Which SMEs seek external support? Business characteristics, management behaviour and external influences in a contingency approach

To improve SME growth and competitiveness, governments often encourage business owner-managers to make use of external sources of support. Whether they seek this depends on the degree to which they perceive themselves to need assistance. Additionally its use can be constrained by market failures. In this paper, we model whether SME owner-managers seek information and advice from formal sources, including public and private providers. In 2011, the researchers conducted a telephone survey of 1202 SMEs (1-249 employees) in England to assess the use and non-use of external support between 2008 and 2011. Using a contingency approach, we model various influences on the use and non-use of formal support and identify those owner-managers who face more concerns but have less confidence in their capabilities. We find the demand for support, especially from private providers, is fuelled by a firm’s objective to grow and a size threshold, although this is moderated by various concerns which increase the likelihood of using public sources. The willingness to take informal advice can act as a stepping stone to using formal sources. Whilst market failures affected less than a fifth of firms, those with women directors were particularly affected as were newly founded firms

Development of the Magnetic Excitations of Charge-Stripe Ordered La(2-x)Sr(x)NiO(4) on Doping Towards Checkerboard Charge Order

The magnetic excitation spectrums of charge stripe ordered La(2-x)Sr(x)NiO(4) x = 0.45 and x = 0.4 were studied by inelastic neutron scattering. We found the magnetic excitation spectrum of x = 0.45 from the ordered Ni^2+ S = 1 spins to match that of checkerboard charge ordered La(1.5)Sr(0.5)NiO(4). The distinctive asymmetry in the magnetic excitations above 40 meV was observed for both doping levels, but an additional ferromagnetic mode was observed in x = 0.45 and not in the x = 0.4. We discuss the origin of crossover in the excitation spectrum between x = 0.45 and x = 0.4 with respect to discommensurations in the charge stripe structure.Comment: 4 Figures. To be appear in the J. Kor. Phys. Soc. as a proceedings paper from the ICM 2012 conferenc

Planning for the perfect storm: perceptions of UK mental health professionals on the increasing impacts of climate change on their service users

Introduction Climate change poses a considerable risk of further increasing the world's mental health burden. The ways that, and extent to which, climate change is affecting mental health service users is poorly known. Mental health professionals (MHP)s' views on the nature of climate-related distress and the need for specialist training to support service users is undetermined globally. Methods A questionnaire survey was disseminated to an opportunity sample of MHPs based in the United Kingdom (UK). It investigated whether MHPs perceived that the number of service users mentioning climate change as affecting their mental health or emotional distress had increased in the five years prior to 2021, and if they believe it will increase further. The survey explored MHPs’ perceptions of the influence of climate change on service users’ mental health needs, if they perceive this to be rational, and if they feel adequately prepared to manage climate change related mental health problems or emotional distress. Results We surveyed 75 MHPs, including professionals in psychotherapy (38), psychology (19), psychiatry (6). MHPs reported a significant increase in the perceived prevalence of mental health problems or emotional distress related to climate change, believing this increase will continue. MHPs reported a range of impacts on service users due to climate change, typically viewed as a rational response. MHPs felt equipped to manage the consequences of climate change but would benefit from specific training. Conclusions Our results indicate an increasing incidence of climate-related emotional distress among service users as perceived by MHPs. The expectation among professionals is that this service need is here now but will continue to increase in the future, with potential implications for the provision of training

Rural family businesses and exporting behaviour

Driven by the importance of exporting for growth, this report examines the exporting behaviour of UK small firms in rural and urban locations. Analysing data from five waves of the Longitudinal Small Business Survey from 2015 to 2019, the report examines the development by firms of goods or services that are suitable for exporting and the subsequent decision to export, either consistently or intermittently. Overall, we find significant differences between rural and urban firms in terms of exporting, where firms located in sparse, dispersed areas were more likely to export, although less likely if they declared themselves as family businesses. We also find that some types of firms, BAME-owned and women-owned businesses, are much less likely to develop tradeable goods and services. We demonstrate how the role of advice seems specifically connected to the decision to develop tradeable goods and services, rather than exporting per se. The research confirms the importance of productivity and innovation on both exporting and developing tradeable goods and services. We propose a future research agenda on the exporting practices of rural family businesses and women-owned enterprise, and on the role of exporting advice

Two Ising-like magnetic excitations in a single-layer cuprate superconductor

There exists increasing evidence that the phase diagram of the high-transition temperature (Tc) cuprate superconductors is controlled by a quantum critical point. One distinct theoretical proposal is that, with decreasing hole-carrier concentration, a transition occurs to an ordered state with two circulating orbital currents per CuO2 square. Below the 'pseudogap' temperature T* (T* > Tc), the theory predicts a discrete order parameter and two weakly-dispersive magnetic excitations in structurally simple compounds that should be measurable by neutron scattering. Indeed, novel magnetic order and one such excitation were recently observed. Here, we demonstrate for tetragonal HgBa2CuO4+d the existence of a second excitation with local character, consistent with the theory. The excitations mix with conventional antiferromagnetic fluctuations, which points toward a unifying picture of magnetism in the cuprates that will likely require a multi-band description.Comment: Including supplementary informatio

Loss of CLN7 results in depletion of soluble lysosomal proteins and impaired mTOR reactivation

Defects in the MFSD8 gene encoding the lysosomal membrane protein CLN7 lead to CLN7 disease, a neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder belonging to the group of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs). Here we have performed a SILAC-based quantitative analysis of the lysosomal proteome using Cln7-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from a Cln7 knockout (ko) mouse model. From 3335 different proteins identified, we detected 56 soluble lysosomal proteins and 29 highly abundant lysosomal membrane proteins. Quantification revealed that the amounts of 12 different soluble lysosomal proteins were significantly reduced in Cln7 ko MEFs compared with wild type controls. One of the most significantly depleted lysosomal proteins was Cln5 protein that underlies another distinct NCL disorder. Expression analyses showed that the mRNA expression, biosynthesis, intracellular sorting and proteolytic processing of Cln5 were not affected, whereas the depletion of mature Cln5 protein was due to increased proteolytic degradation by cysteine proteases in Cln7 ko lysosomes. Considering the similar phenotypes of CLN5 and CLN7 patients, our data suggest that depletion of CLN5 may play an important part in the pathogenesis of CLN7 disease. In addition, we found a defect in the ability of Cln7 ko MEFs to adapt to starvation conditions as shown by impaired mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 reactivation, reduced autolysosome tubulation and increased perinuclear accumulation of autolysosomes compared to controls. In summary, depletion of multiple soluble lysosomal proteins suggest a critical role of CLN7 for lysosomal function, which may contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of CLN7 disease

Skills, management practices and productivity in SMEs

In this paper we match survey data on management skills and practices in a large group of SMEs with longitudinal data on productivity to examine the causal links between skills and management practices in 2014 and productivity performance in 2017. Our focus is on a group of firms led by a single entrepreneur or owner-manager. Three key conclusions emerge. First, we affirm the important of management practices for productivity such that an additional HR practice adds around 2% to productivity over three years. Second, we show that management skills relate strongly to management practices. Third, we show that Strategic Practices are most important for firms with fewer than 50 employees and that HR practices are more important for the performance of larger firms. Overall our research suggests a symbiotic relationship between management skills and management practices. Supporting productivity growth requires a dual approach combining training and mentoring to build managerial skills and ensure these are embedded in Management Practices