Service Oriented Toolkit for Research Data Management Final Report

The Service Oriented Toolkit for Research Data Management project was co-funded by the JISC Managing Research Data Programme 2011-2013 and The University of Hertfordshire. The project focused on the realisation of practical benefits for operationalising an institutional approach to good practice in RDM. The objectives of the project were to audit current best practice, develop technology demonstrators with the assistance of leading UH research groups, and then reflect these developments back into the wider internal and external research community via a toolkit of services and guidance. The overall aim was to contribute to the efficacy and quality of research data plans, and establish and cement good data management practice in line with local and national policy

Research Data Management Training for the whole project lifecycle in Physics & Astronomy research Final Report

Research Data Management Training for the whole project lifecycle in Physics & Astronomy was co-funded by the JISC Managing Research Data Programme 2011-2013 and the University of Hertfordshire. The project was carried out in parallel with other JISCMRD work at University of Hertfordshire and collaborated with researchers in Centre for Astrophysics Research (CAR) and the Centre for Atmospheric & Instrumentation Research (CAIR) to develop a short course in RDM for Post-Graduate and early career researchers in the physical sciences. It adopted a whole project lifecycle approach, covering issues from data management planning, through good data safekeeping, to curation options and arrangements for data reuse. The resultant short course is available via 4 modules at www.jorum.ac.uk

Characterisation of the genomic architecture of human chromosome 17q and evaluation of different methods for haplotype block definition

BACKGROUND: The selection of markers in association studies can be informed through the use of haplotype blocks. Recent reports have determined the genomic architecture of chromosomal segments through different haplotype block definitions based on linkage disequilibrium (LD) measures or haplotype diversity criteria. The relative applicability of distinct block definitions to association studies, however, remains unclear. We compared different block definitions in 6.1 Mb of chromosome 17q in 189 unrelated healthy individuals. Using 137 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), at a median spacing of 15.5 kb, we constructed haplotype block maps using published methods and additional methods we have developed. Haplotype tagging SNPs (htSNPs) were identified for each map. RESULTS: Blocks were found to be shorter and coverage of the region limited with methods based on LD measures, compared to the method based on haplotype diversity. Although the distribution of blocks was highly variable, the number of SNPs that needed to be typed in order to capture the maximum number of haplotypes was consistent. CONCLUSION: For the marker spacing used in this study, choice of block definition is not important when used as an initial screen of the region to identify htSNPs. However, choice of block definition has consequences for the downstream interpretation of association study results

Performance and access to government guarantees: the case of small business investment companies

This article analyzes the performance of small business investment companies (SBICs) that are chartered and regulated by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Our principal finding is that poor performance over the 1986-91 period is associated with high usage of funds from the SBA.Small business

How are small firms financed? Evidence from small business investment companies

This article examines the investment decisions of small business investment companies (SBICs). The results indicate that potential costs of contracting among SBICs, small firms, and others may have significant effects on how small firms are funded. For instance, projects generating tangible assets and firms operating in industries with few growth opportunities are more likely to be financed with debt than nondebt.Small business ; Venture capital

A Trojan horse or the golden fleece? small business investment companies and government guarantees

Profitability is a central concern when governments provide guarantees to increase the flow of funds to disadvantaged groups. We examine the profitability of small business investment companies (SBICs) that are chartered and regulated by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to finance the activities of small firms. We document, over the 1986-91 period, dismal performance by SBICs. Because SBICs have access to government-guaranteed funds, financial distress among SBICs can expose the SBA, and hence taxpayers, to losses. Using two alternative sample selection models, we examine the relationship between SBICs’ use of SBA funds and returns on equity (ROE) and survival probabilities. The first sample selection model is based on a model of failure/survival. The second selection model is based on our observation that many SBICs do not take advantage of SBA leverage: nearly one-third of SBICs use no leverage at all, and that figure rises to three-fifths for bank-owned SBICs. The results from our sample selection models indicate that SBA leverage--the amount of funds borrowed from the SBA as a percent of private capital--reduces ROE and the probability of survival. In addition, we find that the probability of using SBA leverage decreases for bank-owned SBICs relative to other SBICs and for highly profitable and efficient SBICs, while it increases for SBICs using debt to finance the activities of small firms. Thus, our results suggest that an SBIC’s performance is negatively correlated with SBA leverage.Small business

Issues in funding the activities of small firms through SBICs

Bank investments ; Small business

Resource portfolio management: bundling process

Managers within firms seek to align their portfolio of capabilities to best respond to their competitive environment. Processes used by firms to acquire resources, bundle those resources into capabilities, and then leverage those capabilities to obtain competitive advantage are of interest to scholars and practitioners alike. In this study I explore the bundling process and how firms create advantage from its use in different environmental conditions. Using policy capturing survey techniques analyzed with hierarchial linear modeling while manipulating environmental contexts of dynamism, munificence, and punctuated threats, I observe how firms vary their resource bundling processes to create advantage and improve performance. For each combination of environmental condition, hypotheses are presented and tested with respect to firm response. Due to a lack of differentiation between the three bundling sub-processes, several proposed hypotheses were not testable and thus, unsupported. Current theory details three bundling sub-processes; however, I demonstrate evidence that fewer or greater numbers of sub-processes may be required to capture the bundling process. Other evidence suggests that firms do alter bundling sub-processes in response to changing conditions of munificence, but fail to do so during punctuated events