despite the strong policy focus on the promotion of HGFs in recent times, much remains unknown about these organisations and how best to support them (Henrekson and Johansson, 2010; Anyadike-Danes et al, 2012; Mason and Brown, forthcoming). Scottish Enterprise recently commissioned research on Scotland’s population of HGFs (Mason and Brown, 2010). This was the first comprehensive analysis of these firms ever conducted in Scotland and some of the findings were published in this journal (Brown and Mason, 2010). One of the most significant conclusions from this study was that they are extremely heterogeneous in terms of their age, size, ownership and industry sector. Few fit the stereotypical ‘gazelle’ definition which refers to young high growth firms that are less than five years old. The vast majority are over 10 years old, with some significantly older (Mason and Brown, 2010). Furthermore, only a relatively small proportion of these firms are in high-tech areas of the economy. According to some scholars, there is ‘no evidence that Gazelles are overrepresented in high- technology industries’ (Henrekson and Johansson, 2010, p.240). Despite their strong prioritisation by policy makers, the reality is that the representation of technology based firms (TBFs) in the population of HGFs is roughly on a par with their proportion in the economy (Mason and Brown, forthcoming). In view of these twin priorities of promoting high growth in general and high tech firms in particular, Scottish Enterprise commissioned further research to explore HGFs, especially in high tech areas of the economy. The objectives of this paper are twofold: to provide an update on the level of HGFs in Scotland and to assess the population of TBFs in Scotland. The paper proceeds as follows. First, the terms high growth and technology-based enterprises are defined. Second, the methodology is outlined. Third, the aggregate evidence on the levels of HGFs in Scotland is presented. Fourth, the population of TBFs in Scotland, including analysis of high growth TBFs is profiled. Fifth, some of the key characteristics of high growth TBFs in Scotland are examined. Sixth, some of features of these firms which were captured during the qualitative part of this research process are summarised. The paper finishes with some brief conclusions and issues for further research

The Determinants of Supreme Court Decision-Making: An Ideal Point Analysis

The relationships among governmental institutions are some of the most studied phenomena in political science. Yet these complex interactions remain largely unexplained due to the difficult task of developing accurate measures that lead to quantifiable tests that enhance explanation and prediction. This work centers on the interactions of United States Supreme Court justices with other political actors. The goal of this dissertation is to better understand the relationship between the Supreme Court and its institutional environment. In short, I ask: What factors affect Supreme Court justices’ voting decisions? I approach this question from several different angles while making use of a unique dependent variable—Yearly Supreme Court justice ideal point. This variable is a variant of the ideal points calculated by Michael A. Bailey of Georgetown University (Bailey, 2007). My empirical models consider the effects of numerous independent variables on this dependent variable. One of the unique aspects of this study is that it considers the effects of a wide variety of factors purported to affect judicial behavior. There are four main theories of judicial decision-making, and my empirical analyses test notions exported from all of them. In designing and testing my models, I draw especially on the developing approach of new institutionalism—an approach to the study of judicial politics that emphasizes the influence of external, non-judicial political actors on judicial behavior. Ultimately this work will show what factors constrain the actions of Supreme Court justices and to what degree they do so. This research has many implications for larger theoretical concerns of political science, specifically formulating questions about the independence of the judiciary and contains relevant questions for democratic theory as well

Bioengineering Lantibiotics for Therapeutic Success

peer-reviewedSeveral examples of highly modified antimicrobial peptides have been described. While many such peptides are non-ribosomally synthesized, ribosomally synthesized equivalents are being discovered with increased frequency. Of the latter group, the lantibiotics continue to attract most attention. In the present review, we discuss the implementation of in vivo and in vitro engineering systems to alter, and even enhance, the antimicrobial activity, antibacterial spectrum and physico-chemical properties, including heat stability, solubility, diffusion and protease resistance, of these compounds. Additionally, we discuss the potential applications of these lantibiotics for use as therapeutics.DF,CH,PC,RR are supported by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan, through a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Technology and Innovation Development Award (TIDA14/TIDA/2286) to DF, a SFI Investigator awards to CH and RR (10/IN.1/B3027),SFI-PIfunding(11/PI/1137) to PDC and the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre under Grant Number SFI/12/RC/2273

ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF HUMAN OCULAR EXTRAMISSION

The author presents evidence supporting the hypothesis that human ocular extramission, the emission of brain waves through the eye, can be detected using qEEG equipment or two-channel neurofeedback equipment. A high-impedance electrode housed inside electromagnetically insulated goggles was employed that makes no physical contact with the body and is about two centimeters in front of the pupil. Readings were taken with two-channel biofeedback equipment and with a qEEG The waveform of ocular extramission is physiologically active compared to the reading from a control electrode suspended in space in front of the goggles: it is similar to the waveform of frontal leads in overall structure and in the appearance of eye blink and muscle artifact in the tracing, combined with an absence of heart artifact. The waveform for a control electrode showed only consistent high-frequency, low amplitude background and heart beat artifact. It may be possible to study a variety of disease states by recording ocular extramission, using a high-impedance noncontact electrode

ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF HUMAN OCULAR EXTRAMISSION

The author presents evidence supporting the hypothesis that human ocular extramission, the emission of brain waves through the eye, can be detected using qEEG equipment or two-channel neurofeedback equipment. A high-impedance electrode housed inside electromagnetically insulated goggles was employed that makes no physical contact with the body and is about two centimeters in front of the pupil. Readings were taken with two-channel biofeedback equipment and with a qEEG The waveform of ocular extramission is physiologically active compared to the reading from a control electrode suspended in space in front of the goggles: it is similar to the waveform of frontal leads in overall structure and in the appearance of eye blink and muscle artifact in the tracing, combined with an absence of heart artifact. The waveform for a control electrode showed only consistent high-frequency, low amplitude background and heart beat artifact. It may be possible to study a variety of disease states by recording ocular extramission, using a high-impedance noncontact electrode