The small business assistance dilemma: is the disparity between the offerings of support agencies and the needs of business irreconcilable?

There is a wide range of service providers who have varying motives for supplying assistance to small businesses in Australia. Despite the sizeable numbers of both suppliers and consumers of assistance it is believed that the marketplace for small business assistance operates inefficiently. This inefficiency is described as a disparity or misfit between the learning opportunities offered by service providers to small business and the learning needs of small business owner / operators. This paper provides an analysis of the learning activity that currently exists in the small enterprise sector. The role of communication in bringing supply and demand closer together is discussed and a proposition is developed to alleviate the learning disparity via a more proactive approach to communication by service providers. Two small enterprise projects are used to test the proposition. The findings provide guidance for the more effective functioning of organisations that serve and support small businesses

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of Porphyromonas gingivalis biofilm and planktonic cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Porphyromonas gingivalis </it>in subgingival dental plaque, as part of a mature biofilm, has been strongly implicated in the onset and progression of chronic periodontitis. In this study using DNA microarray we compared the global gene expression of a <it>P. gingivalis </it>biofilm with that of its planktonic counterpart grown in the same continuous culture.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately 18% (377 genes, at 1.5 fold or more, <it>P</it>-value < 0.01) of the <it>P. gingivalis </it>genome was differentially expressed when the bacterium was grown as a biofilm. Genes that were down-regulated in biofilm cells, relative to planktonic cells, included those involved in cell envelope biogenesis, DNA replication, energy production and biosynthesis of cofactors, prosthetic groups and carriers. A number of genes encoding transport and binding proteins were up-regulated in <it>P. gingivalis </it>biofilm cells. Several genes predicted to encode proteins involved in signal transduction and transcriptional regulation were differentially regulated and may be important in the regulation of biofilm growth.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study analyzing global gene expression provides insight into the adaptive response of <it>P. gingivalis </it>to biofilm growth, in particular showing a down regulation of genes involved in growth and metabolic activity.</p

Editorial: Disarmament and Development – the International Context

The interconnections between international economic recession, the new Cold War and militarisation in the South provide the context for the articles in the IDS Bulletin 'Disarmament and World Development: Is There a Way Forward', from October 1985. Contributors were asked to reassess four key reports on development, disarmament and security issues. All were undertaken during a period of transition in the global economy and the Cold War (1979–83). Despite differences of emphasis they all advocate an integrated global approach to world economic and military problems, the restructuring of North-South economic relationships, strengthening of detente, and reductions in the allocation of resources for military purposes. But why, then, have they had so little impact on policy and still less on the march of events? Contributors to the Bulletin were also asked to address how disarmament and development could be put back on the international agenda. For instance, is there an adequate political case for linking disarmament to development and does military spending in fact entrench underdevelopment

BABAR: an R package to simplify the normalisation of common reference design microarray-based transcriptomic datasets

Background: The development of DNA microarrays has facilitated the generation of hundreds of thousands of transcriptomic datasets. The use of a common reference microarray design allows existing transcriptomic data to be readily compared and re-analysed in the light of new data, and the combination of this design with large datasets is ideal for 'systems' level analyses. One issue is that these datasets are typically collected over many years and may be heterogeneous in nature, containing different microarray file formats and gene array layouts, dye-swaps, and showing varying scales of log(2)- ratios of expression between microarrays. Excellent software exists for the normalisation and analysis of microarray data but many data have yet to be analysed as existing methods struggle with heterogeneous datasets; options include normalising microarrays on an individual or experimental group basis. Our solution was to develop the Batch Anti-Banana Algorithm in R (BABAR) algorithm and software package which uses cyclic loess to normalise across the complete dataset. We have already used BABAR to analyse the function of Salmonella genes involved in the process of infection of mammalian cells. Results: The only input required by BABAR is unprocessed GenePix or BlueFuse microarray data files. BABAR provides a combination of 'within' and 'between' microarray normalisation steps and diagnostic boxplots. When applied to a real heterogeneous dataset, BABAR normalised the dataset to produce a comparable scaling between the microarrays, with the microarray data in excellent agreement with RT-PCR analysis. When applied to a real non-heterogeneous dataset and a simulated dataset, BABAR's performance in identifying differentially expressed genes showed some benefits over standard techniques. Conclusions: BABAR is an easy-to-use software tool, simplifying the simultaneous normalisation of heterogeneous two-colour common reference design cDNA microarray-based transcriptomic datasets. We show BABAR transforms real and simulated datasets to allow for the correct interpretation of these data, and is the ideal tool to facilitate the identification of differentially expressed genes or network inference analysis from transcriptomic datasets

The Determinants and Barriers Affecting Innovation Management in SMTEs in the Tourist Park Sector

Innovation, the generation and adoption of new ideas, has become increasingly important for firms to grow or even to survive in the current economic climate. This paper focuses on tourism enterprises in the tourist park sector where the firms are largely small–medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs). Such firms are often characterized by their limited resources, yet they need to both attract, and retain customers to remain sustainable. Innovation is, therefore, a key tool for keeping ahead of the competition, retaining market share and ensuring viability of the business. However, there is little knowledge about the key drivers and barriers impacting on innovative behaviour of SMTEs in this sector. Therefore, a major survey of the tourist park operators was undertaken in partnership with the Caravan RV and Accommodation Industry of Australia (CRVA). The paper presents the key findings commencing with an overview of the changes in the sector in order to set the scene for the study. The study discovered a group of innovative firms among the respondents who demonstrated unique behaviours and attitudes. The most common barrier amongst the innovative group was government regulations. In terms of innovation enhancers, the highly innovative group used networking with external people to keep up to date with advances outside their own business as a means of developing new products and services. Their strong belief in the value of information is demonstrated in their active environmental scanning behaviours. Overall, it has been highlighted that the key role of managers and a dynamic management style are key factors in producing more innovative enterprises. These findings help build an understanding of innovation behaviours and activities in SMTEs operating in tourist parks and contribute to the work of practitioners in developing support programmes for the sector

The Impact of the Introduction of the GST on Small Business In Australia

Abstract This article examines the impact of the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on small business in Australia in the context of the experiences faced in similar countries overseas. Using a case study methodology, data was gathered from six small businesses that were observed throughout the introductory period of the new tax system. In particular this article considers the costs for small businesses in complying with the new tax system. Businesses reported actual GST compliance costs ranged from $3,331 to$30,140 per business in the cases examined. For the two smallest businesses, their compliance costs amounted to over 3% of the firm&apos;s reported annual turnover. The study also identified significant on-going record keeping and accounting costs that are required by small businesses in order to meet their GST obligations. These findings indicate that governments need to be more aware of the impact of tax reforms on small businesses if they wish to implement changes with minimal adverse impacts on business operations

The impact of the introduction of the GST on small business in Australia

This study examines the impact of the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on small business in Australia in the context of the experiences faced in similar countries overseas. Using a case study methodology, data was gathered from six small businesses that were observed throughout the introductory period of the new tax system. In particular, this article considers the costs for small businesses in complying with the new tax system. Businesses reported actual GST compliance costs ranging from $3,331 to$30,140 per business in the cases examined. For the two smallest businesses, their compliance costs amounted to over 3% of the firm's reported annual turnover. The study also identified significant on-going record keeping and accounting costs that are required by small businesses in order to meet their GST obligations. These findings indicate that governments need to be more aware of the impact of tax reforms on small businesses if they wish to implement changes with minimal adverse impacts on business operations