An Exploration of Firm Performance Factors in Family Businesses: Do Families Value Only the "Bottom Line"?

Achieving the founder's vision is considered one of the most important organizational objectives for the continued survival and success of family firms. Yet, family dynamics is usually recognized as one of the main causes as to why less than one third of family businesses survive into the second generation of ownership. Contradicting this, others have found that family firms succeed as a result of the strong family ties that bind them. Thus, it appears that family-run firms are a rich mix of complex and interesting themes at play at any one time. Given this rather unsettled portrait of family businesses, we explore the factors of success for these types of businesses framed around the notion that families might value non-financial performance measures over hard "bottom line" results depending on extant family conditions

Architectural analysis of a Triassic fluvial system: the Sherwood Sandstone of the East Midlands Shelf, UK

The Sherwood Sandstone Group of the northeast UK (East Midlands Shelf) has hitherto never been studied in detail to ascertain its palaeoenvironment of deposition, largely because it is poorly exposed. As such, this paper aims to provide the first modern sedimentological interpretation of the Sherwood Sandstone in the east of England based on a field outcrop at the disused quarry at Styrrup. This is in stark contrast to the western parts of England where the Sherwood Sandstone is well exposed and offshore in the North Sea Basin where it is represented by a substantial library of core material where it is also relatively well understood. The outcrop at Styrrup Quarry allows contrasts to be made with the style and expression of the Sherwood Sandstone between eastern and western England. Specifically, this highlights differences around the variation in fluvial discharge (between lowstand and highstand) and the absence of aeolian facies types. It is interpreted that these differences relate to discharge variations between ephemeral and perennial systems with a perennial model proposed for Styrrup Quarry. This model draws upon inferences of additional water input from more local areas, likely topographic uplands of the London–Brabant and Pennine Highs which supplement the primary source of the Variscan Mountains in France with additional water and sediment

Study of fuel cell on-site, integrated energy systems in residential/commercial applications

Three building applications were selected for a detailed study: a low rise apartment building; a retail store, and a hospital. Building design data were then specified for each application, based on the design and construction of typical, actual buildings. Finally, a computerized building loads analysis program was used to estimate hourly end use load profiles for each building. Conventional and fuel cell based energy systems were designed and simulated for each building in each location. Based on the results of a computer simulation of each energy system, levelized annual costs and annual energy consumptions were calculated for all systems

IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning. Volume 8, Issue 1, Winter 2019

IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning is a peer-reviewed, biannual online journal that publishes scholarly and creative non-fiction essays about the theory, practice and assessment of interdisciplinary education. Impact is produced by the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning at the College of General Studies, Boston University (www.bu.edu/cgs/citl).In this issue of Impact you will find a humanities scholar deeply engaged with the arcing out of a new territory: the interdisciplinary study of the Grateful Dead. Impact’s own Christopher Coffman’s review essay should be required reading for scholars of popular music, performance studies and history. His review also serves as an important reference for those who aspire to teach a course on the Grateful Dead, as well as for those who wish to write review essays. In this issue we also hear from those who are engaged in teaching people who are incarcerated. Importantly, Stephanie Cage’s essay looks to incarcerated people themselves to find out what they think about prison education. Peter Wakefield encourages us to see The Great Gatsby anew, in particular in the context of American racism and White supremacy. Wakefield’s essay is important too because it had its genesis in Writing, the State, and the Rise of Neo-Nationalism: Historical Contexts and Contemporary Concerns, a conference sponsored by the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning

LSA silicon material task closed-cycle process development

The initial effort on feasibility of the closed cycle process was begun with the design of the two major items of untested equipment, the silicon tetrachloride by product converter and the rotary drum reactor for deposition of silicon from trichlorosilane. The design criteria of the initial laboratory equipment included consideration of the reaction chemistry, thermodynamics, and other technical factors. Design and construction of the laboratory equipment was completed. Preliminary silicon tetrachloride conversion experiments confirmed the expected high yield of trichlorosilane, up to 98 percent of theoretical conversion. A preliminary solar-grade polysilicon cost estimate, including capital costs considered extremely conservative, of $6.91/kg supports the potential of this approach to achieve the cost goal. The closed cycle process appears to have a very likely potential to achieve LSA goals

Novel Biomarkers Associated with Deep Venous Thrombosis: A Comprehensive Review

Primary and recurrent venous thromboembolic disease (VTE, deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) remain a significant source of morbidity and mortality in the hospitalized patient. Non-specific subjective complaints and lack of specific objective findings related to acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) complicate the diagnosis. There remains no single serum marker available to exclusively confirm the diagnosis of VTE. While D-dimer is highly sensitive and useful for diagnostic exclusion, it lacks the specificity necessary for diagnostic confirmation resulting in the need for a variety of additional studies (i.e.: duplex ultrasound, venography, V/Q scanning, helical thoracic and pelvic CT scans and pulmoary angiography). There is evolving research supporting the utility of various plasma markers as novel “biomarkers” for VTE including selectins, microparticles, interleukin-10 and other cytokines. This review attempts to examine recent literature assessing the utility of P-selectin, microparticles, D-dimer, E-selectin, thrombin, interleukins and fibrin monomers in the diagnosis and guidance of therapy for VTE