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Growth, working capital and refinancing : the geography of post-pandemic regional financial resilience in UK SMEs
Get PDFUnderstanding how small firms adapt and adjust financially following exogenous shocks is crucial and acts as a harbinger of regional financial resilience levels. Therefore, it is important to determine what shape firms are in as they emerge from a shock such as the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly with regard to their ability to finance new growth enhancing activities. Yet not all firms are ready to invest in future growth and simply need an injection of working capital while others need recourse to refinancing existing debts. To flesh out the concept of regional financial resilience, this paper examines how SMEs across different multi-scaler geographies (i.e. regions, sub-regions and districts) of the UK have been raising new loans to finance growth, working capital and/or simply refinancing their existing debt. Using a rich loan dataset for the UK covering 2021 to 2024 we find stark spatial variations in the proportion of firms reporting growth as the key mechanism for using the loans and these are strongest at the most disaggregate unit of spatial analysis examined (i.e. districts). Our findings suggest the future development of the UK economy is likely to display a very uneven spatial pattern with some areas investing heavily in growth, while for others, addressing cash flow problems or issues associated with existing debts are paramount. In response to the pandemic, small firms are exhibiting a complex spatial patchwork of regional financial resilience across the UK’s deeply variegated space economy
Power, cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity in young people with cerebral palsy
Get PDFObjectives: Physical activity (PA) levels in young people with cerebral palsy (YPwCP) remain consistently low. Previous research suggests that fitness parameters such as muscular strength and cardiovascular capacity are interrelated with mobility and PA levels in YPwCP. This study aimed to (1) describe fitness parameters and PA levels in YPwCP, (2) explore associations between fitness parameters and PA,
and (3) evaluate the reliability of accelerometer-based PA measurement.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with an embedded test–retest reliability assessment of accelerometermeasured PA over a one-month interval. Participants included 36 YPwCP (19 males, 17 females; mean age 15.5 ± 0.7 years), classified within GMFCS levels I–III. Cardiorespiratory endurance (VO2max)was assessed using an incremental cycle ergometer test, and leg power was measured using the Five- Times Sit-to-Stand (5xSTS). PA was measured via self-report using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) and via device-measured data using a wrist-worn accelerometer over seven consecutive days.
Results: We found low levels of PA. The 5xSTS completion time showed moderate to strong correlations with selfreported PA (ρ=−0.384, p≤0.01) and device-measured vigorous PA (ρ=−0.566, p≤0.01). VO2max was positively but not significantly associated with total PA (ρ=0.173) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (ρ=0.115). Accelerometry demonstrated good reliability (ICC=0.796).
Conclusions: These findings suggest that accelerometer has good reliability in YPwCP but highlight low levels of PA measured by self-report and accelerometer. Higher lowerlimb power, assessed by faster 5xSTS test, was associated with greater PA
Between two worlds : refugee women entrepreneurs navigating institutional forces of home and host countries
No full textPurpose.
This study explores how institutional forces influence the entrepreneurial behaviours of Syrian refugee women in the UK. It examines the interplay between regulative, normative and cognitive institutions from both their origin and host countries, shaping women’s business adaptation and cultural continuity.
Design/methodology/approach.
The study adopts an interpretivist, qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with 19 Syrian refugee women entrepreneurs in the UK.
Findings.
The findings reveal how Syrian refugee women entrepreneurs navigate regulative, normative and cognitive institutional forces. While the UK’s transparent business regulations eased business start-ups, complex legal systems and insufficient targeted support constrained entrepreneurial growth. Women’s reliance on informal institutions, such as co-ethnic networks and community-led exhibitions, reflects gaps in formal support and limited market access. Normative influences shaped business practices, as women leveraged cultural capital to maintain social cohesion but also restricted strategic expansion. Cognitive adaptation was selective, integrating UK business norms without abandoning cultural identity. Nevertheless, emotional strain from displacement and supporting family in Syria limited business expansion and reinforced dependency on informal networks.
Originality/value.
This study contributes to refugee entrepreneurship literature by applying a dual-country institutional lens and demonstrating how refugee women entrepreneurs reconcile regulative, normative and cognitive institutional forces. It challenges the assumption that strong regulative environments alone foster refugee entrepreneurship, highlighting the role of informal support structures and cultural capital. The study underscores the emotional and psychological dimensions of refugee entrepreneurship, offering new insights into the intersection of displacement, gender and business adaptation
Linking policy awareness to practice : UK net-zero targets and SME emissions reduction efforts
No full textThe UK government committed to achieving Net-Zero emissions by 2050, yet the extent to which the country’s 5.5 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are aware of, understand, and act upon this policy remains uncertain. Using survey data from 1,025 UK SMEs, we employ an ordered probit model to examine how awareness, comprehension, and engagement influence emissions-reduction efforts. Our findings reveal that while 12% of SMEs are unaware of the Net-Zero target and 42% are aware but lack understanding, only 46% fully comprehend the policy’s implications. Crucially, firms with full understanding are over three times more likely to actively reduce emissions than those merely aware. We also identify significant variations by firm size, sector, and region, underscoring the need for tailored, clear, and actionable government communication. These results highlight that enhancing SME comprehension – not just raising awareness – is vital for ensuring meaningful contributions towards the UK’s 2050 Net-Zero goal
Does the information content, and value relevance, of trade debt in early-stage firms help in raising external equity?
Get PDFWe assess the information content and value relevance of trade debt for external equity providers deploying the Kauffman Survey Data on early-stage firms. Our findings indicate that trade debt attracts external equity by virtue of its information content and determines its amount by virtue of its value relevance in unprofitable but growing firms. These findings remain robust after controlling for nonfinancial information on firms and their owners, macroeconomic conditions, and tests of reverse causality. The findings persist for firms that are labor-intensive, use simple technologies, and recur to high levels of trade debt. Our findings highlight critical links between debt and equity markets in early-stage firms, and the need to factor the signaling earnings potential (information content), and the relation between book and market estimates (value relevance), when it comes to assessing and valuing early-stage firms. We detail the academic, practice and policy implications of these findings
Empowering nursing students : a cross-sectional study
Get PDFIn nursing, empowerment can enable nurses to raise concerns about patient safety and to do so within a safe and supportive environment. Furthermore, empowering patients to gain more ownership of their health can positively influence both nurses and patients. This narrative review focused on the importance of empowering nursing students. The literature determined that nursing students must feel valued and be treated equally, and to work in an environment that is open and transparent, in order to feel empowered. Fear of retaliation may prevent nursing students from speaking out about poor care and poor practice. Moreover, co-developing care and support regimens with service users benefited both nursing students and patients, as well as local communities, reduced stress and burnout, and allowed the patient to self-care, and act in their own best interests
Breaking barriers : promoting parent-child engagement with co-produced activity packs for 1-to-3-year-olds
Get PDFParent-child activities support children’s socio-emotional and cognitive development, yet numerous barriers limit engagement, particularly among families experiencing socio-economic disadvantage. This study uniquely investigates and addresses these challenges by integrating insights from parents and early years practitioners. Through online workshops, 118 parents and 127 practitioners identified barriers relating to opportunity (e.g., time constraints, access to resources, and worries about mess and damage), capability (e.g., gaps in knowledge and expectations) and motivation (practitioners in particular emphasized the importance of parental confidence and positive experiences of play). To address these barriers, three co-designed activity packs were distributed to over 1000 families. The packs featured simple, clearly explained, play-based activities requiring minimal setup, along with resources and guidance tailored to diverse family needs. Emphasizing the process over outcomes, the packs aimed to boost parental confidence, bridge knowledge gaps, and support parent-child interactions. Feedback from 23 parents and interviews with 10 practitioners highlighted the packs’ positive impact on parental perceptions of play, their confidence in supporting child development, and their ability to overcome practical constraints. Practitioners played a pivotal mediating role, fostering trust, addressing concerns, and encouraging participation through personalized interactions. This study offers a scalable, cost-effective intervention model that directly addresses practical and psychological barriers to parent-child engagement. The findings have significant implications for policymakers, emphasizing the need for targeted, evidence-based solutions that combine resource provision with practitioner support. Such approaches are essential for fostering equity in early childhood development and improving outcomes for children across diverse populations
From research to productivity : a systems analysis of UK innovation pathways
Get PDFIn 2024, the British Academy and the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) commissioned Cambridge Econometrics to conduct an independent systems-based analysis of the strengths and weaknesses within the UK’s innovation system.
Successive generations of UK innovation and industrial strategy documents have emphasised the key role of quantity and quality of scientific research and researchers but also highlighted challenges associated with turning ideas into solutions for business growth and public good.
The UK’s track record across stages of the innovation system has historically been highly variable. At the time of writing, the Industrial Strategy (HM Government 2024) is the most recent of many reports that call this out explicitly, highlighting a particular weakness in technology adoption.
Overcoming these challenges requires a better understanding of innovation systems and the nature of links between innovation and economic performance. We need more evidence of the UK’s strengths and weaknesses across the innovation process – from research to commercialisation to adoption – in order to more effectively design and target interventions.
While many studies explore aspects of these questions, there are few that examine performance across the entire process. Furthermore, we know that the UK is more competitive in researching, commercialising, and/or adopting some technologies than others. Yet we have little comparative evidence of these advantages and disadvantages, which has limited the development of explanations and mitigating strategies.
This independent report by Cambridge Econometrics seeks to fill this gap by analysing UK performance across the innovation pathways of ten key technologies, selected for a combination of variety and relevance:
* Agricultural gene editing
* Artificial intelligence
* Industrial robotics
* Innovative galleries
* Mobile technologies
* Modern supply-side economics
* mRNA vaccines
* Offsite construction
* Quantum technologies
* Semiconductors
These case studies highlight the importance of targeted innovation policy for specific technologies and innovation pathways in order to generate economic growth and societal value
Keep it real : feelings of “realness” of event imaginings are associated with ease of imagining and absorption for episodic and fantastical imagination
Get PDFImagination allows us to imagine a wide variety of scenarios, but some mental simulations may have a particular feeling of (re)experiencing or (re)living; they feel ‘real’. Yet little is known about perceived realness. We adapted imagination paradigms to examine realness for a range of imaginings and associations with personality traits. In Study 1, participants (n=71) simulated two types of realistic episodic future event imaginings, manipulated to differ in plausibility (using the social sphere paradigm). In Study 2 and 3, psychology students (n=181) and acting students (n=41) imagined events from a first-person, third-person, and fictional person perspective. Feelings of realness were closely related to, and often predicted by, ease of the imagining and one’s absorption into the imagining, with a differential supportive role of vividness and emotion, providing partial evidence for the fluency theory of reality monitoring. Trait absorption and fantasy proneness were both associated with greater felt realness of imaginings, but the more fictional the imagining, the more fantasy proneness supported feelings of realness