‘A Glance from God’: Zadie Smith's On Beauty and Zora Neale Hurston1

Zadie Smith's most recent novel, On Beauty (2005 Smith, Z. 2005. On Beauty, London and New York: Penguin.  [Google Scholar]), declares its connection to E. M. Forster's Howards End (1910 Forster, E. M. 1910. Howards End, London: Edward Arnold.  [Google Scholar]) with its first line, while the novel's title comes from Elaine Scarry's On Beauty and Being Just (1999 Scarry, E. 1999. On Beauty and Being Just, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.  [Google Scholar]). At least as important for understanding Smith's central vision are the novel's allusions to Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937 Hurston, Z. N. 1987. Their Eyes Were Watching God, London: Virago Modern Classics.  [Google Scholar]) and Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica (1938 Hurston, Z. N. 1990. Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica, New York: Perennial Library.  [Google Scholar]).     

Publicly funded business advisory services and entrepreneurial outcomes

Given the mixed evidence for the impact of various publicly funded initiatives that aim to foster entrepreneurial activity, this paper empirically examines the efficacy of publicly funded business advisory services in relation to entrepreneurial outcomes. Based on a sample of 228 early-stage firms, of which 101 used business advisory services focused on helping companies secure 1st rounds of financing and start generating revenues, we examine the firm-level impact such services can have on sales growth, innovation, finance and alliances. We find services are positively associated with firms’ sales growth, patents, finance and alliances. We assess statistical and economic significance, and assess robustness to controls for the non-randomness of the firm's using business advisory service program, as well as endogeneity of advisors’ hours spent with firms. Other robustness checks are also included. We find significant robustness of hours spent on sales and finance, but sensitivity of the effect of hours on patents and alliances after controlling for endogeneity.     

Opportunities and challenges of Higher Education institutions in Europe: An analysis from a business model perspective

During the last decades, there has been increasing interest in the role of the university as a key stakeholder and agent in innovation and regional development. In the face of new technologies, especially growing digitalisation and new societal and economic challenges, this paper proposes to reconsider the role of the university in the innovation system. More particularly, we introduce the idea of a business model for the entrepreneurial university of the future and develop nine conceptual theses. The theses are based on four elements of a business model concept: value proposition, creation, delivery and capture. With the help of the nine theses, we aim to trigger new discussions regarding policy implications for the future university in Europe.     

Morphology of polyethylene ski base materials

Abstract

We used high-resolution Raman spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry for a comprehensive analysis of carbon black-filled polyethylene ski base grades at processing stages from the raw material to the structured ski base. Based on Raman mapping, we assessed the applicability of an advanced evaluation procedure for amorphous, disordered, and crystalline phase fractions of polyethylene for polyethylene extrusion and sinter grades. For sinter grades, a sufficient segregation between carbon black and polyethylene was confirmed, allowing for a comprehensive Raman spectroscopic morphological analysis. Significant morphological changes in polyethylene due to processing from the raw material to the semi-finished film and to the structured ski base were identified. Throughout the processing chain, we observed a decrease in crystallinity and an increase in the amorphous phase fraction. Although the raw material and the sintered semi-finished film exhibited a different but uniform polyethylene morphology, the morphological changes due to structuring of the ski base are limited to the top surface layer. The highest amorphous phase fractions were detected in the surface of the structured ski bases.     

What static and dynamic properties should slalom skis possess? Judgements by advanced and expert skiers

Flexural and torsional rigidity are important properties of skis. However, the flexural and torsional rigidity that lead to optimal performance remain to be established. In the present study, four pairs of slalom skis that differed in flexural and torsional rigidity were tested by advanced and expert skiers. Using a 10-item questionnaire, different aspects of the skis' performance were rated on a 9-point scale. For each pair of skis, physical measurements were compared with the ratings of the two groups of skiers. Correlations (Spearman) were then determined between (i) different mechanical properties of the skis (static and dynamic), (ii) subjective assessments of the participants, and (iii) properties of the skis and the participants' assessments. The latter showed that expert skiers rate the aspects of the skis more accurately than advanced skiers. Most importantly, expert skiers are particularly sensitive to torsion of the skis. These results suggest that such highly rated elements should be addressed in future ski designs.