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Investigation of crowdfunding in terms of innovative SME financing in a German context
No full textThe purpose of this mixed-methods study was to answer the following four questions:(RQ1) What is the percentage of crowdfunding in the overall funding of SMEs? (RQ2) Is there a statistically significant relationship between SMEs’ reliance on crowdfunding and SMEs’ reliance on other—that is, traditional—forms of financing? (RQ3) What is the potential impact on the traditional financing market of a shift in SME financing demand from financial institutions to crowdfunding platforms? (RQ4) In the context of crowdfunding, what are potential regulatory gaps that could lead to systematic risk? All of questions 1 and 2, and some of question 3, were quantitatively answered on the basis of data obtained from 1,000 German SMEs. Some of question 3 and all of question 4 was qualitatively answered on the basis of data from 46 experts assembled as part of a Delphi methodology. The purpose of using the Delphi methodology was to validate the regression analysis and show a proven causality of the mathematical regression.The main finding for RQ1 was that there was a statistically significant difference between technology-based SMEs’ reliance on crowdfunding as a percentage of all funding (6.41%. SD = 4.30) and non-technology-based SMEs’ reliance on crowdfunding as a percentage of all funding (3.20%. SD = 1.46), t(998) = 17.575, p < .001. The likely meaning of this finding is that technology companies are more reliant on crowdfunding. The main finding for RQ2 was that there were several insignificant negative correlations between crowdfunding and other kinds of funding. The likely meaning of this finding is that crowdfunding is actively replacing other kinds of funding; companies that have a larger portion of their funding from crowdfunding have a smaller portion of funding from other kinds of funding. The main findings for RQ3 were as follows: (a) Crowdfunding is a niche, (b) crowdfunding has a limited future, and (c) crowdfunding is having and will have a limited impact on the funding market. The integrated meaning of these findings is that the potential impact on the traditional financing market of a shift in SME financing demand from financial institutions to crowdfunding platforms is small. The main findings for RQ4 were as follows: (a) The risks of crowdfunding are well-managed by regulation, (b) the risk of crowdfunding is not important from the perspective of systemic risk, and (c) the costs and benefits of crowdfunding can be understood through the prism of encouraging investment vs protecting investors. The integrated meaning of these findings is that there are in fact some regulatory gaps, but not gaps that are associated with high levels of risk.The findings were examined in terms of game theory, de-risking, and financial inclusion. Game theory was utilized as a means of explaining how and why companies might prefer crowdfunding to other kinds of funding. De-risking and financial inclusion were utilized to explore the findings related to regulation. Companies were recommended to seek higher proportions of crowdfunding as a means of avoiding the equity demands that accompany traditional investment. Crowdfunding platforms were recommended to explore means of aggregating the investment power of their members into demands for equity
The application of auxetic material for protective sports apparel
No full textCurrent research of auxetic materials highlights its potential as personal protective equipment for sports apparel with enhanced properties such as conformability, superior energy absorption and reduced thickness. In contrast, commercially available protective materials have proven to be problematic in that they inhibit movement, breathability, wicking and that molded pads are prone to saddling. Foam components are embedded within personal protective equipment for sports apparel, where protective material is positioned at regions of the body frequently exposed to injury of the soft tissue through collision, falls or hard impact. At present, the impact resistance of auxetic open cell polyurethane foam and some additively manufactured auxetic structures have been established, and processes for manufacturing curved auxetic materials as well as molding methods have been developed. Despite this, auxetic materials have not yet been applied as personal protective equipment for sports apparel in current research. This paper argues that there is scope to investigate auxetic materials potential for enhanced wearer functionality through properties of synclastic curvature and biaxial expansion
Special issue based on the 16th European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials, hosted by Universities of Bolton and Central Lancashire, UK, July 2017
No full textLeisure, voluntary action and social change in Britain, 1880-1939
No full textIn the final decades of the nineteenth century modernizing interpretations of leisure became of interest to social policy makers and cultural critics, producing a discourse of leisure and voluntarism that flourished until the Second World War. The free time of British citizens was increasingly seen as a sphere of social citizenship and community-building. Through major social thinkers, including William Morris, Thomas Hill Green, Bernard Bosanquet and John Hobson, leisure and voluntarism were theorized in terms of the good society. In post-First World War social reconstruction these writers remained influential as leisure became a field of social service, directed towards a new society and working through voluntary association in civic societies, settlements, new estate community-centres, village halls and church-based communities. This volume documents the parallel cultural shift from charitable philanthropy to social service and from rational recreation to leisure, teasing out intellectual influences which included social idealism, liberalism and socialism. Leisure, Robert Snape claims, has been a central and under-recognized organizing force in British communities
Effectiveness of human rights evaluating the safeguards in the African Great Lakes Region
No full textHuman Rights' are based on the principle of respect for the individual. Their fundamental assumption is that each person is a moral and rational being who deserves to be treated with dignity. They are called 'human' rights because they are universal. Whereas nations or specialised groups enjoy specific rights that apply only to them, Human Rights are the rights and freedoms to which everyone is entitled, no matter who they are or where they live: simply because they are alive.Human Rights have logic of their own. This stems from the fact that they have developed in domestic constitutional documents before becoming part of the corpus of the international legal philosophy, and they govern the relationships between the state and individuals under their jurisdiction, rather than simply relationships between states.More than six decades ago, the Human Rights movement was born out of the disasters of the Second World War, Human Rights norms and institutions deeply inform the rhetoric, practice and theory of international law and politics, as well as the national constitutional structures of a large number of States.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, was the result of the experience of World War II. With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those seen in that conflict to happen again. It would have been impossible to develop a framework for the study of Human Rights in many countries without including the international and political aspects of the field (laws, processes and institutions). Today, the Human Rights movement is seen as involving international law and institutions, as well as the spread of liberal constitutions among states. Developments in international Human Rights have been heavily influenced by international law and institutions, as well as by pressures from other states attempting to enforce international law.Therefore, the study of international Human Rights norms without deliberation on the international organisations that implement, develop, apply and enforce them would be an ineffective enterprise. Furthermore, comparative approaches to Human Rights law and the genuinely international aspects of Human Rights are today recognised as complex and intertwined with the growth of Human Rights norms, the reasons and effects of their violations, the reactions and sanctions of intergovernmental bodies or other states, the transformations of internal orders, and so on.From another point of view, it would be too difficult to comprehend the character of the Human Rights movement without a basic awareness of international law and its contributions to it. Therefore, the movement is necessarily rooted in that body of law, and distinctive organisations intended to assist in realising its aspirations are creations of international law.3 In addition, universal organisations and regional or sub-regional intergovernmental organisations are useful for developing, protecting, monitoring and enforcing the rules and standards of the Human Rights movement. For instance, the UN Charter and UN organs have contributed considerably to the evolution of the universal Human Rights system.The aims of this thesis are to examine the positive effects of international Human Rights law and the regional and sub-regional intergovernmental organisation on the Human Rights protection. In addition, I will specifically examine and measure the practice of Human Rights in the African Great Lakes Region AGLR, as a case study.The study also will undertake a comparative analysis on the implementation of Human Rights in the AGLR and the international Human Rights movement and protection, addressing the following research questions:1. To what extent do the UN, AU and ICGLR Human Rights systems effectively address the root causes of Human Rights violations? If they do, how do they contribute effectively to safeguarding Human Rights in the AGLR? 2. What are the legal powers of the ICGLR, AU, and UN for monitoring the enforcement of International Human Rights law in the AGLR? 3. Are the governments of the core countries of the GLR capable of protecting civilians' rights and preventing the criminal offence of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes? 4. Why is judicial protection preferred over other enforcement mechanisms in the context of the AGLR? 5. What is the status of Human Rights in the core states of the GLR within the domestic legal systems? 6. How has the European system promoted Human Rights protection? And to what extent have UK Human Rights structures traced back to length history and what was the impact on the ECHR 1950? 7. What is the international strategy for Human Rights safeguards in the AGLR? Comprehensive answers to these questions will identify the real status of Human Rights in the African Great Lakes Region. To that end, this research will assess Human Rights compliance in the AGLR.The thesis will be divided into eight chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the notion of Human Rights protection. Chapter 2 is concerned with the role of the United Nations in Human Rights Protection. Chapters 3 and 4 examine Human Rights protection under regional intergovernmental organisations, with the African Union and European Structures as models. Chapter 5 looks at the status of Human Rights in the African Great Lakes Region, and Chapter 6 evaluates the status of Human Rights in four of the five core countries of the GLR (DRC, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda). Chapter 7 considers the Great Lakes Region and international strategy. Finally, and Chapter 8 provides the conclusions and recommendations
Impacts of Industry 4.0 within Sustainable Production and Logistics in Food Manufacturing
No full textSustainability and sustainable practices has been the focus of importance for both manufacturers and customers within the global markets. Every manufacturer and supplier within the Supply Chain environments now strive hard to ensure they are part of this sustainable development goal to achieve better results and fulfill their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles. This is done mostly by business owners to meet up with customers’ expectation of sustainable society, including that of the food manufacturers and other small suppliers. They need to work hard and think of innovative strategies that could be employed to meet up with this popular challenge of sustainable society. This paper reviews current literature studies to analyse food processing suppliers who have adopted new technological advances and that of Industry 4.0 practices to achieve and fulfill better sustainable practices within their production and logistics activities in their supply chains. Through this research study we aim to bridge the interconnection between Industry 4.0 and that of sustainability practices within food manufacturing environments
LibGuiding the way: Improved signposting and student interaction with library electronic resources
No full textThis case study describes a project in which significant changes were made to the web presence of subject-specific information by implementing new software. Analyses of the usage of the web pages tell us about student information retrieval and research behaviour and, by appraising the approach to resource access points, we can ensure that students’ experiences match their expectations of quick and easy access to information that does not depend on significant prior experience or knowledge. Students can put energy into finding and using resources, rather than trying to figure out how to access them at the start of this process. Lessons learned from the project will be used to inform future developments, including improved methods of engagement with academic staff to ensure that this type of learning environment best suits the needs of students. Moreover, the implementation of the software will lead to a student experience that is greatly improved
DCM 4.0: Integration of Industry 4.0 and demand chain in global manufacturing
No full textTechnological advances are constantly driving dramatic increase in effective sharing of information and material among the supply chain entities, since the development of industrial changes. Living in early decades of 21th century, the fourth industrial revolution has been emerged called “Industry 4.0”, being a hot topic for academic discussions. On the other side, demand chain management (DCM) is being highly considered as a transformed version of supply chain, looking the business chains through a customer-centric lens and aiming towards making pulls for new products in contrast to supply chain strategies. This paper seeks to explore the opportunities for expansion of Industry 4.0 within the context of demand-driven supply chains, due to the expected implications in this field. Reviewing the existing literature and industrial challenges, authors tend to shed some lights on the advantageous linkage between Industry 4.0 and demand chain, introducing a new concept called DCM 4.0. The results and findings would be utilized by scholars and practitioners aiming to discover the interrelationships within the same field